Action packed day of hockey

It was an action-packed day of hockey as the South Cambs School Sports Partnership welcomed 40 teams to their annual Year 5/6 Quicksticks Hockey competitions. The event which was held at the University Sports Ground on Wilberforce Road was split into a separate competition for ‘Big Schools’ and ‘Small Schools’ based on pupil numbers.

The Quicksticks format is played by 4-a-side teams made up of 2 boys and 2 girls. There are no goalkeepers and the game is played with bigger & lighter balls making it safe, fun and accessible to all.

The morning event involved 20 teams from 11 ‘Big Schools’ with teams split into 4 pools of 5 where they all played each other in a round robin format in quick 7min matches. There were plenty of competitive matches and close scoring games as teams gave their best effort to do well for their school. Teams finishing positions in these round 1 matches determined which division they qualified for in round 2 of the competition. With the winners of each pool qualifying for Division 1, runners up for Division 2, third placed for division 3 and so on down to division 5.

Winning their pools and qualifying for Division 1 were the teams from University of Cambridge, Trumpington Park and Histon & Impington Brook 1 and 2 with all 4 teams finishing their groups unbeaten. The teams from Milton, Waterbeach, The Vine and Swavesey all competed strongly to qualify for Division 2.

Despite two wins and a draw in their final matches the defending champions Histon & Impington Brook couldn’t quite hold onto their winner’s title from last year with the team from Trumpington Park beating them thanks to a superior goal difference. The Vine finished as worthy winners of Division 2 wining all 3 of their final matches. Other schools taking part were Bassingbourn, Jeavons Wood and The Meadow.

The afternoon event saw another 20 teams from 12 different schools compete for ‘Small School’ honours with the competition organised in the same format as the morning event. Winning their pools and qualifying for Division 1 were the teams from Coton, Barrington, Harston & Newton & newcomers Histon & Impington Park. There were lots of competitive matches in the division stages but the clear winners on the day were defending champions Harston & Newton who won all 7 of their matches on the day, scoring 26 goals and only conceding 2, a huge congratulations to them. Runners up were Coton Primary school whilst the team from Great Abington won Division 2 by winning all 3 of their matches.

Other schools taking part in the small school’s event included Bourn, Dry Drayton, Elsworth, Fen Drayton, Foxton, Hauxton, Meldreth & Thriplow.

There was also recognition on the day for those teams who had taken part in the ‘Spirit of the Games’ and demonstrated good teamwork and honesty in their performances. There were lots of nominations for these awards which was great to see but the winners were Willingham & Elsworth who were nominated for showing great teamwork, being supportive of their teammates and demonstrating fair play towards other teams.

The event was made possible thanks to the support of 16 sports leaders from Comberton Village College who did an exceptional job umpiring 140 games across 8 pitches over the course of the day. They all did an incredible job and showed excellent communication & decision-making skills as well as empathy towards the younger children. A big thankyou to them.