British Weight Lifting Championships 2016

A visit to Coventry at the weekend and a chance to see the 2016 Cybex British Weight Lifting Championships at the Ricoh Arena.

The competition opened on Saturday morning with the women’s 48kg category but the day changed between Men’s and Women’s competitions all day ending with the men’s 94kg.

Records seemed to tumble from the start with Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist Catrin Jones claimed her first British Senior title – and the first gold medal of the weekend – with a total of 139kg.

My favourite of the day came in the Women’s 69kg when European Senior medallist Rebekah Tiler went head-to-head with 2016 English Champion Emily Godley.

Europa’s Godley put on a fantastic display but it wasn’t enough to beat World Youth medallist Tiler who broke her existing British record in the snatch with a lift of 102kg, before lifting 125kg in the clean and jerk and securing a second British record with a gold medal-winning total of 227kg.

Next up Stars for the Future’s Adam Fedorciow won gold in the men’s 105kg, before Brunel’s Andrew Ruegg won the men’s 105+kg, following three failed attempts in the clean and jerk from rival Darius Jokarzadeh.

Last was the women’s 63kg category, where in a surprise result, Leeds Weightlifting Club’s Steph Owens was crowned British Champion, as category favourite Zoe Smith was forced to withdraw due to an injury sustained in her opening lift.

Fellow World Class Programme athlete and u23 European Champion Sarah Davies also failed to secure a total, missing all three clean and jerk lifts in an attempt to achieving the Olympic qualification total of 211kg.

It was a great day, and another new sport for me to cover (42nd I think!) so role on another 8 and I’ll reach a half centuary of sports photographed.

Consett RFC Ladies, Juniors and mini’s Presentation day.

I had the pleasure of photographing the presentation day for Consett Rugby Clubs Ladies, Junior and Mini teams this weekend.

To view the images and order prints CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Just call me Mr. Ledger ARPS

I received a nice email this morning from those nice people at the Royal Photographic Society. They wrote to inform me that they had just made me an Associate Member of the R.P.S. and will be sending me a badge and certificate to prove it.

This has taken me more years than I thought it would but the sense of pride and recognition feels very good.

I gained my A.R.P.S. in the Professional and Applied Section and involved submitting 15 images for assessment. This section is defined as – ‘photography which has a specific end purpose or use. This by definition includes all professional photography as well as many other disciplines such as; documentary, portraiture, theatrical, record, architectural, wedding, visual journalism, astronomy and palaeontology’. As well as submitting the photographs I also had to include a ‘Statement of Intent’ outlining what the images are and why I submitted them, they are then judged against the statement to make sure I met my own criteria.

My Statement read –

‘I am a professional sports photographer, and cover a wide range of sports at all levels including sports portraiture.

Each sport I cover has its own technical issues which influence my choice of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. These issues, which must be taken into account covers such things as whether it is played inside or out, either natural sunshine or artificial lights or good or inclement weather conditions. However, I always seek to capture the power, technique and concentration that is required by those athletes taking part.

All sport is about winning and the pleasure that brings, however the flip side of this is the loosing and the heartache and dejection that is inflicted.

As part of my agency commitments I have to send my completed processed jpgs to my clients from pitch-side using FTP, this is the main reason for submitting my application in PDI form.’

In addition, I also received a second email asking me if the RPS could showcase my panel on their website, to inspire prospective applicants. So check out the R.P.S. home page in the near future to see my full panel but if you can’t wait . . . . .

 

Durham Womens FC v Sheffield FC Ladies

Durham Women FC picked up their fourth league win of the season courtesy of Nat Gutteridge’s late header.

Click Here to visit Durham WFC’s website

Sunday and it’s the turn of the U17’s Rugby.

Sunderland Barbarians were the visitors to Amethyst Park, Consett for the U17’s last game of the season.

Both sides played open and aggressive Rugby in perfect conditions and entertained the crowd but it was Consett who scored first and were never headed, ending the game .

To visit Consett RFC website and read more about the game CLICK HERE

Durham Wildcats first home game of the new season.

Durham 2-0 London Bees

The simple statistics from the game were – goals from Jordan Atkinson and Beth Hepple either side of half-time handed Durham a well-deserved victory in their first home game of the season.

Kicking into the wind in the first half, Durham made a bright start with an early chance from Nicki Gears. Beth Hepple’s fine through-ball found Gears, who shot under the Bees goalkeeper but only managed to find the post and not the net. Durham had other chances with Beth Hepple, Amelia Pereirra and Nicki Gears all coming close but failing to find the goal. However they eventually got off the mark with a fine finish from Jordan Atkinson, scoring her second goal of the week.

Durham did not have it all their own way, as London Bees continued to battle hard  in midfield to try and stay in the game. But the longer the game went on the more Durham began to control the game and with the wind advantage in the second half, they scored their second goal in the 73 minutes. Beth Hepple was given possession inside the Bees half, she took full advantage, with a wonderful dipping shot from 30 yards which just evaded the outstretched goalkeeper and found the top of the net.

Durham hung onto the 2-0 scoreline and secured their first home win of the season.

Click Here to visit Durham Wildcats website and read more about the game.

 

 

 

Consett RFC 38 – 23 Horden RFC

I hadn’t been to watch Consett RFC for a while so I was pleased to have a Saturday ‘off’ from Football and thought it was time to see what I’d missed.

 

 

 

 

 

Well for a start it was Ladies’ Day, Consett RFC’s first such event but judging from the quality of food and the smiles on everyone’s faces – it won’t be the last. Prosecco/Wine reception, lunch of quiche and a selection of salads with a variety of cakes to finish – all for a fiver!

The game itself was a great spectacle, Consett took an early lead and were never caught. Although every time they threatened to make the game safe, Horden fought back to keep the fans guessing. The points confirm Consett’s 3rd place in the league with Horden trailing by 16 points but still only one place below them, in 4th place.

Click Here to visit Consett RFC website for a more in depth match report

 

A day in Teeside

Sorry for the lack of blogs recently but I promise to try harder in the new year.

Here are a few pics from a day out in Teeside with a few friends.

We started out in Hartlepool (above), then made our way to Middlesbrough via Seaton Carew (below) .

As we reached the riverside at Middlesbrough we were rewarded with a few minutes of sunshine.

The ‘Great North Run’ Weekend

The Great North Run will take place this weekend on Sunday 13 September 2015.

The world’s leading half marathon, the Great North Run, was first staged in 1981 where just over 12,000 people took part on the 13.1 mile course from Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields; with entries reaching 57,000 people in 2014. In 2014 the event made history as it became the first International Association of Athletics Federations event in the world to welcome its millionth finisher.

Previous runners include some of the most famous names in distance running; Mo Farah, Paula Radcliffe and Haile Gebrselassie.

This year I will be photographing the event for Sue Ryder charity. They provide incredible hospice and neurological care for people facing a frightening, lifechanging diagnosis. They do whatever they can to be a safety net for their patients and their loved ones at the most difficult time of their lives. They see the person, not the condition.

Not only do they treat more conditions than any other UK charity in their hospices, neurological care centres and out in the community; they also campaign to improve the lives of people living with them. They see the person, not the condition, taking time to understand the small things that help that person live the fullest life they can.  To get to know more about the charity CLICK HERE.

Penultimate home game for Durham WFC

Durham WFC played their penultimate home game for the 2015 season, with a home game against Promotion chasing Yeovil Town Ladies.

In a frustrating afternoon for the Wildcats, the visitors took all three points with a goal minutes before half-time through Natasha Knapman. The home side did well enough during the opening stages, weathering an early storm from the Lady Glovers, but never quite managing to create their own chances.To read the full match report CLICK HERE

and

view more images from the game CLICK HERE.