District Mat Ball Competition 2007
![[Picture of the winning team]](mat-ball-competition-p1.jpg)
The winning 9th Cheam mat ball team with the trophy
This year’s District Cub mat ball competition took place at Carew Manor School in Wallington on Saturday 30th June 2007. Although the day started dry, rain started to fall as the competitors arrived and the decision was taken to run the competition indoors using the school hall and gym.
Mat ball is normally played by two teams of six Cubs on a grass pitch with no boundaries. Players attempt to pass a tennis ball to their catcher who stands on a 1m×1½m “mat” (a rectangle marked on the ground). The mats should be positioned 25m apart, but playing indoors meant that that the pitches were much smaller and the play rather cramped. The full Mat Ball rules are available on a separate sheet in PDF format.
Eight teams entered the competition from 1st Belmont, 1st Cheam A and B, 9th Cheam, 1st North Sutton, 5th Sutton, 14th Wallington and 4th Worcester Park Brownsea Packs. The games last six minutes each (three minutes each way) so there was enough time to play a full league with each team playing seven games.
The top four teams at the end of the league were 9th Cheam, 14th Wallington, 1st North Sutton and 4th Worcester Park Brownsea. These teams were entered into an exciting knock-out to decide the winner, with 9th Cheam narrowly beating 14th Wallington to confirm their top place and gain the trophy.