Summer School Games July 2015
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On 8th July 2015, The Priory Ruskin Academy fielded 2 teams for the Annual Summer School Games; a Boccia team and an U15 Volleyball team.
Boccia
The boys had practiced relentlessly during PE lessons, lunch times and at home in preparation for this tournament. In the morning they were understandably nervous and excited. Our first bit of bad luck came with the announcement that we were no longer going to be playing a round robin tournament, instead we would be put into 2 pools and progress from there. This didn't help as the boys usually take a few games to warm up properly. The nerves kicked in especially when it was called out that our first game would be against St George's A Team (current County champs!). There were some excellent rolls and throws placed by the boys and we managed to win an end off, however the result went on total points scored rather than ends won and we lost the match 1-5. Our second game was against St Christopher's, another fantastic team in which we lost 1-4. This result meant we were entered into the playoffs for 5th or 6th position. Incredibly unfair as we had beaten 2 teams in the other pool in the previous School Games. The boys remained in high spirits and were determined to win this match, which they did, beating Banovallum 2-1.
A fantastic end to the tournament and a very respectable 5th place position.
Team: Liam Atkinson (C), Kyle Morton, Peter Merryweather and Angus Brown
Player of the Tournament: Peter Merryweather
Volleyball
This tournament wasn't dependent on how many games were won, rather the overall points accumulated over each game. With this in mind, the boys were determined to come home with a bronze, silver or gold. There were many talented teams present - namely Carre's Grammar and King Edward's Grammar but the team kept calm throughout. The boys always had the task of scoring as many points as possible at the back of their minds whilst they played and they seemed to perform well under this constant pressure. This was never more evident than in the last game where it was calculated that we needed at least 50 points to win the tournament (Carre's were ahead at this point by 20 points!). In the dying seconds, we served 5 aces which gave us a total of 54 points! Overall, the boys played phenomenally well and there were stunning blocks, smashes and 3 touch play. I was incredibly proud of their teamwork and how they constantly encouraged each other, moving on from any mistakes made and celebrating skilful play. When we were seated and waiting for the results, we were sure that we had won a medal, but unsure which it would be as we didn't know the score from Carre's games. When the results were announced in reverse order, the tension was building until Carre's were given 2nd place which meant The Priory Ruskin Academy came 1st (officially U15 County Champions) and were the overall tournament winners! A well deserved victory especially considering it was a Yr10 tournament and our boys are all in Yr9. I'm sure they will be back next year to defend their title! Well done boys!
Results:
PRA 27 vs Giles Academy 29
PRA 32 vs Carre's Grammar 23
PRA 45 vs Bourne Grammar 13
PRA 27 vs King Edward's Grammar 21
PRA 54 vs Skegness Grammar 13
Team: Kacper Rutka (C), Praise Olalere, Sean Nel, Marcel Ludew, Janis Kalva and Ben Bailey
Player of the Tournament: Kacper Rutka