The St Helens Village Sports were able to take place for the first time since 2019 on Bank Holiday Monday – the 122nd year of the annual event.
Following the lifting of restrictions on such events earlier in the summer, a team of villagers worked hard to get the event up and running again to allow the spirit of the village to once more shine through.
This year the Sports were combined with the Village Fayre, which usually takes place in June but has been cancelled for the last 2 years due to the pandemic. There was a car boot sale and charity and craft stalls on the Green. In the evening, to make up for the fact that the usual carnival procession was unable to take place, the organisers provided live music on the Green, featuring Anna Parkinson, Hashtag and a rousing finale by SAS – who had the crowd dancing away into the night despite the weather turning chilly.
Homemade refreshments were provided throughout the day by the Friends of St Helens School.
On Sunday, The Vine pub also treated the village to a new event when they staged a Family Fun Day. Running from 11:00 in the morning on the Village Green there were family challenge events, a magician, a bouncy castle, a foam disco, ‘sweetie bingo’ and music in the evening from Strawberry Moon.
The relaunch of the Sports Day was also celebrated by local artist Leigh Jackman who produced a special numbered limited edition poster for the event featuring images of well know local villagers. Sales of the poster raised £250 to help support future events.
Jonathan Bacon, Chairman of the Carnival Association, said:
“It was great to be able to stage the Village Sports again this year and to bring back one of our long standing village traditions. Everyone had a great time and we are already planning for next year, when we will hopefully be able to have the Fairground back in the Village and to stage a full Carnival Procession as part of the Bank Holiday once more.”
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Sarah Elliot, Secretary of the Village Sports Association and Village Fayre organiser, said:
“It was fantastic to see the Village coming together after all the difficulties over the last two years. Together with Jonathan we would like to thank all those who came forward to help stage two very successful days of events and all those who attended and participated in the events to help support our wonderful village”.
2021 Results
- Running age 5-6: 1. Maria O’Donohue, 2. Lyndon Chiverton, 3. Elliot Parsley
- Egg and Spoon age 7-8 finalists: Milly Jay Murdoch, Sammi Elobeid, Phoebe William Brown, Amber Parsley, Raf Newnham, Halle McDonnell, Evie Vince, Jack McDonald.
- Egg and Spoon age 9-10: 1. Jude Early, 2. Samson Vince, 3. Gabriella Murphy.
- Running age 11-15: 1. Grace McDonald, 2. Layton Tinsley, 3. Charlotte Stafford.
- Egg and Spoon age 15+: 1. Eric Diamond, 2. Nathan Jones, 3. Jackie Jones.
- Skipping age 6-8: 1. Matilda Johnson, 2. Helle McDonald, 3. Olivia Johnson.
- Egg and Spoon age 5-6: 1. Elliott Parsley, 2. Rex Jones, 3. Toby Afonso.
- Egg and Spoon age 11-14: 1. Amy McMahon, 2. Mitch Balloch, 3. Hadleigh Balloch.
- Running age 7-10: 1. Olivia Johnson, 2. Gabriella Murphy, 3. Amber Parsley.
- Tots race age 3-4: 1. Isaac Walker, 2. Bronwyn Vince, 3. Isaac Vince.
- Sack and Skipping age 9-14: 1. Grace McDonald, 2. Lewis McDonald.
- Three-legged age 14+: 1. Grace McDonald and Ella Tomlinson, 2. Mitch Balloch and Kai Elliot, 3. Tom McMahon and Ben McMahon.
- Three-legged age 9-13: 1. Anya Murphy and Gabriella Murphy, 2. Hadleigh Balloch and Sam Cutts, 3. Charlotte Stafford and Lillian Stafford.
- Wheelbarrow age 9-14: 1. Hadleigh Balloch and Mitch Balloch, 2. Charlotte Stafford and Lillian Stafford, 3. Matilda Johnson and Olivia Johnson.
- Sack and Skipping age 10-12: 1. Matilda Johnson, 2. Zuhab Ariyur, 3. Gabriella Murphy.
- Women’s 75 yards: 1. Sinnah Gifford, 2. Jackie Jones, 3. Debbie Williams.
- Men’s 100 yards: 1. (joint) Nathan Jones and Stuart McDonald, 3. Thomas Turtle.
- Boat race age 12-15: Kai Elliot, Hadleigh Balloch, Sam Cutts, Sophie Staplehurst, Phoebe Staplehurst, Charlotte Stafford, Mitch Balloch
- Men’s Tug of War: The Back of House
- Girls v Boys Tug of War: The Girls
