Newyddion
Welsh Schools Sportshall Athletics Final 2023
14/03/2023 00:00, I Mewn Blog /
The Welsh Schools Sportshall Athletics Final, one of the largest grassroots school fixtures in Wales, was staged at Cwmbran Stadium Sports Centre last Sunday.
The 2023 edition saw pupils in the under 13 (year 7 and 8) and under 15 (year 9 and 10) age groups compete, as it returned to the South East Wales-based facility for the first time in three years.
Afan Nedd Tawe, Cardiff & Vale, Dyfed, North West Wales and Powys were the Welsh districts represented over thirty-six indoor sportshall events altogether.
It provided young athletes of all abilities with a fun, safe and exciting introduction to competitive athletics. The Welsh final was the culmination of a series of regional qualifiers held across the school districts in recent months.
There was success for the Powys and North West Wales teams once again this year. It was Powys who claimed 3 out of the 4 team events - under 13 boys, under 15 girls and under 15 boys - with the latter coming out on top in the under 13 girls’ category, where only 12 points separated the top three.
The remaining silver and bronze medals were shared between all five districts, and certificates were awarded to each participant on the day.
There were close battles for the individual trophies, with the girls’ event being won by Darcey Williams (North West Wales) on 141 followed by Beatrice Morgan from Dyfed, who finished on 132 points. Six points further back were the trio of Daisy Whitticase (Powys), Ella Jones (Dyfed) and Tamzin Matthews (North West Wales).
Dyfed’s Aled Davies took the boys individual title with a tally of 137. Powys teammates Jamie Hawtin and Alex Orehawa both scored 134 points and as a result were tied for second. Archie Talbot was the third Powys scorer in fourth position (131).
The winning four teams will now progress and represent Wales at the UK Sportshall athletics final, which takes place in Stoke on Saturday 1st April. In addition, Williams and Davies will get the opportunity to contest the individual competition in Staffordshire, which runs alongside the team event in three weeks’ time.
Welsh Schools Athletic Association would like to thank all those who assisted with various duties on the day, including Welsh Athletics officials, volunteers from the districts and Cardiff Metropolitan students. Special thanks also go to Adam Burgess and his team at UK Sportshall, who delivered another successful final back in Cwmbran.
Attention now turns to the end-of-season SIAB Schools Cross Country International at Sefton Park in Liverpool later this month. Welsh Schools have selected a team of 40 athletes (junior and inter categories) to compete against the best runners from English Schools, Irish Schools and Scottish Schools in the North West of England.