New Era For Sport At Lord Williams’s, Thame

THE Captain of England’s Ladies’ hockey team, Kate Walsh, has helped set a Thame school on its next step to sporting excellence.
Kate was at Lord Williams’s Upper School today, where she met the Mayor, Nigel Champken-Woods and staff from the school, to officially launch the school’s new, all-weather playing surface facility.
The event began with a Year 10, inter-tutor group Decathlon and in the afternoon, pupils from the area’s primary schools were given the opportunity to try out football, hockey, netball and athletics on the new pitches.
Pupils Alex Parker, James Morris, Beth Gibson, Becci Hickman and their friend Oliver, all agreed that the new surface was brilliant – providing a better grip when its wet than conventional grass and easier to run on.
“The only downside,” said Oliver, “is when you fall over it scrapes a bit but its not a problem.”

Kate, whose England team faces its next battle in August’s 2007 EuroHockey Nations Championships in Manchester, told ThameNews.Net: “We had nothing like this when I first started out and I feel sure that the much easier and quicker playing surface will make it so much easier for young people to pick up the skills needed for hockey.”

Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods, who was carrying out his final official duty as Mayor, said: “This is a fantastic new facility which can be used for so many things.
“We are getting there with sport in Thame – we’ve got the pool, the fitness suite and we are hopefully on the way with football but we have no hockey in Thame. So, if we can get that off the ground, we will be there!”

Top photo L to R: Chair of SOLL Leisure, Roger Cowdrey, Mayor or Thame, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods, Captain of England’s hockey team, Kate Walsh, Ger Philips and Rob Brooks, Head of PE at the school.

Lower photo: Alex Parker, James Morris, Beth Gibson, Becci Hickman and fellow pupil Oliver.