2009 Mini Tournament Results
Amersham & Chiltern 36th Mini Rugby Tournament results
|
Age Group |
Winners |
Runners - up |
Fair play award |
|
Under 7 |
Windsor |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Saracens |
|
Under 8A |
Tring |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Saracens |
|
Under 8B |
Tring |
Windsor |
Beaconsfield |
|
Under 9A |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Beaconsfield |
Windsor |
|
Under 9B |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Saracens |
Beaconsfield |
|
Under 10A |
Beaconsfield |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Saracens |
|
Under 10B |
Beaconsfield |
Buckingham |
Windsor |
|
Under 11A |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Windsor |
Buckingham |
|
Under 11B |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Beaconsfield |
Windsor |
|
Under 12A |
Amersham & Chiltern |
Tring |
Buckingham |
|
Under 12B |
Tring |
Amersham & Chiltern Eagles |
Windsor |
Over 20 organisations sponsored the event including GE Healthcare that generously provided the PA system, and Graphite Capital, PA Consulting, Protocol Education, Chiltern Transport, Corporate Payroll Services and freerunner who provided Age Group tents.
This year Rob Andrew, the former England, Lions and Wasps star, and current Director of Elite Rugby at the RFU kindly agreed to present the cups and medals to the Tournament winners which had been kindly sponsored by Osborne Samuel, the London art gallery and Snobs of Amersham who had engraved them all free of charge.
Rob was not the only celebrity at the Tournament, Sting and Wasps players Mark Robinson, Tom French and Jason Hobson were there together with Ben Smiley and Lee Salmon from Wasps’ Community Support team. Following the Tournament, Ben Smiley said: "There are some great rugby events in our community and we were delighted to be invited to support Amersham and Chiltern’s Annual Festival; now in its 36th year. Our players were excellent when engaging with the young players and hopefully inspired them to perform throughout the day”.
Amersham & Chiltern strives to ensure all players of mini rugby are safe, develop some rugby skills and have fun. To encourage this philosophy the Tournament is divided into two, one for “A” team players and one for “B” team players in each age category. Also for both “A” and “B” teams in each age group there is a “Fair Play” shield which is awarded to the team whose players, coaches and supporters upheld the values of fair play. Encouragingly this philosophy was upheld throughout the tournament, and demonstrated by Windsor who won the “Fair Play” award in 4 out of 11 age group categories.
As it turned out, the spoils of the day were shared around various teams with most clubs winning either an “A” or “B” age group tournament. However, Amersham & Chiltern dominated the day by winning 5 out of the 11 age group categories and coming runners up in 4 others, showing that mini rugby at the Club is thriving.
Amersham & Chiltern won the both the “A” and “B” team Tournament at Under 9s and Under 11s and also won the “A” team tournament at Under 12. Amersham & Chiltern were runners up in the Under 7s, Under 8A, Under 10A and Under 12B.
Beaconsfield dominated the Under 10s winning both the “A” team and “B” team Tournament. They also were runners up in the Under 9As and Under 11Bs and won the “Fair Play” shield at Under 8B and Under 9B.
Tring also had a successful Tournament winning both age groups at Under 8s and also winning the Under 12B competition.
Commenting on the Tournament, Stephen Lawrence, Chairman of Youth Rugby at Amersham & Chiltern, said “Our philosophy is for all players to be safe, learn some skills and have fun. Today we saw the fruits of that philosophy with over 970 children and their coaches, and about 1,500 supporters, enjoying an excellently organised day. The standard of rugby was extremely high in all the age groups which is a testament to the dedication given by the volunteers who coach both at A&C but also at the other clubs each Sunday. For A&C to have five teams winning their respective age group categories is an outstanding achievement.
Events such as this do not just happen and I would like to thank the Buckinghamshire Referees Society for providing independent referees at both Under 11 and Under 12 age groups which ensured total impartiality. I would also like to thank Mark Williams, the Chair of the organising committee, and his army of helpers for organising such an excellent event. Of course without our tournament sponsors we would be unable to hold such a successful event and my thanks go to them for their generous support in these challenging times.
We very much look forward to welcoming everyone to next year’s event.”
Winners: Amersham & Chiltern Under 12A
Picture Supplied by Splash
Picture supplied by Jenny Kaye photography
Picture supplied by Jenny Kaye photography
Splash photos provided a photo service on the day. They have come up with some innovative offers this year which could make great Christmas presents. To view photos after the event go to www.splashphotos.net
Bucks TV were also at the Tournament and their video is now online:
The 36th Annual Mini Rugby Tournament took place on Sunday at Weedon Lane in blustery and at times drizzling conditions. Teams from Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Saracens, Tring and Windsor joined squads from the home team to ensure a day of high quality rugby played in the true spirit of sportsmanship.