10. Women's Team Table Tennis

Event: Women's Team Table Tennis
Date: 8th December 2012
Location: Brightlingsea Sports Centre
Cost: £16.80
Rules: Team matches consist of four singles matches and one doubles match, played over the best of five games. Each team consists of three players and matches end when a team has won three individual games. Singles and doubles matches are won by the first player to reach 11 points (with a margin of two clear points). In doubles matches, players take turns to hit the ball, with one hit each before alternating.

The Event:

 

London 2012 Winners: China.

The Match:

Singles Game One: Ellie (team odd) vs Laura (team even): Evens win 4-2

Doubles Game : Odds vs Evens: Evens win 4-3

Singles Game Two: Claire (team odd) vs Elaine (team even): Odds win 4-1

Singles Game Three: Sarah C (team odd) vs Sarah P (team even): Evens win 4-0

Winners: Team Evens (Elaine, Laura and Sarah P)

Comments:  

Sarah: What a morning! We thought that two hours would be plenty of time to fit in our team match, but we finished just in time. We were set up in a squash court and chose our teams.  As everyone got more comfortable with playing (and remembered to not return the ball if it hadn't bounced on their side of the table!), the play got much faster and more tactical. Table tennis has been the early hit of our challenge, and I'd definitely play again.     
Ellie: I had 4 hours sleep - last night was my staff Christmas party. This has been my most anger inducing challenge so far as I really felt I could have won at least one of my games... but Table Tennis is a harsh task master. It makes you believe you can win and then makes the table smaller than you think it is so that you lose points and your mind... slightly... Squash courts are rather echo-y if you ever think of swearing loudly in one!
All in all though it was another entertaining experience; another couple of hours in the company of interesting and funny people; another sport centre identified and visited and another sport at least tried, if not fully conquered! 

Thank you to Brightlingsea Sports Centre for only charging us for one hour!

9. Shot Put

Event: Women's Shot Put
Date: 29th November 2012
Location: Southend Athletics Club, Garons Park, Southend.
Cost: Free
Rules: The women's Shot Put  weighs 4 kgs with a diametre of 95-110mms. The Shot Put circle is 2.135m in diametre with a wooden stop board 10cm high on the outside. Competitors may touch the inside of the circle or stop board during the attempt but can not touch the top of either nor can they leave the circle until the shot hits the ground. Competitors must enter and leave the circle from the back. The shot must touch the competitors neck or chin as the attempt begins. The Shot is put, not thrown, with one hand only and it must not drop below its starting position during the attempt. As in all throwing events, the twelve finalists have three attempts apiece. The longest single throw during the final wins.

The Event:

 

Distance:

Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 20.70m, Valerie Adams, New Zealand.

Ellie: 1. 3.30m, 2. 3.73m, 3. 4.31m (PB)

Sarah: 1. 3.11m, 3.36m (PB), 3. 3.24m

Comments:  

Sarah: Our last event of the night was the trickiest to master in terms of technique. It was really hard to resist the temptation to throw the shot rather than keeping it next to the chin/neck until the last moment and 'put' it.  
Ellie: The Shot Put completes our evening and not only have we completed 4 events in one go but we've met some wonderful people that have really embraced the spirit of our challenge. As for the Shot Put, it's deceptively heavy and large. If you ever try it out just remember - Clean Palm, Dirty fingers... and it'll all become clear. 

A huge thankyou to June and everyone at Southend Athletics Club for all their help and patience! They meet every Tues and Thurs evenings, and have some amazing facilities. 

Find out more here:  http://www.southend-on-sea-athletic-club.co.uk 

 

8. Discus Throw

Event: Women's Discus Throw
Date: 29th November 2012
Location: Southend Athletics Club, Garons Park, Southend.
Cost: Free
Rules: The women's discus weighs 1kg and has a diameter of 18cms. The discus is thrown from a circle with a diameter of 2.5m. All discus throws are made from an enclosure to ensure the safety of by-standers. As in all throwing events, the twelve finalists have three attempts apiece. The longest single throw during the final wins.

The Event: 

 

 

Distance:

Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 69.11m, Sandra Perkovik, Croatia.

Ellie: 1. 13.45m (PB), 2. 12.54m, 3. 12.64m

Sarah: 1. 11.62m (PB), 2. 10.83m, 3. 11.00m

 

Comments:  

Sarah: This was the quickest event of the night, which may or may not have something to do with how cold the actual discus was.. it was freezing! Despite the best efforts of our coach Billy, I found it really hard to spin the discus off my fingers- a movement which should have made it glide through the air rather than wobble about all over the place.  
Ellie: The Discus seemed the more natural of the 4 events; I like to think that is why we powered through this event. It was very interesting that we PB'd on our first attempts... perhaps the wind-up technique was more tiring than it felt? One interesting thing to mention for each of these events is the way in which each distance thrown is measured. The adjudicator measures from the midpoint of the throwing circle to ensure an accurate result because the arena that you throw into is arced.  

7. Hammer Throw

Event: Women's Hammer Throw
Date: 29th November 2012
Location: Southend Athletics Club, Garons Park, Southend.
Cost: Free
Rules: The Hammer is a three part device that includes a metal ball attached to a steel wire with a grip or handle at the end. The Hammer is the only throwing competition in which throwers may wear gloves. Women throw a 4kg ball with a diameter of 95-100mm's. The Hammer is thrown from inside a circle which lies within an enclosure. As in all throwing events, the twelve finalists have three attempts apiece. The longest single throw during the final wins.

The Event:

   

Distance:

Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 78.18m, Tatyana Lysenko, Russia.

Ellie: 1. 9.46m, 2. 10.56m, 3. 11.81m (PB)

Sarah: 1. 9.44m, 2. 9.50m (PB), 3. 8.58m
  

Comments:  

Sarah: Hammer was initially fairly terrifying; it took a little while to get the hang of swinging the hammer round the head, and figuring out when to let go. Our coach Sam gave us lots of tips, and put our efforts to shame when he showed us at the end just how far it is possible to throw it. 

Ellie: Why? Why are people like us allowed to throw the Hammer? It's clearly very dangerous. And heavy. The phrase 'with great power comes great responsibility' has never rung truer and I spent a lot of time between throws feeling very worried. Thankfully we had experts on hand and the assistance of Toby, a Southend Athletics Club youngster, to collect the measurements and the Hammer which gave us time to summon our courage for the next throw. 

6. Javelin Throw

Event: Women's Javelin Throw
Date: 29th November 2012
Location: Southend Athletics Club, Garons Park, Southend.
Cost: Free
Rules: The women's javelin weighs at least 600g and measures between 2.2 - 2.3 metres long. The runway is between 30-36.5 metres long. Throwers may place as many as two markers in the runway. The javelin is held at the grip and thrown over the shoulder or the upper part of the throwing arm. Spinning is illegal. To constitute a legal throw the javelin's metal tip must break the ground. As in all throwing events, the twelve finalists have three attempts apiece. The longest single throw during the final wins.

The Event:

Distance:

Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 69.55m, Barbora Spotakova, Czech Republic.

Ellie: 1. 7.63m, 2. 8.18m, 3. 10.22m (PB).

Sarah: 1. 7.74m, 2. No Throw, 3. 9.00m (PB)
 
Comments:  

Sarah: We had been looking forward to our evening of athletic throws for weeks, but hadn't quite been expecting it to be such a cold night! Everyone from Southend Athletics Club was so lovely and helpful, and gave us some excellent coaching and tips. I seemed to be much better throwing the javelin stationary; the inclusion of the run-up seemed to confuse me, and I was really disappointed with my no throw. I really enjoyed this one, and would definitely like to give javelin another shot in the future.
Ellie: After some superb guidance from Anne; I really thought Sarah had this in the bag as her technique outstripped mine by miles. So, I can only conclude that my Javelin PB was a massive fluke. 

5. Women's Doubles Badminton

Event: Women's Doubles Badminton
Date: 17th October 2012
Location: Colchester Leisure World
Cost: £10.00
Rules: Doubles matches are decided over the best of three games, with the first player to reach 21 points (by a margin of two clear points) winning each game. The whole court is in play. Players can only score from their own service. One player serves (alternating from left to right) until he/she loses a point and the serve passes to the opposition. When the serve is regained, the other player on the team becomes the server. When the score reaches 11 there is a 60 second break. Players change ends after each match or after the 60 second break in the third game.

 The Game:

London 2012 Winners: Tian Qing & Zhao Yunlei, China.

Score: Game One: C&S 21, E&S 15
            Game Two: C&S 21, E&S 16
           
Comments: Sarah: All things considered, the games were much closer than I had been expecting. Claire and Sarah are excellent badmintoners, and I think Ellie and I held our own pretty well. The games were really fast paced, with some deadly body-shots and smashes. Unfortunately, this marks the end of the badminton events for our challenge, but we're back on track with our 2.5 events per month.   
Ellie: No More Badminton for 4 years then. I'm slightly saddened by this as the games we've played recently have reminded me of my misspent youth. As Sarah says, the games last night were far more level than we'd expected - we look almost respectable.  

4. Mixed Doubles Badminton

Event: Mixed Doubles Badminton
Date: 13th October 2012

Location: University of Essex, Colchester
Cost: £18.50 (!)
Rules: Doubles matches are decided over the best of three games, with the first player to reach 21 points (by a margin of two clear points) winning each game. The whole court is in play. Players can only score from their own service. One player serves (alternating from left to right) until he/she loses a point and the serve passes to the opposition. When the serve is regained, the other player on the team becomes the server. When the score reaches 11 there is a 60 second break. Players change ends after each match or after the 60 second break in the third game.

The Game:

 

London 2012 Winners: Zhang Nan & Zhao Yunlei, China.

Scores:
Game One: E&R 21, G&S 8

Game Two: E&R 21, G&S 9
           
Comments:
Sarah: Greg and I were off the ball (or shuttlecock) today, with our second defeat of the afternoon. Despite the appearance of the score-sheet, the games were really fun and we all held our own in relation to the badminton qualifiers which were going on in the hall.
Ellie: To be honest, I am surprised that we weren't all asked to join the University Badminton team considering our display today. We were much more entertaining than the people trying out... mostly because of the elaborate swearing. The games were pretty equal and furiously paced and we did well to claim the win. Our biggest badminton challenge looms large on Wednesday however as the couple that we face are supreme players.

3. Mixed Doubles Tennis

Event: Mixed Doubles Tennis
Date: 13th October 2012
Location: University of Essex, Colchester
Cost: £9.00
Rules: Points are scored as: 0, 15, 30, 40, 45. A score of 40-40 is called deuce. From there a team must score two further points consecutively to win the game. A match consists of six sets. Each set is decided by the first to six games and must be won by at least two clear games (e.g 6-3, 7-5). When at six games all, in all but the final set, players contest a tie-break which decides the winner of the set. Matches are the best of three sets. In mixed doubles, the third set shall be played as a match tie-break (10 points).

The Game:

London 2012 Winners: Victoria Azarenka & Max Mirnyi, Belarus.

Score:  

Set One: Game 1: 45-15 (E&R), Game 2: 45-40 (E&R), Game 3: 45-15 (E&R), Game 4: 45-40 (E&R), Game 5: 45-0 (E&R), Game 6: 45-30 (E&R). Set 1 to Ellie & Rowen.
Set Two: Game 1: 45-40 (E&R), Game 2: 45-30 (E&R), Game 3: 45-30 (E&R), Game 4; 45-30 (E&R), Game 5: 45-15 (E&R), Game 6: 45-15 (E&R). Set 2 to Ellie & Rowen.
           
Comments: Sarah: As the observant of you will notice, Greg and I got supremely beaten in not only straight sets, but also straight games. It turns out that I'm truly awful at tennis! As we still have a singles and doubles match still to play, I'm hoping that I will get a bit better with practice. My personal highlight of the match was the Farrow's victory dance routine for their very deserved win.
Ellie: The victory dance is stolen from the Manchester United wonder winger Lee Sharpe. Rowen and I were ridiculously excited when we remembered it and practiced it in the kitchen this morning. As for the game; Tennis seems to make you feel like you are brilliant at it until you play it. Today, mostly due to the efforts of my teammate, I managed to bring home a win. The score does the Clementson/Kingcott team no justice at all as it was in no way as one-sided as it appears... 

2. Women's Singles Badminton

Event: Women's Singles Badminton

Date: 2nd September 2012
Location: University of Essex, Colchester
Cost: £9.50
Rules: Singles matches are decided over the best of three games, with the first player to reach 21 points (by a margin of two clear points) winning each game. Players can only score from their own service. When the score reaches 11 there is a 60 second break. Players change ends after each match or after the 60 second break in the third game.

The Game:

London 2012 Winner: Li Xuerui, China

Score: Game One: Ellie 4, Sarah 21
           Game Two: Ellie 11, Sarah 21
           
Comments: Sarah: Badminton is one of my favourite sports, so I was glad to see this one roll around early in our challenge. Luckily we were the only ones in the sports centre, as we ran way over our time, with the matches lasting for ages!
Ellie: It's a two sports weekend so we're definitely hitting the list hard. My beginners luck has worn off and Sarah took both games with ease. However, I take comfort in thinking that together we will be a formidable team when we play the doubles matches.

1. Women's Individual Table Tennis

Event: Women's Individual Table Tennis
Date: 1st September 2012
Location: Mercury Theatre Workshop, Colchester
Cost: Free
Rules: Singles matches are decided over the best of seven games, with the first player to reach 11 points (by a margin of two clear points) winning each game.  Service changes after every two points have been scored. Once the score reached 10-10, the serve changes after every point. 

The Game:

 
London 2012 Winner: Li Xiaoxia, China.

Score:  Game One: Ellie 11, Sarah 4. 
            Game Two: Ellie 11, Sarah 5
            Game Three: Ellie 12, Sarah 9
            Game Four: Ellie 13, Sarah 16
            Game Five: Ellie 12, Sarah 9

Comments: Sarah: Let the games begin! We made a start to our Olympic endeavour today by crossing the first event off our list. Neither of us had played table tennis before, but we both quickly got in to it. Despite the makeshift table, the Olympic rules were easy to follow and Ellie dominated play! I managed to scrape a game back, but it was all over by the end of the fifth.  
Ellie: And we're off; there is definitely no turning back now. Somehow I have managed to convert my limited Table Tennis knowledge (taken from that episode of Friends where Chandler is really good at Table Tennis and possibly QI) into a win. I would like to clarify that this was clearly beginners luck.