The Champions Challenge 2010 was held on Saturday 20th March at Wright Robinson Sports College and Trafford Metrovicks Rugby Club.
Introduction
In Great Britain’s preparation for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, the Champions Challenge captures the spirit of one of the World’s most famous sports competitions, and encouraged the development of athletes that could go on to represent our country. 2010 was the second year of the Champions Challenge.
Also reflecting the ethos of the Olympics and Paralympics, the Champions Challenge was proud to work with the arts sector in building its own Cultural Olympiad.
Each athlete and coach at the Champions Challenge represented Bury with extreme pride and they were a great credit to the borough. They competed well in the following sports.
- Badminton.
- Football.
- Netball.
- Rugby Union.
- Table Tennis.
- Virtual Rowing.
Badminton
The girls and boys Badminton teams did Bury proud. Excellent work from the coaches Gary and Flora, and the players themselves resulted in Stephanie winning a gold medal for the girls and Alex winning a bronze medal for the boys. They both showed great talent - well done to both the boys and girls badminton teams who finished second and third overall.
Football
The girls football team worked extremely hard and had a large number of games to fit in to the day. They worked well together as a team, and scored some great goals securing a well deserved place in the final where they met Tameside. The talented team won the final and were very excited to win the gold. Well done to both team managers, Dave and Graham who encouraged the girls non stop and put the team together with a number of trials. The squad that represented Bury came from a number of different clubs including Bury girls and ladies, Westbury, and Walshaw.
Netball
This year the netball competition was expanded after last year's success and had two competitions, the under 13's and the under 15's. The under 13's managed by Leah and Kathy did really well, and battled through the day to a joint third position, and were rewarded with bronze medals. The under 15's again played well, and had a real team ethos throughout the day, eventually finishing joint 5th which they should be extremely proud of. The talent on the day in both competition was of an extremely high standard.
Rowing
The Rowing teams were again the most successful on the day, and in six competitions came away with seven medals in total, four gold and three bronze medals. Well done to the boys, with David (year 9) winning a gold, Joe (year 10) winning a bronze, and Mike (year 11) again showing his talent and winning a gold medal for the second year running. The girls faired even better with Beth and Abi (year 9) winning gold and bronze medals respectively, Eleanor (year 10) winning a bronze, and Michaela winning a gold medal. Overall the team finished first and stood at the top of the podium with great pride. A big thank you to Lee who stepped in as team manager when Howard was unfortunately unable to attend on the day. Thank you to all involved for representing Bury extremely well.
Rugby
Both rugby teams worked tirelessly at the Trafford Metrovicks Rugby Club, with both the boys and girls teams supporting each other throughout the day. They both finished ninth overall, but their efforts and continued support showed great pride in everything they did. Well done and thank you to Lee and Lisa for their efforts this year as team managers.
Table tennis
The table tennis boys team competed to the best of their abilities after trials were held by club coaches at Ramsbottom table tennis academy. Keith was their team manager on the day and his encouragement of Dominic and William was superb. It was a great experience for both players who have not competed in an event like it before. They enjoyed their day and learnt a lot, finishing 8th overall. Well done to all involved and I'm sure they will keep climbing the badminton ladder.
