Sports Reports

QPPSSA Year 5 & 6 Girls Basketball, Team A

Match Report by Sasha Henderson, Captain

As we were all on the bus both the A and B teams were so nervous and yet excited to be playing basketball.  The first match for DESS A team was against QIS and the result was 6 – 0…… we won!  We had a load more competitive matches. 

A few matches after our break we had to play Dukhan who became more challenging as they played.  We eventually beat them too!  Our amazing team, Charlotte, Kalya, Georgina, Rachel, Jessica, Aaleen and I beat Compass 28 – 0!  Wow what a result!

The next match was against Sherbourne, our team was scared but we ended up beating them anyway!  ASD were great but we drew them and that was how we came first in our league.

In the quarter finals we sadly had to play DESS B team and we narrowly beat them and knocked them down to fifth place.  In the semi-finals we were competing against Dukhan again.  We walked on to the final game shaking, amazed that we had worked so hard and got this far.  We won!  We won the final!

I would like to thank the PE teachers for training us and for all the effort and time they have put in and to say ‘’WELL DONE’’ to this year’s basketball team.

Kalya Aung Georgina Matthews Sasha Henderson Jessica Castles Rachell Goff Aaleen Ahmed Charlotte Hay

QPPSSA Year 5 & 6 Girls Basketball, Team B

Match Report by Phoebe Lawrie, Captain

This Monday DESS went off to play the QPPSSA Year 5 &6 Girls Basketball competition at ASD.  We all left in the morning to the American School and started our warm up.  DESS was the first team to arrive and as many other schools loaded in we became more determined and really wanted to win!

I was Captain of the B team and we played an exciting first match against Dukhan 2  and furthermore we won 10 – 0!  This got us ready for the next game with Sherbourne 2, which we won as well 10- 0. 

The next game we were in was against QIS, unfortunately, we had seen them play in their last match and they were tough, however, this didn’t make us less focussed.  We played well with strong tackles and passes, although that wasn’t enough and therefore we lost 2 – 8.

Our next game was with ASD 2, the home team playing their favourite sport and, yet again, we played well, scored lots of baskets but they just beat us 16 – 12.

Our fifth game was against Compass and we won 6 – 4.  Now we had a challenging game against DESS 1.  In this match we played great, wonderful marking, accurate passing as well as not bad shooting.

The DESS A team knocked us out after an exhilarating addition to a tiring day.  All of the DESS B team had loads of fun and enjoyed the challenges.  As Captain I would like to mention our amazing players; our fabulous defender, Ishika, our wonderful midfielders, Maggie, Emi, Molly and Roha and our fantastic shooter, Bella.  The members of our team should be extremely proud of themselves as they all did a brilliant job.  Well done!!

Ishika Roy Emilia Boer Bella Hensen Roha Karim Phoebe Lawrie Molly Hamilton Maggie Beattie

QPPSSA Year 5 and 6 Boys' Basketball Competition

 
Wednesday 2nd May, saw DESS take two teams to the annual Year 5 & 6 boys basketball event at the American School of Doha.   In total 12 teams made an appearance and each were striving to perform to an extremely high standard.
Luckily, the two DESS teams were entered into different leagues and easily worked their way through the competition to progress to the quarter final stages. Some of the highlights in these opening games were a 20 – 0 win over Compass International School a 6 – 5 victory over the very strong ASD home team and a 10 – 2 result against Sherbourne School.
The quarter finals saw both DESS teams being pitted against th home teams of ASD.  DESS team A took on the ASD B team and, after a long and hard battle, were narrowly beaten to exit the competition in 6th place overall.  DESS team B took on the ASD A team and played to a stunning level, beating their rivals 5 – 4 in what was, easily, the highlight of their day.
The semi-finals round saw our DESS A team take on the ASD B team in what one could only describe as a nail biter! By the time the final whistle blew, DESS were narrowly beaten once more but finished in a very respectable 4th position out of 12 teams.

Team A		Team B
Adam Scott Ebrahim Algosaibi Seena Salamat Hashim Bhat Miles Seymour Riley Larkins Christos Papas		Zike Komakoma Louis Mowle Wale Millar Adam Bettihthamou Mohammed Zein Jack Lindsay Hari Papas Tristan Hamra

Scud Cup 2012

Summer had well and truly arrived just in time for this year’s Scud Cup event. Temperatures soaring into the forties made for a hotly contested competition. DESS arrived at Doha College in a confident mood, having played well at the BSME games. The boys travelled next door to Doha Rugby Club for a 30 minute Football match and the girls moved into the Sports Hall at Doha College for the Netball fixture.

The boys warmed up quickly and hydrated themselves, ready for the first half lasting 15 minutes. The game started at a fast pace with DESS controlling the game in the opponent’s half. Miles, Ebrahim and Adam Scott all created scoring chances but found it difficult to hit the back of a very small goal.

The girls Netball team started well but quickly found themselves 3 scores down as Doha College took control of the opening quarter. DESS made a few subtle changes to their positional line up in the break, which soon paid off as the 2nd quarter got under way. DESS quickly tied the scores due to their unwaivering stamina and expertise.

At half time in the Football, orange segments and water were required as the boys rehydrated once again, in preparation for the second half. DESS continued to work hard, limiting the opposition to just 2 chances on the DESS goal, which Riley Larkin did well to save. 

DESS Netballers continued to play well through the 3rd and into the 4th quarter, moving clear of Doha College. DESS applied their skills well throughout the game and showed determination to comeback from a shaky start. Miss Francis and Mrs Hudson were both very proud of the DESS Netball effort as they secured a 7 – 5 victory.

The final whistle blew in the Football with the game still tied at 0 – 0 after 30 minutes play. Having practised taking penalties in the warm up, DESS felt confident that they could finish the job. However, luck wasn’t on our side and DESS lost 2-1 despite an excellent penalty from Ebrahim Algosaibi.

The Scud Cup will be shared with Doha College this year.  We are looking forward to competing again next year to bring the trophy back to DESS for a full 12 months.

Football			Netball
Seena Salamat Hashim Bhat Ebrahim Algosaibi Owaab Barrow George Ball Riley Larkins Adam Scott Ammar Laksana Miles Seymour Adam Bettihthamou			Amy Scott Charlotte Hay Aaleen Ahmed Georgina Matthews Natasha Jago Sasha Henderson Ellie Armes Dina Abdelghaffar Kalya Aung

QPPSSA Year 5 and 6 Rugby Competition

On Wednesday 28th March, two teams from DESS travelled to the International School of London to compete in the second QPPSSA Mixed Tag Rugby competition.  There were 12 teams at the competition, split into two pools of 6 teams. Each team then had five matches in the pool stage.
Team A started strongly and won all five of their games, finishing top of their pool. Team B drew one, won one and lost 3. Team B came fifth in their group and narrowly missed out on a quarter final place. Team B, special mention must goto Christos Papas and Teddy Tyler.

Team A progressed to the knock out stages and played the International School of London in the quarter final.  They started a little slowly, but then began scoring tries.  However, it was DESS' strong tagging defence that kept opponents from scoring time and again, and this kept them on top. They then faced a big, strong and very fast team from Mesaieed International School in the semi-final.  The game was excruciatingly close as a superb diving tag in the last seconds from Ebrahim Algosaibi let DESS hold on to their 3 - 2 lead to win.
In the final, they faced Doha College Primary whom they had beaten in their very first game of the tournament. However, DCP had got stronger as the competition went on and after full time in the final it was tied 2 a piece.  The game went to extra time and a golden try to win! DESS started with the ball and pressed their attack, while DCP tagged and tagged.  Yet DESS pressed on and Teagan Roberts scored to give DESS the victory!

All the children played well and Team A in particular played as a team in defence and attack who were clever in putting the girls in for tries.  More importantly, they were tenacious and never gave up or let their heads drop even when they lost points.  Well done to all and thank you to the parents for their support.

Team 1		Team 2
Tom Crook Ross Crook Harrison Storm George Ball Tristan Hamra Jacob Walker-Morecroft Ebrahim Algosaibi Elissa Healey Amy Scott Teagan Roberts		Marcus James Sam Allen Kevin Chebil Jake Drury Teddy Tyler Adam Bettihthamou Christos Papas Hari Papas Cara O'Neill Annie Severs Elisa Pierrisnard

QPPSSA Year 3 and 4 Boys' Football Competition

On Thursday 8th March, DESS children participated in the QPPSSA Year 3 and 4 boys’ Football Competition hosted by Dukhan English School.
8 Schools turned up at Dukhan to compete in 2 leagues, each league had 8 teams and the teams played a total of 7 matches. DESS boys demonstrated the keen skills and aptitude developed during training sessions, as well as the typically high standards of politeness and exceptional behaviour.
The A team managed to finish 4th in their league and progressed to the playoffs.  Following this, the team won their semi-final match progressing to the final, beating ASD to win the A league of QPPSSA. The B team played exceptionally well managing to win 6 matches, drawing match and won their league to progressed to the play offs. They won the semi-final on penalties and went to the final to face ASD. This was a very close match with ASD scoring in the final few minutes meaning DESS came second in the B league.

Team 1		Team 2
Torsten Crowe Eric Eedle Sam Bettihthamou Harvey Cable-Coates Toby Barnett Waleed Nasr Benedict Crowe William Neave Lewis Kelly Quinn		Theo Boer Yousuf Rashid Lachlan Hamra Ahmed Al Thani Cameron Richardson Rayyan Trache Hugh Sharman-Patch Thomas Brown

QPPSSA Year 3 and 4 Girls' Football Competition

Wednesday 7th March saw the DESS girls Year 3 & 4 football team journey to Dukhan to compete in their annual event.  With 14 teams making an appearance at this competition it was fair to state that the going would be tough for our well trained and committed girls.

During the opening league matches, DESS sailed through all of their matches without conceding a single goal. By the end of the group stages, the girls had finished top of their league and were ready for the semi-finals round.  DESS were pitted against Qatar Academy and despite beating them in the league stages were narrowly defeated by one goal. This in turn took the DESS team to a 3rd & 4th place play off where the girls played a magnificent game of football, took their opposition through to penalties, but were unfortunate not to secure a goal advantage.
The final position of 4th out of 14 teams is a great one, and we are very proud of our Year3 & 4 Girls football team.

Emily Hay Perlisha Naidoo Kiera Scott Aya Mokhtar Hannah Redfern Tegan Smart Charlotte Porter Charlotte Paylor Sabina Rashid Savannah Brown

QPPSSA Year 5 & 6 Outdoor Athletics Competition

Monday 27th February saw the DESS athletics team travel to Al Khor International School to compete in the annual Outdoor Athletics Competition. In total some 16 schools from Qatar featured in Al Khor, all trying to battle it out to be crowned the best school in the country.
The DESS team had been rehearsing tirelessly for months in the lead up to this event and their hard work and dedication proved to be worthwhile. Each and every child performed at a magnificent level, often achieving personal bests in many of the chosen disciplines.
By close of play a very tired team anxiously awaited the final results to be announced and everyone was thrilled to see that DESS finished in 1st place overall, taking home the lion’s share of the medals which were on offer in each discipline.
We would like to congratulate the DESS Year 5 & 6 Athletics team who have trained hard, worked tirelessly and achieved a great accolade at this event.
We would also like to acknowledge Miles Seymour who despite being part of this team was unfortunately unable to attend due to illness. Sadly, the same was true for Mr Blundell who was unable to make an appearance due to an acute medical issue.

Year 5
Riley Larkins Christos Papas Harvey Cable-Coates Liam Chapman Matti Heynes Jessica Castles Rachel Goff Hattie Best Emmi Boer Ike Balogun
Year 6
Adam Bettihthamou Ebrahim Algosaibi George Ball Morris Denning Hashim Bhat Sam Dailley Kalya Aung Dena Abdelghaffar Molly Sell Beth Daley Sasha Henderson

QPPSSA Year 3 & 4 Outdoor Athletics Competition

 Monday 6^th February, saw the Year 3 & 4 DESS athletics team travel to Al Khor International School to compete in the annual athletics event. It was a busy afternoon with 14 schools challenging one another in a variety of running, jumping and throwing events. The DESS team had spent many hours practising their disciplines and look very able in all of the events on display.

By the end of a long afternoon, and despite a number of illnesses limiting our team’s potential, we are proud to report a finishing position of 4^th out of 14^th schools. Huge congratulations to our athletes, who not only devoted many hours of preparation time, but also conducted themselves in a manner which delighted teachers and parents alike.

Year 3
Benedict Crowe Rayan Trache Louis Todd Jack Williams Yousuf Rashid Prajina Salvarajah Eimear Galvin Alex Nightingale Eni Balogun
Year 4
Eric Eedle Sam Bettihthamou Harvey Cable-Coates Tom Brown Waleed Nasr Torsten Crowe Perlishia Naidoo Emily Hay Tegan Smart Lauren Humphreys Aya Mokhtar

QPPSSA Year 5 & 6 Netball Competition

Thursday 26th January saw the two DESS netball teams journey to Al Khor to compete in this annual event. All of the girls had been training hard for some time and this was evident in the way they conducted themselves on the court.

In total, 6 A teams and 5 B teams were present at the competition, representing the best of what Qatar has to offer. It was thrilling to witness both DESS teams playing some great netball and progressing through the final round without suffering any defeats.
By close of play both our A & B teams finished in first position, winning their respective leagues. We would like to say huge congratulations to the team, and a special note of thanks to Mrs Scott (Amy’s mum) who kindly provided the team photos.

	Team A	Team B
	Sophie Brown Sasha Henderson Aaleen Ahmed Charlotte Hay Molly Sell Georgina Matthews Bethanie Daley Kalya Aung Natasha Jago Dina Abdelghaffar	Hazel Crook Jessica Castles Amy Scott Olivia Cable-Coates Chloe Easthorpe Molly Hamilton Ellie Armes Elena Caspell Lucy Proffitt Sophie Turkman

Sheikh Faisal Cup Football Competition

Departing early from DESS on Wednesday 18th the Year 5 & 6 boys’ football team arrived at Al Gharaffa sport complex. Confidence was high following gold medal success in the recent QPPSSA football competition.
The tournament begun a little late and the DESS team had to wait for their first game. DESS started strongly against Qatar Academy, who literally ‘parked their team bus’ in front of the goal. Ebrahim Algosaibi and Miles Seymour both had good chances blocked and saved by the goalkeeper. Substitutes failed to break the deadlock and the match finished in a 0-0 with goalkeeper George Ball not having to make a save.
DESS continued to play with good application and a positive attitude however their luck didn’t change. Goals were the problem; in the course of the competition DESS hit the post or crossbar a total of 15 times and found opposing goalkeepers in scintillating form. It seemed as if every team that played DESS increased their performance levels to beat the defending champions.
DESS managed to finish the afternoon on a high, playing Sherbourne in an excellently contested match. Goals were definitely not an issue in this game with Algosaibi hitting 4 goals in 4 minutes.
DESS players conducted themselves in a manor during this tournament of which we can all be proud, helping each other, motivating and being gracious in defeat. Special mention should go to George Ball who made some outstanding saves with his first effort as Goalkeeper.

Miles Seymour Owaab Barrow Ebrahim Algosaibi George Ball Seena Salamat Hashim Bhat Ammar Laksana Louis Mowle Adam Scott Liam Chapman Connor Hickey Adam Bettihthamou

QPPSSA Year 5 and 6 Mixed Rounders Competition

Thursday 12th January saw DESS hosting the annual QPPSSA Rounders event, with some 9 teams competing for the coveted recognition of being named as the best team in Qatar.

DESS was fortunate enough to be able to bring TWO teams to this competition which had been practising rigorously for the entire duration of Term 1.  Teams were split into two leagues with five A teams, and four B teams playing in a range of matches.

The DESS A team faced some very stiff competition from other schools but held their nerve to secure a victory in each of their matches.  The DESS B team were equally well prepared and demonsterated organisation and teamwork in each of their matches to progress through to the final round.

By close of play, both the DESS A team and the DESS B team emerged as the overall winners in their respective leagues, finishing 1st and collecting a gold medal/certificate.

We are very proud of both of our teams who played well, demonstrated commitment in all of their training sessions as well as the usual exceptional behaviour we have come to expect from all of our teams.  Huge congratulations to all who took part.

	A Team	B Team
	Tom Crook Ross Crook Teddy Tyler Harrison Storm Rachel Goff Adam Scott Ebrahim Algosaibi George Ball Adam Bettihthamou Ben Brown Charlotte Hay	Joshua Christie Sally Williams Alexander Cardozo Molly Hamilton Oliver Turkman Tristan Hamra Tino Astley Archie Todd Mahdi Dahir Anjaneya Sudan Elly Perez-Selsky Jacob Walker-Morecroft

QPPSSA Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Cross Country Competition

Monday 5^th December, saw DESS children taking part in the annual QPPSSA Cross Country Competition. 35 boys and girls were selected from a group of over one hundred children to take part in the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 competition.

The teams travelled to Doha Golf Club to compete alongside other schools in this hotly contested event. The boys and girls of DESS demonstrated their keen skills and aptitude which they had been developing during training sessions, as well as the typically high standards of politeness and exceptional behaviour.

By the end of the 4 races all of our children had given their all and eagerly awaited the final results. We would like to congratulate all teams on their great efforts, achieving the following results:

DESS year 3 and 4 girls  – 4^th

DESS year 3 and 4 boys-  3^rd

DESS year 5 & 6 girls- 2^nd

DESS year 5 & 6 boys- 2^nd

A huge congratulations to all the children who performed very well indeed.

	Y3/4 Girls Team	Y3/4 Boys Team
	Mariam Rashid Tegan Smart Elizabeth Walker-Morecroft Lauren Humphreys Jamie Johnston Alex Nightingale Lily Pickles	Jack Williams Sam Bettihthamou Benedict Crowe Torsten Crowe Eric Eedle Louis Hosking Lewis Winetrouble Harvey Toms Ruben Bitar Jack Tunstall
	Y5/6 Girls Team	Year 5/6 Boys Team
	Rachel Goff Jessica Castles Isabelle White Elena Larder Holly Woodcock Zaina Rashid Sally Williams	Adam Bettihthamou Tristan Hamra Hari Papas Christos Papas Ross Crook Liam Chapman Morris Denning Louis Mowle Miles Seymour

QPPSSA Year 5 & 6 Boys Football Competition

Monday 28th November, saw DESS children travel the short distance to American School of Doha (ASD) to compete in a large football tournament containing teams entered from 9 schools based in Doha.
In line with this year’s changes to QPPSSA regulations, DESS were able to take two teams to this event, with full support of teachers, players and parents. The DESS teams were separated into 2 pools, facing both A and B teams from other schools. 
DESS team A kicked off the event at ASD with a 2 – 0 win against Parkhouse B, Ebrahim Algosaibi scoring both. DESS A continued to play excellent football, passing well and defending as team. Further goals from Algosaibi, team captain Miles Seymour and a wonder strike by Seena Salamat from inside his own half, the highlight.
DESS team B followed the A team’s example picking up two excellent win’s in their pool against other B teams. The B team missed out on qualification for the Quarter finals by 1 point, a great effort by all the players involved. The year 5’s should be looking to take this experience into next year’s competition.  
As the final pool games kicked off it was clear that DESS A were going to qualify as the top team in their pool. DESS A team focused and raised their performance level even more to ASD team A 2 – 0 in the quarter final and Doha British Montessori School 3 – 0 in the semi final match. The final pitched DESS A against the very impressive Parkhouse A. In an evenly matched contest both teams created good chances, DESS missed a golden opportunity in the last minute to seal the final. The match ended 0 – 0 and the lottery of penalties caused a nervous few minutes for teachers and supporters. DESS A showed remarkable confidence and high skill level to school both penalties and win 2 – 0. A special mention should go to Colin Bates for a fine penalty save.
The year 5 and 6 football squad have trained hard, listened and shown determination to perform at their best. Well done to everyone involved.

DESS Team A –   1st overall out of 14 teams
DESS Team B –   3rd in B team competition

	Team A	Team B
	Colin Bates Christos Papas Owaab Barrow Adam Scott Ammar Laksana Hashim Bhat Miles Seymour Ebrahim Algosaibi Adam Bettihthamou Seena Salamat	George Ball Hari Papas Joshua Christie Connor Hickey Riley Larkins Zike Komakoma Solomon Dennis Louis Mowle Liam Chapman Harrison Storm

Huge congratulations to both of our teams who performed very well indeed.

QPPSSA Year 3 & 4 Girls Basketball Competition

 
Thursday 17th November, saw DESS children taking part in the QPPSSA Year 3 and 4 Girls Basketball competition hosted by DESS.
A first for the QPPSSA was the ability for DESS to take TWO teams to this event and this was warmly welcomed by staff and children alike who have been campaigning for this increase in child participation for some time.
Four Schools turned up to DESS to compete in two leagues, each league had four teams in and teams played a total of six matches. The girls of DESS demonstrated their keen skills and aptitude which they had been developing during training sessions as well as the typically high standards of politeness and exceptional behaviour.
The A team lost their first match to QA, after this the team became undefeated and managed to win the next four matches and drew their final match against Parkhouse. The B team played exceptionally well and managed to draw three matches in their league, creating 33 scoring opportunities.
By the end of the competition all of our children had given their all and eagerly awaited the final results. We would like to congratulate both teams on their great efforts, achieving the following results:
DESS Team 1 2nd overall in the first league
DESS Team 2 4th  overall in the second league.  Huge congratulations to both of our teams.

	Team A	Team B
	Perlisha Naidoo	Mariam Rashid
	Emily Hay	Anna Sutherland
	Teagan Smart	Adrianna Alam
	Tegan Macdonald	Andrea Frarey
	Zoya Rahman	Alex Nightingale
	Alanoud Al Thani	Hana Yehya
	Beth Dailey	Tara Moghaddam
		Savannah Brown

 

QPPSSA Year 3 & 4 Indoor Athletics Competition

Monday 24^th October, saw DESS children taking part in the first QPPSSA event of the year. Twenty boys and girls were selected from a group of over one hundred children to take part in the Year 3 & 4 Mixed Indoor Athletics competition.

A first, for the QPPSSA was the ability for DESS to take TWO teams to this event and this was warmly welcomed by staff and children alike who have been campaigning for this increase in child participation for some time.

Both teams travelled to Qatar Foundation to compete alongside 13 other schools in this hotly contested event. The boys and girls of DESS demonstrated their keen skills and aptitude which they had been developing during training sessions as well as the typically high standards of politeness and exceptional behaviour.

By the end of the 10^th event all of our children had given their all and eagerly awaited the final results. We would like to congratulate both teams on their great efforts, achieving the following results:

DESS Team 1 –                   2^nd overall out of 13 teams

DESS Team 2 –                   2^nd overall out of their peer group / 6^th overall out of 13 teams

A huge congratulations to both of our teams who performed very well indeed.

	Team A	Team B
	Amy Lawrie	Emma Taylor-Rodgers
	Eni Balogun	Kiera Scott
	Lauren Humphreys	Prajina Shiv
	Perlishia Naidoo	Eamear Galvin
	Teagan Smart	Emily Hay
	Sam Bettihthamou	Harvey Toms
	Torsten Crowe	Thomas Brown
	Waleed Nasr	Louis Hosking
	Andrew Cockburn	Jack Williams
	Eric Eedle	Yousuf Rashid

  

DESS Swim Champs

Sunday 25^th September, saw over one hundred children from DESS compete in the annual DESS Swim Champs. The competition is designed as an introduction to competitive sports prior to the start of the QPPSSA calendar and also an opportunity to dust off the cobwebs of the summer. Despite the day being extremely humid, there was a strong parental turnout in support of the children.

Everyone swam very well over their three strokes and demonstrated some powerful swimming actions.

Congratulations to all children for performing so well, with particular reference to our three finalists in each category: