The Tyne & Wear Handball School Games County Finals on Thursday 9th March saw Sunderland schools Biddick Academy and Oxclose Community Academy take the Under-15 girls and boys honours respectively, with South Tyneside’s St. Wilfrids RC College winning the U13 girls competition and North Tyneside’s Churchill Community College the U13 boys champions.
Hosted by Tyne & Wear Sport in partnership with Newcastle Vikings Handball Club and Sunderland Handball Club, 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 from schools representing each of the five Tyne & Wear districts taking part in an action-packed day, thoroughly enjoyed by all the schoolchildren who took part.
South Shields’ St. Wilfrids RC College U13s impressively went unbeaten in the morning’s girls competition while only conceding a single goal, opening with a big win over Wallsend’s Churchill Community College (6-0) before defeating Gateshead’s Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (2-0), Newcastle’s Gosforth Central Middle School (2-0) and Sunderland’s Kepier School (5-1). Meanwhile, in the U15s tournament Washington’s Biddick Academy girls just snatched the title on goal difference from Gosforth Academy in their final game, beating Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (4-1), drawing with Gosforth Academy (2-2) and St. Wilfrids RC College (2-2), before defeating Churchill Community College (4-1) in the crucial decider.
In the afternoon’s boys competitions Churchill Community College took the U13 title for North Tyneside, drawing with Gosforth Central Middle School (0-0) and Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (1-1) before defeating Oxclose Community Academy (3-0) and St. Wilfrids RC College (2-1). Sunderland’s Oxclose Community Academy’s boys were meanwhile victorious in the U15s, dominant in only conceding one goal while picking up three good wins over Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy (4-1), St. Wilfrids RC College (1-0) and Churchill Community College (4-0), with only Gosforth Academy holding them to a draw (0-0).
The top three sides in each competition were presented with their gold, silver and bronze medals by Tyne & Wear Sport’s School Games Co-ordinator Claire Lee. The winning teams will have the opportunity to progress to the regional and then national county handball championships.
Meanwhile, the best players scouted from the area’s schools over the past season will be taking part in the third round of the Tyne & Wear county handball trials at Temple Park Leisure Centre on Saturday 18 March 2017 (10am-12noon). The trials will be followed by a Newcastle Vikings juniors’ match and the Vikings ladies’ friendly match against Edinburgh (1:30-3pm). Spectator entry for the day is free to watch all the action.
Tyne & Wear Sport, Newcastle Vikings Handball Club and Sunderland Handball Club would like to thank all the schools and children who took part in a great fun day. For any boys and girls wishing to play handball some more, Newcastle Vikings hold junior training sessions for girls and boys 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:
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 0-0 | Churchill Community College |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 0-2 | Gosforth Academy |
| Biddick Academy | 5-1 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Churchill Community College | 0-1 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Gosforth Academy | 2-2 | Biddick Academy |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 0-2 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Churchill Community College | 2-2 | Gosforth Academy |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 2-2 | Biddick Academy |
| Gosforth Academy | 5-2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Biddick Academy | 4-1 | Churchill Community College |
U15 Girls:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Biddick Academy | 10 | +7 |
| 2 | Gosforth Academy | 10 | +5 |
| 3 | St. Wilfrids RC College | 9 | +1 |
| 4 | Churchill Community College | 6 | -4 |
| 5 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 5 | -9 |
U13 Girls Results:
Churchill Community College
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 6-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 3-1 | Gosforth Central Middle School |
| Churchill Community College | 0-1 | Kepier School |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 0-2 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Gosforth Central Middle School | 2-2 | Kepier School |
| Churchill Community College | 0-0 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 2-0 | Gosforth Central Middle School |
| Kepier School | 1-3 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Gosforth Central Middle School | 1-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Kepier School | 1-5 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
U13 Girls:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | St. Wilfrids RC College | 12 | +14 |
| 2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 10 | +3 |
| 3 | Gosforth Central Middle School | 7 | -3 |
| 4 | Kepier School | 7 | -5 |
| 5 | Churchill Community College | 4 | -9 |
U15 Boys Results:
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 5-1 | Churchill Community College |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 0-1 | Gosforth Academy |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 4-1 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Churchill Community College | 0-5 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Gosforth Academy | 0-0 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 1-2 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Churchill Community College | 0-0 | Gosforth Academy |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 0-1 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Gosforth Academy | 3-1 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 4-0 | Churchill Community College |
U15 Boys:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Oxclose Community Academy | 11 | +8 |
| 2 | Gosforth Academy | 10 | +3 |
| 3 | St. Wilfrid’s RC College | 8 | +4 |
| 4 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 6 | -2 |
| 5 | Churchill Community College | 5 | -13 |
U13 Boys Results:
| Oxclose Community Academy | 3-3 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Gosforth Central Middle School | 0-0 | Churchill Community College |
| Oxclose Community Academy | 0-3 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 3-1 | Gosforth Central Middle School |
| Churchill Community College | 1-1 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy |
| Gosforth Central Middle School | 1-2 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 2-3 | St. Wilfrids RC College |
| Churchill Community College | 3-0 | Oxclose Community Academy |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 2-0 | Gosforth Central Middle School |
| St. Wilfrids RC College | 1-2 | Churchill Community College |
U13 Boys:
| Position | School | Points | Goal Difference |
| 1 | Churchill Community College | 10 | +4 |
| 2 | Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 9 | +4 |
| 3 | St. Wilfrids RC College | 9 | +2 |
| 4 | Oxclose Community Academy | 7 | -5 |
| 5 | Gosforth Central Middle School | 5 | -5 |
