On Friday 7 May, The Abbey Physical Education department held their annual sports dinner and awards presentation. Over 180 guests (girls from Year 9 upwards, staff and parents) enjoyed the evening of food, drink and awards.
The guest speaker was Alex Danson a GB hockey player who has represented her country at the highest level by going to the 2008 Bejing Olympics. She gave a fantastic and inspiring speech to the girls about her life in sport and the commitment and hard work needed to succeed at the highest level. She told the girls you needed a 'gold' mentality to help push yourself and to strive to do your best, inspiring them to reach for the highest of accolades in their sporting careers. After Alex's speech and an overview of the year by the current sports captains, Rachael Harrop and Liz Pellow, came the presentation of awards.
For each sport, certificates of commendation and colours were awarded. There were 53 junior and senior colours presented in nine different sports which shows the true breadth and calibre of sport at The Abbey. In addition, several cups and trophies were awarded to specific individuals who have shown particular levels of commitment and achievement in sport. The PE cups, split into junior, middle school and senior were presented to those who partake in a variety of sports and have shown excellent dedication and effort within the school. Alannah Fillingham was presented with the Junior School PE Cup, April Taylor and Claudia Wilson shared the Middle School PE Cup and the Senior School PE Cup was awarded to Emily Kirkham. Four additional trophies were presented for outstanding sporting achievement and commitment in a particular sport. The Hardcastle Swimming Cup was presented to Rebecca Moore, the John Tovey Hockey Trophy to Chloe Lyons and the Thompson Netball Trophy (newly donated by Mrs Thompson in the PE department) to Stevie Turner.
The final award of the evening was the Sturrock Trophy, which is given for outstanding sporting achievement. This is open to all ages and sports and there were six very talented contenders. The nominations were: Laura Paraskeva and Stevie Turner for Dance, Emily Kirkham and Chloe Lyons for Hockey, Megan Cunningham for Tennis and Rebecca Moore for Rugby. The standard of achievement by these girls was extremely high with the eventual winner being Chloe Lyons of the sixth form for her achievements in Hockey (she is very close to making the national team next year).
The evening was a tremendous success enjoyed by all who attended and it was great for the girls to be awarded for all of their efforts and commitment to sport.