Date: Saturday 5th July 2014 - Sunday 6th July 2014 at
Entries close: TBC
Entry ages: 4 years +
On Friday 4th July, Matthew Burson, his family including Cambridge Cangaroos club chairman, Simon Burson and Head Coach Tony Fagelman made the long journey to Telford to compete in the NDP Finals. This was the first year of this new championship and we had high hopes for Matthew as he had finished the season ranked number 1 in Great Britain in the NDP 7 13-14 male age group, having achieved a gold and silver placing in the two competitions of the four available during the season.
A good orientation on Friday was followed by dinner and a good nights sleep. Even the frantic cries of distraught football fans failed to disturb the contingents sleep.
Matthew and Tony walked to the centre on Saturday morning to prepare for competition at 10.00am. With eight qualifiers from the season, this was one of the biggest entries in the male competitions.
Round 1 began and Matthew was first to compete. An excellent start set the bar high, with Matthew recording a total score of 41.040 and registering an extremely impressive Time of Flight score. By the end of round 1, Matthew had a lead of 1.710 on his nearest rival.
Unfortunately, Round 2 was less successful and he failed to complete the 10 skills, managing just 5 skills in his routine and achieving a score of 24.590. Matthew ended the day in 8th place, having qualified for the Finals, he now needed to do his best on Sunday to regain some pride. Unfortuantely, as the event was operating a cumulative scoring system it meant his chance of a medal remained slim.
Back at the hotel the contingent enjoyed a relaxing swim in the pool and after a nice meal in the hotel restaurant, Matthew retired to his bed, leaving the adults to games of cards, which Simon lost spectacularly. Sunday dawned bright and with news that the Big Weekend demo back in Cambridge had been called off due to rain, the Cangaroos contingent made their way to the Centre in a somewhat somber mood.
Competition began at 10.00am and again, as Matthew was now lying in 8th place he started proceedings. An excellent start to the routine was almost sabotaged in his penultimate move, but a fantastic rescue meant that he recorded a 10 skill routine and a total round score of 46.515, ow it was just a wait and see.
Seven competitors later and it was clear that Matthew had achieved the best score of the day and had it been the same as last year and operated a zero final, Matthew would have been British Champion. But his mistake in Round 2 meant that this year he had to settle for 7th place.
So, lessons learned, next season Matthew is intending to step up to World Age Group competition, competing against the very best boys in the 15-16 age group in Great Britain and the intention is to also compete in his first international competition in November.
The club wishes him well on his 2015 season and congratulates him for his excellent results in 2014.