Report by Tilly Pretty (aka The Drill Queen)
As an athlete with Wimborne Athletics Club, the Sportshall Athletics League is a high-energy, indoor winter event, that transforms traditional track and field into a team-oriented fun, fast paced event. It’s a great way to get into Athletics and experience lots of different events ahead of the outdoor track & field season starting. The competitions are vibrant and noisy making them even more enjoyable! Most of the matches are team based so everyone’s points count towards our overall team position.
Wimborne AC has been taking part in the 25/26 Sporthall season at Canford school. We have had 3 competitions held on Saturday afternoons from October through until January. The 3rd of January brought the final match which would decide the overall winners of the league, going into the competition Wimborne were in 1st place with Poole Runners in a close 2nd.
Wimborne AC delivered an outstanding all‑round performance in all 3 matches. Across a packed programme of track and field events, the club showed depth, consistency, and standout individual talent, securing them the overall league victory. Wimborne AC’s success came from strong scoring across every age group, particularly in the U11 and U13 categories where our athletes regularly placed inside the top 3 positions in most events. Our relay squads also delivered reliable points, helping to keep the club ahead of close rivals, the relays are one of the best events! Some individual standout performances are mentioned here but we must remember this is a team event and every athlete who took part across all 3 matches played their part in securing the win for Wimborne.
U11 boys saw some of the strongest performances coming from Ezra Hayden, Jack Rourke, Henri Elliott-Smith, and Toby Smith. Ezra was one of the strongest all round performers for the U11 boys, regularly in the top three for sprints, throws and jumps. Henri Elliott-Smith showed he is a talented jumper and a fast sprinter, consistently scoring high across these events. Jack Rourke showed his stamina across the longer 2 lap sprint event, alongside this he scored well in the hi-stepper, and vertical jump. Other athletes in this age group who scored important points were, Angus Craig, Oscar Pretty, Harry Simpson, Travis Davies, Noah Nilsson & Loukas Antonopoulos.
The U11 girls have had some fantastic performances, Jasmine Foster has competed at all 3 matches and is regularly placed in the top three. Jasmine is one of the most dominant athletes in the entire league with multiple wins at every match. Chasing Jasmine all the way is Adrianna Travers who has had some outstanding results in the triple jump and soft javelin showing real strength across both events. Savanna hastings has dominated the standing long jump, chest push, and claimed 1st place in the vertical jump in match 3. Iola Porretta showed her precision in the target throw, Grace Bryant showed excellent balance scoring maximum points in the balance beam in match 1, Elsie Seward followed this performance also scoring maximum points in match 3 for the balance beam, Mollie Dicker has shown she is strong thrower claiming 2nd place in chest push & target throw in match one.
The U13 boys were often low on athletes but this didn’t stop them from putting in the hard work to claim those much needed points. Mason Dicker has been the top scoring boy in this group with a great all round performance across many events. He has been consistent in the 4 lap and triple jump often being placed in the top 4 across all the events he competes in. Sebastian Powell has been consistent in the 2 lap races, he was placed 4th at all 3 matches and put in a strong performance in the speed bounce being placed 2nd and 3rd. Zachary Johnson showed his strength & dominated the shot put winning at all 3 matches, he has also put in some strong performances in the standing jumps. Eddie Seward, Joshua Johnson, & William McDonald have all scored valuable points across a variety of events ranging from the 4 lap, speed bounce, and shot put.
The U13 girls have shown some exceptional performances across all the events. Tilly Pretty has had multiple wins across 2 lap, standing long jump, standing triple jump, and shot put regularly finishing 1st or 2nd in every event competed in. Eliza Blakeway has shown she is a fantastic all round athlete, with wins across a variety of events including, 4 lap, & vertical jump. Lila Richards has shown she is an excellent jumper and sprinter with wins in both jumping events, and equal 2nd place in the 2 lap race, Lila consistently finishes in the top 2. Maisie Robbins put in an outstanding performance in the shot put. Maisie won the shot in both matches she took part in, at match 3 throwing a fantastic distance, she has also shown her strength in the 6 lap. Abi Hartley & Eva Rourke have consistently scored in the events they have taken part in; Abi has shown her strength in the longer running races, and speed bounce, while Eva Rourke has shown her speed in the 2 lap race & speed bounce.
Although the U15 boys and girls have been especially low with the number of athletes available to take part, Harry Read secured 1st place across the 2 lap, shot put, and standing triple jump, and was often placed in the top 3. Nicola Minina also secured some exceptional sprint results in the 2 lap race finishing 1st twice alongside this Nicola finished 1st in the standing long jump and vertical jump. Rosie Gollings also contributed to the match participated in finishing 1st in the 2 lap, 6 lap, standing long jump, standing triple jump, and vertical jump a fabulous achievement. Tom Fisher came 1st in the standing long jump, 2nd in the shot put, and 3rd in the 2 lap sprint. Joseph Dixon also finished 1st in the speed bounce & vertical jump.
This all contributed to Wimborne AC winning the 25/26 sportshall season. Beyond the results, the event was marked by excellent sportsmanship, enthusiastic support from families and a brilliant atmosphere throughout the Sportshall. For many younger athletes, this was their first taste of the competitive Sportshall matches, and they rose to the occasion with confidence and smiles and should be proud of themselves.
We looked ahead to the County Championships held at Canford school on Saturday 24th Jan, nerves were high as these performances are used to help pick the athletes who will go on to the regional championships to represent Dorset. Across the age groups Wimborne had a County Champion in 20 events and claimed victory in 8 relays. The U11 boys had some excellent results, with Toby Smith earning 1st in the balance beam and 3rd in the chest push. Strong performances also came from Ezra Hayden, Jack Rourke, Loukus Antonopoulos, & Angus Craig claiming 2nd & 3rd across their events. The U11 Girls saw the strongest performance come from Jasmine Foster and Savanna Hastings. Jasmine came 1st in the 1 lap, and javelin with her strength and speed, alongside 2nd place in the standing triple jump and hi stepper. The standout performance came from Savanna who won 3 of the events she took part in these were standing long jump, vertical jump, and chest push. Well done Iola Porretta who came 1st in the target throw, and Maya Baines who came 2nd in the chest push.
U13 boys did exceptionally well in the relays coming 1st in both the 4 x 2 lap and the 8 lap paarlauf. William McDonald came 1st in the speed bounce, Zachary Johnson was 1st in the shot put, and Mason Dicker who came 2nd in both the standing triple jump and 4 lap race. U13 girls had an excellent all round performance some of the highlights were the 2 lap final where we had 3 athletes all looking to perform well Tilly pretty came 1st, Eva Rourke 2nd and Ada Jones 3rd. Tilly Pretty also won the standing triple jump and shot put. Eliza Blakeway fought for a well-deserved 1st place in the 4 lap with Lila Richards in a close 2nd, Eliza also won the vertical jump, whilst Lila came 2nd in the standing long jump, vertical jump, and 3rd in the standing triple jump. Imogen Stanning performed well showing her endurance ability coming 2nd in the 6 lap, and 3rd in the shot.
U15 girls only had 2 athletes but did not fail to perform! Nicola Minina came 1st in the 2 lap, 2nd in the shot, standing long jump and vertical jump. Rosie Gollings performed exceptionally winning every event she took part in, these were 4 lap, 6 lap, standing long jump, standing triple jump, and vertical jump! Both girls took part in the 8 lap paarlauf relay and came 1st in this too.
Overall, I think every athlete who took part in Sportshall should be proud of their performances without all of you Wimborne wouldn’t have been able to secure the league win! For those athletes who may be lucky enough to be selected to represent Dorset at the Regional Championships I wish you all the very best of luck, hopefully we will see some more fantastic individual / team performances, but most importantly have fun and enjoy it!
