Sportshall

Sportshall Athletics is an indoor mix of fun and competition during the winter months for U11, U13 and U15 athletes. Until the pandemic, Sussex AA supported two Sportshall leagues at Horsham and Worthing. From Autumn 2021 the decision was taken to combine the leagues at one venue, Worthing.

From the results of the league fixtures, teams are selected to represent Sussex in the regional inter-county events for under-11s and combined under-13s/under-15s which are held at Burgess Hill. The events bring the most talented youngsters from each county league programme together to create an exciting culmination to young club athletes winter season.

The Sussex Sportshall League was organised by John Linfield and began in 1981 when the Horsham Blue Stars promoted two demonstration meetings. In the early days, there were only four or five clubs in the county interested in this form of competition but in recent years there has been more widespread interest since UK Athletics adopted Sportshall as a grassroots scheme – a first step into the sport for young people.

Many current and former GB Team members started in the Sportshall programme including Mark Lewis-Francis, Kelly Sotherton, Denise Lewis, Jade Johnson, Morgan Lake and Amber Anning.

Trivia: Gareth Southgate, the former England footballer, now England manager, competed in Sportshall for Crawley AC in his youth, as did Olympic pole vaulter Nick Buckfield.

In 2016 Brighton & Hove’s Amber Anning ended her Sportshall career by winning the UK Under 15 All-Rounder title, to add to the two individual titles she had won as an Under 13. Amber is the county’s most successful ever Sportshall athlete and finished her Sportshall career having broken 10 out of a possible 18 Sussex Sportshall Records.

In 2017 Horsham’s Seb Wallace won the UK Under 13 boys Standing Triple Jump title.

The Sportshall dates at Worthing for 2025-2026 are as follows: