Yesterday’s Tyne & Wear Handball School Games saw 20 teams of girls and boys from nine schools representing each of the five Tyne & Wear districts competing for county handball honours at the Temple Park Leisure Centre in South Shields.
Organised by Tyne & Wear Sport in partnership with Newcastle Vikings Handball Club, with additional support this year from Tyne Metropolitan College’s North East Sports Academy, the county’s annual schools handball competition is now in its third year. The winning schools all go through to the North East regional finals at Temple Park on 9th May, with the opportunity to then represent the region in the England Handball Association’s national schools handball finals. The school children were also looking to shine and be scouted ahead of the county handball trials on 23rd March, with the opportunity to be selected to represent the county’s junior handball teams for next season.
Playing a series of quick-fire 7-minute round-robin matches, the under-15 and under-13 girls were first to take to the courts in the morning. Sunderland’s Oxclose Community Academy narrowly won the U15 competition on goals scored and goal-difference after both they and South Tyneside’s St. Wilfrid’s RC College went unbeaten, winning three and drawing one of their games and only conceding one goal each. John Spence Community High School from North Tyneside picked up the bronze medals.
North Tyneside’s Wellfield Middle School impressively won all of their matches in the U13 girls competition to clearly win gold, only conceding two goals in their final game against Benfield High School. Gateshead’s Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy were runner’s up ahead of third-placed St. Wilfrid’s RC College.
The afternoon’s boys competitions saw North Tyneside’s Churchill Community College take the U15 gold medals after coming back from an early defeat to win their other three matches. The day’s top-scoring team Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy took silver on goals scored and goal difference from Newcastle’s Walbottle Campus.
Meanwhile, Oxclose Community Academy went unbeaten in winning the U13 boys contest, ahead of Wellfield Middle School and St. Wilfrid’s RC College.
Newcastle Vikings Handball Club would like to thank all the children and teachers who took part and also the volunteers who helped to run the event. And of course congratulations to all the winning schools and the players who took home their gold, silver and bronze Schools Games medals!
Under-15 Girls:
| Lord Lawson | 0-1 | John Spence |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 6-0 | Benfield |
| Oxclose | 4-0 | Lord Lawson |
| John Spence | 0-1 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Benfield | 0-4 | Oxclose |
| Lord Lawson | 1-3 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| John Spence | 5-0 | Benfield |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 0-0 | Oxclose |
| Benfield | 0-2 | Lord Lawson |
| Oxclose | 3-1 | John Spence |
Under-13 Girls:
| St. Wilfrid’s | 0-1 | Wellfield |
| Lord Lawson | 2-1 | Benfield |
| Wellfield | 4-0 | Oxclose |
| Lord Lawson | 2-1 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Benfield | 0-0 | Oxclose |
| Wellfield | 3-0 | Lord Lawson |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 0-0 | Benfield |
| Oxclose | 0-2 | Lord Lawson |
| Benfield | 2-3 | Wellfield |
| Oxclose | 1-5 | St. Wilfrid’s |
Under-15 Boys:
| Lord Lawson | 4-0 | Churchill |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 2-4 | Walbottle |
| Castle View | 1-4 | Lord Lawson |
| Churchill | 2-1 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Walbottle | 3-1 | Castle View |
| Lord Lawson | 2-3 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Churchill | 2-0 | Walbottle |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 3-2 | Castle View |
| Walbottle | 2-2 | Lord Lawson |
| Castle View | 1-3 | Churchill |
Under-13 Boys:
| Oxclose | 2-1 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Benfield | 0-0 | Wellfield |
| Oxclose | 2-0 | Lord Lawson |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 3-1 | Benfield |
| Wellfield | 0-0 | Lord Lawson |
| Benfield | 1-3 | Oxclose |
| Lord Lawson | 0-2 | St. Wilfrid’s |
| Wellfield | 1-1 | Oxclose |
| Lord Lawson | 6-1 | Benfield |
| St. Wilfrid’s | 1-2 | Wellfield |