Thomas Bennett Community Collage Tournament

Despite 1st October being an INSET day, the netball squad of eight: L. Jackson, S. Ward, E. Sharrocks, E. Radcliffe, H. Barker, B. Sargent, B. Lloyd and K. Booker, took part in a tournament at Thomas Bennett Community Collage.

We were raring to go for the first game when Miss Walters announced it was to be a "Versatility Tournament" - shock horror! We were to play out of position!

Our first game was against Tanbridge House with H. Barker and B. Lloyd as shooters. We were all shocked when we won with the terrific sore of 6?0! With that game won, our heads were high and we were ready to take on Sackville. This time with B. Lloyd still as shooter and a helping hand from "Nelly", we produced an easy 4-1 victory over Sackville. Still on a high and buzzing we headed for our next game against St Pauls. E. Radcliffe and S. Ward worked hard in defence - only letting in one goal. We "battled" to win a close score of 2-1. Thanks to these two we came first in the qualifying round.

The semi final was a tough game against Oakmeads. We tried as hard as we could but the ball was just not going our way. B. Sargent and K. Booker did their best at shooting out of their usual positions. We gained a goal but Oakmead went 2-1 up. Just as B. Sargent was going for a final shot, the final horn blew - Oakmead had beaten us 2-1.

For our final game we faced Sackville in a play-off for third or fourth place. Finally, back in our usual court positions we felt comfortable with E. Sharrocks and L. Jackson shooting. We were unstoppable and played by far our best netball, winning 10-0!

Although we did not come in first or second, we were proud to be in third. With all the other teams gone and B. Lloyd's birthday the next day, we sat down to cake, balloons and party blowers court side to celebrate!

By H. Barker