ONCE again, despite a few minor issues, the Dodgeball Finals were a relative breeze. With a huge 20 teams qualifying from last week’s events, the challenge to get finished on time was always going to be tight.

Pleasingly, the standard of play was high; some of the throws were brutal – the speed and intensity were both frightening and awesome to observe.

The catching and tactical play was impressive. The 20 teams were grouped across the four courts, with the top team from each group contesting a semi-final place. Thankfully, there was no need for any count backs or head-to-head results as four teams dominated their groups and progressed to the semi-finals undefeated.

In the first semi-final, Freshwaters narrowly edged out Little Parndon reds, before Roydon edged out Churchgate 1.  

The final was a very tight affair, with momentum swinging backwards and forwards through each of the 3 x 90 seconds rounds. Eventually, Freshwaters secured victory 2-1 over a strong Roydon team; Little Parndon reds beat Churchgate 1 by the same score for the 3^rd/4^th playoff. 

The results of the afternoon groups were as follows: 

Group 1 

Freshwaters 2 – 12 points 

Little Parndon 1 – 8 points 

Purford Green 2 – 8 points 

Churchgate 3 – 6 points 

Henry Moore 3 – 4 points 

Group 2 

Little Parndon reds – 12 points 

Fawbert and Barnard 1 – 10 points 

Holy Cross 2 – 8 points 

Hatfield Heath 2 – 6 points 

Pemberley – didn’t attend 

Group 3 

Roydon – 12 points 

Holy Cross 1 – 10 points 

Henry Moore 2 – 8 points 

Little Parndon 3 – 6 points 

Churchgate 2 – 4 points 

Group 4 

Churchgate 1 – 12 points 

Henry Moore 1 – 8 points 

Purford Green 1 – 8 points 

Fawbert and Barnard 2 – 6 points 

The Downs – 4 points 

Semi-Finals 

Freshwaters beat Little Parndon 2 (2-1) 

Roydon beat Churchgate 1 (2-1) 

3^rd/4^th Playoff 

Little Parndon 2 beat Churchgate 1 (2-1) 

Finals 

Freshwaters beat Roydon (2-1) 

Congratulations to Freshwaters Academy, who were crowned as Harlow Champions. Thanks to Jack Stacey, Gill Pardoe, Harry Stacey who supported SGO David Stacey to officiate a staggering 386 rounds of Dodgeball; 124 matches over 8 hours of play. Final thanks were given to all the school staff that supported the event; again their help was invaluable and the fantastic standard of play and sportsmanship is directly attributed to their dedication.