Held in March in the main hall of the Meres Leisure Centre, teams from the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire took part in a competition to decide who would go forward to compete against the regions of the rest of the UK at the finals in Birmingham.
The U11 Girls got off to a good start in the first race of the day with good slick baton changing. They finished in 1st place. This encouraged other members of the team and they did not disappoint. The U11 Girls and Boys participated in various events including Standing Long Jump, Triple Jump, Vertical Jump, Balance Test, Hi Stepper, Speed Bounce, Chest Push, Javelin, Target Throw and various running races.
The U11 Girls came a creditable 2nd place. In the team from Grantham AC were Ronnie Mae Michniew Haynes, Ellie Earnshaw, Alice and Ava Szokalska, Merial Sheard, Daisy Henderson, Lara Hindmarsh and Evie Cummings.
The U11 Boys were in 4th place. In the team were Oliver Blake, Thomas Broadley, Lucas Nichols, Finnlay Round, Joshua Lane, Oliver Atter and Archie Hake.
The U13 Boys and Girls came in a close 4th place taking part in the Shot Putt, Standing Long and Triple Jump, Speed Bounce, Vertical Jump and various running races.
Grantham AC athletes taking part were U13 Girls Sarah Justice and Olivia Marshall. U13 Boys were William Hindmarsh, Ekene Esiwe and James Whysall.
The U15 Girls and Boys came in a close 4th place, taking part in the Standing Long and Triple Jump, Vertical Jump, Shot Putt, Speed Bounce and various running races. In the team for the girls were Alexia Johnson, Holly Williams, Mary and Rachel Justice and Erin and Amy Crook. In the boys team were Jonathan Esiwe and Jamal Jallow.
The outstanding athlete of the day was Jonathan Esiwe in the U15 event. Jonathan is a member of Grantham Athletic Club and a pupil at Kings School. He was awarded Best Overall Athlete for the East Midlands and will now go forward to the multi event final at Birmingham in April to compete against other regional UK finalists.
Report by Dave Eldridge