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S P O R T A N D C O - C U R R I C U L A R
U18 Girls to
National Finals
Our U18 girls’ hockey team continued its fantastic season in
the second half of last term. The Essex champions played in
the East Regional Finals of the National Schools Competition at
Redbridge Sports Centre on 19 November.
The Bancroft’s team first faced Sevenoaks School from Kent
and cruised to a 3-0 win thanks to a hat trick from England U16
player Grace O’Malley-Kumar. Next up was Parmiter’s School
(Hertfordshire). Although we took the lead with an early goal
(again from O’Malley–Kumar), this game proved more challenging.
The Bancroft’s girls gave away too many short corners leaving
coach, Mrs Jo Fryer-Green, in a nervous state on the side-lines.
These two wins were enough to secure a place in the Finals, but
the girls were determined to progress in style by winning all their
matches. This they did with a 2-0 win over Cranbrook School,
with goals fromVice Captain Eleanor Channer and a fifth for the
day from Grace O’Malley Kumar. Grace was awarded the team’s
“Player of the Tournament” title having scored in all three matches.
Under the captainship of goalkeeper Anika Mayor, all the team had
played strongly throughout the day, although Emilia Parsons and
Kiera Murphy deserve special mentions for their contributions.
Thanks too to coaches Mrs Jo Fryer Green and Mr DanWebster
for all their hard work.
The Bancroft’s team now go onto the National Finals on 3 March.
This is the first time that a Bancroft’s team has reached the
National Finals. Mrs Fryer-Green was fulsome in her praise for
her team,“This is a fantastic achievement from a very committed
and hardworking squad.This team is a joy to work with: so easy to
coach. They have shown incredible focus so far; we just need to
make sure this doesn’t slip in the next couple of months ahead of
the finals.”
Slalom Kayaking
I have been kayaking since summer 2018. It kicked off when a
couple of Olympic paddlers visited schools in the area asking
who was interested. I had no experience or knowledge of
kayaking but thought it would be thrilling if I tried it, so that’s
what I did.
We started off as a group of all the children wanting to participate
and, after a few weeks, we were asked if we wanted to continue
onto the talent programme or stop.This was a very hard, life-
changing decision as I already had a tight schedule. In the end, I
accepted and went on to a three day schedule which included a
gym session, a flat water session and a white water session starting
off with the Legacy course, which is smaller than the Olympic
course. At this point I had a worry which was the Legacy course.
Going from being a beginner at kayaking to going on rapids was
a big step for me and I suffered a couple of traumatic incidents
including getting stuck in a wave, holding my breath for too long,
not being able to get out of my boat, etc. It took a long period
of time but finally, thanks to my friends, family and my coaches,
I was able to push through and conquer my fears.Through the
winter, training intensified from four to five days a week: gym,
flat water sessions, Legacy sessions, Olympic sessions and even
psychology. I am now frequently going in my trusted campervan to
races around the United Kingdom, in places such as Nottingham,
Cardington, Stone and Orton Mere, and even across Europe to
France (Dijon and then Paris).
As well as kayaking, I also fit in canoeing. Many people think they’re
the same thing and others think it’s size but there are three
distinctions.These are: a canoe having not a two but a one-sided
paddle: not sitting down but kneeling in your boat and the boat
itself being wider at the cockpit area.
I have had many ups and downs but I am determined to paddle
the Olympic course without any fears and to reach Division 1 by
the end of the year. I will continue to strive through the training
and I am hoping to make Olympic standard.
Herbie, 3E