MORE than 240 children from 21 school teams competed in this year’s Marston Moor Cup, the finals of which were held at Heworth ARLC.

The annual tournament was first staged in 2002 as part of the York 9s festival, and, although the latter is not happening this year, the schools event continues to blossom, with this year’s involving schools not only from around York but also other areas of North Yorkshire, such as Knaresborough and Settle.

There were competitions at various age groups, and all schools as always received coaching from York City Knights’ community department in the run-up to the event The skill levels on show on finals day were high with some excellent rugby on display.

At Year 7 level, Settle beat Canon Lee 24-8 in the final, while the Year 9 title went to York High, who beat St James (Knaresborough) 34-8. York High were also triumphant at Year 10 level, beating cross-city rivals Canon Lee 20-6 in that final.

Heworth also hosted their own junior rugby league festival over a busy weekend of action at their Elmpark Way ground.

This involved more than 200 players from amateur clubs from across Yorkshire with competitions at under-10s, 12s, 13s and 14s levels, and again the quality of rugby was outstanding.

Kevin Pratt, one of the organisers, said: “This year we’ve taken a break from the adult York 9s to concentrate on the development of the game at junior level through the Marston Moor Cup and junior festival and we are really pleased we did with a fantastic turnout and some people watching rugby league for the first time.

“The spirit the matches have been played in is a credit to the game and we’d like to thank everyone at Heworth who has helped with the organisation. Thanks also go to the Knights for their ongoing community work and City of York Council, who help every year.”

The games were refereed by York and District officials Liam Haxby and Steve Wox, as well as Heworth U15s and Knights Scholarship player Liam Jackson.

Awards were presented by rugby league ace Willie Poching, the former Super League star and current assistant-coach at Leeds Rhinos