This coming Saturday is probably the most important weekend of the season for many Sussex School athletes.
For many non-club athletes this will be their pinnacle for competition, but for several club athletes it is also an excellent opportunity to gain the English Schools Standard that will earn them a place in the Sussex Schools team to compete at the English Schools Championships at Birmingham next month.
More than thirty athletes have already achieved the standard this year and some are last year’s English School’s medallists.
Two of last year’s champions Natasha Purchas (Burgess Hill), senior girls pole vault and Elizabeth Korczak (Brighton College) inter girls javelin are both hoping to retain their titles when they get to Birmingham while Emilie Oakden (Priory), junior pole vault, will be eager to improve on her third place of last year, as she is still in the same age group.
The same applies to Poppy Oliver (Oriel) in the inter girls 300m hurdles, who was also third, at Birmingham last year.
It is not only the high flyers who catch the eye at the Sussex meeting however, as in the past many athletes who have gone on to be big names in Sussex emerge at these championships and surprise the favourites. This applies particularly to the Junior (U15) group when they come, like a bolt out of the blue, and win titles as complete unknowns and that is part of the joy of these championships.
It is however a very long day for athletes and particularly officials with the field events starting at 9.30 and the track events 10.45 and it will be 5.30 before it is all over for another year.
BAL / UKWAL
On Sunday the Crawley men have what is their first British League Match of the season, their first match was cancelled and their women also have their first UKWAL match of the season.
Several of the senior athletes, at the Sussex Schools Championships, will be in action again for their club on Sunday.