2025/26 SCI Butlin’s Championships

Essex Open U12 Maroon and Blue Squads headed off to sunny Bognor Regis for a weekend of team bonding and on court action.

Arriving on Friday evening with excitement, exhausted bodies and anticipation of what the weekend will bring. We ate a late dinner and headed off to our rooms to begin the much needed team connection and getting to know each other better.

Bright and early as we rose on Saturday morning, kitted, excited and focused with our mission clear in mind. Both teams started strong, winning back to back games and ultimately finishing top four in the table; Maroons undefeated placing 1st and Blues placing 4th and both entered into the Cup competition on the Sunday.

The competition on Sunday was well fought. All teams had stepped up a gear with hotly contested matches. The blues fought hard and remained competitive in all matches having never competed to this standard before, they stayed within reach of all matches, however, given injuries sustained, we were unable to secure the top two finish.

Relying on the Maroons to bring the trophy back to East London, they played well and dominated all teams remaining undefeated across the competition, beating local club Chichester NC 14-6 in the finals and aptly cheered on by the Blues and other teams watching the finals.