Water Polo

This season opened at Roundhay, Leeds, where both first and second teams scored convincing victories. (8—i and 8+-1 respectively.) Only a handful of games were lost and this represented a very good start to the season.

The only defeat of the season came in the next fixture against Leeds Grammar School (1st VI home, znd VI away). It may have been that the contrast between this and the first match was too great so early in the season, but Leeds were undisputedly the better side on the day and many unforced errors by the 1st VI players threw chances away. Although many sets were fiercely contested (there were five tie-breaks played) the first team lost 61-1. The second team were a little more fortunate gaining a 41-41 draw in a match where six tie-breaks were played, five of which were won.

In the triangular match against Barnard Castle and Ashville, four matches were won and two halved to give the school a convincing 2+-i victory over each school. There was some very good steady play in this match in conditions which were far from ideal; Nicholas Adams was brought in to play for the first team and the scratch partnership between Graeme Thornberry and Nicholas Adams worked well.

A resounding 7-3 victory was scored by the 1st VI over a good Worksop side in another hard fought match, a victory being won over a strong wind as well as the opponents. The second team had an equally good victory winning 61 points to 2+.

In the next match against Bootham it was encouraging to see the introduction of another player, David Kean into the second team. He and Andrew Tuck won all their matches as did Tim Blackburn and Ian Cramb to help the side along to a commendable 8-1 victory. The first team had a narrower 51-31 win, Graeme Thornberry and Graham Cole retrieving a vital 2+ out of 3 points in their games.

Against Archbishop Holgate's (home) it was the first pair combination of Howard Bilton and Andrew Kershaw who held the team together, winning 21 of the 6 points gained by the team.

Much the same was true of the fixture against Scarborough where the first pair played a vital part in gaining victory; Ian Cramb who was introduced into the first team for this fixture played very well.

The increase in the number of girls in the School has been accompanied by a corresponding rise in interest in tennis, and a higher standard of play. This year much of the internal tennis played has been very competitive, and the girls team competed with some success in the York and District Team Tennis League. Those representing the School were : Claire Lockey, Miriam Smith, Sally Shuttleworth, Rachel Smith and Mandy Boorman.

In conclusion one can only say "sorry" to the many good players who did not get a chance to play team tennis this year. With five of the 1st VI players members from the MVI, one can, however, expect an array of new faces next season when the chances of success look equally good.

Many thanks to Mr. Lee and Mr. Hirst for their organisation of school tennis this term and to Mr. Taylor and Mr. Walls for their valuable help.

Regular first and second team players were as follows : 1st VI: Howard Bilton, Andrew Kershaw, Graeme Thornberry, Graham

Cole, Peter Burdass and John Ludley. 2nd VI : Nicolas Adams, Andrew Tuck, Ian Cramb, Timothy Blackburn,

Ian Wilson and Timothy Kaner.

Graham Cole.

A combination of skill and enthusiasm made possible a successful and enjoyable season. The senior team was fortunate in that it retained the majority of its experienced players from last season. A sound defence consisting of Duncan Fallow, Nick Adams and Cliff Irwin complemented another out- 126

standing season by Graeme Thornberry in goal. In mid-field the precise ball distribution of Mike Johnston and Ian Hindhaugh made possible prolific goal scoring on many occasions and allowed Andrew Kershaw favourable opportunities to show his potential in attack. The team owes its thanks to Marc Gee, Adam Brown, Kevin Clarkson and Mike Reed for their contributions.

Always a problem in the early part of the season, the lack of fitness and match practice made success at the Regional Club Championships at Ampleforth beyond the reach of a spirited performance. The team beat Dewsbury to earn a place in the semi-final against Halifax where it lost by a narrow margin. Later in the term the team was unlucky to hold to a draw by Rishworth, but then showed determination in an overwhelming defeat of Ampleforth.

Early in the summer term at the England Schools Regional Water Polo Championships, the team was undefeated but for the third consecutive year were runners-up, this time by goal difference alone. The team drew with Doncaster G.S. and Rishworth but recorded wins over Salendine Nook and Bradford G.S.

Some of the players are able to support York Water Polo Club with their Junior fixtures and from this a greater association will hopefully be built. Many thanks finally to the club's vociferous supporters and Mr. John Owen-Barnett for his often unacknowledged and unseen organisation and help. C. Irwin and M. J. Johnston.

FENCING

This year the Fencing Club has had mixed fortunes; while our Seniors have achieved an exceptionally good standard in competition, our numbers are still small. However, with fencing now on Tuesdays and Thursdays we hope a return to the "come and have a go" tradition of a few years back will bring more Juniors into the club.

The year started quietly, with all club members in various states of training for the new season. At half-term we were sorry to lose our coach, Mr. Norman Millar. In his five terms at the school he has done a lot for fencing, and we wish him well in the future. His departure left us to organize our own training until the Christmas break, but in early November came our first success when Jon Moore, Kit Bird, Steven Giddings and Martin Hall took the first four places in the Yorkshire U.18 Epée, with an Olavite, David Caulderhead, winning the U.i6.

At the start of the Easter term we were all delighted to welcome Mr. Anthony Power as school coach, especially those of us who had fenced with his father. An ex-British Foil Champion, Mr. Power stepped in at very short notice, and we are very grateful to him for this. As February came, and the season approached its peak, results went from good to better; Kit Bird and Jon Moore were second and fifth respectively in the Yorkshire Junior Epée, while in the Yorkshire Novice Foil Kit Bird was first with Martin Hall fourth. The club then went on to win the Yorkshire U.18 team Foil and Jon Moore, Kit Bird and Martin Hall all fenced for the York Senior team in several matches.

At Easter came the major event of our fencing calendar; the Public Schools Fencing Championships. A good overall performance put St. Peter's eighth out of the 35 schools competing, while on the individual side Martin Hall fenced excellently to come third in the Senior Foil. Chris Drury also did very well, reaching the semi-finals of both the U.16 foil and epee. Both Hall and Drury were subsequently awarded School Colours.

In the Summer term, with competitive fencing behind us, we nevertheless managed to keep busy. On the Scanner Appeal day the club challenged members of the public to mini-duals: some Peterites proved to have a natural (and 127