17 September 2019
Last Friday the senior hockey and netball teams embarked on their annual sports trip – this year’s destination, Cheltenham. On the way to our hotel, we stopped off at Cheltenham College to play our first hockey match. The defence started off strongly, making some great tackles and keeping the ball away from the goal. The midfielders worked well together keeping the ball up the pitch, with Desiree showing some excellent running. The attackers stayed high and worked well to keep the ball near the goal, with Ellie making some great attempts at goal. The true saviour of the match was our goalkeeper, Charlotte, who made some incredible saves from the ground and in the air. The netballers were screaming and shouting from the sideline, urging on the team with some creative chants. After the match, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel and spent some free time before bed chatting and making some great TikToks.
The next morning we were up bright and early for our team building activity. We arrived at a lake and some of us made the sensible decision to change into wetsuits, whilst others made the not so sensible decision of wearing their own clothes. In four teams - Team Glitter, HMS Ellie, The Stallions and Raft Assassins – we first had some planning time before heading off to a little island in the lake where we were given planks, barrels and rope to assemble a raft. One person from each team was then taken out into the lake and everyone else had to race to rescue them. The race began with all four teams paddling frantically, trying to get the rafts moving. Team Glitter made it about half way before their raft completely fell apart and became a shipwreck. The Stallions and Raft Assassins did well, but not well enough to keep up with HMS Ellie who gained an exceptional lead and were first back to the island to claim the prize.
In the afternoon, the netballers had their first match at Cheltenham Ladies College. Harriet made some fantastic interceptions in the centre court. The shooters had some great shots at goal throughout the match, with the defence getting the rebounds at the other end of the court. After the match, we headed out for some great food at Zizzi’s.
The following morning we packed up and headed homewards, stopping off at St Mary’s Ascot to play our final hockey and netball matches. It was a roasting day, but the hockey players didn’t let this affect their game. Their work rate remained high, with Anna doing lots of running and the attackers working well upfront. Charlotte once again made some amazing saves and Flo, Lucy, Sparkle, Ella and Emily worked hard in defence. The netballers played a friendly game and switched up positions in the last quarter. Canaan got some great rebounds, Alice played all over the court and Eliza got some great shots up. All in all it was an amazing tour and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!
Jade, Sports Ribbon
