EPSCA U11 Championship

Final: 14th May 2005

Once again, a Sussex team boarded a coach for the North, this time on Friday the 13th, and this time ready to defend their title as U11 champions. The team gathered for the usual pep talk from Jonathan, and formed their usual orderly blue line in preparation for their first match.

After the first round, Sussex had scored 13 points from 20, and, with Wey Valley in front and Yorkshire and Richmond following, Sussex were amongst a group of teams battling it out for the following places. Another pep talk, another round and another 13 points (nothing if not consistent), Sussex were in joint 4th place, with Wey Valley 5 points ahead, but 2nd place Yorkshire only 1.5 points ahead of Sussex. The Sussex team realised that they needed a fantastic performance and, as last year, they put their heads down, with orders that draws were not acceptable (except on board 1!).

In the final round Sussex scored a magnificent 16 points, winning the round, and with no draws except on board 1, where Rhys drew with Yang Fan Zhou for the second time in this tournament. The score put us on equal points with Richmond, but with Sussex having taken only 4 draws in the entire competition, and Richmond on about 8 draws, Sussex stole 2nd place.

A special mention goes to the top 5 boards, Rhys Cumming, Alex Galliano, Ben Blundell, Joe Quinn and Oskar Schortz who only dropped 1 point across the three rounds, and were all undefeated, as was Charlie Keen (sorry to miss you out, Charlie!). Ian Hartland and Omar Mohamed also scored 3 points each, and George Galliano was undefeated on 2.5.

Zonal: 19th March 2005, Sidcup

The U11 team arrived in Sidcup on Saturday, needing to come in the top six places to qualify for the final, and with the memory of last years shock elimintation in the tournament still in their memories. The team, which included a number of U8 players managed to score 11 points in the first round, putting them in sixth place, but with a minimal points difference between places 3-6, and a good margin between them and the 7th placed teams on only 4 points. The second round saw a better result, moving us up to fifth, and leaving us with a slim chance of finishing within the top three.

In the final round, our performance was not quite as impressive as the second, and we were left waiting for a final result from Charlie Mills to determine our place in the tournament. Charlie pulled off an excellent draw, to leave us in equal third place with Hertfordshire, behind Wey Valley and Richmond. The dreaded tie break then took place, which always seems to fall the wrong way for Sussex - Herts took the third place medals, but the team have secured their rightful place in the final, and an opportunity to defend our U11 title. Also qualifying are Kent and Barnet. Suffolk , Croydon and Essex miss the cut.