Your chance to vote for Sutton sporting superstar (From This Is Local London)

Your chance to vote for Sutton sporting superstar

3:14pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in London News

All the nominations are in and the Judging Panel has compiled the shortlists from a large number of very high quality nominations.

In the categories of Junior Sportsperson of the Year (U11) and Junior Sportsperson of the Year (U18) and Junior Team of the Year you have a chance to have a say in who wins.

Here are the three shortlisted nominees in each category.

Junior Sportsperson of the Year (U11)

April Hedges - Swimming

11 year old April is currently ranked No. 1 in her age group in Britain for 100m backstroke, 2nd for 200m backstroke and ranked top 10 in 6 other events.

Earlier this year, April became the Borough Primary Schools Swimming Champion at freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.

At the Regional British Age Group Categories Championships held in June, April won the girls age 11yrs 100m and 200m backstroke, setting a new regional record time in both events. She also won silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 200m individual medley.

April is a truly dedicated team player, helping her club team to win trophies and this year gain promotion to the Hants & South Coast League Division 1.

April also represented Sutton the London Mini Games both in Swimming and in Water Polo.

Victoria Vincent - Diving, Gymnastics and Cross Country

Victoria is 11 years old and attends Sutton High Junior School. Victoria is the current GB No.1 U12 diver.

Her diving year started at Southampton when she competed in the 1M Springboard event and won gold.

This was followed by a return to Southampton for their national event where she won gold in both the 1M and 3M springboard events.

She then moved on to the Armada Cup in Plymouth, a national event and which attracts the best divers from all over the country and beyond, where she beat the Chinese No. 1 diver in the process and achieved a personal best at the same time.

Victoria now trains with the elite and Olympic divers in Plymouth.

In Gymnastics this year, Victoria represented the South East Region and won the Yr 6 Floor and Vault title.

In May she competed in the U13 team British Floor & Vault Finals where her team won gold and Victoria was the top scoring individual gymnast in the entire competition even compared to the U19s.

This year Victoria also won the Sutton Borough School Cross Country Championships in her age group.

Zoe Morbey - Swimming

Zoe is 11 years old and attends Robin Hood Junior School. Zoe is currently ranked UK National No. 1 for 11 yr olds at 800m freestyle short course - by nearly a minute faster than anyone else in this age group.

Zoe has trained extremely hard this year and this has also led to winning a number of medals at the Surrey County Swimming Championships.

Zoe is a great role model for younger swimmers at her school and club.

Send your text to 80360 starting with UNDER11 leave a space, followed by the name of your choice.

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Junior Sportsperson of the Year (U18)

Mhairi Nurthen - Water Polo

Mhairi is 14 years old and attends Wallington High School. Mhairi is part of the ASA GB Talent Squad.

Last July Mhairi played for her club’s Junior Ladies team which topped the London League U21 Championships, and is one of the youngest girls playing in the British Women’s League this season.

In December 2011 Mhairi was the only girl in the Surrey U14 team who went on to win the Inter-County Water Polo Cup.

In February Mhairi played in the ASA Inter-Regional Championships held in Walsall and was voted by all the teams as the ‘Most Valuable Player for London’.

In March and April she captained her club to victory at the ASA British Gas National Academy U15 Girls championships held in Manchester and was again voted ‘Most Valuable Player’ for her club.

Mhairi also helped the U17 team win silver in the youth competition.

Mhairi is enthusiastic about Water Polo and encourages others at her swimming club to get involved in Water Polo.

Paige Kern - Swimming

Paige is 17 years old, a former pupil at Glenthorne High School and now taking her ‘A’ levels at Esher College. Paige is currently ranked No. 1 in London and No. 6 in Britain for Girls U17yrs 50m freestyle long course.

A member of the Surrey County squad and Wandsworth swimming club National Squad, Paige also swims at the London Beacon programme at Crystal Palace and has been selected by the ASA to participate in the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme.

This year Paige has qualified for 3 events at the National Youth Championships and won numerous medals. Paige was also selected to represent London at a European championship event in Barcelona in January.

Paige also regularly represents Sutton at the London Youth Games and last year won gold for the 50m freestyle.

Paige is a great role model for her fellow club members where she has provided stroke clinics to demonstrate good stroke technique. She has also passed Judge Level 1 course and Coaching Certificate Level 1 which enables her to coach young swimmers and officiate at swimming meets.

Paige also teaches disabled swimmers at the weekends.

Brooke Tafazolli - Water Polo

Brooke is 16 years old and a pupil at Nonsuch High School.

Brooke is an international Water Polo player and is part of the GB U18 Junior Team, with her sights set firmly on the Rio Olympics in 2016. Her water polo talents have been further recognised this year by becoming an Adidas Ambassador and chose as the face of Sutton for the Adidas ‘take the stage’ campaign.

As well as her GB training Brooke has also played for the Surrey County Water Polo team in both the U16s and U18s and has helped them to win both the London Region and the Inter Region title.

Brooke is also an accomplished swimmer and is currently Borough Swimming Champion in 100m butterfly, 100 individual medley and 100m breaststroke and qualified for the Surrey County Championships and London Region Championships.

Brooke also won a bronze medal in the 800m at the Sutton Schools Borough Athletics, the first time she had competed in this event.

Brooke is a real team player and still finds time, alongside all her training and competition, to represent her club.

Send your text to 80360 starting with UNDER18 leave a space, followed by the name of your choice.

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Junior Team of the Year

Sutton & Cheam Under 12 Water Polo Team

This year Sutton & Cheam Under 12 Water Polo Team won the London League Under 12 Winter League. The London League consists of teams from all over the South of England.

The team is currently leading the Under 13 London League Championships.

The team is a very young mixed side with members as young as nine years old.

The team’s success is down to real focus on their tactics, making good use of their strong swimming background, their superior speed and fitness and the ability to never lose confidence or composure.

The team are now looking to national success.

Sutton High School U13 Gymnastics Team

Sutton High School U13 Gymnastics Team started this year by winning the U13 Surrey Tumbling competition.

The team then went on to the South East British Schools (Floor & Vault) competition in January which they won, qualifying for the British Schools Floor & Vault National Finals in May.

At the British Schools the whole team performed outstandingly and won against 13 other schools with 2 of the team members achieving the highest individual scores of the whole competition, even compared with U19 yrs teams, making them the best U13 Floor & Vault Gymnastics Team in the country.

Alongside all the hard training and competition the girls regularly help young gymnasts out at the school, and four of the team have recent passed a Judging course so that they can help officiate at local competitions.

Carshalton Boys Sports College Yr 11 Handball Team

This year Carshalton Boys Sports College Yr11 Handball Team have been unbeaten the entire season. The team won all 5 of the Pro-Active South Tournaments (South London Sports Partnerships).

The team then went on to represent Carshalton Boys Sports College at the London Finals - which they won in outstanding form by winning all 5 games, scoring 26 goals and conceding only 4.

The Handball team then had a very successful trip to Liverpool this year, taking on some of the best teams in the country where out of 6 games, they won four, drew one and just lost one - beating the reigning national champions in the process.

The team train very hard and are very dedicated. This year 5 members of the team were successful at the England Trials and will be representing England this Summer at the Partille Cup in Sweden.

Carshalton Boys Sports College is now a National Handball Academy and most of the team members have earned a place at the Academy.

Send your text to 80360 starting with TEAM leave a space, followed by the name of your choice.

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The number of votes for each nominee in these categories will be combined with the Judging Panel’s scores to determine the winner in each category. In the event of a tie the Judging Panel’s decision will take precedence over the number of texts.

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