17. Volleyball

Event: Volleyball
Date: 28th May 2013
Location: Tendring Volleyball Club, Frinton
Cost: £4 per session, first session free. We had five sessions.
Rules:  There are two teams of six players competing over a 2.24m high net. The match starts with three front row players in a line near the net and three back row players in a line near the back of the court. At each team serve, the players rotate one space. Each team has up to three touches of the ball before it must cross the net. A game is played over the best of five sets, with the first four sets going to 25 points. The fifth set goes to 15 points, and all sets must be won with at least a two point advantage. 

   

The Event: 

   

Teams:

Team Ellie: Ellie, Lottie, Patty, Jessica, Georgia, Zoe & Hannah

Team Sarah: Sarah, Claire, Christelle, Alvi, Nicki, Beth, Catherine & Michelle

 

Scores:

Game One:    Team Ellie - 25 v Team Sarah - 23

Game Two:    Team Ellie - 25 v Team Sarah - 13

Game Three: Team Ellie - 23 v Team Sarah - 25

Game Four:   Team Ellie - 25 v Team Sarah - 23

 

London 2012 Winners: Brazil.

Comments:  

Sarah: Tuesday nights seem to be a popular time for sports clubs to meet, so it took a while for us to get to Tendring due to our commitments at other clubs. I felt quite nervous on that first week- I'd never tried the sport before, and didn't really know what to expect. I shouldn't have been worried though, we couldn't have been made to feel more welcome or part of the club. We were straight in to it, learning digs and spikes, and came away from the first lesson with our arms stinging but eager to get back for more! Everyone told us our arms would soon toughen up, and of course they did! Over the weeks we learnt more skills and took part in games, sometimes even getting the ball over the net or scoring a point! We hadn't played a 6v6 game until the night of the Challenge, and both loved it! It was really fast, with more people on the court than we were used to, and there were some brilliant rallys. Ellie's team won overall, but the games were really close (apart from Game 2.. not sure what happened there!).  Volleyball seems to sum up what we were hoping for when we started this challenge; to discover a sport that we'd probably not have otherwise tried. We learnt so much in just five weeks, and it was satisfying to see that we'd progressed! We've had such a great time and are really pleased it's not yet all over; we now move outside to the beach courts to try and master the sand!   
      
Ellie: After our first session back at the start of April I wore my bruises like badges of honour. Volleyball had an immediate impact on us. It is a fast-paced and intense game; a real spectacle. We learnt so much at each of our sessions - just to watch the skills of the other players was education in itself. The Volleyball community and Tendring Volleyball Club in particular, has been very supportive. We have been involved with Go Spike, an organisation that encourages people to pick up Volleyball at any stage of their life. They have been very friendly, we have had goodies and have been to events in our region and in London.
So, the game, wow! It was wonderful to play in a team of six and the level of talent around us was staggering. Nerves really took hold of me and most of the time I felt really daunted (and much like I was going to vomit). I could rarely tell which team was leading as I was too concerned with if the ball was coming my way. I was proud to contribute on occasion and I can really imagine how close a team can become if they play on a regular basis. The game really topped off how much fun our training sessions have been and Sarah and I have both agreed that Volleyball is definitely a game we would return to. Luckily, we still have Beach Volleyball to complete so as soon as this rain clears up we'll be out on the sand. Whatever the weather, I'm really looking forward to it!

Huge thanks to Alex, Claire and everyone at the club for being so patient and making us feel so welcome! Tendring Volleyball Club meet on a Tuesday; indoor courts over the winter months and out on the beach volleyball courts over the summer. For more information have a look at their website: www.tendringvolleyball.com  

16. Long Jump

Event: Long Jump
Date: 25th April 2013
Location: Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club, Garons Park
Cost: No Charge
Rules:  Competitors sprint along a runway and jump as far as possible into a sandpit from a wooden take-off. The distance travelled, from the edge of the board to the closest mark in the sand, is then measured. A foul (no-jump) is committed in the athlete steps beyond the board. 

   

The Event: 

   

Scores:

Olympic Gold, London 2012: 7.12, Brittney Reese, USA.

Sarah: 2.13, 1.98, PB: 2.14.

Ellie: PB: 1.58, NJ, 1.40.

Comments:  

Sarah: The technique of long jump was much easier to grasp; we just had to remember to keep our heads up when we jumped. Kevin advised us to count how many steps we took on a measured run up, so we wouldn't have to look down at the board and that worked really well. The two jump events felt quite addictive; I really wanted to keep jumping and try to get a longer distance. We were both put to shame watching Kevin fly through the air when he demonstrated how both the jumps are meant to be done! We had such a lovely evening at the club, and are so grateful for their patience and hospitality!         
Ellie: Wow! What a day. 5 events completed and the last is the highly enjoyable but slightly unnatural Long Jump. I couldn't really get the hang of this.. I didn't seem to get enough momentum up to take me very far and, as you can see from my No Jump, I got over-friendly with the board BUT it was really good fun and look at those photographs!

For more information about Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club, have a look at their website: www.southend-on-sea-athletic-club.co.uk 

15. Triple Jump

Event: Triple Jump
Date: 25th April 2013
Location: Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club, Garons Park
Cost: No Charge
Rules:  Competitors sprint along a runway before taking off from a wooden board. The take-off foot absorbs the first landing; the hop. The following step is finished on the opposite foot and then followed by a jump into a sandpit. The distance travelled, from the edge of the board to the closest mark in the sand, is then measured. A foul (no-jump) is committed in the athlete steps beyond the board. 

   

The Event:

Scores:

Olympic Gold, London 2012: 14.98, Olga Rypakova, Kazakhstan. 

Sarah: 4.63, 4.60, PB: 4.79.

Ellie: 4.36, PB: 4.40, 3.98.

Comments:  

Sarah: It was a complete pleasure returning to Garons Park, and thankfully on a much warmer evening than when we were there last November! We had some expert coaching from Kevin, who had recently broken the Club's long-standing record by 1cm. He took us through some warm ups and patiently explained the hop-skip-jump technique.  I really enjoyed the triple-jump and wanted to try and break the 5 metres mark, but it wasn't to be. Oh well, only TEN METRES off the Olympic distance!         
Ellie: What can I say? It's so lovely to come back to Southend Athletic Club. They are so welcoming. 
After some initial warming up, drills and some instructions in technique we took our three jumps. It's really good jumping into a sandpit - I recommend it!  Something to point out is that Kevin managed to Jump about 6 times further than we did and made it look so, so natural.
  
For more information about Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club, have a look at their website: www.southend-on-sea-athletic-club.co.uk 

14. Women's Skeet

Event: Women's Skeet
Date: 25th April 2013
Location: Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd, South Essex
Cost: £24.00 (special rate)
Rules:  In Olympic shotgun events, competitors shoot at moving clay targets launched above and in front of them. In Skeet, the shooter rotates between eight shooting positions that are located in a half-circle pattern. Clay pigeons are thrown from two throwing stations, so the angles and direction of the pigeons vary every time. There can also be a 0-5 second delay for the clay to be released.  

   

The Event:

  

 

London 2012 Winner: Kim Rhode, USA.

 

Scores:

Sarah: 0/10

Ellie: 2/10

Comments:  

Sarah: As we moved over to the Skeet course, we were lucky enough to watch one of the other shooters practicing and showing us how it was meant to be done. The speed and accuracy was incredible- you are meant to start with the gun by your hip and only raise it up to your shoulder once you have called "pull". To prevent broken cheek bones, we started with the guns on our shoulder, but still I didn't manage to hit any! I was assured I was 'very close' a few times, but am doubtful of that! The random delay on the clay release adds an extra layer of difficulty to the event. We had a brilliant couple of hours at the club; everyone was so patient with us and Olly's tuition was so clear. As an added bonus, we also had some impressive shoulder and finger bruises from the trigger and gun kick-back! (which strangely doesn't hurt at all when you're actually shooting).         
Ellie: Shooting is it? Right… well, I’ll give you a little bit of background info - when we first got into this challenge, beyond the initial excitement and adrenalin, we started to think about the events that would be the hardest. Sarah and I both agreed that Horses would pose a problem, that Sailing might be tricky. I very much feared the long distance races and Sarah worried about the high dives… but we also highlighted Shooting. This is an area where I, for one, have no knowledge; no past experience to draw on at all. I was mostly struck by the responsibility of the sport and I felt terribly nervous. However, Olly, our tutor, was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and really embraced the spirit of our project. We had started with 30 practice shots, split into 3 groups of 10 and on 3 different runs. Bizarrely, I was quite good at it during the practice. I found disengaging my brain alarmingly straightforward. I think I felt more at ease with the Skeet round than the Trap. Tracking from right to left felt odd but at least I knew where to expect the pigeon from and so I was over the moon with 2 out of 10!

A big thank you  to Olly at Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd. It's not very common for beginners to try either of these disciplines, so we're so grateful that he could make it possible for us, and more importantly safe! For more info on Olly's shooting range: www.claypigeonshoot.co.uk 

13. Women's Trap

Event: Women's Trap
Date: 25th April 2013
Location: Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd, South Essex
Cost: £24.00 (special rate)
Rules:  In Olympic shotgun events, competitors shoot at moving clay targets launched above and in front of them. In Trap shooting, the shooter stands 16 yards behind the throwing station. Clay pigeons are thrown forward, either one or two at a time. 

   

The Event:

London 2012 Winner: Jessica Rossi, Italy. 

Scores:
Sarah: 1/10
Ellie: 1/10

Comments:  
Sarah: We looked at each other in mild disbelief when we turned onto the active airfield and drove across the runway...what were we letting ourselves in for?! It would be the first time either of us had ever handled a gun (actually- I did shoot a lot of the air rifles on the fairground when I was young, but was guessing they're not really the same thing!). We felt pretty nervous at the thought of our first shooting event, but couldn't have been made more welcome. Olly gave us an introduction to the guns and sport of shooting and then took us on to some practice ranges (where it turns out that Ellie is a natural and I, it is fair to say, definitely am not!). In all of the practices, I didn't manage to hit more than two clays in a round of ten, but really enjoyed giving it a go. As we moved up to the Trap course, it seemed very unlikely either of us would hit anything- the clays catapult out of the station at a random point and angle, so I was properly shocked when I managed to hit one!        
Ellie: What a glorious day for a completely new sport; a sport I would never have tried before starting this challenge and in an area of Essex I probably would never have visited. To start with we were kitted out with the safety gear, taught how to stand, how to hold the gun and where to aim. It was explained how it is best to not think about your shooting; to make it as natural as possible and also to expect bruising. 
The Trap is, basically, a tease. It shoots pigeons out as and when it sees fit. It's not really a fair sport and how anyone is able to hit anything is beyond me. I'm not sure who was more surprised that both Sarah and I managed to hit something, me, Sarah or the pigeons*. 

A big thank you  to Olly at Clay Pigeon Shoot Ltd. It's not very common for beginners to try either of these disciplines, so we're so grateful that he could make it possible for us, and more importantly safe! For more info on Olly's shooting range: www.claypigeonshoot.co.uk

*No pigeons were harmed in the making of this challenge.