In other competitions, the U18s and U16s came third against strong opponents in the Tonbridge Trophy, and teams from all age groups swam well in the London Inde- pendent Swimming League, demonstrating the strength in depth of Dulwich swimming. Our partnership with JAGs continued, with the two teams swimming as one com- bined team in several competitions, and JAGS swimmers joining our boys in the pool for the early morning training sessions. Water polo In water polo, several boys have had individual national success, with Peter Ash (Year 12) representing Great Britain in the U17 European Championships in Malta, and Andreas Kokkini, Zac Shaw (Year 10) and George Henderson (Year 9) all attending the National Development Academy. Of our school teams, it was fantastic to see the U15s make it to the national finals in Northampton, where, after a gruelling day of competition, they came away with a silver medal. Proof that hard work and dedication do pay off. Elsewhere in the school, pupils built on last year’s success, with the U16s finishing third in the National Water Polo League, beating reigning national champions Northampton and narrowly losing to an accomplished Trinity side. The U18s also came third in the League, only just missing out on the English Schools Swimming Association national finals, but with a young squad they look likely to improve on this position next year.
ate and senior categories, coming first and third respec- tively, leaving the spectators astonished as he covered nearly 10km at relentless pace! In the famed keirin race, all our riders competed fiercely, and third places were secured by Curtis Abbey (Year 8), and Harold Pink and E wan Plowden-Wardlaw (Year 12) in their respective cat- egories. Overall, our U14 and U18 riders came third, but the congratulations go to the U16 Dulwich College riders, who won their category, fending off serious rivalry from Colfe’s and the Charter School North Dulwich. Well done to Henry Money (Year 9), Jason Zhao (Year 10), Jason Robson (Year 10) and Lucas Benito Sardharwala (Year 9) for supporting and competing so valiantly. The 2023 Dul- wich Inter-Schools Cycling Championship was finally won by Colfe’s, with Dulwich College coming in third place. My thanks go to everyone at the Herne Hill Velodrome for assisting us with the competition, to Joseph Alberti our cycling coach and to Sinead Paull for helping with the organisation. See you next year!
pendent Schools’ Tennis Association national tournament, Lewis Henderson and Arran Avril (Year 8) played some fantastic tennis across the two-day tournament. Winning both round robin groups, the pair made it through to the cup competition and after three knockout games, they succumbed to the overall winners, Sevenoaks, in the semi-final. In the Middle School, the U14s and U15s both had good seasons. The U14s put in strong displays against Bradfield College, King’s Canterbury and St Paul’s, which reflected the strong turnout of the year group at training. The U15A team played some great tennis at times, beating KCS Wimbledon and King’s Canterbury, but came up against strong opposition in the Kent League, losing in the opening group stages. Possibly the best season of all was had by the U15B team, who performed brilliantly to win eight of their eleven games. In the Kent League, they qualified for finals day, performing well against many A teams to reach the semi-finals. In the Upper School, both the A and B teams put in strong performances against Sevenoaks, King’s Canterbury and KCS Wimbledon. They also performed well in the Independent Schools’ League, travelling to Oxford for the first round of matches before putting in a strong showing to beat Cranleigh and St Paul’s in the final round. The A squad went on to reach the quarter-finals of the bowl at the Independent Schools’ national tournament, to bring to an end another positive season. Overall, 2022 was a good season for the club, with – most importantly – many pupils playing, and enjoying their tennis at the College. ◎
Tennis Tom Whitehead
It was wonderful to see the tennis courts thriving with activity last summer. Tennis continues to grow at the College, and with more pupils attending training, the future looks bright. In the Lower School, tennis runs as a co-curricular option. Alongside block fixtures versus Epsom College and KCS Wimbledon, the team entered the Kent League, achieving a strong second-place finish in their group. In the Inde-
On 29 March we were proud to host the annual Dulwich Inter-Schools Cycling Championships at the Herne Hill Velodrome. We welcomed over 80 boy and girl riders, ranging from 10 to 18 years of age, from 12 schools and from the Home Education group. Once registration was completed and competitor num- bers were firmly pinned to cycling shirts, the day started with the flying 200, a 200-metre timed sprint to the finish line. Harold Pink (Year 10) set the tone for the College, coming first in his category by 0.02 seconds. It was a truly outstanding performance, and one which galvanised the other Dulwich competitors. This was quickly followed by a remarkable team effort in the team pursuit led by Misha Gitnik (Year 10), who set a great tempo for his team-mates. The senior team, led by George Hill (Year 13), also held strong, in spite of some fierce competition from Colfe’s, and our junior team also competed aggressively, thanks to great efforts from Cam Noronha-Massey (Year 8). As the afternoon drew on, tension rose, and in the 10-lap scratch race, Misha Gitnik imposed in both the intermedi-
Inter-Schools Cycling Jacques Brown
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THE ALLEYNIAN 711
SPORTS
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