Written by Drenched of Sunbury   

An essentially effluent day greeted our teams in this first venture into the SAL at an exposed Norman Park

Jordan Smith-Bent was Man of the Match,retrospectively.

It would have needed a vivid imagination to conjure up much sense of fun and enjoyment on such a day,but some 20plus M&W,plus an exemplary count of 8 officials,braved all the heavens could chuck at us.It was NOT a day to test dodgy muscles,but it was good to see a number of our youngsters pitching in.

Competing well was a lottery,but,though there was scant,if any,support from overhead,several were able to adjust to the elements,as one must in an outdoor sport in the UK. Of the 7 'girls',the experience of Camilla Thrush proved just that,as she mostly saw off her younger teammates,particularly in the DT where a 32.70 was worthy. Mae Thompson looked the part in the sprints,clocking 13.4/PB 26.6 over 100/200,whilst Laura Cook and Nicole Kendall made the most of opportunities at TJ,PV and 400Hurdles.

Of the 14 Men,Loic Malroux's 6.46 PB LJ would have boosted his confidence for the sunnier climes of Barcelona next weekend where he contests his opening decathlon of 2012. Jordan Smith-Bent is also in good form for the BUCS,claiming a 11.0/22.4 double,both close to his PBs,and Aidan Fahey's 11.5/23.8 efforts continued to impress. There was a stack of endeavour in response to TMs Gordon Lester and Tom Parry,though it was otherwise no true and fair test to be able to present credentials for BAL selection at Basingstoke on May 26th. Before that there will be plenty of opportunity for most at BUCS,Rosenheims,County Champs and R2 of this comp. at West London the week prior.

We were 4th/4 but do head the other 4th placers from the other 3 matches in our Division. Full results at TPOT & TOPS,plus the SAL site,but take some of the names with a pinch of salt.