The first Tyne & Wear Handball Schools Festival on Friday 9 December proved a huge success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all the schoolchildren who took part.
Hosted by Newcastle Vikings Handball Club in association with Marlen’s Handball Coaching, and funded through Tyne & Wear Sport’s satellite club grant award, the tournament at the Vikings’ home match venue Temple Park Leisure Centre in South Shields saw over 150 Under-15 and Under-13 girls and boys teams taking part in an action-packed day.
Mortimer Community College and St. Wilfrids RC College made it a victorious double for South Shields schools in the morning’s girls competitions. Mortimer won all three of their matches over Walbottle Campus (2-1), Whitley Bay High School (4-1), and Churchill Community College (3-1) to take the U15s title, while in the U13s St. Wilfrids’ girls beat Mortimer (2-1), Oxclose Community Academy (2-0) and Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (4-0) before drawing with Churchill (0-0).
In the afternoon’s boys competitions both Newcastle’s Walbottle Campus 1 U15s and Gateshead’s Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy U13s also went undefeated. Walbottle’s U15 first team defeated Churchill Community College (5-0), their schoolmates Walbottle Campus 2 (3-1) and Whitley Bay High School (3-2), before sealing victory in a last match decider against Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (3-2). Lord Lawson nevertheless took the U13 title in impressive style without conceding a goal in beating Walbottle (3-0), Mortimer Community College (5-0), Churchill (3-0) and Oxclose Community Academy (2-0).
The winning teams were each presented with an England Handball Association bag of a dozen handballs, while the best players from each of the competitions – Mortimer’s Charlie and Alice for the U15 and U13 girls, and Whitley Bay’s Dale and Churchill’s Stagos for the U15 and U13 boys – each received a Newcastle Vikings Handball Club t-shirt. All the children who took part also received a Newcastle Vikings Handball Club wristband.
Scouting of the best talent from the U15s competitions also saw some 20 girls and 20 boys selected to take part in next month’s Tyne & Wear county handball trials. The first round of trials will take place at Temple Park Leisure Centre on Saturday 14 January 2017 (10am-12noon), ahead of the Newcastle Vikings ladies’ home league match against Merseyside club Peninsula and the second round of the North East men’s and women’s friendly league competitions between Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and York. Spectator entry for the day is free to watch all the action.
Newcastle Vikings Handball Club would like to thank all the schools and children who took part in a great fun day. Anyone wishing to join the club to learn to play handball some more, the Vikings’ junior training sessions take place on Monday evenings 7:30-8:30pm at Temple Park Leisure Centre in South Shields and on Wednesday evenings 7-8pm at Hedleys Sport in Killingworth – see www.newcastlehandball.co.uk for more details.
U15 Girls Results:
| Churchill Community College | 3-4 | Whitley Bay High School |
| Mortimer Community College | 2-1 | Walbottle Campus |
| Whitley Bay High School | 1-4 | Mortimer Community College |
| Churchill Community College | 1-3 | Mortimer Community College |
| Whitley Bay High School | 5-4 | Walbottle Campus |
| Walbottle Campus | 4-2 | Churchill Community College |
U15 Girls:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Mortimer Community College | 9 | +6 |
| 2 | Whitley Bay High School | 7 | -1 |
| 3 | Walbottle Campus | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Churchill Community College | 3 | -5 |
U13 Girls Results:
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 2-1 | Mortimer Community College |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 1-1 | Churchill Community College |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 0-2 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Mortimer Community College | 1-0 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Churchill Community College | 0-1 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 0-4 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Churchill Community College | 1-3 | Mortimer Community College |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 3-2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Mortimer Community College | 0-2 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 0-0 | Churchill Community College |
U13 Girls:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | St. Wilfrids RC College | 11 | +7 |
| 2 | Oxclose Community Academy | 10 | +2 |
| 3 | Mortimer Community College | 8 | 0 |
| 4 | Churchill Community College | 6 | -3 |
| 5 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 5 | -6 |
U15 Boys Results:
| Churchill Community College | 0-5 | Walbottle Campus 1 |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 6-3 | Whitley Bay High School |
| Walbottle Campus 2 | 1-2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Whitley Bay High School | 3-3 | Churchill Community College |
| Walbottle Campus 1 | 3-1 | Walbottle Campus 2 |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 2-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Whitley Bay High School | 2-3 | Walbottle Campus 1 |
| Churchill Community College | 2-1 | Walbottle Campus 2 |
| Walbottle Campus 1 | 3-2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Walbottle Campus 2 | 2-4 | Whitley Bay High School |
U15 Boys:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Walbottle Campus 1 | 12 | +9 |
| 2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 10 | +5 |
| 3 | Whitley Bay High School | 7 | -2 |
| 4 | Churchill Community College | 7 | -6 |
| 5 | Walbottle Campus 2 | 4 | -6 |
U13 Boys Results:
| Churchill Community College | 1-0 | Mortimer Community College |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 3-0 | Walbottle Campus |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 0-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Mortimer Community College | 0-5 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Walbottle Campus | 0-3 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Churchill Community College | 0-3 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Mortimer Community College | 5-0 | Walbottle Campus |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 2-0 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Walbottle Campus | 7-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 0-1 | Mortimer Community College |
U13 Boys:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 12 | +13 |
| 2 | Mortimer Community College | 8 | 0 |
| 3 | Oxclose Community Academy | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Churchill Community College | 7 | -9 |
| 5 | Walbottle Campus | 6 | -4 |
