Leading teams and individuals from across the UK to compete for national honours at Manchester’s Sportcity

Young athletes from across the UK head to Manchester on April 25-26 as the Sportshall season comes to a climax at the UK Sportshall Athletics Final.

After qualifying through the regional and home country under-13 and under-15 Sportshall UK Championships throughout the winter, a number of the country’s rising athletics stars will battle for national titles at the city’s Regional Arena.

Reigning under-15 girls champion Ellie Hodgson of Southampton AC is among those to return and will be looking to hold on to her title in her last year of Sportshall.

Thurrock AC’s William Adeyeye took the East Regional under-15 boys title with an impressive 15.35m in the shot and will be looking for a similarly strong performance in the final.

In the under-13 team competition, Greater Manchester will represent the North West after their best result for a number of years. They will be challenged by teams from across the UK including a Hampshire girls team aiming for their fourth successive title and an Avon boys team searching for a fifth win in six years.

There is no doubt Donegal will also be looking to challenge for the under-13 boys title after seeing two new Ulster records in their qualifying competition.

Many of the young athletes in action will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Kelly Sotherton and Mark-Lewis-Francis who were all involved with Sportshall early on in their athletics careers. Another to have experienced her first taste of athletics through Sportshall competition is double world junior champion Morgan Lake who completed her Sportshall career by winning the under-15 all-rounder competition in 2012.

Sportshall works across the UK and each year engages over a million children aged nine to 15 in athletics through club and school games programmes. The indoor series involves ten regional finals for under-13 and under-15 athletes. The top teams from each regional final progress to the UK Finals. Sportshall Athletics was created by George Bunner, with the first competition having taken place in 1976.

UK Sportshall Athletics Final 2015 timetable

Saturday April 25: 1pm – 5pm
Sunday April 26: 12.30pm - 4.30pm

See www.sportshall.org

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