15th Jun 2022
Huge congratulations to our Lord's Taverners Tabletop Cricket Team for making it to the national finals at Lords Cricket ground tomorrow! The whole college is incredibly proud of you and we will all be cheering you on!
Six team members - William Martin, QL, Kaya Bennett, Evan Moody, Mary Williamson and Lauren Bellcourt plus sub, Woody Archer, will be making the journey to London to compete against schools and colleges from across the country - and one thing they know for sure is that all of their classmates at college will be with them in spirit too!
Tabletop cricket is a sport for young people with an SEN diagnosis or disability. The game is usually played on a table tennis table with side panels and sliding fielders placed around to create the pitch. A small ball and ramp are used to bowl and a small wooden bat enables players to score runs.
Pathways Abingdon Course Leader, James Atkins, said:
“Tabletop cricket gives young people with SEN needs opportunities to develop their social skill and teamwork whilst having fun and competing. I’m really proud of them! I’m not interested in the venue I am just interested in them, I’m so excited to see them compete at that level and have fun! Regardless of whether they win or lose they are in the national final and that is down to the hard work and teamwork of everyone involved. It is a wonderful tournament; everyone is respectful of each other and everyone is included. Competitors can play one handed, two handed or hand over hand so nobody is left out”.
James and Kaya were even invited onto the Adam Ball radio show on BBC Radio Oxford to talk about the tournament and Kaya left everyone listening in no doubt that the team is there to win!
You can hear the interview here, scroll to 42:25 : https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/p...
The College has participated in the tournament for four years and in 2019 won at county level - but of course, the regional tournament was cancelled due to Covid. Eight to twelve teams from across the country compete at each level so to reach the final is a huge achievement.
The tournament is funded by sports charity, Lord’s Taverners, which aims to positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality. In Oxfordshire, the Oxfordshire Cricket Board hosts the events under the stewardship of Richard Giles, Head of Disability Cricket for Oxfordshire.
You can watch a short video filmed by the Lord's Taverners below!