Apply now for a bursary for 2011

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the blog this year - it is great to read about so many successes. Please do continue to post your updates during the rest of the year.

If you wish to be considered for a further bursary from the Derbyshire Talented Athlete Fund for 2011 you can now apply. The application form and full details can be found here: http://www.derbyshiresport.co.uk/talented_athlete_support/fund/apply/default.asp

In a change from previous years, all athletes who wish to be considered for a bursary are required to submit an application themselves (If athletes are aged under 18 then this must be done by a parent or guardian). In some sports the national governing body had previously applied on an athlete's behalf, but this will not happen this year.

The deadline for applications is November 17.

Gold in Milan

A great end to the season - World Champions 2010

After a successful season in training, Great Britain Women were looking forward to getting to the World Championships in Milan and start the long awaited tournament. GB flew out to Italy on Monday 30th August 2010 for a couple of days training before starting the games.

We had Italy, Iran, Singapore and Denmark in our group and started playing the group games on Wednesday. Our first game was against Denmark, a team that we knew we could beat but a high goal target was set to get our goal difference up on the other teams in the group. We were successful on both counts - 16-2 being the final score.

Thursday saw us play our remaining three group games, against Iran, Singapore and Italy. We had not met either Iran or Singapore at any training tournament throughout the year so started the Iran game quite conservatively to see how they played and then pressured from there. We beat Iran 4-0 but the game was not our greatest hour. The referee was very biased towards Iran which frustrated some players. GB play a very hard game and will tackle the opponents hard if they have the ball, each time a GB player did this in the Iranian game, the opposition would shout out and squeal which automatically made the referees blow for a foul, even though it was a legal tackle, which was extremely frustrating. All the same we did our job and came out with a win.

The Singapore game was very similar to the Denmark game. We set up our defence so the opposition would get drawn in then went out to tackle them, win the ball back and break. We came out 14-0 winners.

Our final group game was against Italy, the host nation with a great deal of home support behind them. We didn't let that phase us though and beat Italy 4-0. We were all extremely impressed with our first group games, having scored 38 goals and only had 2 against us.

The second round saw another two groups being created with the winners and runners up of each of the four groups put together. We were up against New Zealand, who finished top of their initial group, and Spain and Holland who finished second in their respective groups. Our first game in this group was against Holland and we secured an easy win finishing 8-1.

New Zealand was our next game. We hadn't played against them this season and knew they were looking good. They were really up for the game, knowing that we were favourites to win. However, we ran out 5-4 winners in a hard fought game.

Our final game of the second group was against Spain. It was a much easier game and we came out 7-1 winners. This put us top of the second group and through to the semi final on Sunday.

As the semi finals and finals were televised our semi against France would be at 8:30 on the sunday morning. The early start did not bother our supporters that were all there to watch. It was so good to hear our supporters drowning out the noise of the French supporters and this spurred us on all the more.

Going into the semi final was very nerve wracking, it was the game that decided whether we were to play in the final or not get a medal at all. Nerves disappeared as soon as the whistle blew for the start of the game and we won 6-2. We were in the final against Germany, a repeat of the 2008 final, and our chance to retain the World title.

I went into the final with confidence, I knew we could win, everybody wanted it so much. We were ahead for most of the game. Germany played 5 out (man on man) for most of the second half to try and win the ball back, but we were able to keep the ball and sprint past the players to score two goals into empty nets. Germany did manage to claw two goals back late on in the game but it was too late and at the final whistle the score was 5-3 to us and so happy to have won the gold medal.

Standing on the podium was an experience I will never forget and am already looking to the 2011 season to try and retain the gold medal at the European Championships and relive the feeling of winning and being a gold medalist!

WORLD TITLE

Hi Guys this will be my last blog of the year and what a fantastic few months I have had.
It began when I entered Sony Pictures search for the Uk Karate kid. After 2 stressful weeks of People voting on my video on facebook Sony pictures chose me as the winner and I was allowed to attend the premier of the new karate kid film and meet Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan and Dizee Rascal .
I was given the full red carpet treatment.and I was given £5000 for my club which we used to attend the World Championships in Serbia.
On the 19th of September Team Great Britain travelled to Belgrade Serbia for the WAKO World Championships.
There were 50 countries in attendance who had sent their best 2 competitors from each cattagory to represent their country.
There were competitors from Madagascar, Usa, Uzbeckestan, South Africa and New Zealand to name a few.
I had a good idea that I would have my work cut out having already studied my US opposition on the internet.
I was competing in the under 12 and under 16 age divisions in both weapons and open hand hard style forms.
I have never been so nervous in my entire life and I let this show in my under 12 open hand form.I lost out by .1 to the USA.
I was determined not to let my nerves get the better of me in my under 12 weapons.I produced the best performance of my life to take gold. Standing on the podium and hearing the National Anthem and the words Jack Griffiths WAKO World Champion is something I will never forget.
I entered both under 16 events full of confidence and was really pleased to come away with silver in both events.
All the sacrifice and hard work I have put in over the last 4 years came down to 2 minutes of hard work.I would like to thank my parents and coaches for all the time, money and effort they have put in to help me achieve my goals.

Its been a long summer, ups and downs.....

National Championships
With a new venue up in Teeside and an unbeaten title to defend both myself and my club Team Viking were looking forward to the competition and the end of the domestic season. We progress through the early rounds, playing some great attacking polo, and looking to win the ball back at very chance. The final came around quickly and was to be against Meridian for the crown of National Champions. We started the game well, and as team had numerous chances to take the lead, having probably nearly 10 shots on goal without converting! The meridian keeper was having a stormer, and the goal posts seemed huge with the ball pinging off them far too many times! Then it all went wrong, Meridian Broke and scored, we were one down at half time. We pushed 5 in the second half, and a man was lost and we were 2-0 down, was it going to be one of those days?? As a team we still had belief and personally I was determined to make amends for taking so many unconverted shots in the first half! We scored our first and kept the pressure on, winning the ball back, I found myself in space received the ball and dummied before scoring! We were back level, with not long on the clock. We kept the attacking pressure on, and got a corner with 10seconds on the clock, the corner was taken and 3 passes down the line I was a speed running down the middle, I took the shot to score with 1 second left!! We had won! What a final, both to play in and for the spectators!

London International
The London International has been going from strength to strength over the years and this year was a highlight. With the world champs pending a number of national teams has chosen to play, alongside some of the best club teams in Europe, plus what can only be described as an international all-stars team on the play list meant for some exciting competition. I was playing for my Viking team and we collectively were looking forward to pitch ourselves against a few national sides and take some scalps! It was a great competition, as a club we made our way to the final beating Liblar and New Zealand along the way. Personally I felt I was playing well and as a team things were dropping into place. We were looking forward to a show down with the all-stars team, with national team players from the Netherlands, Italy and France. It was at first a close final with both teams having chances, but the all-stars came out on top with a win at the final whistle. Personally I felt I had played well, but was disappointed not to have made a bigger impact on the game. Something I wanted to rectify come the next competition, De paddle.

De Paddel
High on the success of London both myself and my club side Viking went into De Paddel with confidence, and I wanted to make a bigger impact on key games. We cruised through the first round, something we had struggled with in the past. Topping the group and in a good position to progress to the final. We came against the French U21 side who were playing well and beat them with a very strong performance. We then played Agen one of the top French club teams, and lost to them in a scrappy game with players loosing their heads and getting cards. However as we had won all our games to this point it meant we had another chance to progress to the final in a ladder system. But this meant beating the French national team. It was poised to be a tough game. After a tough 19 minutes the score was levelled at 1-1 and with 20 seconds remaining we pushed hard and I scored the winner with 7 seconds on the clock to take us to the final! We won the final against Agen comfortably in the end. It had been a tough weekend, but we all left very happy. We had been playing well as a team, with communication and understanding on the pitch being excellent. I was also very happy as I felt I was beginning to make an impact on games, one of my targets for the year. I also felt comfortable and at home in my boat, and felt it might just all be coming together…….. all this was very positive with the worlds coming up??

The World Championships, Milan
This was one of the best, if not the best major competition I have attended. It was well organised, had great weather, had good viewing for spectators of which large numbers came to watch, plus TV coverage on a major Italian TV channel. All this meant that there was a brilliant vibe around the competition. I was looking forward and confident, but was also a little nervous before the competition got started. Things got off to a good start, qualifying second in our first group, however due to a number of shock and strange results this meant we were in the aptly named group of death with the Dutch, Germans, Spanish, Switzerland and Belgium. The competition has defiantly raised its game in the men’s category, and again some shock results and a number of teams having draws meant the group was wide open. Unfortunately as a team after the early rounds where we felt we had played well but had more to deliver, and felt we had potential for better performances be couldn’t quite seem to find that edge, or click as a group meant we didn’t make it through to the semi finals. This seemed to be a problem for a number of nations, with the Dutch and Spanish also being knocked out!! Unlike the previous year at the Europeans where we played a tight defensive game (successfully to a bronze medal) this year we had opted to play a more attacking and expansive game, trying to win the ball back at every chance. We wanted to play, we felt we were a better team and wanted to play good free flowing canoe polo. Maybe this was a bad choice? Who knows? Food for thought? On a personal level, I wasn’t too disappointed with my performances, but I was disappointed as I felt I didn’t make an impact on games, one of my key aims for the year??!! Coming away from a week with such expectation and not fulfilling is a strange one…??? But after a few days I found myself back in the gym and in the boat as I have the European club champs, back with Viking and hoping to round off what has been a long season off on a positive note!!

Hello my name is Judy Browne and I play ice hockey. The teams I play for are Manchester Phoenix under 16s, Kingston Diamonds under 16s and also the national conference- North of England. This season I got selected to attend the school of excellence 2010 (which is a selection camp for the England team) , I also got chosen for a Great Britain training weekend away at Newcastle. I played a couple of conference matches against the South of England. Kingston Diamonds under16s won the girls league by beating the southern team at the top of the league (so we were national champions). I really enjoy playing ice hockey it is a great way to keep you healthy and is lots of fun, I have made lots of friends from all over the country whilst playing the sport. I would like to keep playing the sport for as long as possible. I am looking forward to this season which has just started.

Anya Takes the British Stock Ski Title

British Stock Ski Champion 2010.

Well since my last Blog to you I am now pleased to tell you that this weekend (Sept 5^th 2010) I have just taken the British Stock Ski Champion 2010 title. This is the first time I have ever raced in this class and never expected to take the title. The stock class means that the ski’s are more or less as they come from the manufacturer and you can make very little changes except to the handling.

I have had a fairly difficult year this year and in the other class I race - the Limited class (where you can make Limited mechanical changes) I suffered more than my fair share of unforeseeable mechanical problems including my hood catch breaking during the race filling my engine with water etc…..just really bad luck issues! However I still managed to pull off runner up in this class with two great wins in the final round. Next Year is another year!

I hope my luck changes to Good Luck for my next race which will be representing Great Britain in the World Finals held in Lake Havasu City, Arizona USA in October.

You can follow me on my website www.anyas.co.uk and click on the Photos Havasu Page.

I would like to take the time to Thank all of my Sponsors especially the sponsors of the Derbyshire Talented Athletes Fund for their help because without the help of them and my parents I wouldn’t be where I am. Thank you.

The road to the World Championships

This year has seen a few highs and lows to the season but I am definitely back on a high heading to World Championships in Milan.

The team flys out to the World Championships on 30th August for two days of training and scrutineering before the whistle blows on 1st September for our first game. Great Britain go into the competition as the team to beat, as current holders of the World Gold, World Games Gold and European Gold medals so there is a lot of pressure on the team to perform.

I made a positive start to the season, being picked for the A team in GB's first training tournament in Essen, Germany, in May. The team was a little disjointed at times, and we struggled against Italy, a team that we have previously beaten comfortably, showing that there were obvious areas that needed work. However, we pulled together and beat France in the final to become winners at the tournament.

My performance then plateaued over the following few training weekends and I was put into the B team for Mechelen, another training tournament in Belgium in June. I went out to the tournament feeling positive and knowing that I had to put everything into the weekend as selection for the Worlds took place after the final on the Sunday. The tournament was frustrating at times but I ensured that I incorporated all the areas my coach told me to work on into the game as best as I could. For some reason I tend to pass the ball rather than shoot but my coach wanted me to work on this area so I made sure I scored some good goals.

On reflection I had a good weekend and felt I couldn't give anymore, however, selection was very disappointing. The team was announced, but there were only six definite players selected and we were told there were only seven players going, rather than eight as there usually is. I was chosen as one of the other two for selection for the final place which would happen at a training weekend two weeks later.

I felt so demorolised as I felt that I was taking one step forwards and three backwards but had to focus on the points I needed to show at the training weekend if I was to secure the final place. Over the next few weeks I concentrated on my shooting and went to the training weekend with a slightly selfish view that I would shoot rather than passing the ball to prove that I had worked on it.

Fortunately, I managed to perform as the coach wanted me to at the training weekend and was chosen as the seventh player for the World Championships.

Since the final selection has taken place, the team has attended the Welsh Open and London International tournament as more training tournaments. The whole team performed very well and there was some excellent individual skill at the Welsh Open which secured a place in the Div 1 final, against, Dragon, a mid-placed Div 1 team. Unfortunately, Dragon had the home crowd and strength on their side and we lost in a hard-fought game.

Last weekend was our last training tournament at the London International. Due to unavailability and illness there were only five of us at the tournament. I think everyone was a little concerned about this on the Friday night when we arrived, but we managed to pull it out the bag and finish top of our group on Saturday evening. The team of five worked very well together all weekend and finished fourth overall.

There are positive vibes from our training tournaments together heading for the Worlds, there are little areas of the game that have sharpened up and errors ironed out but nerves are creeping in the closer it gets. I know as soon as the whistle blows for our first game there will be no evidence of any nerves and I will be fully focussed on the task in hand - winning a gold medal.

Claire