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SPORT 15
Déjà Vu on the Road to Wimbledon!
Miss Amanda Wainwright, Head of Tennis
The Championships at Wimbledon have had more
than their fair share of horrendous weather (and
Cliff Richard’s singing interludes) over the years and
this year it was the turn of the Bancroft’s Road To
Wimbledon events to share in the SW19 rain, hail
storms and biting wind. Nonetheless, these conditions
did not deter the competitors and 56 boys and girls,
ranging from the Prep 2s to the L4th, battled it out for
the chance to progress to the County Championships.
The boys’ event saw Krishan Parmar, Charlie Day, Nathan Adeyemo-
Dakoh and Kiran Parmar make it through to the semi-finals where
Krishan and Nathan overcame their opponents to book a place in
the final. Krishan was the reigning 2018 champion and he put his
experience to good use against the much younger Nathan who
fought valiantly but in the end Krishan had too much power and
emerged victorious with a 4-1 win.
Lightning also struck twice in the girls’
tournament (thankfully only metaphorically)
with Tomisin Awoyode reclaiming the title
she won last year when she was in the
Thirds. Maanvii Arya and Suna Shakir were
semi-finalists but it was Simran Chadda who
went one round better this year to take on Tomisin in the final. We
were treated to a nail-biting thriller with Tomisin sprinting off in the
lead only to be pegged back by a tenacious Simran. At 3-3, the final
went into a tie-break and the wind whipped up some awful serving
conditions just when neither player wanted them. Tomisin made the
most of her chances and claimed a 7-5 win with some lovely deep
top-spun forehands which pinned Simran behind the baseline.
The events were once again sponsored by Bancroft’s parent, Mr
Mike Wood, of “Freedom Ltd” and I am grateful to him for all his
unwavering and enthusiastic support. Tomisin, Simran, Krishan and
Nathan now go on to the County Finals where they will compete for
the chance to play on the grass at Wimbledon!
Senior Ski Trip
Alex O’Brien, L6W
On Saturday 30 March, members
of the L6 set off for La Plagne,
France, for an action-packed week
skiing in the Alps. At 8am, fifteen
yawning faces and three newly
shaved heads (helmet hair can be
a terrible affliction) left Bancroft’s
for London Luton. We landed in
Lyon at roughly 3pm, glad to have
finally arrived at our destination,
only to be informed of the three-
hour bus journey necessary to
make it to the hotel.
We stayed at the Hotel Rohdedendrons,
a scenic location based right next to the
slopes; this quickly eliminated what would
ordinarily be the worst part of a skiing
holiday: carrying the skis. It dawned upon
us that to ski, one must be in possession of
a pair of skis, and so on the first morning
we headed to the rental shop where the
language barrier immediately proved
a difficulty and it became obvious that
speaking English in a French accent is
of little use to a native French speaker.
Nevertheless, we all left the shop with
adequate equipment and were ready to
hit the slopes. The sun was shining and
the skiing conditions were terrific and it
became clear within the first hour of the
day that we were in for a brilliant week.
We skied for roughly six hours every day
and then enjoyed our rest time at the hotel
before dinner, the only downside was that
the Wi-Fi only worked at reception (to a
group of young millennials this can be a
bigger issue than it might seem at face
value). The lack of Wi-Fi meant we were
forced to endure each other’s company,
and the trip really allowed us to form some
close friendships that ordinarily may not
have occurred. We enjoyed a whole host
of activities throughout the week, such as
sledding, and we went out for a meal at the
end of the week with the teachers. With
only one minor injury (nothing fatal), the
trip proved a great success: a lovely week
skiing with our pals. I’d strongly recommend
the senior ski trip to anyone who has the
opportunity to go, it’s definitely worth it.
Table Tennis
Mr Ray Tse
Table tennis is a gentle sport which
can be played up to an old age. It
requires focus and coordination of
body and mind. There is a piece
of scientific research, documented
by the BBC, which suggests that
playing table tennis regularly helps
to stimulate brain activity and has a
long term benefit in slowing down
the process of ageing and fending
off dementia.
We hosted the first ever table tennis
competition against Forest School on
Tuesday 26 February. Each school had six
representatives, across various age groups, and
we played a total of 30 matches. The Bancroft’s
players were Matteo Mariano, Oliver Mynott,
Mustafa Lodhi, Alex Yan, Jude Dannawi and
Yuvraj Singh. Bancroft’s comfortably won 23-7
and the teamwas presented with the aptly
named “Bancroft’s Forest Table Tennis Cup”.
We hope this will be the start of an annual
sporting event between our schools.