The first fun biathlon organised in partnership between Pentathlon GB West Midlands and City of Coventry Swimming Club proved to be a success on Saturday, April 24^th.

The event had an entry of 56 but due to a number of reasons (including people still stranded due to the volcanic ash and a re-scheduled CCSC league fixture) the field was reduced to 30 competitors. However, those that were able to compete put up some very creditable times and proved that the relationship could go on to flourish.

The event was split into two sessions due to the CCSC Development Gala. The first session recorded two of the best performances of the day with Samuel Fairchild taking the U15 boys title with a good all round performance. Meanwhile, guest U12 swimmer Jessica Hurley-Smith knocked nearly 3 seconds off her PB to score heavily in the pool. In the second session it was left to Katerina Jackson and Eleanor Bonas to try to chase down her time. Both girls improved on Jessica’s run but didn’t do quite enough in the pool and Hurley-Smith held on to take the title.

Bablake girls Eva Klesnik-Edwards and Lydia Turner fought it out for the girls U13 honours. Eva won in the pool and Lydia came back with a good run but again Eva just held on by a narrow margin.

The U15 girls title was taken by Chloe Smith in her first ever biathlon, with another good all round performance. Chloe edged out Jemma Hancox, who had led going into the run. Elsewhere, the younger girls all performed well with Ella Slater sweeping through the U10 section and Eva Vicory winning by a very comfortable margin in the U11’s.

In the Boys U12 Kelton Aldridge was the star performer, winning in the pool and run to post the highest score of the day with 2,828 and take the ‘Victor Ludorum’ title. Thomas Grainger also posted some impressive numbers in the pool and run to take the Boys U11 event. Young Nathan Fife triumphed in the Boys U10.

Overall, the event was a success. Peter Evans, the West Midlands Development manager, said:

 “Bringing together two different organisations with their respective systems is never easy but with the help of CCSC co-ordinator Julia Betteley the event ran quite smoothly. Pentathlon GB has grown its membership and introduced some new talent to our sport. Hopefully, we will now be able to encourage some of these children to compete at the Regional competitions. I hope it’s the start of a long and fruitful partnership between our respective organisations”.

The inaugural ‘Super 8’ Biathlon competition for schools was launched in Coventry on Friday, February 26^th. The event, sponsored by local company Health Matters Ltd, marks the start of a new era for Modern Pentathlon in the West Midlands, as the region seeks to develop a UIPM-based league structure for its eight sub-region hubs (Coventry, Birmingham/Wolverhampton, Solihull, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire).

The girls-only competition for 9-to-13 year olds attracted four schools (over 90 children) from around the region. Bablake and Allesley Primary from Coventry, Holy Trinity (Kidderminster) and Solihull Primary contested the event, which was attended throughout the day by Georgie Harland, the former Olympic Pentathlon Bronze medal winner from Athens 2004.

 Sue Hyde, the National Competitions Manager for Pentathlon GB, said:

 “What a great experience this was for the young girls involved. Many of them had never competed at this level before – however some of the performances were excellent, particularly from City of Coventry swimmers and runners from Coventry Godiva and Coventry Panthers RC.”

 The girls began the day at Bablake School with a chance to experience pistol shooting, under the guidance of Trevor Haynes, Mel Dykes and Olympian Brian Girling from the West Midlands Target Shooting Squad. This proved to be a great success and an excellent start to the day. The short journey to Coventry Swimming Baths followed for a 3pm start and the real competition of the day.

 The Year 5, 6 and 7 swimmers competed over 56m. The visitors from outside Coventry took the Year 5 honours with Eleanor Blakeway winning for Holy Trinity and Solihull mopping up 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th places.

 However, it was the Year 6 Coventry girls who owned the pool. Eleanor Bonas (Bablake) ripped out a sub-40 second time, closely followed by a dead heat between Katerina Jackson (Bablake) and Alice Rainsley (Allesley). Lydia Roll (Solihull), Maeve Grogan (Solihull) and Natasha Walker (Trinty) were also in the mix for the title, but would need to find something special at the track.

The fastest swim of the day followed shortly afterwards by Year 7 Trinty swimmer Annabelle Elcock, which was good enough for her to take a commanding 120 point lead into the run. Trinty swimmers dominated the Year 7 age group, taking 2^nd (Megan Thorogood) and 3^rd (Arabella Withers) places also. Sophie Greer of Bablake comfortably took the Year 8 swimming title, over 112m, and a huge lead of 400 points going into the run.

 The event then moved to Warwick University running track, home of the Godiva Harriers. Eleanor Blakeway was first to stamp her authority on procedures with a storming run (1:53.83) that took the running title and secured her the overall Year 5 title. Rebecca Monkhouse (1:56.17) from Solihull came a creditable second.

 The eagerly awaited Year 6 showdown did not disappoint. Although Alice Rainsley finished 6^th in the race she did just enough to hold off Solihull girls’ Lydia Roll and Maeve Grogan and finish third overall. The title however would go down to the wire. Bonas recorded a 1:42.61, but Katerina Jackson knocked nearly 3.5 seconds of this time to take the running title…but would it be enough to take the Victor Ludorum? The outcome was a dead-heat on points, with both girls tied on 2,768 points. On the count-back it was Jackson who edged a memorable win by the narrowest of margins.

 The Year 7 run through up a surprise. Bablake girl Grace Harold put a difficult time in the pool behind her and ran in 7 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. Unfortunately for Grace this did not put her in contention for a medal but with all the leading swimmers failing to make the top 5 it was going to be a tight finish. Despite an eighth-place finish in the run (1:45.69) Elcock held onto her lead to take the overall title.

The depth and quality of the Year 7 entrants was underlined by 23 of the 27 girls scoring in excess of 2000 points – something all of the schools can be proud of.

Sophie Greer won the 1000m race for the Year 8’s to add to her success in the pool. Bablake girls Helen Rowland and Hayley Smith were consistent and finished overall 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. Brogan Coulson-Haggins recorded a 2^nd place in the run.

The evening concluded back at Bablake School, with a fencing demonstration between Georgie Harland and local coach Detti from Salle Ursa. The children also tried their hand at fencing, before Peter Evans from West Midlands Pentathlon presented the trophies and medals.

It was left to Georgie Harland to sum up the day:

 “Coventry has seen record numbers of new Pentathlon members joining over the last three months. The children are starting on their Journey to 2012 and beyond. My own journey took me to an Olympic Bronze medal in Athens 2004. I will cherish that day for the rest of my life and I was here to try to encourage young girls to reach out for their goals – who knows where this biathlon will take them?”

This is the fourth year we have run the Summer competition and as usual, we attracted competitors from all over the Country - a big thank you to all 99 athletes for supporting our competition, we hope you enjoyed yourselves and will come back next year.  Some (particularly the youngsters) were competing in your first pentathlon which can be a daunting prospect and I know many of you were on a steep learning curve particularly regarding the Rules.  However these are best learned at a local competition like this (or preferably beforehand!)than at the British Championships where there is more at stake. We hope our event will have been a positive experience for you anyway.

This was the first time we had organised a competition using the new Combined Event format and so we had much to learn at a local level.  Just to make things easy!!!!!!!!!!!!! we decided to use the World Championships shooting range and the new electronic targets (which incidentally arrived at Bristol airport on Thursday afternoon). The range took 5 hours to build and proved a challenge to Cyril Marshall and his build team as the targets had been through a re-design process following feedback from the Tetrathlon Championships.  Adjustments had to be made to the range to accommodate the targets and all seemed well until they were tested.  The 45 minute delay to the start of the Combined Event on Saturday afternoon was because the targets had spookily started to speak to each other - if Cyril set Target 12 off, then the lights on Target 8 started to flash!  Anyway, it got sorted eventually and worked perfectly for the 5 combined event heats.

The ride got underway on Sunday on time thanks to Ann Marshall, Caroline Young and their posse of helpful parents.   Sally Baker and her team of lads and lasses at Hollyfast Meadows made us feel very welcome again this year and were absolutely brilliant all day.  Our thanks must go out to all of those at Hollyfast who kindly let us have the use of their own animals. The horses and ponies were well turned out and brought to the warm up arena exactly on time - a great achievement considering the tight schedule and the number of horses involved. Two of the ponies were very naughty and a couple more got star struck with the big crowd and didn't perform as well as they normally do - but that's life!

The Sun shone in the morning and there was a brilliant atmosphere with everybody enjoying the barbecue provided by the team at Hollyfast.  The younger age groups (Youth D, C & B)all rode and received their awards just before the weather turned against us!

We had just started the Senior Class when the heavens opened - the ground got very slippery and poor Tabitha parted company with her horse at the final fence - Sam (the horse) went through the finish line, but Tabitha didn't quite make it.  The paramedics were quickly on the case and took Tabitha to the local hospital for checks - luckily, she was just shaken and a little battered and bruised. Thank you to those people who took the time and trouble to ask how she was.  Many thanks to Fred, Claire and Ian at Hollyfast who ensured that Tabitha's Mum was reunited with her car and handbag!  Sadly the ride had to be abandoned after this as the rain continued to come down so heavily that we were ankle deep in water.  The presentation for the older athletes took place with us all crammed into the barn and were based on placings before the ride.

Our sincere thanks go to all our officials without whom the competition couldn't run; Bernie Moss and his team of willing parents who had the fencing running like clockwork; Trevor Haynes Cyril Marshall & Richard Flack and their team for for setting up the shooting range and running the Combined Event; Stuart Mason for taking charge of the swim; Ann Marshall, Caroline Young and Jill Andrews for running the riding event; John Woodbridge for producing the results so quickly.  A big thank you to all the people who offered their help and assisted our officials to run their events so smoothly, you all had a tremendous attitude and contributed to the friendly atmosphere that was apparent all weekend.     

Nearly 30 West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club athletes competed in the British Triathlon Championships this weekend and didn't they do well!

Special mention should go to Rachael Hares (Snr) and Courtney Hyde (YB) who achieved a well deserved 2nd place and Jessica Westgate (YE) who came third after getting personal bests in all disciplines. Our Youth B Girls team & Youth C Girls (Pink) Team came 2nd, our Youth B Boys team came 3rd and the YC Boys and YD Girls teams both came 4th.

Following on from their brilliant performances, four West Midlands athletes have been selected to attend a series of talent identification weekends where they will be assessed to see if they have potential to move to the Talented Athlete Programme.  Well done to Jessica Varley, Jemma Westgate, Harriet Grandfield and Emily Grandfield.

 Full results can be found on the National Website - www.pentathlongb.org

Ten West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club athletes competed in the British Youth Pentathlon Championships this weekend.  For the first time the competition was held in Solihull at Tudor Grange Sports Centre and Solihull Riding Club.  Both venue's were fantastic and got many compliments from parents and athletes - we hope to return there next year.

The West Midlands athletes performed brilliantly - supported by Senior athletes, Rachael Hares and Max Rowe Haynes who were on hand to give advice, comfort and help out with the fencing warm up sessions.

Our sincere congratulations must go to Courtney Hyde who had a wonderful competition and became the British Youth B Pentathlon Champion for 2008 - best shoot, best fence, 2nd swim, 4th run and 2nd ride. The smile hasn't left her face since she received her trophy and medals from Olympic athlete Nick Woodbridge who very kindly took time from his busy schedule to present awards at the afternoon presentation ceremonies.

Our three blondes in a team - Kitty Jewell, Emma Young and Alexandra Taylor all took home first team medals in the Youth D girls class - well done to you! Alex came 8th with best ride, Kitty 12th and Emma 13th in the individual placings.

Chris Milburn held off competition in the Youth A class to take 5th place, Tilley Jewell came 8th in the Youth C class and Nancy Parsons came 10th, Peter Young also came 10th in the hotly contested Youth C boys class - all brilliant performances considering it was their first time at the British Pentathlon Championships.

A special mention must also go to our tetrathlon competitiors, Jemma Westgate and Dan (the man) Johnson who haven't yet achieved their riding certificates - they put in sterling performances and we hope to see them competing at the next British Youth Pentathlon Championships.

The British Olympic Association has announced that West Midlands athlete, Nick Woodbridge has been selected to join the Modern Pentathlon Team in Beijing. The announcement came the day after Nick's 22nd birthday so I'm sure the celebrations continued for a little longer than usual!  

Nick Woodbridge and his team mate Sam Weale will become the first British male modern pentathletes to compete at an Olympic Games since Richard Phelps in Atlanta, in 1996, when they go into action at Beijing 2008.

Both qualified through their positions on the UIPM’s Olympic ranking list ­ a measure of their performances across the year up to the start of June 2008.

Weale and Woodbridge join Heather Fell and Katy Livingston in Team GB for Beijing, which means Great Britain will have the maximum complement of four pentathletes at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Commenting on his selection Nick said: “I'm excited to be selected, not just after a year of intense qualification competitions, but also a lifetime of training and dedication. I'm now set for two months of the hardest training of my career and who knows what can happen under the Olympic pressure.

I saw Beijing as an experience for London, but now I have my eyes on a podium finish. There is nothing more special to me than the Olympic Games and having the chance to compete is a lifetime ambition. I am so grateful to everyone that helped get me there. I look forward to August 22nd.”

Simon Clegg, Team GB 2008 Chef de Mission, said: “The BOA are delighted to welcome both Sam and Nick in to Team GB, ensuring a full compliment to the Modern Pentathlon team in Beijing and I wish them both well in their final preparations.”

Dominic Mahony, Team GB Modern Pentathlon Team Leader for the Beijing 2008 Olympics said: “Sam and Nick are both talented young athletes. They have worked hard to qualify for Beijing and both thoroughly deserve their places on the team.

This is the third year we have run the Summer competitions and thankfully this year the weather was kind! As usual, we attracted competitors from all over the Country and this time as far away as France! - a big thank you to you all for supporting our competition - we hope you enjoyed yourselves.  Many of you (particularly the youngsters) were competing in your first pentathlon, a daunting prospect for some, so we hope our event will have been a positive experience for you.

Our sincere thanks go to all our officials without whom the competition couldn't run; John Haynes, Jamie Melia, Rachael Hares, Courtney Hyde and Karl Johnson who had the fencing running like clockwork; Trevor Haynes and his band of merry men for running the shoot; Richard Flack for organising the running event; Rachael Hares for taking charge of the swim; Ann Marshall, Caroline Young and Barbara Milburn for running the riding event; John Woodbridge for producing the results so quickly  A big thank you to all the people who offered their help and assisted our officials to run their events so smoothly, you all had a tremendous attitude and contributed to the friendly atmosphere that was apparent all weekend.     

    Images Courtesy of Spideradmin

Hollyfast Meadows opened their facilities to us for the first time this year and we hope it won't be the last.  Sally Baker and her team of lads and lasses made us feel very welcome and were absolutely brilliant all day.  Our thanks must go out to all of those at Hollyfast who kindly let us have the use of their own animals. The horses and ponies were well turned out and brought to the warm up arena exactly on time - a great achievement considering the tight schedule and the number of horses involved. The vast majority of parents and athletes were polite and thanked the girls for bringing their horse or pony to the warm up arena.  Sadly the day was marred by a few incidents of sheer ignorance and rudeness - next year we will be operating a policy of zero tolerance so please do not enter unless you intend to behave!

Finally, you can view and buy images of the riding phase if you visit www.spideradmin.co.uk/photogifts.htm/

Our first pentathlon skills weekend was indeed a very successful event for all participating athletes.  On Saturday (which happened to be very sunny and warm), we spent the whole day inside!  The first session on Saturday was run by Trevor Haynes and concentrated on the shooting discipline.  In addition to around 90 minutes on the shooting range, the athletes learned about competition rules and discussed what to do when things don't go quite to plan ie if the pistol is discharged too early, a pellet gets stuck in the barrel etc.  After lunch, Max Rowe Haynes coached the athletes in the fencing discipline.  Max took the athletes through some very nifty fencing footwork, a few games to encourage faster reaction time and some freeplay using the electric boxes.  The athletes then fenced each other making sure that they adhered to fencing etiquette throughout.  Jamie Melia (Welsh Senior International) was on hand to give one to one coaching to five of our more experienced fencers.

On Sunday, the weather was dismal, which was a bit disappointing as the athletes were outside for some of the day! We started off in Saint Martin's lovely 4 lane, 25m pool with a 800m warm up.  The athletes were split into two groups, one group (who had been through our swim workshop) spent the first hour revisiting the drills they were taught on the workshop.  The second hour was spent with Simon Hillson who concentrated on competitive starts.  The other group started with an hour with Simon and then moved on to an hour of swim stamina training. 

After lunch, Rachael Hares ran a very informative discussion on the nutrition requirements of an athlete (whilst some of the athletes guiltily hid their crisp packets!) Colin Westgate took over the baton and spent 90 minutes teaching the athletes some core conditioning exercises (ably demonstrated by daughter Jemma) using pilates balls - yes I know it looks like they are having a rest!

If that wasn't enough exercise for one day, Colin then took (or was it dragged!) the rather tired athletes out into the pouring rain for a run session which consisted of a 45 minute warm up (Colin likes to be thorough!) followed by a 20 minute fartlek run around the Saint Martin's playing fields.

I'm told that all athletes slept very well that night!

Hope to see you all again at the June training weekend.

Pentathlon·GB - West Midlands held their Regional Biathlon Championships at the Blue Coat School in Edgbaston Birmingham on the 13th April.  For once, the weather was kind and Richard Flack and his team of run officials (who are used to getting soaked) enjoyed sunshine throughout the event. Sadly the School were re-seeding the usual area where we run, so we had to make do with a 250m loop.  OK for those who were only running 1000m, but those running 3000k got a bit dizzy!

Numbers were down on the previous year, probably due to the Easter Break, however we were able to welcome lots of new faces this year and we hope that they will continue to support future competitions.

Many thanks to all our officials without whom this event couldn't have run and congratulations to all of those athletes who took part.  The enthusiasm shown by officials, parents and athletes was a joy to behold. We hope you will all join us at our Summer Biathlon to be held on the 28th June at Warwick University.

Congratulations to those of you who qualified for the National Biathlon Championships to be held on 18th May 2008 in Macclesfield. Entry forms need to be at Head Office by 26th April.

11 West Midlands athletes attended our first intensive riding course held over the Easter Holidays.  Three of the athletes were novices and attended all 5 days.  The intermediate and advanced riders joined in for three days.  Sally Baker and her team were very knowledgeable, helpful and encouraging.  The horses were not standard riding school animals (which meant that they didn't just follow the horse in front, but did what they thought the rider wanted them to do!), but were very kindly loaned to us by people on the yard.

I can honestly say that for entertainment value, it was worth every moment!  Watching our novices (Max, Dan 'the man' and Robert) taking their first tentative hold of the reins, then learning to walk, trot and canter was hilarious. By Wednesday, the 3 novices were tackling a small but beautifully constructed jumping course in the outdoor menage!  By Friday, they were out in the field jumping the course constructed for the advanced riders the day before (albeit a lot smaller!)

The intermediate and advanced riders also had a great time.  In addition to just under 3 hours riding per day, they learned stable management, how to assess their horse and riding etiquette. All came away, very tired, but having learned a lot from their experiences at Holyfast Meadows.

Here are some pictures of our intrepid jockey's - courtesy of Martyn Parsons (professional photographer and Dad to Nancy and Lilian).

Novices :

                Robert                                Dan 'the man'                                Max

Intermediates :

     Emma              Lilian              Jemma            Sophie             Nancy              Peter

Advanced :

   Courtney          Monica            Robert         Robert nearly smiling!!

Eight West Midlands athletes attended our first freestyle swimming workshop this weekend.  The coaches were Rachael Hares and Courtney Hyde who had just a few days earlier completed their 'train the trainer' course.  The course was designed to teach the athletes the 'Total Immersion' swim drills, which if executed correctly in full stroke result in an effortless, streamlined freestyle.

The course started with Courtney demonstrating 'what good looks like' with Rachael giving a running commentary on the main techniques.  The athletes were then asked to swim a few lengths in their usual manner whilst counting the number of swim strokes they do each length - the girls took notes and went through their findings with each of their swimmers.  The athletes were then taught a series of drills designed to re-educate the mind and body to produce the most effective swim stroke. Their progress was captured on camcorder by Roy Hodgkins who has promised to put the stuff on CD (once he learns how to do it!)

At the end of Sunday afternoon, the athletes had finally learned the drills and were able to put their new stroke into practice.  All of the athletes had reduced their stroke count and all looked to have benefited from the experience.  At the Regional Biathlon Championships a few weeks after the course, Jemma was pleased to have knocked 3 seconds of her previous personal best time.  Well done to everybody.

British Tetrathlon Championships - University of Bath, 9th & 10th February, 2008

Four West Midlands athletes travelled to Bath University to compete in the British Tetrathlon Championships and three came home with trophies!  Rachael Hares, competing in the Senior Women's class came first, with best shoot and best run. Robert Flack, who has just come back into training following injury came 7th in the Junior Men's competition. Courtney Hyde after a 174 shoot, came 2nd in the Youth B Girls class. Nancy Parsons who was competing in her first major tetrathlon competition had a fantastic shoot and fence which earned her 5th place in the Youth C Girls class.

   Nancy Parsons         Courtney Hyde          Nancy Parsons     Courtney Hyde, Rachael Hares & Nancy Parsons

Well done to everybody - we hope to have a few more West Midlands competitors next year following our very successful half term training camp.

Winter Tetrathlon & Biathlon Championships - University of Warwick, 5th January, 2008

Thank you to everybody who competed in our second Winter Tetrathlon this weekend.  We were full to capacity this year, with 60 experienced and not so experienced tetrathletes from all over the Country on the start list. Registration for shoot detail one opened at 8am and despite the early start, everybody had a smile on their face. As usual the shooting ran smoothly under the guidance of Trevor Haynes and the West Midlands Target Pistol Squad. The Fencing was run with military precision by Peter Hart ably assisted by 9 willing and helpful parents who agreed to assist him (or was it press ganged!).  The weather was kind and for once Richard Flack didn't have to mark out the run course in the rain - our luck continued and I think everybody managed to finish the run event relatively muddy, but dry!  Penny Sanderson took charge of the swim event, supported by another band of helpful parents who ensured that the event finished bang on time.  As usual, John, Clive and Jamie ensured that the results were out immediately and we finished with the presentation of awards at 4.45pm. 

As usual, the atmosphere throughout the competition was friendly, but competitive and everybody went away with a trophy or medal. We hope to see you all at Warwick University for our Summer competition - details will be on the website shortly and emailed to those I have addresses for.

British Triathlon Championships - Wolverhampton, 17th & 18th November, 2007

Congratulations to the 22 West Midlands athletes who represented the West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club to compete in the British Triathlon Championships at the weekend. For the first time, the West Midlands were able to field six very keen but inexperienced teams.  

The competition was organised by John Woodbridge (West Midlands Hon. Sec.) who had the event running smoothly and on time. John was supported by volunteers from far and wide (including many of our own competitors parents) all of whom contributed to the success of the competition. Thank you to everybody who helped out - especially those who braved the horrible conditions on Sunday to help out on the run.

We had many stoic performances - Dan Johnson (YD) and James Wilkins (YB) were both suffering from viral infections;  Craig Cowper ran with a swollen and painful ankle; Georgina Morris (YB) had recently had her appendix removed; Abi Gregory (YB) who has a diagnosed phobia about sickness had the misfortune to be standing next to someone at the shoot with a sickness bug - it was amazing how her shooting improved once the poor girl decided to withdraw from the range!  Despite these setbacks our athletes continued to compete so as not to let their teams down.

We also had some wonderful performances, particularly as many of our athletes were competing in a National competition for the first time.- Rachael Hares (Snr) came 1st overall with best run, swim and shoot; Lizzie Liver (Jnr) came 4th overall; James Wilkins ran a blinding last 200m and finished 2nd overall in the run; Courtney Hyde (YB) knocked 30 seconds off her best run time and achieved 4th overall; Nicola Moss (YE) & Tom Everett (YC) both competing in their first National Triathlon put in stunning overall performances to come 3rd & 6th overall respectively; Our novice YBB, YDG, YDB & YEG teams all came third overall.

The results for West Midlands competitors are below.  Full competition results available on the main MPAGB website.

Individuals:

Senior Women: Rachael Hares - 1st (best shoot, swim and run)

Junior Women: Lizzie Liver - 4th

Youth B Girls: Courtney Hyde - 4th, Abi Gregory - 23rd, Georgina Morris - 29th

Youth B Boys: Charles Dean - 14th, Craig Cowper - 17th, James Wilkins - 18th

Youth C Girls: Jemma Westgate - 8th

Youth C Boys: Tom Everett - 6th, Robert Hodgkins - 19th, James Morris - 34th

Youth D Girls: Tilley Jewell - 12th, Katie Cheswick - 15th, Lucy Gregory - 23rd, Lucy Brooks - 31st

Youth D Boys: Daniel Johnson - 17th, Peter Young - 22nd, Thomas Brookes - 28th

Youth E Girls: Nicola Moss - 3rd, Kitty Jewell - 11th, Emma Young - 16th

Teams:

Youth B Girls Team; Courtney Hyde, Abi Gregory, Georgina Morris - 5th

Youth B Boys Team; Charles Dean, Craig Cowper, James Wilkins - 3rd

Youth C Boys Team; Tom Everett, Robert Hodgkins, James Morris - 5th

Youth D Girls Team; Tilley Jewell, Lucy Gregory, Lucy Brooks - 3rd

Youth D Boys Team; Daniel Johnson, Peter Young, Thomas Brookes - 3rd

Youth E Girls Team; Nicola Moss, Kitty Jewell, Emma Young - 3rd

Congratulations to West Midlands athlete, Charlotte Grandfield who came 8th at her first World Championships as a junior athlete this week.  Charlotte put in some stunning performances and produced personal bests in not one, but four disciplines.  Apparently she was still trembling when leaving the shooting range after scoring 178 in the finals improving her PB from the semi-finals by 7 target points! Following a long and exhausting fence, she notched up the second fastest swim (2 mins 10 secs) in a 36-strong field. Performance Director, Jan Bartu said "Charlotte set her foot on the ladder and she set it high on her first appearance at the Junior World Championships. I am having this “I have seen this before” feeling about her. Charlotte has definitively characteristics of a motivated achiever."

Well done to the 73 biathletes and triathletes who competed in the West Midlands Triathlon Championships and Open Biathlon at the weekend.  Blue Coat School is a tremendous venue as everything is so close together - it is also fairly central in the Region (although a bit tricky to find!).  A big thank you to the Wessex Wyvern MPC & Spartans for supporting our competition - good luck in the Southern Regional Competition.

As usual, the atmosphere throughout the competition was friendly, but competitive and due to the relatively small numbers most went away with a trophy or medal. This year the West Midlands managed to field six triathlon teams and we hope that these and the individual qualifiers will be available to compete at the National Championships to be held in Wolverhamption on the 17th & 18th November.  

Many thanks to all our officials without whom this event couldn't have run; Trevor and the West Midlands Target Pistol Squad for organising the shoot; Hilary Flack who gallantly stepped in to officiate the run when her husband Richard (our usual Officer in Charge) became ill, helped by Rachael, Roy (hope your RSI gets better!), Karl, Ann & Sue; Gill Moss who again got thrown in at the deep end (not literally!) to officiate the swim ably assisted by Colin, Tony, Paula, Lynne, Jane & Andrew; 

Well, what a weekend!  The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association hosted our second Summer Pentathlon competition at Warwick University and Swallowfield Equestrian Centre on the 30th June & 1st July. We attracted competitors from all over the Country - a big thank you to you all for supporting our competition - we hope you enjoyed yourselves.  Many of you (particularly the youngsters) were competing in your first pentathlon, a daunting prospect for some, so we hope our event will have been a positive experience for you.

This year, we decided to run a biathlon alongside our Pentathlon competition and this worked really well. We invited our biathletes to a 'come and try it' shoot and this seemed very successful.  The West Midlands Regional Target Squad who ran the shooting range were pleased to see so many of you willing to have a go. Hopefully this enthusiasm will continue and we hope to see you at our regular training sessions at Aldersley Stadium - details on the development page of the website.

Balsall Common Biathlon - Balsall Common Primary School, 28th April 2007

Balsall Common Primary School held their first inter-schools biathlon this weekend. The event ran very smoothly due to the many parents, teachers and students who willingly gave up their time to help out. The day started at 9.30am with the swim discipline in the schools small but perfectly formed 13m pool and then continued with the run which was held on the 400m grass track.  Parents and pupils were in good voice as they cheered on the competitors and the weather was perfect. 

It was a new experience for many pupils, most of whom hadn't run 800m/1000m before, let alone competed in a biathlon - I bet you all slept well! Congratulations to the medal winners, you did your schools proud.  Everybody who competed is invited to enter our Summer Biathlon which is to be held on 30th June at Warwick University - entry forms can be found on the 'What's on' page.

Following the biathlon competition, we held a 'taster' shooting session in the sports hall.  Lots of excited little people listened very carefully to the safety instructions given by Trevor Haynes of the West Midlands Regional Target Squad before being instructed in the fine art of pistol shooting by our 5 qualified coaches.  Excitement changed to concentration as everybody tried first of all to hit the target and once confidence grew, to get that elusive bulls eye - some of you even achieved it! 

We would like to invite all competitors to come and join us at our monthly coaching sessions for pistol shooting and 'taster' sessions for fencing which are held at Aldersley Stadium in Wolverhampton - dates and details are on the 'development' page. If you would like to come along, then either email me - sue.hyde2@btopenworld.com or give me a call 07976 981139.

The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association held their Regional Biathlon Championships at a new venue, the Blue Coat School in Edgbaston Birmingham.  What a great venue it turned out to be especially for Jamie Hyde who is charged with ensuring that the results for each discipline are taken to the stats team - the run and swim were close together for once.  The school had kindly marked out their 400m track early so that we could use it - what a treat for those who are used to running up hill and down dale in muddy conditions. For the first time (since I've been involved anyway) the weather was kind and Richard Flack and his team of run officials (who are used to getting soaked) enjoyed glorious sunshine throughout the event - their wellies and waterproofs were left firmly in their respective cars. The competitors and parents made the most of the weather and took the opportunity to have their picnics on the very conveniently situated tables and chairs by the side of the track - very civilised!

Numbers were down on the previous year, probably due to the Easter Break, however we were able to welcome lots of new faces this year and we hope that they will continue to support future competitions.

The swimming was in the schools 4 lane 25m pool.  Again, the facilities were great - there was a bit of concern about the depth of the pool when it came to tumble turning as it appeared to be shallower than it actually was - but all concerns were quickly dismissed once the athletes had had a chance to warm-up.

Many thanks to all our officials without whom this event couldn't have run and congratulations to all of those athletes who took part.  The enthusiasm shown by officials, parents and athletes was a joy to behold. We hope you will all join us at our Summer Biathlon to be held on the 30th June at Warwick University.

Congratulations to those of you who qualified for the National Biathlon Championships to be held on 20th May 2007 in Norwich. Entry forms will be emailed or posted very shortly.

The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association held our first Winter Tetrathlon this weekend.  Competition entries weren't as good as we had expected, perhaps due to the time of year, but we hope that numbers will increase next year. 

The relatively small number of competitors and therefore the pool of parents who were able to officiate or generally help out meant that nearly everybody got involved in some way during the day.  This led to a very friendly, supportive atmosphere and the beginning of many new friendships.

Registration opened at 9am and as many of you had to get up very early, it was quite understandable that bits of equipment had been forgotten.  We had the 3 Cambridge students who had remembered to bring their pistols which were contained very securely in padlocked cases, but had forgotten to bring along the keys! We also had to sort out both a pistol & pellets for a Royal Air Force competitor, who's friend had taken his to Afghanistan and find a replacement for a leaking cylinder for someone else. Thankfully we were able to sort them out so that the shooting discipline was able to start at 10am. Our thanks must go to Trevor Haynes and the West Midlands Regional Pistol Squad who gave up their spare time to help us out.

Despite a few people doubting that the fencing would only take an hour and a half, it did! The parents roped in to referee did a sterling job and Peter Hart left a domestic crisis at home to arrive just in time to ensure that the event ran smoothly.

The weather decided once again to drench Richard Flack as he doggedly marked out the run - sadly the rain persisted throughout the duration of this event and competitors, parents and officials alike got totally drenched. The going was really tough and everybody finished the run absolutely covered from head to toe in mud!

Thankfully everybody showered before the swim event which was very ably run by Penny Sanderson and another posse of helpful parents.

The presentation took place very shortly after the last swim heat, taking a few competitors by surprise as they had to be dragged out of the shower to receive their awards (they got dressed first!).  The results were out so quickly due to the usual efficiency of John Woodbridge ably assisted by Clive Townend and Jamie Hyde. 

We hope you enjoyed yourselves and would love to see you again at our Summer Pentathlon which is going to be held at the same venue on the 30th June &1st July, 2007 - entry forms will shortly be available for download on the competitions page and will also be emailed to those that I have addresses for.

British Triathlon Championships - Wolverhampton, 18th & 19th November,2006

Congratulations to the 23 West Midlands athletes who represented the West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club to compete in the British Modern Triathlon Championships at the weekend. For the first time, the West Midlands were able to field three teams and were represented in all but three of the classes in the competition.  

The competition was organised by John Woodbridge (West Midlands Hon. Sec.) who had the event running smoothly and on time. John was supported by volunteers from far and wide (including many of our own competitors parents) all of whom contributed to the success of the competition.

The atmosphere throughout the weekend was tremendous - friendly, but competitive and even the weather behaved!  There was elation and disappointment as the roller coaster ride of the competition continued it's journey. Good performances were greeted by fellow West Midlands competitors with great joy and hugs. Sympathy and support were given to those competitors whose performance didn't match up to their own expectations. Overall, results were very encouraging particularly as many of our athletes were competing in a National competition for the first time. Special congratulations must go to Robert Flack (YAB) and Courtney Hyde (YCG) who both won their events and Jemma Westgate (YDG) who came a very close second.

The results for West Midlands competitors are below.  Full competition results available on the main Pentathlon GB website.

Individuals:

Masters Women: Jayne Pountney - 5th

Masters Men: Steve Mulloy - 6th, Dave Carbin - 15th,

Senior Men: Paul Hill - 6th

Youth A Girls: Charlotte Grandfield - 5th

Youth A Boys: Robert Flack - 1st

Youth B Girls: Georgina Grandfield - 12th, Natalie Reading - 23rd

Youth B Boys: Craig Cowper - 23rd

Youth C Girls: Courtney Hyde - 1st (best swim & shoot), Vicki Cox - 13th, Abi Gregory - 26th, Kitty Busz 30th

Youth C Boys: Joseph Stanger - 26th

Youth D Girls: Jemma Westgate - 2nd, Jenni Holdway - 16th, Chelsea Cowper 24th, Hannah Rolls - 27th 

Youth D Boys: Daniel Johnson - 13th, James Bartram - 16th,  Robert Hodgkins - 17th

Youth E Girls: Amy Foster - 11th

Teams:

Youth C Girls Team: Courtney Hyde, Vicki Cox, Kitty Busz - 4th

Youth D Girls Team: Jemma Westgate, Jenni Holdway, Chelsea Cowper - 3rd

Youth D Boys Team: Daniel Johnson, Robert Hodgkins, James Bartram - 3rd

The sun came out to shine for the first biathlon run by Saint Martin's School for Girls in Solihull. The day started with the swim and it was good to hear everybody cheering on their fellow pupils - albeit rather deafening! The swim finished exactly on time and our first run heat started at 10.45am with the Year 5's. It was a new experience for both Saint Martin's and the visiting schools (Arnold Lodge, Balsall Common Primary, Coventry Preparatory and Edgbaston High School), but everybody pitched in to make the event run smoothly. Congratulations to the medal winners and the team champions, you did your schools proud.  Everybody who competed is invited to enter the Midlands Schools Biathlon Championships to be held at Cheslyn Hay Leisure Centre on the 29th October 2006.  Entry forms are on the competitions page, but need to go via your teachers to arrive at Head Office by 16th October at the latest.

Congratulations to the 90 competitors who braved the torrential rain to make their way to Wombourne to take part in the Regional Triathlon & Open Biathlon Competition at the weekend.  

Thankfully, the sun came out just before the run started (but sadly after Richard Flack had marked out the course having forgotten to bring his waterproofs!) so athletes, timekeepers and parents were spared the weather of a few hours earlier.

As usual, there was a tremendous atmosphere with parents and supporters alike cheering on the athletes as they completed their run and swim.  There were some very creditable performances with many athletes informing me that they had achieved personal best times.  We had 36 triathlon entries and for the first time we were able to make up 3 teams who will represent the West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club at the National Championships. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and look forward to seeing those who qualified in Wolverhampton on 18th & 19th November, your entries need to be at Head Office by 9th October.  

And finally, our sincere thanks go to all our officials without whom the competition couldn't run; Trevor Haynes and his band of merry men for running the shoot; Richard Flack for organising the running event;  Redditch Swimming Club for taking charge of the swim; Jamie Hyde & Bethany May for getting the results sheets so quickly from the event to John Woodbridge so that he could produce the results within minutes of the event taking place;  A big thank you to all the people who assisted our officials run their events so smoothly - you all had a tremendous attitude and contributed to the friendly atmosphere that was apparent all day.

Congratulations to West Midlands athlete, Charlotte Grandfield who with her two team mates Katy Burke and Louise Highton produced another brilliant performance to land a bronze medal in the team event at the Youth A World Championships in Popoli in Italy this afternoon. Charlotte came 13th overall.

British Youth Pentathlon Championships, 15th & 16th July 2006

The West Midlands region was well represented at the National Youth Pentathlon Championships which took place over the weekend of 15th and 16th July. The championships took place at Millfield School, Street, Somerset which is a wonderful venue for pentathlon as all five events can be held on the school campus.

In the Youth D competition, the two youngest of the Grandfield clan competed in their first National Pentathlon competition. Harriet and Emily kept up the family tradition and took 6th and 9th places respectively, with Emily winning the ride event.

Courtney Hyde produced consistent results across all disciplines to take the bronze medal in the Youth C class.

In the Youth B girls, Georgina Grandfield won both swim and run but sadly came 6th, due to a poor shooting result. Older sister Charlotte won the ride in the Youth A class and won the overall bronze medal.

Robert Flack came a creditable 5th in the Youth A boys event, despite only competing in four of the five events.

Congratulations to all our athletes and we wish those representing Great Britain during the course of the summer at European and World Championships the very best of luck.

Full results are available on the Pentathlon GB website.

Well, what a weekend!  The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association hosted our first Summer triathlon, tetrathlon and pentathlon competition at Warwick University and Swallowfield Equestrian Centre on the 24th & 25th June.  The venues were both terrific and even the weather stayed on our side for a change!  We attracted competitors from all over the Country - a big thank you to you all for supporting our competition - we hope you enjoyed yourselves.  Many of you (particularly the youngsters) were competing in your first tetrathlon or pentathlon, a daunting prospect for some, so we hope our event will have been a positive experience for you.

Our sincere thanks go to all our officials without whom the competition couldn't run; Peter Hart who had the fencing running like clockwork; Trevor Haynes and his band of merry men for running the shoot; Richard Flack for organising the running event;  Pearse McGuigan for taking charge of the swim; Jamie Hyde for running his little legs off for 9 hours taking the result sheets from the event to John Woodbridge & Clive Townend so that they could produce the results within minutes of the event taking place; Kate Allenby (bronze medallist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics) for presenting the awards.  A big thank you to all the people who assisted our officials run their events so smoothly - you all had a tremendous attitude and contributed to the friendly atmosphere that was apparent all day.

British Modern Biathlon Championships - Manchester, 13th May 2006

Congratulations to all 53 West Midlands competitors who traveled to Manchester at the weekend and endured the good old British weather to compete in the British Modern Biathlon Championships. The Aquatics Centre & Sportscity Athletics Track were fantastic venue's for the event and inspired our athletes into achieving some very creditable performances.  

It was lovely to see the West Midlands represented so well. Three of our affiliated clubs (Redditch Swimming Club, West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club and Julie''s Swim School) were out in force as were many of the individuals who qualified at the regional championships in April.

The results for West Midlands competitors are below.  Full competition results available on the main Pentathlon GB website.

Individuals:

Masters Women: Julie Brown - 12th

Masters Men: John Hill - 3rd,

Senior Men: Stuart Steele - 3rd

Junior Girls: Elizabeth Liver - 3rd

Youth A Girls: Charlotte Grandfield - 4th

Youth A Boys: Robert Flack - 3rd

Youth B Girls: Georgina Grandfield - 6th, Sally Bramley - 28th, Katherine Liver - 32nd, Natalie Reading - 37th, Charlotte Taylor - 46th, Lydia Edwards - 51st

Youth B Boys: Matthew Everest - 11th, Alex Williams - 19th, Sam Copeland - 20th, Alexander Dawson - 21st, James Burrows - 29th, Adam Wills - 30th, Matthew Sheehan - 39th, Craig Cowper - 40th

Youth C Girls: Courtney Hyde - 7th, Suzie Britt - 24th, Charlotte Archdeacon - 38th, Jessica Nice - 42nd

Youth C Boys: Ryan Ordidge - 1st, Joseph Evans - 14th, Jonathon Hardisty - 22nd, Jack Machin - 37th, Jamie Taylor - 41st, Joseph Stanger - 45th

Youth D Girls: Lesley Dawson - 3rd, Rebecca Tame - 43rd, Bryony Archdeacon - 23rd, Lucy Phillpots - 30th, Jade Evans - 32nd, Ruth Edwards - 34th, Hannah Rolls 38th

Youth D Boys: William Russell - 17th, Robert Hodgkins - 27th, Patrick Weetman - 48th, Robert Spanton - 54th

Youth E Girls: Amy Foster - 12th, Philipa Brown - 23rd, Lydia May - 33rd, Roisin Weetman - 34th, Amy Bailie - 36th, Clara Parker - 38th, Emma Cork - 39th, Katie Paterson - 40th, 

Youth E Boys: David Carty - 6th, William Lakin - 29th, Patrick Smith - 32nd, George Price - 36th

Teams:

Youth B Girls Team: West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club - 9th

Youth B Boys Team: West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club - 3rd, Julie's Swim School - 4th

Youth C Girls Team: Redditch Swimming Club - 4th

Youth C Boys Team: West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club - 5th

Youth D Girls Team: West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club - 5th

Youth D Boys Team: West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club - 7th

Youth E Boys Team: Julie's Swim School - 5th

Youth E Girls Team: Redditch Swimming Club - 4th, Julie's Swim School - 5th

12 for 2012: No 4: Nick Woodbridge, Modern Pentathlete

By Alan Hubbard

Published: 23 April 2006

Congratulations to the 138 competitors who braved the windy and wet conditions to take part in the Regional Biathlon & Open Triathlon Competition at the weekend.  We had a record breaking entry this year with 44 of you entering the triathlon (many for the first time).

There were some very creditable performances with many athletes informing me that they had achieved personal best times.  The competition was tough, particularly in the younger age groups where we had as many as 30 in the class.  We hope you enjoyed yourselves and look forward to seeing those who qualified in Manchester on 13th May, your entries need to be at head office by 18th April.  

For the first time, we invited Cordelia Noble from Noble Photo's to 'snap' you whilst you were competing.  It was a tough job for her trying to capture each one of you in action (particularly during the swimming, when she had to catch you whilst you were taking a breath).  I hope you take advantage of her special offers and buy a commemorative photo of yourself in action.

Our sincere thanks go to all our officials without whom the competition couldn't run; Trevor Haynes and his band of merry men (Ron, Brian & Mel) for organising the shoot; Ian Grandfield for organising the running event, ably assisted by Richard Flack, Mick Reading, Mark Turton, Georgina Grandfield and 4 parents from Julie's Swim School;  Redditch Swimming Club for once again providing a team of qualified ASA Officials to run the swimming event (which as usual ran like clockwork); Jamie Hyde for running his little legs off for 6 hours taking the result sheets from the event to John Woodbridge & Clive Townend so that they could produce the results within minutes of the event taking place; Nick Woodbridge (World Champion in 2004 in the Youth A category, bronze medallist in the 1st World Cup final 2006 in the Senior Mens category) for taking time out from his busy training schedule to travel up from Bath University to present the awards - fingers crossed for the World Cup Event being held at Millfield School in Somerset, 6th to 9th April.

Nick Woodbridge wins bronze at the World Cup final in Acapulco!

What a fantastic start to the 2006 pentathlon season!  West Midlands athlete, Nick Woodbridge maximised his potential in this first eventful World Cup final of the season to bring home a bronze medal in the Senior Men's class - the first time a medal has been won by a Senior Man in 13 years. Nick was congratulated by Jan Bartu, MPAGB Performance Director for achieving excellent results in the swimming, running and riding disciplines. More details can be found on the national website - www.mpagb.org.uk

National Tetrathlon Championships - Bath University 18/19 February 2006

West Midlands athletes put up some impressive performances in the National Tetrathlon Championships held at the University of Bath Sports Training Village Pentathlon Centre this weekend. Full results are available here.

The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club is formed

The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association is delighted to announce the formation of The West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Club. 

All members of the West Midlands Modern Pentathlon Association as at the 2nd January 2006 automatically became members of the Club. Membership costs nothing, we just ask that should you represent the Club as an individual or as a member of a team at the National Championships then you wear the Club polo-shirt or hoody at the awards ceremony and where appropriate during the competition. We would also like you to wear the swim cap (if you wear one normally) during the swim event. If you would like to purchase the Club polo shirt, hoody and/or swim cap, please contact Sue Hyde on 07976 981139.

The benefits of the Club to members of the Region are:-

27 November 2005

National Biathlon Championships - Sheffield, 26/27 November 2005

Congratulations to all the 48 West Midlands competitors who traveled to Sheffield at the weekend.  There were some very creditable performances in what was a tough competition.  Many will have been swimming in a 50m pool for the first time, a daunting prospect when you are on the blocks. Congratulations to all who took part. Several athletes posted personal best times at the event, held at Concord Leisure Centre and Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield. 

It was lovely to see the West Midlands represented so well. Two of our affiliated clubs (Redditch Swimming Club and Julie''s Swim Club) were out in force as were many of the individuals who qualified at the regional championships in September.

 The results for West Midlands competitors are below.  Full competition results available on the main MPAGB website.

Individuals:

Masters Women: Jayne Pountney - 9th
Masters Men: John Hill - 3rd, - Mark Evans - 13th
Senior Women: Stacey Penn - 2nd, Yvonne Casewell - 3rd

Senior Men: Stuart Steele - 3rd

Youth A Girls: Charlotte Grandfield - 5th

Youth B Girls: Georgina Grandfield - 4th, Natalie Reading - 25th, Lydia Edwards 33rd

Youth B Boys: Robert Flack - 3rd, Matthew Everest - 16th, Alex Williams - 21st
Youth C Girls: Courtney Hyde - 20th, Georgina Walters - 30th, Suzie Britt - 32nd, Charlotte Taylor - 34th, Tahila Furnival - 45th, Jessica Nice - 47th

Youth C Boys: Tom Watts - 11th, Sam Copeland - 12th, Shaun Smith - 25th, Thomas Holland - 32nd, Jack Machin - 41st
Youth D Girls: Lesley Dawson - 2nd, Jemma Westgate - 26th, Rebecca Tame - 43rd, Bryony Archdeacon - 48th, Emma Garner - 60th, Megan Shaw - 64th, Amy Preston - 66th

Youth D Boys: Joseph Stanger - 12th, Jamie Taylor - 14th, Michael New - 23rd, James Hadley - 39th
Youth E Girls: Hannah Rolls - 11th, Lauren Evans - 15th, Eleanor Wardle - 22nd, Hannah Watts - 28th, Sophie Bridgman - 33rd, Lara Thompson - 35th, Victoria Pointon - 37th, Beth Earls-Davis - 40th, Hetty Mosforth - 41st

Youth E Boys: Harry Cowley - 7th, Daniel Johnson - 31st, Robert Spanton - 32nd, George Turton - 33rd

Teams:

Youth C Girls Team: Redditch Swimming Club - 3rd

Youth D Girls Team: Julie's Swim School - 13th
Youth E Boys Team: Halesowen Swimming Club

Youth E Girls Team: Redditch Swimming Club - 6th, Julie's Swim Club - 8th  

22 November 2005

MPAGB National Membership

At the conclusion of the entries for the Schools' Biathlon series, the National membership exceeded 3500 members. This is very much more than twice as many members as at the same time last year. This increase is largely due to the introduction of the new membership category for the Schools' competitors. However, the underlying trend of traditional members has also increased by more than 20% over the same period. The campaign to attract more members has been championed by the MPAGB Chairman, Tony Temple. Congratulations to all of those involved and a particular thanks to Elizabeth at HQ, who has single handedly coped with processing this influx.  

Congratulations! 

Congratulations to Robert Flack and Georgina Grandfield who have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth B European Championships in Italy, commencing 26th June.  We wish them the very best of luck.

National Triathlon 2005

Congratulations to all those from the Region who took part in the National Triathlon Championships at Wolverhampton this weekend. Some great results including a new National Champion in Robert Flack who won the Youth B age group. Full results are available here

Nick Woodbridge - World Champion!

Congratulations to Nick Woodbridge who won the Youth Modern Pentathlon World Championships in Albena, Bulgaria last week.  In a very exciting competition Nick put in impressive performances in all disciplines to take the world title.

British Youth Pentathlon Championships, 2004

West Midlands athletes put up some impressive performances in the British Youth Pentathlon Championships last weekend. Several athletes posted personal best times at the event, held at Hartpury College and GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester.

In the Youth D girls age group two athletes competing for the first time put in highly impressive performances.  Courtney Hyde achieved 1st place in the pentathlon and took 2^nd place in the tetrathlon.  Courtney also won the best fence award.  Hannah Molloy took 4^th place in both the Pentathlon and Tetrathlon events.  An excellent debut performance from both of you.  Well done.

Competing in the Youth D boys events.  Simon Horner achieved 2^nd place in the pentathlon and took 4^th place in the tetrathlon. Well done Simon.

Georgina Grandfield had a superb competition.  Competing in the Youth C girls events, Georgina broke several of her personal best times to achieve 1^st place in the Pentathlon and 1^st place in the Tetrathlon.  Georgina also won the best run award and achieved maximum points for her riding.

National Triathlon, 2004

Great results for West Midlands members of the MPAGB at this weekend's National Triathlon Championships.  Congratulations to all who took part.  Results below.  Full competition results available at MPAGB website.

National Tetrathlon Championships, 2004

West Midlands athletes put up some impressive performances in the National Tetrathlon Championships in February. A number of athletes posted personal best times at the event, held at the new sports village at Bath University.

National Biathlon Championships, 2003

Congratulations to all the West Midlands competitors who traveled to Sheffield at the weekend.  There were some very creditable performances in what was a tough competition.  Many will have been swimming in a 50m pool for the first time, a daunting prospect when you are on the blocks. WM results as follows;

National Triathlon Championships, 2003

Congratulations to all the West Midland athletes competing in the National Modern Triathlon Championships at Wolverhampton this weekend.  There were some excellent results with the Grandfield family having a particularly successful weekend, collecting three trophies.  Emma Horner also collected a trophy for her 6th place in the Youth C category.  Nick Woodbridge came 1st in the Youth A boys.  There were many other very promising results as follows;

Thomas Farnell winner of the 9yrs Boys Open Biathlon.
Thomas lives in Dudley and swims for Brierley Hill Swimming Club.

Paul Griffiths 2nd Masters Men Open Biathlon.  Paul lives in Brierley Hill, and is a Coach for Brierley Hill Swimming Club.

Rachel Hares winner of the Triathlon Qualifier and Open Biathlon Junior Women.  Rachel lives in Shropshire and swims for Whitchurch Wasps.

Stacie-Jo Wellsbury winner of the Open Biathlon.Youth A Girls. Stacie-Jo lives near Stourbridge and trains at Brierley Hill A.S.Club.

Market Drayton sisters Georgina and Charlotte Grandfield showed strong performances in the Youth C and Youth B age groups respectively, with Georgina taking 10th place and Charlotte taking 4th place.

Nick Woodbridge won the National Championships in the Youth A age group, his fourth consecutive championships win.  Emma, Charlotte and Nick received their awards from MPAGB Chief Executive Peter Hart.