Dorset School Games: Can Do Cross Country

The weather was calm and mild making it perfect for the School Games 'Can Do' cross country competition. Four full teams from the Special Needs Schools of Beaucroft, Winchelsea, Westfield and Yewstock competed for honours and everyone gave their best on a surface that was a mixture of soft, bouncy undergrowth, muddy areas and hard uphill paths and would have been a good test for anyone of any ability.

There were four races between U13 girls, U13 boys, U16 girls and U16 boys and everyone ran two laps except for the U16 boys who competed over 3 laps, a lap being approximately half a mile. The competition was close with only 12 points separating the top three teams. Winchelsea got off to a great start with the U13s however Yewstock came back stronger in the U16s but Westfield were the most consistent with more runners in the top half throughout.

Final team positions were 1^st Westfield, 2^nd Yewstock, 3^rd Winchelsea and 4^th Beaucroft with Winchelsea taking most honours in the individual results with 5 of their runners finishing in the top 3.

The top three individuals in each race were as follows:

U13 girls - Sarah from Winchelsea (1^st), Anya from Westfield (2^nd) and Louise from Winchelsea (3^rd)

U13 boys - Kayden from Winchelsea (1^st), Archie from Winchelsea (2^nd) and James from Westfield (3^rd)

U16 girls - Ellen from Beaucroft (1^st), Ella from Winchelsea (2^nd) and Bethany from Yewstock (3^rd)

U16 boys - Ben from Westfield (1^st), Logan from Westfield (2^nd) and Mathew from Yewstock (3^rd)

A big thank you to the RELAYS students from Bournemouth University who helped run the event. Volunteers make all the difference. Also to Tony Jones-Pert for running the event on behalf of the School Games and Active Dorset.