British Biathlon Championships
13 Dec 2013
On Saturday 30 November, 12 excited Manor girls form Years 4 – 6 made their way to Birmingham to compete in the British Biathlon Championships. A biathlon consists of a 50m swim and an 800m run and was open to children from all over Britain, many of whom compete for clubs specialising in pentathlon. This was only the second time The Manor had qualified for the event and with a complete change in format this year; it meant that some of our girls had to compete in age groups with older girls. That didn’t dampen their spirits as they arrived buzzing with excitement despite the early start!
Ella P and Livy P in Year 6 (competing in the U12 section) started the proceedings in the pool both clocking times close to their personal best. This meant they scored lots of points to put towards their total. After a short break the girls headed outside for their run. The conditions were perfect, no wind, not too cold and the girls took full advantage of this as they both produced faster times than those which they qualified with. The results were added up and Ella finished in 46th and Livy 56th, both excellent achievements as they were competing with a lot on Year 7 girls. Well done.
The U11 girls started their competition with the 800m run. Again, like the U12 girls the performances were excellent with times improving from our own qualifying round. Clearly with Mrs Duff standing on the home straight encouraging the girls to sprint across the finish line the girls found extra strength to claw extra points for their score. In the pool the girls were fantastic! As always the sight of The Manor hats speeding through the water was quite a sight. Personal best times were being produced left right and centre, all meaning extra points. The final standings were posted and the excitement grew:
Martha B 10th
Annabelle V 43rd
Frankie P 62nd
Pia F 65th
Fiona S 73rd
As we had enough competitors in the age group we qualified for the team competition. The top three girls, Martha, Annabelle and Frankie picked up the bronze medal! 3rd place at the British Championships, a truly amazing achievement well done girls.
Finally the U10 girls took centre stage. Like the U11, they started with the running and the sprint finishes were quite spectacular. With faster times equalling more points the girls displayed true grit and determination to gain as many points as possible. After the running events The Manor team were sitting in first place, a great start. Then it was time for the pool. The theme of the pool was personal bests and the U10 did not disappoint. The girls were fully aware that they needed to swim as fast as they could, even if they were winning their race, they needed to keep going and not slow down!! After their swimming the wait for the final results began….
Lottie J 2nd
Florence M 3rd
Georgina H 18th
Jasmine S 44th
Theodora W 46th
As a team… Lottie, Florence and Georgie…. CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Champions of Britain, the best team in the UK, unbelieveable. What a fantastic achievement to become the best of the best in their age group. The PE Dept could not be any prouder of the result!
All the girls involved proved that all their hard work and dedication to the early morning swimming sessions and the cross country clubs can really pay off, this time in the biggest way imaginable!
Well done, girls! You were incredible!
Mr Neil Jackson