CHETWYNDE School continued their tennis court dominance with victory in the Furness School Games final.

The defending Cumbria School Games champions were on form again to be best in the borough.

Years 5 and 6 pupils from across the district had spent weeks battling it out to reach the finals at Ulverston Leisure Centre.

The mini red tennis event saw preliminary competitions held between the various clusters in South Cumbria, with the winners of each of those at Ulverston Victoria, Dowdales, Furness Academy and Walney & Catholic schools making it to the grand final.

Teams from Ulverston St Mary’s, Lindal and Marton, Low Furness, Yarlside Academy, Burlington, Sir John Barrow, St James, Chetwynde, Pennington, Penny Bridge, St George’s, South Walney Juniors and Croftlands Juniors took to the courts for the action to decide who would go on to represent the area at the Cumbria School Games finals in Carlisle.

Teams made up of two boys and two girls took part in singles matches, with the number one boys from across the sides playing each other, as did the number one girls and the number two boys and girls.

The teams were split into two groups, one of six and one of seven, with victories for players earning their teams a point, and those then added up to decide which sides progressed to the final as top of the standings.

In Group One, it was a close affair between Ulverston St Mary’s and Yarlside, as they both had 15 wins each at the end of the group matches.

They had to be split on points difference, with Yarlside advancing by the narrow margin of three after each had played 24 games.

In Group Two, Chetwynde finished top with 23 wins, in front of St James, in second with 16.

The final between Yarlside and Chetwynde was a closely fought contest, with Chetwynde coming out on top to retain the title they claimed last year on their way to the county crown.

Furness school games organiser Oliver Carswell was pleased with the standard of the competition, and said: “I was really impressed with how the competition went.

“After a few logistical changes at the start, the group matches were soon flying.

“A lot of the matches were really exciting to watch – the boy one match between Joe, from Ulverston St Mary’s, and Sam, from Yarlside, was a particular highlight; both players giving their all to get the win with some great drop shots and passing winners.

“Another particular highlight was how well the umpires did. The Year 9 students from Furness Academy received praise from a lot of the teachers for how they interacted with the players.

“I also want to say a big thank you goes to (tennis coach) Gary Weatherburn, who is a massive help at any tennis competition I put on.”