14 teams from across Kent competed in the 8U Kent School Games Finals on 21st June at Canterbury High School.
Teams of 2 were split into 4 round robin boxes in Round 1. Dover were winners of the Australian Open box, East Kent Costal ‘A’ were winners of the Wimbledon box, Malling/Sevenoaks won the US Open box and Ashford ‘B’ won the French Open box.
Lots of tennis was played, each team playing in two pairs against the other teams in their box; each match lasted 7 minutes.
After a busy morning, everyone had a well deserved lunch break, relaxing on the field and practising their skills on the tennis court.
After lunch, Round 2 was played with the teams playing in 4 mini compass draws to decide the final standings. In draw 4, as we only had 2 teams, 1 match was played to decide 13th & 14th place. Medway beat Shepway in a closely fought match.
Gravesham won draw 3 gaining 9th place, with Canterbury in 10th, Dartford in 11th and Tonbridge finishing in 12th place.
Ashford ‘A’ beat East Kent Costal ‘B’ in a high scoring match to claim fifth place, East Kent Costal ‘B’, Tunbridge Wells and Thanet finished in 6th, 7th and 8th place respectively.
In draw 1, Ashford ‘B’ beat East Kent Costal ‘A’ to claim the bronze medal position of 3rd place. The final was contested between Malling/Sevenoaks and Dover, with Malling/Sevenoaks edging past Dover winning 32 points to 29.
A lot of fun was had by all and there was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day.
Thank you to all the Schools Games Organisers, teachers/parents and players for all your help, it was an enjoyable day and I look forward to the 2014 finals!
Siobhan Butler
Referee