On Sunday 13th October, we held our 5th annual 7-a-side tournament for Under-16 and Under-18 girls at Datchworth RFC. The tournament, sponsored by the Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service is one of the largest of it's kind in the country. This year it attracted nearly 200 girls ranging in age from 12 to 18, with teams from Bishop's Stortford, Chinnor, Coalville, Crawley, Fullerians, Milton Keynes, Rochford Hundreds, Saffron Walden, Shelford and, of course, Scorpions. The Fire Service again provided tremendous support with equipment, support services, fire engines and numerous firefighters (much to the delight of some of the older girls !)

In the U16 Development section, 5 teams competed for the new Dave Clark Shield, named in honour of our founder, who sadly passed away earlier this year. This competition proved to be the most exciting of all as over 50 girls, many playing in their first ever competitive matches, showed tremendous enthusiasm and commitment. After 10 closely fought matches, Scorpions edged out local rivals Fullerians to win the title on points difference. Shelford were close behind with both Fullerian Furies and Saffron Walden putting in excellent displays.

In the U16 section, the teams were split into 2 groups with Scorpions and Fullerians qualifying for the final by winning their respective groups. The final was a hard, physical match, with defences on both sides dominating early on. However, tries from Becca Winter, Sian Williams and Hannah Prescott and 2 conversions from Sarah Mckenna gave Scorpions a 19-0 win.

The Under-18 section comprised teams from Bishop's Stortford, Chinnor, Crawley, Fullerians & Milton Keynes and Scorpions. This was particularly pleasing as it is generally very difficult to find U18 fixtures for these girls. Scorpions and Chinnor qualified from the group to play in the final, a repeat of last year. However, this time Scorpions dominated the game and ran out 19-0 winners to give the club a clean sweep of the trophies.

The Chief Fire Officer for Hertfordshire, Steve Seaber, was on hand to present trophies to the winners of each section and gold and silver medals to each of the finalists.

Despite the inevitable and, by now traditional, downpour, the tournament was again a great success and many new friends & club contacts were made.

Last, but by no means least, Scorpions would once again like to extend their thanks to Datchworth RFC for their tremendous support and hospitality, without which the whole event would not have been possible.