We had a great time hosting the youth tournament in May with 800 young players, their coaches and families filling The New Lawn over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Grass roots teams from across the region applied to enter the tournament, with both girls and boys invited to join the competition.

The tournament was increased to take place over the two days due to high demand with excitement building as all games were to be played on main pitch.

Day One - In the morning we welcomed the under 10s age group teams. Action in the semi-finals included a nail-biting penalty shootout with Newport Corinthians and Heart of Gloucester under 10s.

Newport Corinthians came out victorious and joined Southside Cheetahs in the final after they played Bromley Heath Yellows in their semi-final match.

The final was played to a crowd of watching family members and spectators with Cheltenham-based Southside Cheetahs taking home the trophy.

The afternoon of day one saw a further 20 teams and their families arrive for the under 11s contest.

We witnessed some excellent play from all teams along with two girls-only teams from Leonard Stanley Lionesses.

Last years winners Westbury were hopeful they could retain their title and made the quarter-finals on the day.

Longlevens Panthers and Devizes Town both won their semi-final matches with the latter coming out on top.

Day Two - Sunshine welcomed the younger age groups on day two. In the morning, the Under 8s teams made a start to the event with some enthusiasm with some great play across the pitch as they got straight on with the task of playing the first games of the day.

A tense battle commenced with Downend Saints playing Kings Stanley Dragons - eventually seeing Downend Saints as the winners.

The Under 9s age groups then joined us for the afternoon matches.

While Almondsbury Whites and Abbeymead Bears both made it to the semi-final stages, it was Cam Everside Sharks and Kings Stanley Fire through to the final with the Sharks claiming the winner's prize.

Over all winners from each age group:

Under 8s – Downend Saints

Under 9s - Cam Everside Sharks

Under 10s - Southside Cheetahs

Under 11s - Devizes Town

Whilst bookings are not open yet, we anticipate the event to take place at a similar time next year - bookings will be announced later in the year. We look forward to seeing many of the teams back at The New Lawn next summer!