Sports Round-Up - Spring Term 2023

It has been another busy term of sports at QM. As the UVI captains reflected on their sporting journey last week at the annual sports dinner, the message from many of them was how important sport had become to them, and how many memories and friendships were formed while out on playing pitches or playing field.

A cold and wet start

The spring term is always a busy one for one reason or another, and this year was no exception. Back in the dark, cold and miserable weather of January, many fixtures fell victim to the weather, but the Senior Tennis team gave an outstanding performance in torrential conditions against Wakefield Girls, which set them up for a semi-final match against local rivals St Peter's. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and the girls did not progress into the Northern finals. As we approached the February half term, highlights included a closely fought Badminton encounter with HLC and a great result for the U14 Hockey team, who were crowned Y&D tournament winners.

Thankfully, the weather started to improve after the half-term break and there were excellent wins for the U12, U14 and 1st VII Netball teams against Millthorpe and HLC respectively. Credit must also be given to the U13 Netball team, who earned a deserving draw against Millthorpe after end-to-end play. A big well done to the U12 Netball team, who were semi-finalists in the Y&D tournament, and a nail-biting finish for the Mavericks A team as they were runners-up in Division 2 of the York & District league - beaten by just one goal against the winners of the group.

There has been plenty of action and miles driven for the Lacrosse teams this term, with attendance at the various age group North Schools tournaments and, of course, Nationals for the 1st X. A big well done to the U14 Lax team who played an outstanding practice match against York University Development Team just before their National competition, which sadly was victim to the weather again but this time in March! Aldershot seems to get the worse of the weather. Fingers crossed that next year it will be sunshine!

Invitational tournaments

Most schools tend to ease off as the Easter break approaches, but not QM. The buzz and excitement of matches continued in our glorious grounds as we hosted our Annual Junior Schools Tournament on St Patrick's Day, where our fabulous Year I girls hosted prep schools throughout the day. They were a credit to the school.

A real highlight of the term has to be our very own Senior Invitational Netball tournament on Wednesday 22nd March. Over 200 players from schools around the North were in attendance for a fabulous afternoon of high-quality netball - from RGS Newcastle in the north to Sedbergh in the west and Worksop to the south. Both the 1st VII and 2nd VII were tightly contested affairs. The following day, the Athens-inspired Senior Sports Dinner took place in The Wenlock Library. It was a delight to celebrate our girls' successes and, of course, to thank the captains and UVI girls for their dedication to QM sport - whether for the past two years since joining the Sixth Form or since they arrived back in Red House seven years ago.

Without the hard work and dedication of the staff throughout the school, our matches, tournaments, events and celebrations could not happen, and we must thank them all for their support.

Teams of the term

Again we celebrate the teams of the term, and a huge well done to all winners - it is great to see a range of year groups represented.

Holiday sports activities

Some girls will continue their sporting commitments over the holiday - we wish you all the best. A special mention to Francesca (III), who will be representing the City of York Hockey club in the England Hockey Plate Final on 22nd April. Also, Elsa (V) will represent Scotland U18 Lacrosse in the Home Internationals at Nottingham University on the 15th & 16th of April. Best of luck girls, the QM Family are behind you.

Looking on to next term

As we return to school from the Easter break, the summer sports are upon us, and hopefully with some Yorkshire sunshine too. With the lighter days and nights, this only means more hours of physical activity and sport being experienced in our wonderful grounds each and every day - we encourage you all to make the most of it. As a department, we are looking forward to seeing the whites of tennis kits littering our courts, cooperation and teamwork on the cricket wickets, and some pace and endurance on the athletics track. It is even more important that those girls with examinations make use of our wonderful grounds to refresh and have some quality time away from studying and revision - 30 minutes a day will revive you and make that brain work twice as hard.

There are some exciting forthcoming trips to look forward to; from a Netball Superleague match to watching the women's and men's GB hockey teams playing Belgium in June, and not forgetting our very own parent/daughter tennis competition in the latter half of term. Girls lower down the school will be participating in our Swimathon challenge and will be working in teams to complete a distance. For the keen swimmers amongst you, this event is taking place nationally from 12-14th May, promoted under the hashtag #SwimForAll.

Wishing you all a well-earned rest. Have a fabulous Easter break - don't be tempted by too much chocolate! We look forward to welcoming you back for our final term of the 2022/23 academic year.

With warmest wishes,

Jill Rastall