Category: Sports News

ENTRIES for this year’s Thame Triathlon is expected to exceed 350 ranging form beginners to elite triathletes who compete nationally.

The event will begin with the swimming at Thame Leisure Centre, followed by the cycling which will take competitors from there to chinnor and back, 11 miles, and end with a run of 5k along the Phoenix Trail and back, all finishing in the school playing fields at Lord Williams’s Upper school.

The event is very popular with local residents, and those wanting to try out a shorther triathlon in their local Town should give it a try. The cycle route travels through Thame high street out to Chinnor.

Those taking part include the developer of the ithame app, Andy MacDonald, who says: “I am looking to improve on my position of 56th to make the top 50. Not bad for a vet!”

For more information about the Thame Triathlon, visit: http://www.justracinguk.com/event/thame-triathlon-pool-sprint-0

ASTON Rowant CC is hosting the fourth place play off for the Women’s cricket quadrangular tournament this summer.

The four top, international teams, England, New Zealand, Australia and India will be playing in the third and fourth place play-off at Aston Rowant and Wormsley on July 7.

England will play at Wormsley regardless whether they reach the final or not, so Aston Rowant will host the quadrangular final if England fail to qualify.

PHOTO: courtesy of www.ecb.co.uk

THE Thame 10km road race took place once again in conditions more like Trinidad than Thame. For the third consecutive year, runners braved a hot and humid morning on the course through the town centre out to Towersey and back along the traffic-free Phoenix Trail.

First place overall and winner by more than two mintues, was Steven Naylor of Woodstock Harriers in a time of 31:23, beating the Thame 10km record by nearly a minute – a great achievement considering the conditions and also that the previous record of 32:07 had stood for eight years! First lady home was Sophie Carter, from the same Woodstock club, in a time of 37:21.

The hotly contested trophy for first Thame Resident was won by Jon Hiscox of Thame Runners who finished in 36:30, just ahead of George Anderson and Jack Hobbs, both just over the 37 minute mark.

Other runners in the race included the headteacher of Lord Williams?s School, David Wybron, who completed the grueling feat in a respectable time of 55 minutes and being the perfect host allowing the event to take place on the school fields.

CPM were not only the key sponsor of the event but also a major participant with over 80 staff participating and winning the Corporate team prize along the way.
Nigel Champken-Woods, the town?s deputy Mayor, was on hand to start the Children?s Fun where over 100 took part in either 1 or 2 laps of the playing fields.

Key category winners below:

Senior men
1st Steven Naylor Woodstock Harriers 31.23
2nd Charlie May Aylesbury Vale 33.48
3rd Derrell Bellinger Oxford City 34.00

Vet men
1st Stephen Male Oxford City 34.08

Supervet men
1st Bryan Vaughan Woodstock Harriers 38.24

Ultravet men
1st Alan Webb Midland Masters AC 43.08

Junior male
1st Matthew Marshall Oxford City 36.24

Senior ladies
1st Sophie Carter Woodstock Harriers 37.21
2nd Samantha Amend Belgrave Harriers 38.04
3rd Jessica Webb Woodstock Harriers 40.08

Vet ladies
1st Mary Grace Spalton Belgrave Harriers 40.06

Supervet ladies
1st Sally White Handy Cross 45.53

Ultravet ladies
1st Jaqueline Millett Stragglers 49.56

Junior female
1st Annabelle Hutt unattached 48.09

Mens club team
Oxford City

Ladies club team
Woodstock Harriers

Corporate team
CPM

Thame Resident
Jon Hiscox Thame Runners 36.30

FULL RESULTS on Thame runners’ website

PHOTO: Heydon Brown, his mother, her friend Theresa and her daughter Emma, who were running to raise funds for Jack O’donnell foundation. Jack died after a tragic accident in August last year (2010)

LAST week local housebuilder, David Wilson Homes, swapped hard hats for cricket bats to become official kit sponsors for Thame Town Cricket Club.

The company presented the club with a new kit last ahead of their first team game against Gerrards Cross which saw the club take victory over their close rivals.

Paul Moran, Sales Director for David Wilson Homes Southern commented: ?The cricket team is an important part of the local community in Thame and we are glad to show our support with this sponsorship. The club is just a stones throw from our Windmill Place development so it seemed fitting to lend our support by providing the new kit. I understand the team?s season has got off to a good start and I hope that this can continue throughout the summer.?

Angus Lachlan, Club Chairman for Thame Town Cricket Club commented: ?As well as our new kit, the club are also delighted with the new training nets we?ve obtained thanks to David Wilson Homes sponsorship. The support means that now our club can really develop from a small country club to a local club with a real professional attitude. The new kit has really boosted moral and we now have great team spirit building amongst all players in all teams.?

The club currently has over 200 members aged between eight and 60. With a number of teams in various local leagues, the club are always on the look out for new recruits for both junior and senior teams. To find out more please visit: LINK

As part of a joint project with Wates Developments and David Wilson Homes, Windmill Place is a stylish development which offers an excellent selection of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes, in the thriving historic market town of Thame, Oxfordshire. Prices at Windmill Place range from

THAME Boys,Youth & Girls Festival of Football sponsored by locally based UVW was held at Meadow View Park over the weekend. With over 155 teams taking part with more than 1200 players and 450 matches, the tournament has been hailed as a resounding success as the first at the new site.

In addition three teams and a 35 strong contingent from Thame?s twinning town of Montesson in France made the long journey across the Channel to take part with the Under 10′s reaching the semi-final of their competition.

It was a good weekend also for the host club with Thame Boys Under 11′s and 13′s winning their respective age groups. Despite the terrible weather on Sunday the attendance over the weekend topped 3,500 and those players and spectators who braved the elements on
Sunday all stayed and enjoyed the football. All of the semi-finals and finals were played on the ASM Stadium pitch and this provided a perfect viewing area for all the spectators and a fantastic playing surface for the players.

TFP?s General Manager, Frank Thompson, said: “We were delighted as to how smoothly everything ran over the weekend. Our French guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were full of praise for the event and
facilities. We have had tremendous feedback from lots of the teams and clubs that took part in the event and we plan to make it bigger and better next year.?

Frank added: ?The event would not have happened if it wasn?t for the army of volunteers and helpers,
referees and assistants who all gave their support over the weekend.”

PHOTO: The Montesson players following the Semi Final

AS anyone who visits Thame Leisure Centre on Wednesday evenings will know, the town has a very active social and competitive badminton scene. What many don?t realise is that this has been going on for three generations.

Thame Badminton Club was originally founded in 1936, with 17 members mainly made up of local farmers who played in the Town Hall for 10 shillings a night.

Play continued throughout the war, with one minor mishap occurring when a bomb fell on the High Street, causing a brick to fall on court during play!

Today, Thame Badminton Club continues to be both social and competitive, with several teams playing regularly in the Oxfordshire and Aylesbury leagues. Plans are now underway to mark the 75th anniversary with special events for the new season, including a fundraising ‘badmintathon’ and a club championship with prizes of 2012 Olympics tickets for the winners.

The club always welcomes new members and is currently running the annual Summer Club which takes place on Wednesdays between 8pm and 10pm at Thame Leisure Centre
until July 27, and new players can just turn up on a ?Pay and Play? basis.

The 75th anniversary season begins on September 7.

For more information visit: wwww.thamebadminton.co.uk

NB
Thame Badminton Club competes regularly in the top divisions of the Oxfordshire Badminton League and the Aylesbury and District Badminton Leagues in Mens, Ladies and Mixed Doubles.

THAME Football Partnership will be providing a Festival of Soccer during the Summer Holidays at Meadow View Park. There will be three weeks of Football Fun starting from Monday July 25, to Friday, 29, Monday Aaugust 1 to Friday August 5, and Monday August 15 to Friday August 19.

TFP are also offering special discounts for those that book 1, 2 or all 3 weeks. Daily bookings can also be made and the cost is only

TEAM Thame were in action again last Saturday, (May 14)at the Handy Cross pool in High Wycombe for the WDSC Sprint meet. Parents and swimmers had an interesting time as the balcony area above the pool, normally reserved for spectators, was out of commission following an inspection earlier in the week.

Spectators were sat poolside and the swimmers sat in the changing rooms. Despite several of Thame?s swimmers missing from the meet due to GCSE revision, the squad was bigger than that fielded last year and performed very well with nearly 100% PBs.

For the first time, WDSC introduced finals to the event with a 200M IM final in the evening. Nacho Mendi qualified for the final in his age group. Head Coach, Dave Jones, was ably assisted by Linda Newton, drafted in as a Team Manager and Conny Gilmore who wasn?t needed for time keeping so assisted with Team Management. It was pb?s all the way, except for one race.

The Team were Marcus Birmingham, Georgia Cahill, Bronte and Hallam Cozier, Grace Gilmore, Amy Haarburger, Hannah Hawken, Nacho Mendi, Harry Moore, Imogen Newell, Rachael Newton, Laura Nobes, Rowan Read, Elliot Riley Brown, Jessica Russell, Ella Simms, and Liam Talbot. All of the swimmers put in a tremendous effort.

SOURCE: Contributed

The Medallist?s Were:

ARRAN Strutt (14) of Thame Duellists Fencing Club, rounded off his first competitive season with an appearance at the British Youth Championships in Sheffield last weekend, having qualified with a fifth place finish in the Southern Region qualifying event for the under-14 age group.

The Competition, held at the prestigious English Institute of Sport venue in Sheffield, was a learning experience for Arran in what was only his third competitive outing outside of club matches, and a ‘first’ at national level.

Arran had a difficult seeding round and showed strength of character to pick up two wins from his final three fights having been beaten in his first three. But two wins from six bouts meant a tough draw going into the knockout phase of the competition and he was knocked out by Wilson of London 15-8, leaving Arran with a final result of 48th overall. But the fight was closer than the scoreline suggests and it leaves Arran with a clear understanding of what he has to do to improve at this level, as well as the knowledge that a better result next year is within his grasp.

Club Chair, James Kingston, said: ?The thing that impressed me was that Arran?s fencing improved over the course of the day. A first appearance at National level is all about learning what it takes to succeed against more demanding opposition ? many of whom will have years of experience at this level – and he certainly did that. Making it into the top fifty in the country at your first attempt is good going.?

The result whets the club?s appetite for next season, when Arran will be joined by team mates including Bucks, Berks & Oxon bronze medallist Daniel Kovacs and others, in the quest to improve on this season?s results.

Thame Duellists Fencing Club welcomes new members, both adults and juniors. Anyone interested should call Club Chairman James Kingston on 07947 049511.

THE ASM Stadium at Meadow View Park, Thame, played host to the England Womens’ team this weekend including a friendly international match against Sweden.

The England party trained at the facility on Friday and Saturday, (14/15 May) and the match was played behind closed doors on Sunday with Sweden running out narrow 1-0 victors.

“Thame Football Partnership were pleased to have been chosen by the FA to stage this event,” said Frank Thompson, “and both countries were delighted with the quality of the facility and playing surface. The match was a warm up for the full international at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday evening which kicks off at 19.45pm and is in preparation for the England Squad who are competing in the Womens World Cup in Germany in June this year.”

Manchester United legends coming to Thame

Thame United will also be hosting a match against a Man Utd Legends Team at the ASM Stadium on Sunday, August 28. The match will be all ticket with admission