Sports Club

Every year provides a new twist to the excitement that is Reach Sports Day. This year we followed on from the World Cup final and although we had a smaller number of children this year we managed a record entry of 11 ladies for the sprint!

For me the most challenging part of the day is to arrange the children into roughly equal group without upsetting children (or parents). This year we had a marked increase in the number of younger children turning up and this bodes well for the next few years

Everyone who came to the races, whether taking part or simply watching the fun enjoyed the day and were entertained by some diverse events.

Despite the presence of an international athlete all the events were fiercely competitive and always closely fought with the judgement of the judges rivalling those of Solomon on occasions. Whether the marathon course was too short for Juliet or due to her slip on the second to last corner William Jordan did well to win the Open Marathon. I am sure Juliet will treasure her trophy for the Reach Ladies Marathon has highly as the more prestigious ones she has won so far and we wish her continued success in the future.

In the past we have given money to those children who have come lst, 2nd and 3rd in an event. However, this year in a break from tradition, we have decided to give the money to Sport Relief. I hope everyone agrees this is a worthwhile cause and we shall review the matter for next year.

Reach sports day would not be the same without it's afternoon tea and Karen and Gerald Turner made this year no exception and I would like to thank them for their all their hard work on the barbecue. A big thank you also to Rachel Sargent for continuing her annual scoring marathon.

I hope that in the coming years some of the younger fathers or mothers in the village will volunteer to take over the organising this event in order for it to remain interesting for their children. Mine have reached the age where only one came along to beat me and he is now in the adult men group!

Finally I would like to thank everyone who took part and made the day so enjoyable for everyone.

Cups : Junior Marathon Alex Gardner

Ladies Marthon Juliet Vickery

Open Marathon William Jordan

John Robinson Cup Matthew Gardner