Day 4 saw the Norfolk School Games bandwagon move back to the Sportspark at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and it was another hot day with temperatures hitting 23 degrees. The day was the biggest of the Summer Games with 5 different competitions running at the Sportspark and even spilling over to neighboring City Academy Norwich.
The day kicked off with an opening ceremony which saw elite athletes Dru Spinks (former England Basketballer) and Kirsty Mackay (current Great Britain Hockey Goalkeeper) inspiring the young athletes with their experiences and motivating pep talks. Pupils were also shown the exciting highlights video of the Norfolk Winter School Games which was held back in March.
Out on the netball courts 25 mixed teams of young netballers competed in two competitions, one for big schools (>120 pupils) and one for small schools (< 120 pupils). The competition followed England Netball’s High 5 Netball format.
Teams were drawn into groups where teams competed against each other in a round robin format. At the end of the group stages, the top two teams in each group then went through into the cup competition and the bottom two teams went in to the plate competition. Teams in each competition were split into two further groups and again teams played each other. Afterwards the teams that finished top of each of the cup group stages played off for 1st/2nd place, the teams that came second played off for 3rd/4th position, etc. In the plate competition the winners of each group played off for first and second place.
The overall results for the big schools netball competition were;
1st – Cringleford Primary (Norwich SSP)
2nd – Stoke Holy Cross (South Norfolk SSP)
3rd – Firside Junior (West Norwich and Dereham SSP)
The plate winners were St Marys Junior School.
In the small schools competition, teams were initially split into two groups with the winners of each playing to decide overall places. The top three teams in the small school competitions were;
1st – Sandringham and West Runton Primary (West Norfolk SSP)
2nd – Banham Primary (South Norfolk SSP)
3rd – Glebe House (West Norfolk SSP)
For a full breakdown of results from the netball competition please visit the “results” section of the website.
Whilst the netball competition was underway on the netball courts, next door on the astroturf pitches the School Games Quicksticks Hockey Finals were also running.
Whilst the netball and hockey competitions were happening outside, indoors the top Year 7-8 basketball teams from across Norfolk were battling it out in the basketball finals.
Yr 7-8 Boys
1st – Norwich SSP
2nd – West Norfolk SSP
3rd – North Norfolk SSP
Yr 7-8 Girls
1st – Norwich East SSP
2nd – South Norfolk SSP
3rd – Norwich SSP
For a full breakdown of results please visit the “results” section of the website.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards were given to; Boys – James O’Donnell (Norwich SSP), Girls – Shirleen Bradley (Norwich East)
During the afternoon, the county finals for the schools Aquathlon competition was held. Teams of four pupils from each SSP competed in two age groups (Years 7-8 and Years 9-10). Pupils were required to undertake a swimming leg followed by a run with a transition phase in between. Pupils competed as a team in a relay format and each race required each pupil to undertake their swim/run stages before tagging another team mate. The winner of the race was the team who whose four pupils had all completed their swim and run legs first.
The results of the races were;
Yr 7-8 Race
1st – North Norfolk SSP
2nd – West Norfolk SSP
3rd – Norwich East SSP
Yr 9-10 Race
1st – North Norfolk SSP
2nd – West Norfolk SSP
3rd – South Norfolk SSP
The 2014 Norfolk School Games is the most inclusive Games held in the county to date. This continued with the Special School Games which was held on Day 4. The Special Schools Games targeted pupils in the county’s special school and gave them the opportunity to represent their school in 4 different sports (athletics, table cricket, indoor rowing and archery). The overall results were;
Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)
1st – Sidestrand Hall
2nd – Fred Nicholson
Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
1st – John Grant School
2nd – Hall School
3rd – Clare School
For a full breakdown of results please visit the “results” section of the site.
Photographs from Day 4 of the Games are available to view and purchase online. Dont forget that you can also follow the Norfolk School Games on twitter (@NorfolkSchGames) or on Facebook “Norfolk School Games”.
