Sport

SPORT 2021 Loughburians Golf Society Review

By Dave Barnett (Class of 1977)

The start to the 2021 season was delayed due to yet another COVID lockdown but it eventually got underway at the beautiful Stanton on the Wolds course on a wet and windy day on 20 May with Jon Soars (Class of 1980) coming out on top with a highly creditable 38 Stableford points, followed by Dave Barnett in second spot with 34 points. The next event was the Quincentennial Trophy at Rothley Park Golf Club, where the longest drive was clearly won by John Stanion (Class of 1961) driving up from Essex to play at Rothley, the club he joined as assistant golf professional some 50 years ago! The winner of the Quincentennial Trophy, on a perfect July day, was Rothley member Tom Duckworth (Class of 1982) with 41 points and the leading Loughburian on the day, and winner of the Loughburian Salver, was Roger Inkley (Class of 1981) with 38 points. Our annual match against the Foundation Schools was played at Longcliffe on 21 September where six boys and two members of staff were narrowly defeated by a strong Loughburians team and so the Loughburians retained The Salver. One of the highlights of the season followed when our team of Simon Cockbill (Class of 1977) & Jon Soars, Achilleas Hatjiosif (Hatj) (Class of 1976) & Nick Chappell (Class of 1976) and Dave Barnett & Steve Foister (Class of 1978) eventually won The Old Pupils Golf Day at Luffenham Heath Golf Club on 24 September, running out clear winners by three Stableford points from Oakham in 2nd and Stamford 3rd. This was followed by the real highlight of the season when the Grafton Morrish team went to the Finals in Norfolk at the beginning of October. Despite being very narrowly knocked out of the main tournament in the first round by a very strong Sutton Valence team, they then recovered to show their true class by winning the plate completion (The Committee Bowl) by defeating Birkenhead in a closely contested final which they eventually won on the third extra hole! The Grafton Morrish Finals were then followed by a tight match against Nottinghamians at Hollinwell in early October where the Loughburians triumphed by two matches to one to retain the trophy played for each year. The season was rounded off with the Autumn Meeting at the outstanding Coxmoor Golf Club where Jon Soars equalled Richard Underwood’s (Class of 1988) feat from last year of winning both the Spring and Autumn meetings. Jon won with a score of 38 points pipping Chris Fountain (Class of 1975) into second place by one point! Congratulations Jon, on a terrific season of golf!

Loughburians’ Cricket 2021

The annual fixture for the Sam Yaxley (Class of 2004) trophy took on a diff erent format this year with two teams of Loughburians, augmented by School 1st XI players, selected to commemorate the lives of Naveen Suri (Class of 2004) and Charlie Wood (Class of 2018) both of whom were keen School cricketers and had died since the last game. Before the game, Charlie’s parents presented two benches in his memory.

Nav Suri’s XI batted first and got off to a blistering start. Joe Purvis (Class of 2010) batted just as he did at School with a 100 off 68 balls comprising six 6s and ten 4s and when he retired the score was 159. Fellow opener Dylan Church (Class of 2020) finished on 69 and Captain Anish Patel (Class of 2008) scored a quick 50 as they amassed 253-6 in their 40 overs.

This always looked as it would be more than enough but a spirited reply by Charlie Wood’s XI captained by Freddie Towne (Class of 2018), was led by James O’Kelly (Class of 2018) who scored a quick 50 and an excellent partnership by the Royle brothers, Charlie (Class of 2017) and George (Class of 2023) saw them end up on 230-7.

The annual match between the Loughburians and Elvaston C.C. in memory of Sam Yaxley had an explosive start and a dramatic end. Batting first, Elvaston scored 38 off the first two overs before being restricted to 230-7 off their 35 overs with Ed Collins (Class of 2008) taking three wickets. The total looked out of reach until a 74 run partnership between Andrew Wray (Class of 2004), 35 off 26 balls, and David Tew (Class of 2013), 83 off 72 balls, saw the prospect of an unlikely victory. Craig Ashcroft (Class of 2004), 30 off 24 balls, saw the OLs needing two off the last ball to win but could only score one leaving the match tied….and the last three scores all being 230-7.

Trying to get ‘equal’ teams is the challenge for both Captains in the match against Leicestershire Gentlemen. As if that is not enough of a challenge for Dharmist Bathia (Class of 2011) who runs this match for the Loughburians, a greater challenge is finding Loughburian bowlers. Thus forced to bat first on a damp wicket the Loughburians soon lost both openers and it was left to Aiden Morris (Class of 2011) and Johnathan Orchiston (Class of 2010) to both hit 50s to get the Loughburians to a respectable 209 off their 45 overs. However this was never going to be enough as Leicestershire Gents hit 80 without loss off the first ten overs, but a spirited fightback finally saw them to victory by just four wickets with three overs to go.

LOUGHBURIANS GALA DINNER

23 APRIL 2022

We are delighted to host the Loughburians Gala Dinner at Plaisterers’ Hall, London, on 23 April 2022 at 6.30pm. Originally planned for November 2020 to celebrate the 525 anniversary of Thomas Burton’s legacy, the Gala Dinner has been reimagined to appeal to all alumni across our family of four Foundation Schools.

If you haven’t attended one of our London events before, this could be the one for you. Partners are very welcome and we’re aiming to make this the largest alumni gathering in living memory. Come along to celebrate all that is great about our community, reconnect with old friends and hear about how you can get involved in the Schools today. Tickets: £90 each - Tables: £800 for a table of 10

Why not get together your year group or sports team to form a table? Book your tickets online now at Loughburians Live or by calling the Development Off ice on 01509 638920.

With special thanks to our friends at The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers, particularly Prof Hubert Lacey (Class of 1963) who was instrumental in securing this prestigious venue.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this edition of Beyond The Barrier –the magazine for all Loughburians.

You will have noticed that many of our articles have been contributed by various members of the LSF Community.

We would welcome any contact or contribution that you wish to make. Please contact the Development Off ice on 01509 638920 or alumni@lsf.org

Front Cover Photo

Skylar Smith and friend at the LSF Nursery