Over the winter, BRAT juniors have been taking part in the Birmingham Sportshall League with a chance to compete against other clubs in the Birmingham region. Sportshall offers the opportunity to compete in a range of different indoor track and field events, with many of our juniors competing for the club for the first time. Following on from our attendance in the league matches, we were delighted to have 12 BRAT athletes selected to represent Team Birmingham at the regional final on Sunday 3rd March.
The regional final brings together four teams from across the wider West Midlands region – Birmingham, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Shropshire and Warwickshire – and it is a huge achievement for so many of our athletes to be selected for the county team.
The morning session saw the Under 11 finals and BRAT had representation in both the boys and girls teams with Elliot Jones, Darcy McDaid and Jaya Bathgate selected for the squads.
There was lots of action and fantastic performances all round, some highlights including:
- A huge leap (and first place) of 6.25m in the standing triple jump for Elliot.
- A BRAT double pairing with Jaya and Darcy together in the 2×1 lap relay.
- An impressive speedbounce first place for Elliot.
From watching the events it was clear it was going to be a close finish and it was to a huge cheer that Team Birmingham were confirmed Under 11 winners in BOTH the boys and girls events, beating last year’s winners, Warwickshire, to the title by just 12 and 4 points respectively! Huge congratulations to both teams for the win!
In the afternoon it was the turn of the Under 13 and Under 15 teams…
The atmosphere was fun & friendly and the competition fierce. Four teams went head to head, representing Warwickshire, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcestershire and Birmingham and spent the afternoon competing for a place in the National Finals in April. With a strong Brat contingent it was refreshing to witness the previous rival Birmingham clubs join together as one, in Team Birmingham, pulling together, making new friends and enjoying the afternoon’s competition. Team Birmingham were quick to dominate the track events winning the first string of races, giving confident performances with the support of spectators on the benches. Each and every young athlete put in maximum effort and did themselves and their team proud and Team Birmingham were rewarded with first place. The under 13 girls, under 13 boys and under 15 girls have secured a place in the National Finals taking place on 6 April in Stoke-on Trent. The afternoon was a tremendous success and the effort and time put in by the various volunteers and organisers did not go unnoticed with thanks extended to all who contributed to making the afternoon a success. Well done to all of those who took part and in particular the Brat contingent who were pivotal in Team Birmingham’s sucess.
