FURNESS put themselves in a strong position to defend the Cumbria School Games crown after the opening round of events.

Youngsters competing in sportshall athletics and gymnastics did the borough proud over two days of competition in Penrith.

Their efforts – including a gymnastics triumph for Yarlside Academy – ensured the team go into the main games in July in a solid second place.

Teams from Copeland, Allerdale, Carlisle, Eden, and South Lakes lined up against Furness for the Active Cumbria events, having qualified through district finals.

In the sportshall athletics final, Yarlside and Holy Family pulled on the blue shirts, with pupils from each school all taking part in two track events and two field events.

Events included the obstacle relay, sprint relays, foam javelin, chest push, standing long jump, standing triple jump, vertical jump and speed bounce.

Athletes were awarded points based on their position against the other competitors, which added up to a school total.

Yarlside finished fifth of the 12 schools with 446 points, with Holy Family just behind in sixth, with 420 points. The combined totals saw Furness finish second.

Furness school games organiser Oliver Carswell said: “The athletes were exceptional throughout the whole competition.

“Not only did they encourage and support people from their own school, but also the other school as well, which was great to see.

“I think both schools were a little disappointed about their individual positions in the rankings, but put them together and we achieved second overall, which is phenomenal.”

In the Key Steps gymnastics finals, Newton and Lindal and Marton took part in the in the small schools competition, with St George’s and Yarlside in the large school event.

Teams worked through the three different disciplines of floor, body management and vault.

Each child received a score which added to their team's total.

In the small schools event, Newton finished fourth in Key Steps One – an event won by Windermere's Goodly Dale School for South Lakes – with Lindal and Marton third and fourth in Key Steps Two and Three respectively.

In the large schools, Yarlside won Key Steps Two, with their Key Steps Three team and the Key Steps One team from St George's both finishing third.

Overall, Furness finished second.

Carswell said: “The schools who represented our area were fantastic at the gymnastics competition.

“Considering for some of them it was their first time, they handled the pressure very well.

“There were only small margins between a lot of the positions. For example, Newton were only 0.55points off first.

“As an area we came second, which is fantastic. It puts us in a really good place going into the summer finals in July, which I cannot wait for.”