national champion of champions

In February I went to hayling island to play in the national English indoor bowls association champion of champions which consists of 16 players who have all won there club singles and then went on to win the county singles,
In the field there was international players and players who had already won the competition before.
In the first round I managed to win 21-19 against a very good young player who plays in the under 25 england team with myself.
In the quarter final I managed to have a really gd win with a 21-11 win against someone who has won many national titles before.
In the semi final I come up against another under 25 england player which I managed to come out on top 21-17.
In the final I was up against neil mckee a full senior international who had plenty of experience on his side. In a very good final there was some excellent last bowls to keep changing the game and keeping each player in the match. In the end I managed to win with a 21-20 win.
This was my first eba national title and I was very happy to have achieved this.

British Tumbling Championships 2011

Just thought I would update my blog with recent tumbling competition news.
In November 2010 I travelled to Metz France with the National Tumbling Squad to compete at the World Age Group Championships, we compete with Gymnasts from around the world who train to a very high level of tumbling in every age group. There are usually around 40-50 competitors in each age group. I am very proud to say that I succeeded in getting the Gold for the 13/14 years age group for Great Britain which was not an easy task against the Russian competitors at the competition.

July 2011 - British Championships. I am now in the 15/16 age group in Tumbling and have been training hard to improve my tumbling difficulty to give me a good tariff for the competition. I trained for a triple somersault for one of my final runs and it went well in the competition giving me a total score for both of my final runs of 71.5 which is a really high score for my age group putting me ahead of my competitors by at least 7 clear points and earning me the gold medal for first place which means I am now 9 times british tumbling champion.

My next competition will be the World Age Group Championships in November 2011 which is being held in Birmingham NIA this year, this will be an exciting competition as it is in my home country and I hope to do well again and bring home the gold for Great Britain.

A good start to 2011

2010 ended with my sixth and final time at the Cadet Winton National Championships - having competed for the East Midlands for the joint longest consecutive time in it's history. In 2011, having won the East Midlands U18s BYC Qualifier the weekend before, I began the year's national Senior Open circuit in Liverpool, on Saturday 19th February, finishing in 3rd place.

The Merseyside Open is one of the oldest open fencing competitions in the country, having started in 1938, and made a good start to the new competitive year. The standard of entry this year was high as always, with a team of Irish fencers providing added competition. With a total of 72 experienced fencers, the competition provided an excellent weekend of preparation for the calendar's larger Senior competitions - notably the Birmingham International and the National Senior Championships.

Finishing in 3rd place was a good result, yet more importantly a tough journey to the semi-finals and several tactically-intense fights provided a great source of experience and good practice. Dropping only one fight out of ten in the two poules, I was seeded 12th and went on to have a further 4 Direct Elimination fights to secure a medal position (each to 15 hits). Fencing a fast left-handed fencer in the last 16 proved interesting; as an opponent who favoured hits aimed below the fencing arm, choosing to adopt a closed and defensive guard proved to be a successful strategy.

The competition has, in many ways, been a prologue to the upcoming series of competitions. In additional to the Senior Circuit, the British Youth Championships in April will join the spectrum of U20s competitions that I aim to have equal success in later on in the year.

2010 World Bowls Champion of Champions

I am about to travel to my next event in November.

I am representing England in the 2010 World Bowls Champion of Champions Event in the Norfolk Islands (located in the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand) from 23rd November to 3rd December.

The competitors in this prestigious event are represented by National Singles Champions from around the World. My main competitors will be from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland and Malaysia.

I am looking forward to this event and will post a report on my return to the UK.

Canoe Polo World Championships Milan 2010

A Gold and Two Bronze Medals for Derbyshire Canoeists

From the Canoe Polo World Championships in Milan

Claire Mitchell and brothers Gallin and Ross Montgomery all from the Viking Canoe Polo Club based in Derby, have returned triumphant from the recent World Championships held in Milan from 1^st - 5^th September.

In total, 25 Countries took part in a fiercely contested World Championship tournament where the British team had representation in all four categories; Men, Women, Under 21 Men and Under 21 Women.

In the Men’s Under 21 category, brothers Gallin and Ross Montgomery contributed to the team to give solid performances against Australia, Japan and Switzerland in the first round, topping the group with 21 goals for and with only 1 against.

In the second round, the U21 Men’s team beat the Netherlands 3-2, Spain 4-1 and narrowly lost to Germany 3-2 in a closely fought game. This put the young British side into the semi-finals against the highly favoured French team.

The team played their best polo yet but eventually lost 3–1 in a game that could have gone either way. This meant the gold medal was out of reach, but the bronze medal would be contested in the 3^rd-4^th play off against the Italians, a team with massive home and National TV support.

At full time, the score was 2–2; both teams having led the game before the end of normal time. The match went into a nail biting Golden Goal phase where the teams would play continuous 5 minute periods until one team scored. After one minute, both teams had come close to securing the bronze medal but the Great British team ended any doubts with a stunning final shot from behind the half-way line that caught the Italian defenders and goal keeper stranded.

Germany ran out eventual winners against France and the under 21 Men’s team, though elated with the Bronze, were left to reflect on how close they had come to a Gold.

In the Senior Women’s category, local paddler Claire Mitchell brought home a well deserved Gold Medal. As reigning World, European and World Games Champions the Great British team had a lot of expectation to perform and retain the title.

The team finished top of their group in the preliminary round with convincing wins over Denmark, Iran, Singapore and Italy securing 38 goals for and 2 against. Great Britain finished top of the second group, beating the Dutch 8-1, New Zealand 5-4 and Spain 7-1.

The women faced the French in their semi-final, the biggest threat to the team so far. Nerves were high, as it was the game that decided whether they could reach the final to try to retain the World Championship title. The final result, 6–2 to Great Britain.

The team were to face Germany in the final, a team that Great Britain had not played in any training tournament all season. Great Britain took control early in the game and ran out eventual winners 5-3, retaining the World Championship title.

A further five members from Viking Canoe Polo Club represented Great Britain in the Senior Men’s category and finished 9^th overall which was a little disheartening for the team. However, all five members represent Vikings A team and are enthusiastic about coming home victorious at the European Club Championships, in Germany.

2010 so far

In February 2010 I was named Bowls England Bowler of the Year. I was delighted to receive this prestigious award.

In May 2010 I competed in the trials for the England International Team. After playing well in the trials I was selected again for the England Team.

In June 2010 I represented England in the British Isles Singles Championship where I lost at the Quarter-final stage. It was dissapointing to lose at this stage but my opponent from Jersey played extremely well.
I also represented England in the British Isles International Series. The British Isles International Series is an annual event with teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Each team consists of 6 rinks of 4 players. After beating Ireland and Wales in the first 2 games, England narrowly lost to Scotland in the last game and finished second to Scotland on shots difference. The rink that I played in won all 3 games and was England's top rink.

In July 2010 I won the Derbyshire County Triples and the Derbyshire County Fours Titles.

In August 2010 I reached the Last 16 stage of the Bowls England National Triples Championship and the Last 16 stage of the Bowls England National Fours Championship. It was disappointing to lose at this stage and I will be looking to go further in the events next year.

In October 2010 I was the reserve for the Commonwealth Games Bowls England Team. I was not required to go to Delhi. The England Team was very succesful in the games winning medals in 5 of the 6 events.

E.B.F national championships.

The english bowls federation national championships outdoor was held at skgness in august.

i managed to qualify in 3 differnt events and also in the under 25 team comp.

The first comp was the under 25 team in which we played suffolk and won making us the under 25 team champions.

Then it was onto the other events in which i had a really succesful week.

I lost in the semi final of the mens 2 bowls singles.

After the dissapointment of losing in the semi final i managed to win the mixed triples event and then went on to win the under 25 singles.

winning 3 national titles in 1 week was a great achievement for me and i was really happy on my performance.

At the presentation of the trophies i was announced the under 25 player of the year. this was a really big achievement in which i am very delighted about of winning.

i will attach some photos of me and my team with the trophies.