Record numbers of Rossendale schoolkids take part in cross-county championships

The largest ever number of schoolchildren took part in Rossendale Primary Schools Cross Country Championships.

For the last 10 years, the event has been organised by Rossendale Schools Sports Partnership. Manager Nathan Bibby said: “I want to dedicate this year’s event to the memory of Sue Bateson who sadly died last October.

“She previously organised the cross country for primary schools in Rossendale and ran four races once a week for all competitors. She showed me how to set courses and how to do the results; I really wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”

This year a total of 700 pupils from Years 3 to 6 attended Marl Pits in Rawtenstall, including Sue’s grandson Alfie who ran in the Year 3/4 race.

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The Year 3/4 course was 0.8 miles and the Year 5/6 course was 1.2 miles Pupils from 24 out of Rossendale’s 32 primary schools attended and four races were held.

Year 7 student Alice Carr from All Saints Catholic High School, Rawtenstall, was the ‘hare’ for the girls’ races, having previously won the event last year, with GB mountain runner Joe Ormerod jarring the boys.

Nathan said: “The winner of the Boys’ Year 5/6 race was Harry Hopkinson from St Veronica’s who also won it last year when he was in Year 5. The other winners were Year 5/6 Girls’ Iona Bell from Sharneyford, Year 3/4 Girls’ Elsie Duffy from St James the Less and Year 3/4 Boys’ Alexander Ball from Edenfield. St James the Less were crowned overall champions.”

Rossendale Harriers presented medals to the top three in each race and the top 50 Year 5/6 runners will now represent Rossendale on July 6 at Marl Pits in the East Lancashire Schools’ Cross Country Final.

Nathan said: “I would like to say thank you to the 10 Sports Leaders from Valley Leadership Academy and the two from All Saints who helped to marshal the event. It is the biggest event that the SSP runs, but it is very rewarding, I remember stepping back and looking around at the sheer number of people who were there, families, grandparents, parents and other children having a great time.

“We had music playing and I could not believe the amount of people who had turned up for an event in Rossendale, it was something quite special.

“There is a community spirit in Rossendale that you just don’t get in other areas. I used to work in Loughborough and you didn’t get that level of community spirit, especially with a sport like cross country running but the atmosphere was brilliant. I have had really positive feedback from people who attended thanking the organisers and saying they had an amazing time. Some said their children have now got the running bug and some have joined Rossendale Harriers.

“We are seeing progress in the number of young people who are being encouraged to be more active and hopefully that will follow through into their adult life.

“What was lovely was that, from the first runner home to those who finished later, the crowd was there cheering them all on.”

Nathan, his father Andy and Steve Duxbury, Rossendale Harriers Honorary Secretary, were on site from 9.30am and spent three hours setting out the courses; Nathan finally got home at 7.30pm.

Rossendale School Sports Partnership is one of the busiest in the country and runs more than 150 events annually engaging 8,000 young people to be active in various sports.

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