Southern Athletics League.(New League next season 2012

2nd Sportshall meeting.

36 athletes competed which almost overwhelmed the team managers Andy Smith and John Greenhalgh, and all appeared to thoroughly enjoy an afternoon of racing and indoor field events in a fantastic atmosphere.

The Under 11 girls A team performed the best, finishing runners up behind Norwich. A number of new club members competed in the B team for a creditable 5th place. The Under 13 girls finished 3rd and are placed 4th in the league table narrowly behind the teams in 2nd and 3rd spot. A big effort in the final league match in Norwich on the 26th November could lift them a couple of places.

The Under 11 boys team are also in the medal hunt after finishing 3rd on the day whilst the smaller U13 boys team finished 5th despite having some class athletes in the team. Lack of numbers let them down in the end.

There are too many athletes to mention but special praise must go to Daniel Harvey who won both the 2-lap and 4-lap race and Ryan Coates who won both 6 lap and jointly won the 4 lap.

Ben Symonds competing for the first time jointly won the 4-lap with Ryan and Thea Howlett also competing for the first time proved herself to be a classy athlete in all her events, particularly the long jump where she was placed first.

Many other athletes performed personal bests, were placed in the top three or competed in events that they did not choose to help the team cause.

Thanks must be given to Lynnsport Leisure staff who were really helpful on the day and to all the Officials and parents who helped out and cheered the athletes on helping to create such a feverish atmosphere.

3rd Sportshall meeting.

The best placed team on the day and in the overall competion was the Under 11 girls who finished in third place.Many of the athletes in this team were taking part in competitive athletics for the first time this season and performed excellently throughout.

Caitlin Clark picked up the greatest haul of points with some consistent performances. Isabella McRann, Sophia Basset, Macy Carr and Abigail Bates made up the rest of the team and actually saved their best with a great team display in the obstacle relay for 2nd place.

The team were delighted to pick up trophies for their third place and also took one home for Abigail Rice who missed the final match due to bad injury.

The Under 11 boys performed admirably throughout as a very young team. Charlie Wakefield and Tom Martin scored their points particularly in the 2 lap and 4 lap races.Harry Basset performed his best in the vertical jump. Ben Smith, Harry Wakefield and Robert McQueen gained great experience against older athletese and promise much for the future. Ben won the award of athlete of the whole match, awarded by the committee for dedication throughout the season. The team including Callum Powell finished 5th overall on the day and for the season.

The Under 13 girls finished 4th overall narrowly missing out on a trophy. This team has competed very effectively as a unit throughout the season and were very unlucky to miss out on the medals.

Emma Dewdney led the way on this occasion taking on a number of new events, always with a smile and always with real guts and determination. Emma is developing into an excellent hurdler in athletics and uses the sportshall to improve her speed,skill and fitness to great effect. Niamh Jackson led the line in the sprint and power events and Mae Walpole who is new to sportshall athletics performed brilliantly for 3rd place in the tough 6 lap race. Hannah Greenhalgh was placed 2nd in the speedbounce, missing first place by one bounce and along with the other three was placed 2nd in the obstacle relay. The team was hindered on this occasion by the loss of captain Lucy Edwards and stalwart Pippa Shirley who both were too ill to make the journey. Georgia Smith turned up to help officiate but ended up taking part in two events and actually threw the shot very well..

Only two Under 13 boys made the trip which is a shame considering how much fun the events are and also because sportshall and athletics in general is the basis for all sports.The two who took part performed well. Justin Clark saved his best for 2nd in the shot and Ryan Coates as throughout the season won the 6 lap race with ease and was placed 2nd in all his other individual events.

Thanks must be made to the team

County Sportshall meeting.

Over 130 of Norfolk's best athletes took part in the Sportshall Athletics County Championships in Norwich at the UEA Sportspark. Sportshall Athletics is the true test of athletic ability for young athletes because it combines, quickness, agility, strength and endurance and it does so in a fun and safe environment.

Ten athletes represented West Norfolk AC and all performed well with a number of medals won.

Lucy Edwards , Ryan Coates and Daniel Harvey all won gold medals beating some top quality athletes from the rest of the County.

Lucy brilliantly won 3 gold and 1 bronze including the blue ribboned 2 lap race and was the clubs top performer.

Ryan was not far behind with a gold in the 6 lap and high jump and silver in the 4 lap race.

Daniel won the 4 lap with ease for gold and he took part in the best race of the day, the 2 lap final where 4 athletes finished within .2sec and Daniel was edged into 3rd.

Niamh Jackson also was rewarded with a medal in the 2 lap hurdles event placing 3rd.

Hannah Greenhalgh was also a medalist with bronze in the tough speed bounce event.

The final medal winner was Hannah's brother James who also won bronze in the speed bounce and picked up a surprising bronze in the 2 lap race.

Winning medals is not everything and there were some excellent performances from the other athletes against really tough opposition. Some were taking part in sportshall in their first year and some were just a little unlucky.

Mae Walpole can count herself unlucky with three 4th places in the vertical jump, long jump and triple jump.

Likewise Emma Dewdney just missed out on a medal despite a stirring performance in the 2 lap hurdles where she finished on the floor as she crossed the line in 5th place. Two new athletes performed excellently in the Under 11 girls competition.

Sophia Basset put in some consistent performances in all her events and again finished just outside the medals, her best being the speed bounce where she was placed 5th.

Isabella McRann competing against older athletes promised much for the future in the running events and in the speed agility events such as the speed bounce.

Adam Simmonds representing his school, Glebe House brilliantly won the vertical jump and Tom Sowerby won bronze in the triple jump.

Ben Simmonds also took part but unfortunately suffered an injury and Rosie Gillett gained valuable experience at this top level.

The club would like to thank all the officials that have helped throughout the year.

Also a special word must be said for the Parents of all the athletes who have been supportive through the season. There have been very few moans or complaints and always an appreciation of athletes from other clubs.

PLEASE NOTE TO TAKE PART IN ANY ATHLETICS MEETING FOR WEST NORFOLK AC YOU MUST BE A CLUB MEMBER. MEMBERSHIP FORMS AVAILABLE FROM CATH JOHNSON ON TRAINING NIGHTS.

West Norfolk AC train on Thurs at Lynnsport (8-13s 7pm -8pm) and Seniors plus over 13's from 8pm to 9pm.