Rounders School Competitions 2019 – Y10/Y11 Girls

All three events were held at the University of Leicester, Oadby. The success of the three competitions this year was bolstered by the fantastic weather and the amazing facilities.

Overall, we welcomed 26 schools from as far away as Hartlepool and Oxford. Nine new member schools debuted at the 2019 competitions which covers three age groups.

Read on for the match report from the day.


Y10/Y11 Girls National School Competition – 11 Schools entered – Friday 5th July

Bedford Girl’s School (Bedfordshire)
Paget High School (Staffordshire)
Royal Grammar School (Worcester)
Saffron Walden County High School (Essex)
Royal School Wolverhampton (West Midlands)
Saint Martin’s (West Midlands)
Loughborough High School (Leicestershire)
The Oxford Academy (Oxfordshire)
Cheslyn Hay Academy (West Midlands)
Our Lady& St Chad Catholic Academy (West Midlands)
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls (West Midlands)

WINNER Bedford Girl’s School, Bedfordshire

Round Robin
The group stages were set across two groups, so each team had a variety of matches played against four opponents. Clear winners from the group stages Bedford Girls’, Royal Grammar and Royal School went straight through to the semi finals. A consistent spate of games meant that the final challenger for the title, Our Lady & St Chad, went forward on *rounders difference.

Semi Finals
Having won all four of their round robin matches, Bedford Girls’ had a full day of honing their skills and tactics. Having made it to the finals in 2018 and narrowly missing out by a ½ rounder, they were on a mission to take the title back to their school. Scoring immediately, and even with some spectacular catches from Royal Grammar School’s fielders, Bedford Girls absolutely smashed the entire days scores, with an extraordinary 13½ Rounders over 21 good balls. Royal Grammar had a high bar to aim for and unfortunately they simply couldn’t meet it, pulling in 5 Rounders after a series of tactical stumpings from Bedford Girls’ fielders.

Royal School and Our Lady & St Chad were fairly well matched in the semi finals, having come through the round robin on 6 points. Royal first in to bat, set the playing field with a mighty 7 Rounders. Our Lady & St Chad, simply couldn’t exert themselves over Royal School, resigning themselves to 6 Rounders at the end of 21 good balls.

Semi Final Results
Bedford Girl’s School 13½ v 5 Royal Grammar School (RGS)
Royal School Wolverhampton 7 v 6 Our Lady & St Chad Catholic Academy

Finals
Bedford Girl’s School were on a winning streak and going into the finals their resolve to win was palpable. Assembling such a high score in the semi finals it remained to be seen what they would bring to the finals.

In to bat first, Bedford’s players were consistently collecting Rounders and half Rounders over the duration of 25 good balls, every player collecting a score during the last match of the day. Acquiring a phenomenal 13 Rounders, Royal School really had a lot of hard work to undertake to turn the game in their favour.
Unfortunately for Royal School, try as they might, Bedford Girl’s fielding knowledge and team play overpowered them and with only 5 Rounders and side out called on ball 17 of the second innings, Bedford Girl’s were announced winners.

Final Results
Bedford Girl’s School 13 v 5 Royal Grammar School

*Rounders difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish on equal points in a league standing. Rounders difference is calculated by subtracting the number of Rounders conceded in all matches from the number of Rounders scored.

ENGLAND SQUAD TRIALS

Rounders England Squad Trials are open to anyone who has shown an outstanding ability in Rounders. They take place throughout September and October. Individuals can register online. Check out this webpage  for further information.


Contributed and Written By Under-15 BGS Team Member, Daisy Inman & Coach Mrs Lombaard

The Bedford Girls’ School Under-15a team travelled up to Leicester for the Under-16 National Schools Rounders Championship on Friday 5th of July. As a squad of 12, the team had 4 matches in the group stages, taking first place in the section, remaining unbeaten with excellent fielding and powerful hits.

The squad went onto play RGS Worcester in the semi-finals, a team that beat our Under-16 team in previous years. However, with an amazing batting round, BGS ended up with 13.5 rounders against their 5, which was enough to put them through to the final against RGS Wolverhampton. Another strong batting performance in the final produced a score of 12½ and with tight fielding allowed only 4½ to be scored by the opposition to win the coveted golden bat and balls.

Thank you to our captains for keeping everyone calm under pressure (despite losing every toss, which gave us good luck in the end!) Another big thank you to our coaches for the excellent support throughout and giving us inspirational words of wisdom before every game, because we could not have done it without them. We are very grateful for the support from England Rounders and the tournament organisers, thank you!

Article by Rounders England:

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Rounders England provides a structure for the sport from the Board, local deliverers and teams right the way through to individual members and volunteers.