Wychavon Awards
01 Oct 2012
Tazmin and Harry win Wychavon Awards once again
In yet another supportive recognition of their sporting talent Wychavon have awarded the 'Junior Sports Personality Awards for 2012' to swimmers Tazmin Pugh and Harry Sykes once again. Twelve year old Pugh is a member of Pershore and Worcester Swimming Clubs as too is fourteen year old Sykes, although he is recognised more so in this award for his Tetrathlon triumphs having been put forward by his District Commissioner, Sarah Roberts, of the Croome Pony Club.
Both youngsters have now risen through the ranks in their young sporting careers and have England behind their name with Tazmin now a member of the level 1 England Talent Development Programme following her excellent results at the National Age Group Championships. Whilst Harry was called up as one of the youngest competitors in the recent successful England Intermediate Boys team in a Home International meet between Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the National Tetrathlon Championships.
In Tazmin's case this is now an unprecedented third year in a row she has been presented with the Junior Female (under 18) award having first won the honour back in 2010 whilst still only ten years old already at the time being a three time winner of seven National Independent School's swimming titles, her first when she was still only 8 years of age. This was as well as being Midlands Cross Country and Athletic Champion in several events whilst still attending Bowbrook House School. Moving to Abbey Park Middle in 2011 she continued winning every South Worcestershire district swimming, athletic track and field and cross country title which came her way eventually going on to become the Minor Counties 800m track champion competing in the under 14s whilst still 12, and 2nd in the county cross country championships.
Looked on at the presentations by Mr Rees a representative from her new school Pershore High she now hopes to join forces with another highly successful County and District swimming Champion and National Champs medal winner Isobel Griffiths (12) who trains out of the City of Birmingham club to see if they can continue their winning ways together. Tazmin is grateful for the work put in by her coaches and also the grants she has received from the 'Joanna Brown Trust' and 'Team Super Sports' (TSS) together with donations from the generous residents of Pershore who do not wish to be named but have helped her raise money for TSS and who wish to share their pride in the town's sporting achievements.
Her birthday being in January and ages taken at the date of competition Tazmin has always been one of the youngest in her age group in the Herefordshire and Worcestershire County Championships back in February and yet this has never stopped her winning in her latest haul being 11 medals (6 gold and 5 silver). Making the step up to the Midland District Swimming Championships (comprising 9 counties in the East & West Midlands) in June and qualifying for every single event Tazmin continued her winning ways taking 1 gold, silver and bronze amidst stiff competition from swimmers in the elite county and city clubs.
Only a month later having qualified for four events in the National Age Group Championships Tazmin swam personal bests and made the final of the 100m butterfly coming 8th and finishing equal 10thin the UK with Redditch swimmer Poppy McGorlay in the 100m freestyle only narrowly missing the finals with two overseas swimmers taking up two of the places.
Meanwhile her sporting cohort for the last four years since winning their first swimming titles together, Harry Sykes was also at the Civic Centre to be awarded with Wychavon Community Development Junior Male Sports Personality Award for the second year running.
Harry now wins local and regional titles as a matter of course and has recently taken the British Tetrathlon scene by storm. Combining four sports in one, Harry nearly always wins the swimming section belying his young age, with his cross country run also being one of the fastest on competition days, followed by his rapidly maturing equestrian cross country expertise and improving his pistol shooting now being combined in the Olympic five discipline sport of Modern Pentathlon he aspires to, Harry has become the sportsman to watch.
This was proven most recently by Harry taking bronze in the National Tetrathlon Championships even though only 14 and competing against boys up to four years his senior in the Intermediate Boys and helping England take Gold in the Home International. Harry who still schools at Bowbrook House in Peopleton has also been multi-champion in the ISA at Midland and National level in swimming, cross country, athletics and equestrian. As stated Harry's ambition is to progress to compete in the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon and has recently taken up the final discipline of fencing hoping to make the GB team one day and indeed who would bet against this elite athlete achieving his 'dare to dream' ambition.
Both sporting stars take quickly to learning all their multi sporting disciplines with the tetrathlon playing to Harry's strengths whilst with her athletic and cross-country achievements Pugh recently tried archery and a only a week later won both the junior (under 18) and novices trophy at Evesham Archery Club's Championships helped by their own International Junior Miss Sally Gilder shooting the more difficult senior round. Their sports clubs and schools are justifiably proud of these two youngsters not only in winning these prestigious awards but continuing to stay near the top of their sports within not only Wychavon but the County, Region and indeed Country as a whole.Ian P photo