In January 2001 the Under-21 Championship was due to take place at Miles Platting in Manchester. It didn't. Two teams pulled out at the last minute (days before the event) leaving three teams only, hardly a championship field.

The Under-13 age group is more reliable. Their championship was scheduled for May 19th 2001. It did happen. On the same day and at the same venue the rescheduled under-21 championship took place. Again two teams pulled out at the last minute but this time the residue was five teams. Worth the trouble.

The venue was Ponds Forge in Sheffield. A magnificent facility but not the best for octopush. The variable depth 'pods' have a bottom which is plastic coated steel decking. The puck is reluctant to move over the surface and the decking has joints every 2.5m along the width. The main tank is 3m deep; a bit of a shock for the under-21's used to 2m at most.

Hiring the whole pool had the added bonus that we had use of the illuminated display over the pool


this was used to display the BOA junior section logo as well as a welcome message. More ambitious use for scoring might come next year.

As always with the youth section the competition was fierce but friendly, and full of surprises. The first few matches went as expected. In the Under-13's Orkney (always hot favourites) beat the Welsh newcomers Llwchwyr, and Huddersfield beat their Yorkshire league colleagues Ashton Alligators. In the under-21's Sale ( winners two years ago) beat Tarot and Southsea (with a little help from Guildford players) demolished a Sheffield team fielding players from several local clubs.

Third game into the under-13's Sheffield Stingrays 'B' team had their first match. In the past our 'B' team has struggled to avoid a whitewash and the bottom spot and so this year they expected to loose most matches. They beat Tarot! That lifted their spirits and "we can make it into the top group in the second round" was the hopeful new expectation.
Unfortunately they then lost twice before drawing with Guildford, a team that did make it into the top group.

In the other first round group Sheffield Stingrays 'A' were looking good. Their lowest score was 5-0 and they had not conceded a single goal even against Inverness and Huddersfield.

In the Under-21, the third match was a dramatic draw between Sale and Thames Valley, then Sheffield was up against Tarot. Last year (2000) these two teams were locked in combat at under-16 level with Tarot beating Sheffield on one encounter in Bristol and Sheffield taking revenge narrowly at the Championships. This time Sheffield (with a little help from their friends) were convincing victors 14-0.

The under-13 second round got going with the top teams from the two first round groups meeting immediately. Sheffield Stingrays 'A' against Orkney Storms. The Stingrays played a well disciplined game and made the mighty Orkney team look a 'push over' with a 5-0 victory. They went on to take the title with a total of 40 goals for with 0 against.

The under-21 Sheffield team had a harder struggle. Two very tight matches; a 4-3 win against Sale and a 3-3 draw with Thames Valley. With 14 minute each way games in 3m those sort of score lines are hard work.
A certain referee (that's me folks) robbed Sheffield of a goal against Thames Valley. A dreadful mistake, awarding a free puck against the home team rather than for them. They might have beaten the Reading based team if I'd got that right. So its probably a good thing that a draw still gave them second place.

'Toni the "magnificant", as he likes to call himself (well let's face it no-one else will) still had a smile for us all though ('Toni helps coach the Thames Valley team and organises the GB Mens team).



Menwhile the under-13 competition was nearing a dramatic close. Although the Sheffield Stingrays 'A' team were clear leaders, the next few places were wide open. In the end it took a golden goal play off for second and third place. The contenders were Orkney Storms and Huddersfield Sharks. We seem to get a play off almost every year at the under-13 championship and it never fails to be a hard fought dramatic event which really gets people wound up.
This time it was a classic by any standards. Both teams were determined and had plenty of chances. The play was end to end and lasted 10 minutes before Orkney slipped one past a hard pressed Huddersfield defence. Janice Blackburn almost lost her voice with the encouragement and advice she was giving to her team from the poolside.
All the results for the Under-13 are here and for the Under-21 here



As usual in my picture reports I have a number of things to 'tidy up' at the end. Firstly thanks to the coaches, parents and referees who make it possible for these young players to take part, enjoy and succeed in Octopush.
Secondly I have to admit that not only local teams contributed to the Sheffield Under-21's. We had a 'ringer' from Dunstable. Fiona made Dave Randall (son of Jim Randall) feel welcome.
I have misgivings about teams using players from other clubs but all these young players want to take part and it seems a shame to deprive them of the opportunity.
For the record Sheffield Under-21's had 4 players from Sheffield all under-16 (we would have had 6 but for GB training and illness), 2 from Rochdale, 1 from Barnsley and 1 from Dunstable. I'm actually working on the idea of making Sheffield a Northern version of Reading; a focus for young players in the region to come for access to competition and coaching.

Lastly a couple of pictures taken in the Olde Queens Head, the oldest pub in Sheffield where participants go for a post competition meal. The one on the right is from 1998, the last time Sheffield won this event. The one on the left was taken this year. Kate Rhodes was in the team for both events. She is set to follow in Katie Careless' footsteps with two more years at under-13 level and already a veteran of four years competition experience. Kate will soon be making a big impression at under-16 and adult level.