By Olivia, Year 9 Young Leader

Congratulations to Powell’s A and Stratton for winning their High Five Netball tournaments on Monday 5 March 2018. Hosted at Cirencester Deer Park School by the PE Faculty, four local primary schools entered 7 teams in total. The teams were divided into two tournaments; the competition for the cup consisted of 4 teams from Powell’s and hoping for the plate were Stratton, Chesterton and Kemble primary schools. As the name 'High Five' would suggest, there were five people on each side as opposed to the normal seven and the games lasted twelve minutes each.

Young Leaders and Games Captains in Years 9 and Year 10 made the event possible by performing roles like refereeing, scoring and time keeping, as well as helping to set up and pack away the event. They also gave out awards to players who showed School Games qualities, such as resilience, determination and teamwork. These awards helped to make the students aware of the characteristics that should be shown in sporting events of all levels and gave them goals to work towards, which improved the quality of the gameplay. As the tournament went on, and the teamwork and knowledge of the rules improved, matches became more evenly balanced, changing to scores like 2-1 and even 0-0, requiring extra time to decide on the winner.

Due to snow and rain, one primary school could not attend and the tournament had to be moved inside. However, everyone adapted fantastically to the restrictions on space and the difference in the playing environment. There was a lot of respect amongst the players and towards the officials in the tournament, making it a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Thank you to the players, teachers and officials for making the event a pleasure!