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THERE was success for Mid Argyll athletes in the Argyll final of Sports Hall Athletics in Oban in a competition dominated by athletes from Mull, winning four out of the ten titles.
117 young athletes entered the competition held at Atlantis Leisure in Oban on Saturday, December 15.
The final was the last in a series of six competitions held throughout Argyll over the last five weeks.
Eilidh Campbell from Lochgilphead was dominant in the under-15 contest winning five events. Eilidh was well clear in both running events winning the 2lap in 23.7 and the 4lap in 53.9seconds. Eilidh’s best event was the standing long jump with 2.25metres effort but she also impressed in winning the high jump and vertical jump. Laura Fyfe from Inveraray also won the shot putt in this age group throwing 8.32metres.
Ross MacCrone from Tobermory was the under-9 champion thanks to a fine double in the 2lap and 4lap races and a win in the vertical jump but his overall winning margin was only half a point ahead of Ben Coates from Park Primary in Oban. Ben’s most impressive win was in the high jump clearing 1.08metres - only 1cm below the Argyll age record. Stuart Munro from Ardrishaig won the speed bounce in this age group.
Arguably the top athlete from all the age groups was Iain McDowall from Tobermory High School who almost had a clean sweep in winning the under-15 championship. He won seven events and was first equal in the 8th event. Iain looked very impressive and relaxed in winning the 2lap in 21.7 and 4lap in 46.7 and his standing long jump of 2.61metres was close to the Argyll record. Iain was the Scottish Sports Hall champion last February and who would bet against him repeating his success in 2008. Colin Campbell from Lochgilphead was runner-up ahead of Gary Turner from Campbeltown and Nicol Ferguson from Lochgilphead.
This was the first time the Argyll final has been held in Oban with all previous finals since 1995 held
in the Mid Argyll Sports Centre in Lochgilphead. The change in venue was due to the closure of the old Sports Centre in Lochgilphead with the facilities at the new Sports Centre inadequate to hold an event of this size. Most people attending last Saturday’s Final agree that this was the most successful ever and this was mainly due to the large hall and the co-operation of the Atlantis Leisure staff.
Teams will be selected in the under 13 [twelve boys & twelve girls] and under 15 [seven boys & seven girls] age groups to represent Argyll at the South Regional contest at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday, January 26. The winning teams in Edinburgh will qualify for the Scottish final to be held in Dundee on Sunday, March 2. All district teams winning at the Scottish final will travel to Birmingham for the UK Final. Argyll team members will be advised of their selection for Edinburgh early in January.
This indoor event was promoted by Argyll & Bute Local Athletics Partnership and sponsored by an Awards for All Lottery Grant.
