Netball

The season began with the usual Spring Term conditions of cold wet weather. The first fixture was against a much-improved Giggleswick for both first and second teams, and it was played in the pouring rain and freezing cold. Although the 1st VII won eventually it was with a low score of 8-4 and at half-time there had only been four goals scored. The players were rather muddled, particularly in defence, and although the shooters worked well together they lacked accuracy. Four of the team had gained colours the previous year although Danielle Powley moved from defence to centre. The second team had an excellent start to their season winning 20-3. Five of the team had played together previously which helped the spacing ;ind the shooters were very consistent. Nicola Orwell, lew to the school, played the first fixture with the second team but moved to the 1st VII for the rest of the season, where she proved to be an able goal shooter.

By the beginning of February the first and second teams were settled and the only changes were due to occasional illness. As I've come to expect the players, in general, but particularly those in the 1st VII played with enthusiasm and commitment and often turned out when not feeling 100%. The local Vlth form college usually offer the strongest opposition but we had an excellent win of 40-24 on this occasion. Fiona Buchan, also new to the Vlth foim, played goalkeeper and her height was definitely needed in the defending circle, as overall the team lacked inches! However, they compensated for this by quicldy realising they had to be in front of the opposition and generally threw few overhead passes. Rachel Owen-Barnett and Danielle, in particular, were excellent at intercepting passes and Katy Pittman and Claire Lawson made good use of available space. Nicky and Rowena Smith played well together as shooters and were consistently accurate. As both are in the L.VIth they will be able to continue this partnership next year.

The season for both the first and second teams continual to be very successful with both teams unbeaten. The 1st VII had further notable wins against a 2nd VII from the College of Ripon & York St. John who expressed surprise at their standard of play. They also played Scarborough Vlth Form College for the first time and the game was much closer than the 24-13 score suggests. Worksop College is another school that usually offer strong opposition but the 34-18 score showed the high standard of netball played. Despite the lack of height, particularly important for circle court players, the team played consistently well all season, and were a pleasure to coach My thanks to all but particularly Katy, who as captain did an excellent job, helped of course by the high morale of the team; much easier to achieve when winning.

The following girls represented the 1st VII:

•Nicola Orwell, *Rowena Smith, **Katy Pittman, •Danielle Powley, **Rachel Owen-Barnett, *Claire Lawson, *Fiona Buchan, Jodieanne Littleboy, Helen Atkinson.

** denotes re-award of Colours. * denotes Colours.

Results:

v Giggleswick v York Vlth Form College v Durham v Huntington v York Vith Form College v College of Ripon & York

St. John v Woodhouse Grove v Scarborough Vlth Form College v Mount St. Mary's v Bootham v Worksop v Scarborough College v Hymers Won Won Won Won Won

Won Won Won Won Won Won Won Won

8 - 4 40—24 2 2 - 11 17-11 27—21

3 0 - 20 3 1 - 20 2 4 - 13 29—14 24—10 3 4 - 18 1 6- 7 22— 6

2nd VII

The 2nd VII were probably the strongest team to have represented the school and in otiier years some of them would have gained first team colours. As six of them had previously represented the school at both U. 14 and U. 15 level they started the season with an advantage. They played and beat first teams from Ackworth, Pocklington and Queen Margaret's and convincingly beat York Vlth Form College. (They did lose on the re-play but against a team which included two past pupils, one of whom was a county shooter, so we don't count that!)

3rd Vn

The 3rd VII had some fixtures which were much enjoyed by some! It gave the opportunity for others to play on five occasions, winning four of the matches.

The following girls represented the 2nd and 3rd VII:

Jodieanne Littleboy, Louise Hudson, Mauricia Hart, Helen Atkinson, Lorna Read, Olivia Anderson, Rachel Malster, Nicola Orwell, Amy Newby, Clare Neale, Sarah Richardson, Charlotte Brassington, Caroline Barton, Katy Ramskill, Emma Sherbourne, Alexie Zimmermann, Katrina Rayner, Karen Blythe, Gemma Walker, Philippa Bennett, Sarah Wright, Alba-Luz Buckle.

Results — 2nd VII: v Giggleswick v Ackworth (lsts) v York Vlth Form College v Durham v Huntington v York Vlth Form College v Pocklington (lsts) v Queen Margaret's (lsts) v Woodhouse Grove v Mount St. Mary's v Bootham v Worksop v Scarborough College v Hymers Won Won Won Won Won Lost Won Won Drawn Won Won Won Won Won 202435169271435142218182426- 3 -10 -17 - 0 - 9 -33 - 3 -21 -14 -12 - 7 -12 -19 -23

3rd VII:

v Queen Mary's v Pocklington (2nds) v Mount St. Mary's v Hymers Lost Won Won Won

1 1 - 14 8 - 2 1 2- 4 1 3 - 10 W. M. Newton

Senior Inter-House Netball

The Senior Competition was open to Vth and Vlth year and all Houses managed to raise a team although some individuals had made few appearances on a netball court! There were two sections in the competition with the winners of 'A' playing the runners-up of 'B' for the semifinal. School beat The Rise and Temple beat Dronfield, both with convincing scores. The final was well contested although played in a friendly manner with Temple the eventual winners, School second, Dronfield third and The Rise fourth.

W. M. Newton

U.15 VII

After losing their first match to Woodhouse Grove in the Autumn Term (our hockey term), the U. 15's resolved not to lose another match all season.

The U.15's strength was their team spirit, and their awareness of one another's strengths and weaknesses. Early in the season Natalie Lane was brought into the team as goal defence, which gave us strength, speed, and height in the defending circle. Apart from her addition to the team, no other changes were made all season.

The resolve of the U.15's to win all their matches certainly seemed to give them a purpose to the season, and indeed they went from strength to strength with each match. They played their most outstanding game against our old rivals, Queen Margaret's, towards the end of the season. It was a very evenly matched game with both teams tentatively working the ball into their shooters, who were scoring from every centre pass; some lovely goals from Gemma Croft and Becky Fisher! With two minutes remaining, the score was 28-28 and both teams were visibly tiring. However, the U. 15's were determined not to lose after an hour of evenly matched play, and indeed they managed to gain play from Queen Margaret's centre pass, resulting in a 30-29 victory for St. Peter's.

The last match of. the season was against Worksop, and I think the team could be accused of complacency after their victory over Queen Margaret's. Worksop as usual fielded a very strong team (girls seem to grow taller in Worksop!!), and their height advantage in all areas of the court overwhelmed us. Even Gemma Croft, our tallest player, struggled against the height of their goalkeeper. However, the U.15's played hard, marked well, and intercepted wherever possible, but they were eventually beaten 19-12. For them, this was a disappointing end to a very successful season.

The following girls represented the U.15 'A' team:

G. Croft, R. Fisher, L. Richardson, P. Bhat, V. Hales, N. Lane, A. Calvert, Z. Wight, R. Metcalfe.

Results:

v Woodhouse Grove v York College v Giggleswick v Ackworth v Hymers (Mixed 'A' and 'B' team) v Queen Ethelburga's (Mixed 'A' and 'B' team) v The Mount v Pocklington v Queen Margaret's v Woodhouse Grove

2nd VII v Mount St. Mary's v Worksop (H) Lost 8 - 13 (A) Won 2 3 - 12 (H) Won 1 1 - 7 (H) Won 2 6 - 12 CANCELLED (SNOW)

(A)

(H) (H) (H) (A)

(H) (H) Won

Won Won Won Won

23— 4

17-15 21— 8 3 0 - 29 15—11

Won 2 0 - 11 Lost 12—19

U.15 ' B'

The U. 15 'B' team played two matches on their own, and were mixed with 'A' team players for another two. They were an enthusiastic team who enjoved the opportunity of playing netball competitively. They were a lovely, cheerful team, who had lots of team spirit, and always encouraged one another. They beat Pocklington 21-8 and lost to Queen Margaret's 11-26.

The following girls represented the U.15 'B' team:

R. Lewis, K. Matthews, G. Dodgson, C. Scott, A. Long, N. Mistry, Z. Wight, R. Metcalfe, R. Taylor, C. Mee. D. M. Westgate

Under 14

The Under 14 team have won eight, lost four and drawn one match, but they finished the Spring Teim very strongly showing promise for next year. Though the Autumn Term is mainly devoted to hockey there were a few fixtures to keep them 'ticking over', with some encouraging results. They started well with a good win against Woodhouse Grove, then despite losing by one goal played a well-contested game against Manor. In defence Rebecca Fishley's height and Charlotte Brisby's leap(!) were a great advantage, and individually all team members were playing well. However, the discipline of knowing which pass to go for and putting this into practice only came at the end of the season. The first game of the Spring Term was abandoned at half-time because of inclement weather — driving rain and wind which caused the posts to fall over and the ball to have a mind of its own! However, after this there were wins against Ackworth and Pocklington and greater consistency began to come to the team. Hayley Oram and Suzanne Baines combined well in mid-court with Emma Taylor getting free for passes out of defence. There were five wins and only two losses in the Spring Term — Sara Chapman improved with each game as goal attack, always working hard and with great determination. Both Sara and Laura Hodsdon showed good consistency in shooting throughout the term.