THE weekend of October 13-14 saw 10 members of Whirlwinds Academy head north to Sheffield for the English Championship Finals at the EIS.

To reach the finals, Whirlwinds athletes not only had to hit a tough qualifying score but also be ranked in the top 16 in England.

Committed training sessions proved worthwhile at the end of their competition season to achieve some great success.

For some it was the first time they had competed at this level, but the experience of head coach Jason Richardson and Sam Podilchuk helped calm the nerves and focus on the athletes' individual goals.

Liam Isaac won gold on DMT and the accolade of English champion for the second year in succession in the 15-16 age group.

Zach King, in the 17+ category, achieved an excellent silver on DMT, and Bethany Whitehead took a well deserved bronze medal in the 13-14 age group, also on DMT.

Outside of the medals the club's youngest members Jessica Vickery and Lilly Lucking (both age nine) competed strongly in the first year of their age groups.

Louis Whittome, Charlotte Vickery, Jas Uminski and Ella Ray performed well and can all take huge positives from the weekend.

For Becky Jarrett, Whirlwinds' most experienced competitor, this was her last English Championships, and she now has just one more competition finals to look forward to in November before retiring.