GYCA smash records in whole-trust Champions Day

On Friday 30th June, pupils from all our nine secondaries across the Inspiration Trust came together to compete in the Champions Day Athletics Meet held at the UEA SportsPark in Norwich. The event brought together pupils from across Years 7, 8, 9 and 10, totalling over 650 involved in the competition - the highest number of participants in an Inspiration Trust sports event yet! 

As one of the biggest sports events in the Inspiration Trust calendar, this was a chance for pupils to show off their athletics skills using a high-quality outdoor venue and cheer their peers on to the finish line with gusto. The pupils competed in several different track and field events during the day; track events ranged from 100m sprints to 800m, culminating in the 4 x 100m relay races. Field events consisted of long jump, high jump, javelin, shot put and discus. Every pupil competed admirably, showing great sportsmanship, determination and spirit during the day. 

Paul Andrews, Head of PE said: 

"We are so proud of our pupils, they gained so much from being able to compete with athletes from other schools and really pushed themselves to do their best. We were amazed to see so many records broken and especially the many personal bests achieved in the middle distance running events.” 

There were over 100 races completed, 11 Inspiration Trust track records and 16 field records broken. This was not only an opportunity for those already interested in athletics to show off their talents, but also gave pupils the opportunity to experience what a competition might entail and practice their track and field skills in a professional environment. The event also aimed to encourage more pupils to take part in sports activities and athletics, both in and outside of a school environment.  

A big thank you goes to Norfolk Athletics and the Sports Leaders, who facilitated the smooth running of the track events, and the PE teachers and staff from our schools that ran the different track and field events during the day.  

For each field event and for races on the track, gold, silver and bronze medals were given to the winning pupils. Being crowned champions overall were the pupils from Great Yarmouth Charter Academy, winning an impressive 3 out of 4 of the year group competitions. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication the staff and pupils have put into preparing for this event. The day concluded with an awards ceremony to show recognition to the athletes who, not only competed at a high level but exhibited sporting values throughout the event. 

The ‘Champions Day’ athletics rounds off the athletics season and this year saw an impressive number of records broken for the Great Yarmouth Charter Academy. Some of the records date back to the 1980s when Charter was a Grammar school, so it is testament to the current pupils who have shown to be the best in their age group we have had through the school. 

Records beaten included: 

Year 7 

Louie Lewis - 300m - 45.62s 

Louie Lewis - 800m - 2min 37sec 

Essien Stanislaus - Discus - 21.74m 

Bella Moore - 300m - 49.65s 

Sofija Gummer - 800m  -2min 55sec 

Year 8  

Fatima Djassi - 100m - 13.53s 

Lennox Cooper, Lucas Durrant,  Edson Cassama, Gary Grant - 4 x 100m Relay - 52.28s 

Samira Veiga, Fatima Djassi, Alesha Markwell, Cleila Ramos - 4 x 100m Relay - 58.01s 

Year 9 

Daniel Balde - High Jump - 1.55m  

Velise Nichols, Rusalina Rusu, Shania Rashid, Ellis Greenlees - 4 x 100m Relay - 56.71s 

Year 10 

George Smith - 200m - 23.18s