TAVISTOCK Hockey Club on Sunday took 28 of their junior players to a Christmas tournament at Budehaven Leisure Centre. The club entered four teams: one in the 10 and under age group and three in the 11-13 age group.

The 10 and unders played exceptionally well, meeting Bude and Launceston in a 'Round Robin' tournament. They beat Launceston 3-0 then 2-0 when they played them again and drew with Bude 0-0 and 1-1.

All the team had excellent sportsmanship both on and off the pitch and Matthew Edwards and William Steed demonstrated good stick skills.

Tess Bentley, Ella Selman and Anna Court were the female players on the pitch and it was hard for the opposition to get past them as they were determined to gain every ball.

Christian Brown and William Chapman performed some good linking moves with Barnaby Frost, who played well in goal and was equally strong when he played out on the pitch.

Due to the high standard of play that they showed the Tavistock Under 10s were placed in first position in their age group. All the team received a certificate and medals.

Tavistock Under 10s: Barnaby Frost, Anna Court, Tess Bentley, Christian Brown, William Steed, Matthew Edwards, William Chapman, Ella Selman.

The three other teams were in the 11-13 age group and were known as Tavistock A (an all girls' team), B, and C respectively. This age group was split into two pools of four teams. Tavistock A were in pool one and Tavistock B and C in pool two.

Tavistock A played Bude and beat them by 2-0, then went on to play Taw Valley which was a harder match. But the excellent stick work of Sarah Barratt and Francesca Murphy kept the opposition from equalising and the finishing score was 2-1. They then went to play Launceston, which was an all boys' team, and the girls beat them 4-1.

Charlotte Dawson, Claire Bruna and Louisa Frost had a cracking game and linked the ball up the pitch to finish with strong hits against their keeper. Robynne Honey had a good game in goal and made some vital saves. The strong midfield play of Barratt and Nicola Hawkins meant Honey was rarely troubled.

Tavistock A: Robynne Honey, Francesca Murphy, Sarah Barratt, Nicola Hawkins, Charlotte Dawson, Claire Bruna, Louisa Frost.

Tavistock B played and defeated St Austell B 7-1. Megan Tinsley and Harriet Cunningham had a field day in slipping goals past the keeper.

They then played Tavistock C and the score was 3-0 to the B team. Sarah Court gave some excellent crosses into the D for Tom Ludwig to run onto and take a shot at the keeper. Tavistock B then played St Austell A and beat them 1-0. The strong defensive play of Kate Eadie and Chloe Bassett allowed Oliver Frost, goalkeeper, to not be put under pressure - when he had to clear a shot he performed accurately.

Tavistock B: Oliver Frost, Kate Eadie, Chloe Bassett, Harriet Cunningham, Tom Ludwig, Megan Tinsley, Sarah Court.

Tavistock C beat St Austell A 1-0. Alice Toynton and Olivia Eadie had a superb game, taking the ball round and from the opposition with the greatest of ease.

When they played Tavistock B, the C team battled well and Charlie Hubbard and Rufus Gould ran tirelessly up and down the pitch to back-track players and also look to take possession. They then played St Austell B and the quick eye of Jenny Pollock gave her the opportunity to intercept the ball and feed it to Toynton to score.

Oliver Frost was also goalkeeper for this team and it was through him and the strong tactical play of defender, Gabriella Murphy, that prevented any opposition from scoring.

Tavistock C: Oliver Frost, Gabriella Murphy, Olivia Eadie, Alice Toynton, Jenny Pollock, Charlie Hubbard, Rufus Gould.

All the teams in the 11-13 age group then had semi-final play-offs and the final play-offs.

Tavistock A played Tavistock C in the semis and Tavistock B played Taw Valley.

Tavistock A beat Tavistock C 3-0 in a hard fought game. Tavistock B played Taw Valley and after a 0-0 score it went to penalty flicks. Oliver Frost saved all the flicks at him. In the 'sudden death' Frost saved Tavistock B and Kate Eadie scored the winning flick.

This then saw Tavistock C playing for third or fourth position against Taw Valley. This match also went to penalty flicks and Frost again saved them all. Olivia Eadie and Alice Toynton beat the goal keeper from Taw Valley to leave the final score at 2-0. This meant Tavistock C won third position.

Tavistock A and Tavistock B had to play each other for first and second position and after a good game that saw both Frost and Honey making excellent saves, Tavistock A won 2-0.

Tavistock A received medals and a certificate and Tavistock B and C also received certificates.

Final positions - U10s: 1, Tavistock.

11-13: 1, Tavistock A; 2, Tavistock B; 3, Tavistock C.

There were eight teams in total in the 11-13 age group.

Team coach and manager Fiona Dunn expressed thans to all the parents who came and supported and who helped with transport. She also thanked Gill Court, who helped with goalkeeping kit and organisation and umpires John Barratt and Phil Edwards.