PICTURES: Plymouth kids raise standards at school games indoor athletics finals

PLYMOUTH youngsters earned high praise for raising standards at the city's School Games Indoor Athletics Finals.

The Level 2 Sportshall showdown featured under-11 and under-13 athletes in the Plymouth School Sports Partnership event at UCP Marjon.

The day was divided into two sessions – the under-13s in the morning and under-11s in the afternoon.

There were eight Plymouth teams, both boys and girls, vying for the U13 title with each competitor taking part in events as varied as vertical jump, indoor shot and speed bounce in the field.

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On the track, not only did they run in individual events but also as part of a team in the fast and frantic obstacle relay.

Each race was run in traditional heats, thus making it doubly difficult to predict the overall scores.

Stoke Damerel Community College came out on top and will represent Plymouth in the Level 3 Games at the end of the month in Torbay.

Joining them are U13s runners-up Eggbuckland CC, Devonport High School and Ridgeway.

Stoke Damerel won with a massive points total of 454. Eggbuckland also excelled with 440, while the final medal went to DHS with 428.

Ridgeway took the final county place with a respectable 419.

The other competing schools in the boys' year 7/8 event were Lipson, Marine Academy Plymouth, Sir John Hunt and Hele's.

Sir John Hunt netted 172 points and were fifth, Lipson (153) were sixth, MAP (148) seventh and Hele's (123) eighth.

The afternoon's U11 session proved to be an entirely different ball game as the 10 primary teams taking part had already competed in their local family festivals and had now come together to become Plymouth champions.

The teams fielded up to 18 athletes and competed across a range of events, in addition to other disciplines such as soft javelin and vertical jump in the field.

On the track many competed in the relay for the first time.

Such was the talent on show the lead changed hands several times throughout the competition.

However, as the final relay results rolled in it was clear one team had pulled ahead of the rest and would be taking the triple prize of a gold medal, trophy and a place in the county round.

That team was Hyde Park juniors, whose hard work in training was rewarded with first place, followed by Old Priory in second and Elburton in the final medal position.

Widewell took the final county position and will join the other three primary school teams, also in Torbay, at the beginning of March.

The other schools taking part were Austin Farm, Beechwood, College Road, Ernesettle, Lipson Vale and Montpelier.

Lance Chatfield, Plymouth SSP School and Community Sports Manager, and Plymouth and West Devon Schools AA chairman and treasurer, had nothing but praise for the competitors and everyone concerned.

Chatfield said: "Well done to all who took part and a big thank you to the support of the UCP Marjon students, local officials and of course the Plymouth SSP staff involved."