Sporting Updates

SUCCESS ON THE SLOPES FOR COLLEGE AND COUNTRY

Our young skiers raced to a series of podium finishes on the slopes of Les Deux Alpes at the Independent School Ski Championships (ISSC) while Lower Sixth pupil Louis (H) enjoyed success of his own as he qualified for the Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Louis’ hard work during both the indoor and outdoor competition seasons paid off as he accumulated enough points to qualify for the Slalom and Giant Slalom Alpine Skiing events at the Winter Youth Olympics in January.

He not only represented Belgium but was also chosen as his delegation’s flag bearer, proudly waving the flag at the opening ceremony.

Racing against a field of older competitors was always going to be a tough challenge but Louis acquitted himself superbly at his first Games, finishing 23rd amongst more than 50 competitors in the Men’s Slalom.

At the ISSC, Faulkner’s pupil Orlando (LH) provided Bradfield’s first success, conquering poor weather conditions to finish third in the U14 group and sixth overall from a field of over 150 competitors in the Boys’ Slalom.

He went on to race in the Giant Slalom where he finished just outside the medal places, finishing in fifth.

In the senior races, Lower Sixth pupil Emilia (J) excelled on quick courses in both the Slalom, where she picked up a bronze, and the Giant Slalom, where she went one better to take silver.

Christabel (K) and Lavinia (K) were both placed in the top ten in the U18 Slalom, finishing seventh and eighth respectively, while Johanna (J), competing in her first championships for Bradfield, finished eighth in the U16 category.

Our girls raced to more top ten finishes in the Giant Slalom where Johanna claimed seventh and Christabel eighth while Cara (K) and Lavinia also placed in the top 20 of the U18 competition.

The senior boys went on to claim two more medals on the final day of the competition.

Just two-tenths of a second separated Oliver (A) and Edu (A) in the Giant Slalom with the boys taking home the silver and bronze medals respectively.

NATIONAL TROPHIES AND INTERNATIONAL TOURS FOR TARGET RIFLE SHOOTERS

After a very successful summer at Bisley, the target rifle shooters switched from full bore to small bore for the Michaelmas Term, with 27 pupils from the Shell up to the Upper Sixth participating in regular shoots in the indoor range.

It has been pleasing to see Faulkner’s pupils continuing to show an appetite to try their hand at the sport, having the opportunity to shoot weekly and showcase their potential.

The term saw numerous competitions, leagues and matches take place and the standard of shooting has been high, particularly from the new firers who have shown a desire to learn and good level of commitment.

This enabled them to produce very good results at an early stage.

As well as our senior shots performing at a high level on 10 bull targets, 20 “possibles” (100/100) were scored by those shooting five bull targets.

These were achieved by six different firers and Shell pupil Keisha (I) shot seven on her own.

Throughout the term, four teams competed in the British Schools Smallbore RA Leagues.

All four teams shot well over five rounds, three of them remaining undefeated as all four went on to win their respective divisions.

The A team achieved their best score in round five, narrowly pipping Wellington to the Division 3 title.

The B team went unbeaten throughout, scoring a maximum 30 points to win Division 5 while the C and D teams mirrored that success to win their own divisions.

There was more success at the English Schools Long Range Challenge where our Top IV came 2nd, winning silver medals.

Will (E) was placed fourth winning a trophy and five of our shots were in the top 30, winning embroidered badges.

To cap off a successful term we received the news that Bradfield will be represented once more in global competition as two pupils earned call ups to the Great Britain squad for ‘The Athelings’ tour of Canada this summer.

Three of our shots attended the selection board for the tour which is a fine achievement for Annabel (J), Max (F) and Katie (M).

Annabel and Katie were notified on the last day of term that they had been selected as Athelings for the British Cadet Rifle Team and we wish them good luck in the months ahead as they build up to the competition.