PREVIEW: 2022 British Indoor Championships Day 1
The 2022 British Indoor Championships get underway tomorrow (Saturday 7th January) at Sports Connexion, Ryton on Dunsmore, Coventry. The action gets underway at 10am with the first of 2 Open Team Qualifiers. The first match sees 3 teams who have won this event 6 times between them as 1995 & 2002 winners Great Blakenham line up along with Birmingham, who won in 2015 & 2018, and Ipswich, the winners of the last 2 stagings in 2019 & 2021. Exeter and Fife are the 2 other teams in the first match.
The 2nd Open Team Qualifier at 11am features 3 teams who have won this event on 13 occasions between them. Horspath have won on 8 occasions, Leicester have been victorious on 4 occasions and 1988 winners Poole. Kesgrave and Newport complete the line-up.
The Under 14 Individual Championship will be decided at midday and features 6 of the riders who rode in last year’s event, namely Ryker Jolly (Kesgrave), who was runner-up last year and is the current Under 14 Boys outdoor champion, his Kesgrave club mates Oscar Hammond and Lily Parr (current Under 14 Girls outdoor champion), the Exeter duo of Charlotte Geach (outdoor Under 14 Girls runner-up) and Harvey Yard as well as Ipswich’s Finley Myall. Also entered are Ella Case (Kesgrave), who was 3rd in the Outdoor Under 14 Girls, James Randall (Poole), Jake Geach (Exeter), Connor Jarrett (Kesgrave), Demi-Blu Harris (Kesgrave), Isaac Powling (Kesgrave) and Lola Martin (Hethersett)
At 1.15pm there will be a Consolation Final for the Open Team Championship and this will feature the teams who finish 3rd to 5th in the qualifiers. This will be followed at 2.45pm by the Under 16 Individual Championship where 12 riders are entered, of which 10 rode in the corresponding event last year. They are the defending champion JJ Wildman (Exeter), Torsten Jolly (Kesgrave), Charlie Parr (Kesgrave), Ryker Jolly (Kesgrave), Oliver Saunders (Poole), Shannon Tucker (Exeter), Mason Martin (Hethersett), Owen Geach (Exeter) Leon Penketh (Southampton) and Harvey Yard (Exeter). Kenzie Bennett (Poole) and Connor Legg (Horspath) complete the line-up
The Open Team Championship Final takes place at 4pm and will feature the top 2 teams from each of the qualifiers before the Junior Individual Championship rounds off day 1 at 5.15pm. 12 riders have entered of which Torsten Jolly (Kesgrave) and Keiran Whitehead (Leicester) rode in the 2021 event. 3 Poole riders have entered this year, Kenzie Bennett and the Saunders siblings Maddie & Oliver. JJ Wildman, Owen Geach and Shannon Tucker represent Exeter. The line-up is completed by Kielan Burton (Sheffield), Charlie Parr (Kesgrave), Kayden Davidson (Fife) and Leon Penketh (Southampton