Report from Julie Miller:
The National Schools Competition is run by ESR for any school that wants to enter. There are different age categories and all players in the team must fall into the correct age group (U19, U17, U15, U13). Some years (they often change the rules), you are allowed one member of the opposite gender in a team, providing they are not eligible to play in an all boys / girls team already entered from their school.
The teams compete in a regional group in the first half of the season and then qualify either for the main competition or plate competition in the second half. The second half draw becomes national and you play other schools from all over the country as a knock out until you reach the final 4 . The final 4 teams play off in semis and a final at a central venue in one day. This year it was held at Nottingham.
CVC entered an U17 Girls team (which included one boy):
Casey Miller
Ellis Miller
Aramelia Prothero
Harry Winter
Milly Banks
At the finals in Nottingham, the team played Wycombe High in the semi-final and won 5-0. Everyone won 3-0.
They then played Ackwith School from Pontefract in the final and won 3-2.
Millie Banks and Harry Winter both won their matches 3-0. (Millie won 11-0, 11-0, 11-0)
Aramelia then won 3-1 to seal the deal against Yorkshire’s Layla Johnson.
Casey played Yorkshire’s Amber Copley and lost 3-2, (12-10 in the 5th) and Ellis lost against Yorkshire and England’s Asia Harris 3-2, (11-9 in the 5th).
The girls teams have been working for 7 years to win this title. They have made it to plate finals in the past and 2 years ago came runners up in the National GU15 Finals. Winning the National Title after all this time was the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and perseverance.
A massive thankyou to Ben Banks for all the driving and support (for many years), enabling us all to travel together and make it to all of the fixtures and Rob Dadds for providing their CVC academy training.
