New Stour & Avon, July 15, 2022 45
stouravonmagazine.co.uk
Sport
Under-14s are champions of the UK After retaining the ENG Southern Conference title, Poole entered into the grand finals in good form. The Dorset-based side would now meet the strongest teams in the country to determine who would be crowned National Champions. In the opening game of the major event, Poole were slow to find their stride against an unknown Chester NC, but once the nerves were out the way Poole settled in and took control of the quarter-final fixture which resulted in a 43-20 win.
This set Poole up nicely for the semi-final, where they would meet Middlesborough based netball club Grangetown. Grangetown presented Poole with a very tough challenge; early into the game the possession was fairly even, before they finally succumbed to the Dorset side just after half time. Poole were able to grind out a lead and then take it away. The game ended 34-19. In the national final Poole NC faced a very established Kingsway Power from Manchester.
Poole got off to a dream start, the girls were firing across all areas of the court - playing with confidence and determination. Kingsway Power struggled to break through the defensive pressure that a very relentless Poole applied throughout. Poole found the breathing space early on to take control of the game and win 25-13, which made the girls the official Number One U14 team in the country.
Giving the shirt off his back for fundraiser A football coach is set to undertake a walking marathon from Portsmouth FC to Southampton FC at the end of September in support of Prostate Cancer UK. Chris Berry, coach for Ringwood Town U9 Titans signed up for the challenge but with an additional twist. He said: “I hope to raise awareness by completing this challenge and raise funds for such as supportive charity. “If the challenge to walk 26 miles from stadium to stadium was not enough, I plan to change into a different football shirt after
walking each mile. “It would be great to have south coast teams
represented, Premier League to grassroots.’ Chris has had friends and
family donating or loaning shirts for this challenge, but he is still on the lookout for more. He added: “If anyone is looking to support through loaning a shirt for the challenge that would be great.” If anyone is able to assist through a shirt or sponsorship in support of Prostate Cancer UK, contact Chris via Twitter ‘26shirts26miles’ or via justgiving.com/ChrisBerry38 . For further information on Prostate Cancer UK, see www.prostatecanceruk. org
