Christmas 2009 - Newbattle Community High School

Page 6
Check out our website at www.newbattle.org.uk
Newbattle News
Check out our website at www.newbattle.org.uk
Newbattle Sports Ambassadors at the UK School Games
“Please sir call for
linesman”
The weekend of the 4 th -6 th
September saw the UK School
Games held in Cardiff, with 1600
pupils from all four home nations
competing in sports such as
Swimming, Gymnastics, Athletics
and Volleyball over four exciting
days.
The UK School Games is a multisport
event for the UK’s elite young
athletes of school age. It is organised
by the Youth Sports Trust as a build
up to the London 2012 Olympics
and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth
Games. The games were run exactly
like an Olympics with an athletes
village and all teams in national kit.
Included in the competitors were
Midlothian students, including
Robyn Russell 3CM, a Newbattle
High pupil who represents Scotland
at gymnastics. As part of the
Scottish team, Robyn won a bronze
medal in the team competition.
Newbattle High was also one of only
two schools in Scotland (the other
being Islay High School) who
supplied two S5 pupils as volunteers.
Our two S5 Young Ambassadors of
Sport – Gemma Love 5BL and
James Tannerhill
with Sally Gunnell
James Tannerhill 5DM - joined a
team of sixty pupils from all over the
world, who assisted in the running of
the games. The volunteers were
there to assist and ensure the smooth
and professional running of the
Games in a great spirit of
competition and co-operation. They
had the opportunity to work with
young people from Africa, the
Middle East and South America in
the Athletics and Volleyball events as
part of the British Council’s
International Inspirations project.
Gemma and James worked daily
from 6.30am to 9pm and earned
great praise from the officials and
staff from the Youth Sports Trust
who ran the Games.
Both pupils had a wonderful time in
Cardiff finding time to visit the
Welsh Parliament, the Millennium
stadium and Cardiff town centre.
During the Games, Gemma was
asked to interview Olympic gold
medallist Denise Lewis on her
Heptathlon success, before Gemma
was herself interviewed by Channel
4! James got to meet Sally Gunnell
the 400m hurdles gold medal runner.
Gemma Love
with Denise Lewis
When Geography
Teacher Mr Moore
turned up to watch
the match between
Dunfermline Athletic
and Airdrie
U n i t e d , h e
watched as referee
Anthony Law injured
himself and
had to be carried
off East End Park
just three minutes
into the game. Assistant referee
Bryan Broadwood took over but
there was no fourth official to take
his place.
An appeal was broadcast asking if
there were any qualified referees in
the crowd, and up stepped Mr
Moore.
He was swiftly
whisked away
into the changing
rooms and
emerged 15
minutes later
clad in black,
holding an orange
and yellow
flag ready to
take on his biggest challenge.
“I normally referee kids and juvenile
games and have run the line in junior
football but this was a huge step up.
The pace of the game was something
else and high concentration levels
were needed at all times, I couldn’t
switch off. It was a dream come true
for me running the line in front of
the North West Stand where I have
watched Dunfermline since I was a
child. The sense of elation I felt running
out of the tunnel and getting a
standing ovation from the home
support was immense.”
“My message to all students at Newbattle
High would be to seize an opportunity
if it presents itself”
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