Sports News
Netball
On Tuesday 11th March eight children from year 6 travelled to Kings Ely to compete in a Bee Netball Tournament against eight other teams. The games were eight minutes long with all teams playing against each other in a round robin format with the top two teams progressing to the County Finals. Players rotate positions at the end of each match allowing the children to experience the different roles in Netball.
Our opening fixture was against Isleham A. ESJ flew out of the blocks with two quick goals from Enid and Bella but the opposition fought back and equalised late in the game to claim a deserved 2-2 draw.
Next up was a local derby with Isle of Ely. Vakare was on fire and scored two unanswered goals as our first win was secured 2-0.
Our third game was against Stretham. This soon developed into one-way traffic as ESJ attacked through-out with Rachel scoring four times and Oscar rounding things off with his first goal to confirm a dominant 5-0 victory.
Kings Year 5 were our next opponents. Again, we were the better side but shot after shot failed to drop through the hoop and when Kings scored from a rare breakaway attack the writing was on the wall as we somehow succumbed to our first defeat 0-1.
ESJ needed to bounce back from the previous disappointment as they took on Isleham B. Sharp shooting from Bella and Enid who both scored a brace ensured a comfortable return to winning ways 4-0.
On paper our last three games all looked tricky. Previous winners Robert Arkenstall were the next challenge. This game ebbed and flowed with goals at either end. Eva scored early but our opponents struck back with two quick goals to lead as the clock ticked down. Vakare saved the day late on with her third goal of the competition to earn a well-deserved 2-2 draw.
Our penultimate match was against Fordham. This was a scrappy encounter with few chances at either end. Our leading scorer Rachael scored our only goal which was quickly cancelled out as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The final tie was against pre-tournament favourites and home team Kings Year 6. This was another tight match with chances at both ends. Kings took a deserved lead but ESJ fought hard and got their reward near the end, as hard-working Ethan scored the equaliser thanks to a precise pass from Nadia. There were further chances for both teams but the final result was a fair 1-1 draw.
This was a very well run, competitive tournament with all teams showing great skills and knowledge of the game. ESJ finished in 4th place and were slightly unlucky not to end up higher as we only lost one game and were close to turning several draws into wins.
Super Speedy Sports Stackers
One of the most eagerly anticipated sports events of the year is always the Sport Stacking Competition. Unfortunately, this year there was no official, organised event on the calendar so we decided to run an intra school Tournament for the year 6 children to take part in.
The event took place over two weeks during lunchtimes with twelve children deciding to give it a try. Initially they learnt and practised the relevant skills and at the end of the first week the eight competitors with the fastest times progressed through to finals week.
The improvements in the speed at which they stacked the cups up and then down-stacked them was amazing and the times tumbled (along with a few cups) through-out the week. The fastest times that the children achieved can be seen below:
Rachel – 5.472 seconds.
Lucy – 5.561
Maja – 5.811
Leja – 5.979
Minty – 6.412
Arthur – 6.538
Vakare – 6.588
Oscar – 6.982
Congratulations to Rachel for recording the fastest time and becoming the Ely St Johns Sport Stacking Champion 2024-2025.
The Ely St Johns record speed is – 4.87s
The WSSA World Record held by Chan Keng Ian is 1.658s. (WOW!!!!!)
Dynamic Dodgeballers.
On Friday 17th January ten year 6 children headed off to Ely College to take part in a Dodgeball Festival along with seven other local schools.
The first part of the morning was dedicated to completing four Dodgeball challenges to develop their skills and build confidence. The events required the teams to work together, following instructions and practicing all of the disciplines needed to play a game of Dodgeball.
For the second half of the morning the children had the opportunity to put all of their skills mastered earlier into action playing games against other schools. Teams were made up of six players with the remaining squad members supporting from the bench. The matches consisted of two minutes of high intensity action and the team with the most players left on court at full time were the winners.
Judging by the smiley, red faces at the end of the festival all of the children had a great time and enjoyed the physicality of the Dodgeball event. The teamwork and positivity shown was great to see and all of the players were a credit to Ely St Johns.
Try, Try and Try Again
On Thursday 28th November ten children from years 5 and 6 travelled to Ely Hockey Club to take part in a Tag Rugby Competition against seven other teams. Each match was 12 minutes long, with the teams split into two groups with the winners and runners up progressing to the semi-finals.
Our opening match of the tournament was against Isleham A. What a start this turned out to be as both teams ran brilliantly with the ball with tries being scored at either end. Thomas passed and ran magnificently as the game flip flopped one way and then the other, Reuben scored twice, Rachael, Leya and Marley also got on the scoresheet as ESJ held out for a narrow 5-4 victory.
The second game of the day was a local derby against Ely St Marys B. Initially the teams seemed well matched with Captain Reuben and Oscar scoring early and Minty thwarted the opposition with some great tagging. Super sub Marley then came off the bench running the length of the pitch to score the first of two quick fire tries to give ESJ a comfortable 4-1 win.
Our final opponents in the group stage were city rivals Isle of Ely. The tie was evenly balanced at 2-2 thanks to tries from Marley and Leja and Cameron was carrying the ball well with safe hands. Then substitutes Enid and Reuben entered the fray and between them finished the game off with three unanswered tries to give us a 5-2 victory and ensure safe passage into the semi-finals.
Next up were Isleham B, a strong team who had comfortably brushed aside all of their rivals to get to this stage of the competition. Arthur tagged well in this game preventing the opposition from scoring on several occasions. Marley scored early as the game ebbed and flowed with end to end rugby being played, but Isleham took a 3-1 lead. Reuben then scored twice to level the scores and just as extra time loomed Oscar crossed the line to give ESJ a dramatic 4-3 win and send us into the final.
Isleham A, a familiar foe awaited looking for revenge after their close opening match defeat. They rotated their squad this time around and understandably fielded their strongest team and romped into an early 4-1 lead. Tries from Leya, Enid, Reuben and Thomas kept us in the game but Isleham were the better team as they dominated the match playing some exceptional rugby. They deservedly took the plaudits with a 7-4 victory but ESJ fought until the end and kept their heads held high to finish runners up.
Despite the icy conditions underfoot the tournament was a great success with some fast, skilful, flowing rugby on show. Only two of the children from Ely St Johns play rugby outside of school, so it was great to see their hard work and dedication training every day in their lunchtimes to learn the rules and improve their skills pay dividends.
Great Girls Grab Goals.
This years year 5&6 girls football competition was held at Witchford Village College on Wednesday 6th November. It was a round robin event with all 8 teams playing against each other, 5 points for a win, 3 for a draw and 1 awarded for a defeat.
Our opening match was the first of three local derbies against Ely St Marys Blue. ESJ dominated the game from the first whistle creating good chances through-out and were hugely unlucky not to make the breakthrough. Bella defended well at the back ensuring that there was no way through for the opposition’s strikers. Despite our constant pressure the game finished 0-0.
The next challenge was against Ely St Marys Red. We controlled the match from the start with Rachael smashing in our first goal of the tournament. Further chances came and went until super sub Enid scored the second as the game drew to a close with a 2-0 win.
The third game was against a strong Isleham team. Velvet kept a clean sheet thanks to some cat like reflex saves but despite chances for both teams the deadlock couldn’t be broken and it finished 0-0 which was a fair result.
Next up were tournament favourites Fordham Black. This was a hard fought match which swung one way then the other with chances at either end. Rachel and Leja defended magnificently but a long range shot hit the back of the net and Fordham won 1-0.
Our last local derby of the day was against The Lantern. ESJ flew out of the blocks, Saffron went agonisingly close when her shot came back off the woodwork shortly before captain Olivia struck to open the scoring. Leja then moved from her defensive position into midfield and immediately scored to make it two. Eva then came off the bench to seal the victory with a poachers goal to ensure a comfortable 3-0 victory. Lucy was strong in defence and kept Lantern at bay.
The penultimate match was against Robert Arkenstall of Haddenham. This proved to be a close encounter but gradually ESJ took control. Kate played well on the wing creating numerous chances for the striker and her throw ins were long and accurate. As time ticked by and with the game still all square Olivia popped up with her second goal of the tournament to secure another win for ESJ 1-0.
Our final game of the competition was against Fordham White. This was a nervy, hard fought affair and despite several shots on goal the Fordham keeper prevented the ball from entering her net until Eva poked home from close range. There was no way back for our opponents and ESJ finished off with a deserved 1-0 victory.
This was a very well run tournament which the girls absolutely loved taking part in and should be proud of their 3rd place finish. They won 4, drew 2 and only lost 1 game, which was to the eventual winners. Only one of the girls taking part plays competitively for a local team so it is huge credit to them all that the hard work and practice that they put in at lunchtimes paid off with some lovely football.
Super St Johns Scoop Second.
On Thursday 26th September nine boys from year 5&6 made the short trip to Ely Hockey Club to take part in a football tournament which was our first competition of the new school year. The ten teams from local schools were split into three groups as we attempted to defend our title.
Our first match was against the favourites Fordham. This turned out to be a very cagey affair with few goal scoring opportunities thanks to strong defending by Eric and Sam. Despite conceding an early goal ESJ kept going but couldn’t find an equaliser and the game finished in a 1-0 defeat. Next up was Ely St Mary’s the first of two local derbies in this tough group stage. ESJ attacked well with Reuben looking dangerous on the right. Jasper came off the bench with instructions to go and score the winner which is exactly what he did with a lovely goal to secure a 1-0 victory. The final group stage game was against another strong team, Isle of Ely. This was a great end to end spectacle from the off with chances galore. Milo made some outstanding one on one saves to keep our opponents at bay and Alex defended resiliently. At the other end Jacob stayed composed to slot home giving ESJ the lead. Isle of Ely equalised shortly before the end and although both teams had further chances, the game ended 1-1. The result ensured that we finished second in our group and therefore qualified for the semi-finals.
Wilburton were the opposition as we fought for a place in the final. ESJ dominated the match from start to finish and Jasper scored early to settle the nerves. The intense pressure eventually paid off as Marley came off the bench to weave his magic and score the all-important second and decisive goal. The final score was a 2-0 win as we advanced to the final.
A familiar foe awaited us in the final in the shape of Fordham in a re-run of our first game in the group stage. This turned out to be a much closer game but again Fordham scored an early goal as they played some lovely football to break through our defence. Milo again made some excellent saves to keep ESJ in the game but this time we looked much more of a threat going forward. Aiden dominated midfield as he had for most of the games and despite coming close on numerous occasions we were extremely unlucky not to get an equaliser as the game ended again in a 1-0 defeat. Congratulations to Fordham, they were the best team in event and deserved to win it.
Although everyone was extremely disappointed not to win the tournament, second place was a great result for a squad that consisted of six boys from year five and they will get another chance next year to go one better.
Super 6’s Smash Opposition For Six.
March Cricket Club was the destination for ten year 6 children on Wednesday 19th June as they travelled to take part in the re-scheduled cricket tournament against seven other schools. Each player from the fielding team bowled five deliveries and rotated their fielding position after each over. Each batting partnership faced ten balls.
Our first match was against Millfield. Strong batting by Oscar W and accurate bowling by Cassia ensured a comfortable 108-60 run victory. The next match was Westwood Yellow whose team was made up of mainly year 5 children. Huge sixes from William Fr and great bowling by Imogen helped ESJ cruise to a 119-19 run win. The final group game was against Cavalry Yellow. Owen dominated the batting, scoring freely and when it came to bowling William Fi took a wicket and fielded energetically. The final score was 101-48 runs in favour of ESJ resulting in us winning our group and qualifying for the semi-finals.
Cavalry Blue were our opponents in the semi-final and proved to be a tough challenge. Laura and Oscar P hit some lovely shots and a close game finished with a narrow 81-65 run victory for ESJ. Our last match was the final against Westwood Blue. This was another close encounter which seemed to swing one way then the other. Left hander Kaleb was cheered on by his team mates as he struck several boundaries giving us a good start as we batted first. Callum also crashed a couple of shots for four. William Fr’s fast tight bowling then helped us secure the win 101-52 runs and lift the trophy.
This is always a lovely event, held at a beautiful venue and very well organised. The weather was warm and sunny and the children had a great time putting their hours of lunchtime training to good use.
Year 4’s Runaway Success.
Five girls and five boys from year 4 were chosen to compete in the annual Quadkids event on Friday 30th June at Witchford Village College. The competition is made up of four athletics challenges:
50m Sprint.
400m Run.
Standing Long Jump.
Throwing a Howler.
This is a team event where all team members score points towards an overall total, the faster that the runs are completed the more points are awarded. The further the children run or jump the more points the team receive. The children were split into heats where they competed against the other school.
Our first event was the Standing Long Jump. Griffin jumped to an amazing 1.78m, with Leja just edging it with a huge jump of 1.8m. Minty also performed well with a very creditable leap of 1.46m.
Next up was the daunting 400m run. The children have practiced this race at school to help them judge pace and staying power. Leja and Enid stormed to victories in their respective heats with Lucy achieving a hard fought second place. For the boys Sam ran brilliantly and led from the front the whole time to comfortably win his heat. Griffin and Marley finished second in their heats with well-judged runs and Jude came third to add important points to our total.
Our penultimate challenge was a mixture of technique and power, throwing the Howler. Marley threw an incredible 16.9m with Joe pulling out one of his best throws 11.7m. Olivia managed 11.4m for the girls which was a great effort.
The final event was the 50m Sprint. I was blown away by our athletes as Sam, Griffin, Marley, Leja and Enid all romped to first place finishes in their heats. A notable mention also for Olivia and Joe who fought hard to achieve second in their heats and further boost ESJ’s points tally.
I am delighted and proud to confirm that out of the seven teams competing Ely St Johns finished in 1st place taking the Gold Medal. The competition was well run as usual and the weather was kind to us. It was great to see all of our athletes giving 100% in all of the events that they took part in and their never say die attitude was a pleasure to witness.