Episode 7 Ultimate Sports Day

We searched the four corners of the UK to find the fastest,

toughest, most agile and most accurate young athletes

from Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

Now the search is over.

Nation will battle nation over six matches

to win points in an epic sporting tournament.

The top two teams will go through to the grand final.

Only one will be crowned Ultimate Sports Day champions.

Let the games begin!

On today's Ultimate Sports Day,

England go head to head with Northern Ireland.

Captaining Team Northern Ireland, we have Andrew!

CROWD CHEERS

Followed by Sarah, Thomas and Phoebe!

And here's their mentor.

He's a knock-out. Boxing legend Barry McGuigan!

CROWD CHEERS

Barry, a boxing superstar,

won gold as an amateur in the Commonwealth Games

when he was 17, and went on to win the British,

European and world titles as a pro.

Representing Team England, it's their captain Allard...

CROWD CHEERS

..followed by Shanice,

Leo and Emily.

And not forgetting their mentor.

It's the multi-talented Olympic decathlete

and Total Wipeout champion Dean Macey.

CROWD CHEERS

Dean is one of England's most successful athletes,

having competed for over ten years in the decathlon

and winning gold for England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

So, they're all set. Let's get this show on the road!

CROWD CHEERS

This is Sky Walker.

Our Ultimate Sportsters start at the bottom of the towers,

and the only way is up.

Once at the top, they'll make their way across the beam,

before collecting each of their three medals individually

and hanging them on the bar above.

If they do all that

and release their team's flag in the quickest time,

it's maximum points.

Now it's just down to Dean and Barry to pick their players.

The first game up today is going to be Sky Walker.

Leo, you've been up there twice now.

Out of all of our guys, under pressure, you can deal with it. Yeah?

-How do you feel?

-I feel good, I feel good.

I've done it a few times now, so obviously I know

what technique I'm going to use and how I'm going to do it,

-and I'm going to nail it.

-Good lad.

My name's Leo. I'm 13 and I'm from Essex.

My speciality is judo.

My ambition is to be a professional sportsman,

but if I don't make it that far,

I'd love to be a TV presenter when I'm older.

Who are we? ALL: England!

What do we do? ALL: Win!

First event is the Sky Walker.

Sarah, you're brilliant at that, so you're picked for that, all right?

My name is Sarah Strawbridge. I'm 14.

I'm from County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

My speciality is artistic gymnastics.

I applied for USD because I wanted to do

something different other than gymnastics,

It was a good opportunity to do lots of other sports.

OK. Leo, Sarah -

let's play Sky Walker.

CROWD CHEERS

This is a game of strength and balance.

Strength needed to get up those towers,

and balance necessary to stay steady at the top.

It's pretty even so far.

Both Leo and Sarah trying to haul themselves up out of those towers.

Leo's the first to reach the five metre-high beam.

He needs a moment to compose himself.

Sit yourself down, mate.

Dean wants him to sit down just as Sarah's doing.

Both of them now reaching under to drag up their first medal.

Each medal worth five points,

and there's a 15 point bonus for whoever wins the race.

This is where it counts, Sarah.

Barry encouraging Sarah to sort her balance out.

Sarah's an artistic gymnast, so her balance should be good,

but Leo is up first and hangs his medal up on the bar.

He gets the first five points for England. Sarah is right behind him.

She just about gets Northern Ireland off the mark with five points too.

Both of these athletes have competed on Sky Walker before,

but Leo has only attempted it as part of the Ring Relay.

He's never had to reach under the beam for medals as he's done there,

but has adapted well.

There goes medal number two and another five points.

Sarah has never lost on Sky Walker, so she'll be annoyed a little bit

that she's behind Leo, but there goes her second medal.

It's ten points apiece now,

and it's all down to who can get that last medal the quickest.

Leo's got his.

Sarah is close behind.

Can Leo keep his balance? It's up.

Leo wins, and Dean is delighted.

Yes!

From very early on in the game, Leo was just one step ahead of Sarah.

He got up the tower first and hauled up his medal first.

Sarah didn't put a foot wrong.

She was going at a fantastic pace too, but just not as quick as Leo.

Ultimately, Leo's speed won him the game,

and it's a great start for England.

CROWD CHEERS

Well done, mate! You've done it!

Leo, how do you like walking the skies, mate?

I don't want to do it again. I'll leave it at that, I'm pretty sure.

Mate, you looked a bit shaky about getting on that beam

for the first time, but once you got your focus, you were fine.

I wanted to work out my technique. I was trying to think,

"If I do it first time, I'm going to do it every time,"

and obviously it worked.

He's not done this event with the targets,

and I know he was nervous, and I made him nervous as well

by telling him that Sarah was fantastic at this event.

What a great start to the competition.

Sarah, commiserations, but up there on the beam, you looked good,

but just not quick enough.

I took my time getting the medals on the bar.

It was further over than I thought.

I felt a bit unsteady, so decided to slow it down a bit.

Leo, you picked up maximum points.

Let's see what that's done for the scoreboard.

Leo gets England off to a cracking start

with a maximum 30 points.

Two medals means 10 points for Sarah

and Northern Ireland.

But there are plenty more points still up for grabs.

Ahead of us is 150 metres.

An Olympic sprinter can cover this distance in about 15 seconds,

but can our two nations run the length of it

before The Chaser tracks them down?

If they do, they pick up points.

It's simple. But if The Chaser beats them, they're out of the game.

So, all we need now is The Chaser.

The mystery Chaser - name and age unknown.

Ambitions - none left.

Been there, done that!

The boys are running first today.

This'll be their third encounter with The Chaser,

so they know what to expect.

Taking to the blocks are Allard for England,

Andrew for Northern Ireland, Leo for England,

and Thomas for Northern Ireland.

And out of the mist emerges the man they never want to meet.

It's The Chaser.

-Set...

-And they're off.

None of these boys has been caught by The Chaser,

so this should be a really close race.

Andrew has won both of his previous races and clocked up

the fastest time so far. He's the one to beat.

He's out in front with Thomas in second,

then Leo and Allard. The Chaser has a point to prove.

He's closing down the gap on Leo and he's overtaken him!

No points for Leo.

Andrew crosses the line in first place, Allard in second

and Thomas in third.

So, The Chaser knocks Leo down

from the dizzy heights of the Sky Walker.

Meanwhile, Allard, Thomas and winner Andrew all pick up points.

So, who sprinted up the leaderboard

in the first of our Chaser runs today?

Andrew's awesome run of 17.76 seconds wins him 10 points,

and 10 points too for Allard and Thomas.

Northern Ireland have caught up on 30 points.

England, though, still ahead on 40.

This game is bonkers.

The Ultimate Sportsters will be fed both basketballs and footballs.

If they've got the co-ordination,

they can shoot them in the hoop or kick them in the goal.

Ooh!

All making sure they don't spin off the platform

or get hit by one of these really annoying arms.

So, who have Dean and Barry chosen to spin into action on this one?

So, Thomas, you'll do the football, all right? Our subs will feed you.

Keira and Jack will feed you.

My name is Thomas.

I'm 12 years old and I'm from Comber in Northern Ireland.

My speciality sport is rugby,

and I applied to be on USD just for something fun to do.

Shanice - I've seen you kick a football as well,

and you're not half bad at that.

And you've seen Leo do the football spin shot.

You're up for me, mate.

-OK with that?

-Yeah.

When Leo did it, he got quite a few points,

so I'll copy the technique he used

and use the same technique that I use for the basketball.

My name's Shanice. I'm 14 years old. I live in East London.

My speciality is basketball,

and I applied to be on USD because

I wanted to prove to everyone

how dedicated to sport I am.

OK. Coming up for Team Northern Ireland is Thomas,

but first, showing she's got the skills to pay them bills,

for Team England, it's Shanice.

CROWD CHEERS

Let's play Spin Shot.

Stamina and accuracy are what's required to do well in this game.

Shanice off to a good start.

We know she can shoot hoops, but how good is her football?

Ah, she misses that,

and whacks her head as she tries to avoid those spinning arms.

That is a good shot.

Another basket for Shanice. Each one worth three points.

She lines up another strike at goal,

but that one goes low.

Shanice scrambling up and under those spinning arms

to get round for another three-pointer.

Unlucky. Keep it going.

"Unlucky," says Dean, shouting encouragement all the time.

Another shot at goal, but another one goes low and wide.

Her best chance is with the baskets.

That's what she knows, and there's another one.

There's a happy Dean Macey. Shanice has nine points so far for England,

and this time she finds the back of the net too.

Another three points, and Shanice is going great guns now.

She'll be pleased with that. Not with that shot.

A few millimetres either way and it would've gone in.

We're into the last ten seconds now. Can she get any more points?

Got to catch the ball, Shanice. Last couple of seconds.

HORN BLOWS

And time is up.

That throw won't count, Shanice. Good try, though.

Rugby player Thomas's turn now to show what he can do.

He misses the hoop and runs very quickly around to the goal.

He shoots and scores!

Thomas off the mark with a great strike.

He misses the hoop again, but can he score another goal?

No, not this time. He hurtles back round for another go at the hoop.

OK, Thomas, pause now.

Barry telling him to pause and compose himself.

Good advice from his mentor.

Unfortunately, not paying off for Thomas just yet.

Another attempt at the basket. Oh, and that one misses too.

That strike went wildly high over the crossbar.

He may be rushing things a bit.

Barry telling him to settle down and take more time over his aim,

but Thomas doesn't seem to be listening.

-Again, Thomas.

-Another miss.

-Good effort.

He's having no luck with the basket,

but he's doing much better with the goal.

That's the second one in. It takes his points tally up to six.

And finally he scores a basket

with only a few seconds remaining on the clock.

That is it. Game over.

Good job, mate.

It's hard to see with those arms coming round to whack you, isn't it?

And how hard is it to figure out where on earth you are

when you've got balls flying at you and arms about to hit you?

It's really hard, because you have to duck and jump.

You've got to do everything!

Really well done for Northern Ireland. Shanice -

basketball comes easier to you than football, doesn't it?

Yeah. It's a lot easier.

I got hit in the head a few times, but it didn't stop me.

Nice one. Well done, Northern Ireland.

Let's see what that's done for the scoreboard, shall we?

So, Shanice racked up 12 points for England and Thomas scored nine.

Overall, it means Northern Ireland now have 39 points,

but still in the lead are England with 52 points.

Leo and Emily, I've got to say -

out of all the athletes here, all right, you can do this.

You can really bring us home maximum points in this one, OK?

Tell me what you think.

-Excited.

-Excited.

I know you can both deliver.

So just go into it knowing that if you're on your A game,

you should win this one.

My name's Emily. I'm 13 years old. I come from Tavistock in Devon.

My sporting speciality is triathlon,

and the reason I signed up to USD

was because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Shut your eyes, don't look at the others,

be strong and hold on. OK?

And don't have such a glum look on your face!

Be positive, you can do it. You really can.

My name's Phoebe, I'm 13, I'm from Belfast in Northern Ireland,

my speciality is high jump

and I applied to be on USD

because I thought it sounded like an exciting opportunity

and a great way to make new friends.

The Hangbar - one of the simplest games on USD.

Just hold on. The first to fall

will get a big, fat zero points.

The last to plunge will bag a big, fat 20. So, this is it.

Emily and Leo are holding on for Team England,

while Sarah and Phoebe are getting a grip for Team Northern Ireland.

All right, guys. Your challenge begins on the fourth and final beep.

Let's play Hangbar.

CROWD CHEERS

Look at where your hands are, all right?

Hang Bar is a tough game of strength and control.

These four will need nerves of steel as well,

as the ring slowly rises higher and higher off the ground.

So far, they all look very focused,

but they're only 15 seconds into the game.

When the England pair, Emily and Leo, last played Hangbar,

they finished first and second.

Interestingly, so did Sarah and Phoebe when they last played.

Just concentrate.

Just concentrate, Sarah.

Barry urging his girls to concentrate

as we hit the 30-second mark.

No-one is showing any signs of letting go yet.

The ring continues to rise

and the ground gets further and further away from them.

Their arms will be feeling the pain

as we approach the 45-second mark.

The Hangbar has nearly reached its final destination.

The athletes just need to dig deep and hold on for as long as they can.

They've reached one minute.

Most competitors can't make it past two minutes, but this lot are good.

Emily came first in her last Hangbar outing,

and she won't want to be beaten this time around.

Everyone still hanging in there as they near 75 seconds.

Sarah also came out on top last time she played the game,

so Emily has some strong competition to beat.

Leo looking a little uncomfortable...and he's gone!

No points for Leo. He drops like a stone,

but Sarah still hanging in there, as is Emily.

Trying to keep their focus, they've hit 90 seconds now.

COACHES SHOUT ENCOURAGEMENT

Phoebe isn't out of it either. She looks calm and composed.

The crowd are cheering them on, as are Dean and Barry.

That's 105 seconds.

It's still anyone's game.

There's some shuffling around going on.

Oh, and Phoebe's gone!

And so has Sarah!

Emily and England are still unbeaten on Hangbar.

CROWD CHEERS

England's Leo was the first to fall.

Then it was Phoebe, who was closely followed by team-mate Sarah.

Emily on top once again.

Emily, you hung in there and stood the test of time.

What's the secret to staying in there for so long?

Feeling pain!

Taking all the pain.

At any point, do you think,

"I can do this if I just hang on?"

I just tried to hold on a little bit longer, and it worked.

Awesome job for Team England. Well done.

Phoebe, you and Sarah did brilliantly.

It looked like you had the measure of it.

Did you think you could do it?

On the way up, my hands were already getting sore,

but I just held on as long as I could.

You did brilliantly for Northern Ireland.

Well done, England and Emily.

Let's see who's hung up the highest digits on the scoreboard

and gone one step closer to the finals. Let's find out.

Emily's win means 20 points for England,

but Northern Ireland get 15 points for second and third place.

Overall, England lead 72 points to Northern Ireland's 54.

It's 2,000 metres. It'll be a war of attrition,

and it's going to have an awful lot of lactic endurance involved.

I liken this to the 400 metres, and let me tell you, that is painful.

I'm calling on my captain.

It'll be about two minutes' worth of pain, but, mate...

I'm up for it. I'm going to do it.

My name's Allard. I'm 15, I'm from West Cumbria.

My speciality is hockey, and the reason I applied to be on USD

is because it was sport, and I love sport.

It will incorporate stamina and power, so you've got both.

You were quickest on the track of anybody.

My name is Andrew, I'm 14 years old,

I live in Hillsborough in Northern Ireland.

My speciality is athletics.

One of my greatest ambitions is to play rugby for Ulster.

Welcome to Bike Power.

Boys, are you ready to pedal for glory?

After the four beeps.

CROWD CHEERS

This is a game of strength and stamina.

Athlete Andrew and hockey player Allard have to grit their teeth

and cycle for 2,000 metres, but it is a race,

so they have to sprint the whole way.

The bars at the bottom of your screen give you

an indication of how the guys are doing.

Once the bars are full, it means they've finished the race.

They earn five points for every 500 metres.

So far it looks like Allard, a keen mountain biker,

is just ahead of Andrew.

Allard pumping his fist to get the crowd behind him.

He's still in the lead, but they aren't halfway

through the race yet, so plenty of time for things to change.

The crowd urging them on, and so are Barry and Dean.

Their legs will be really starting to hurt now.

They've got to prove they have the stamina

to keep this up for the last 1,000 metres.

Andrew, pumping those pedals furiously,

desperately trying to keep up with Allard, who looks like

a man on a mission.

A mission to win and claim the bonus points for coming in first.

I don't think he can be caught now. There it is!

Allard races to victory.

CROWD CHEERS

Fantastic effort.

I could see that was taking a strain right at the end.

-How was Bike Power?

-It was brilliant.

I just heard Dean shout, "You're nearly there,"

and with mountain biking as well, I think that helps.

But the muscles were hurting.

I could see you at the end there.

-This means a lot to you, doesn't it?

-Oh, yeah.

I did it to win it for the team, win it for England,

and go home with that trophy.

Well, Allard certainly won that race for England, picking up 30 points.

Andrew's 15 points take Northern Ireland on to 69,

while England hold on to the lead with 102.

Our Chaser has made his way back into the zone.

Our girls will need to run like they've never run before

if they want to beat him to the finish line.

Taking to their starting positions are Shanice for England,

Sarah for Northern Ireland, Emily for England,

and Phoebe for Northern Ireland.

Here comes the supersonic sprinter. It's The Chaser.

Set...

And they're off.

In previous races, neither Shanice nor Phoebe have ever been caught.

They'll be keen to keep it that way.

Emily and Sarah have never beaten The Chaser.

The Chaser's making good ground.

Shanice leads over Phoebe. Sarah's third, Emily at the back.

And Emily's overtaken.

The Chaser's caught her and he sets his sight on Sarah.

She's overtaken too.

The Chaser dashes Emily and Sarah's hopes once more,

but there's no catching Shanice.

She wins with Phoebe safely in second.

Looking at the replay,

Emily and Sarah sadly were no match for The Chaser.

No points for them.

Shanice and Phoebe, though, still never been caught.

It's pretty hard running against The Chaser cos you don't know

when he's coming behind you, how far he is, if he's getting close.

So, the race is over. Time to update our scoreboard once again.

Shanice and Phoebe both escape The Chaser

and both pick up 10 points, so England still lead with 112.

Northern Ireland are on 79.

But when it comes to the last game, there's still plenty to play for.

It's time for the grand finale, the team relay.

This whole arena will come into play and it's going to get frantic,

and it starts with Bike Power.

A 200 metre sprint will then light our towers over here.

Once it's fully lit, it's time to initiate the Skywalker.

Our USDers will start at the bottom,

go up the five metres, across the beam and collect

all the rings they can before making their way down the ladder.

And then, time to get a sprint on all the way to the bungee tower,

and they'll bungee like they've never bungeed before

and collect all three rings.

Not before they've done that can our cyclists make their way

right back to the other side of the arena.

It'll be tough. I'm making a sweat and I haven't even done anything.

Once they've had their 200 metre sprint,

only then will their team-mates make their way

to the top of the flagpole,

collecting their rings in the process and releasing

their national team's colours.

For Team Northern Ireland and Team England,

this test is a real test of their mettle.

Believe you can win, right? Do you hear me, Andrew?

What you've got to do is get those bounces, right?

Sarah, up like a bullet. Get off like a rocket.

We've got the performance, the heart, and the talent.

All right? But we all need to work as a massive team right now.

Let's give it our best shot, absolutely our best shot.

And if we can do that, we can win it. We really can. OK?

That's how close it is. All right? If we do it, we're through.

It's time for Ring Relay.

-This is it, buddy.

-Yeah.

My kids have been almost faultless throughout today.

Barry's done a magic job with Ireland,

and I know they'll give us a big run for our money,

-but it's intense. I'm nervous.

-It is indeed.

Barry, your team, Northern Ireland, are in this to win, right?

We desperately need to win, so they'll give it everything.

It's the final relay.

It starts after the fourth and final beep. Best of luck, guys.

Let's do it.

CROWD CHEERS

So, it all comes down to this, the final game.

Over 100 points are up for grabs,

so Northern Ireland are still in with a chance,

but it looks like England's Shanice won't make it easy for them.

She's leading the way in the first leg of the relay,

the 200 metre cycle sprint.

Northern Ireland's Thomas isn't far behind.

The bars on your screens show how much further they have to go.

Shanice finishes first with Thomas just behind.

They sprint off to tag their teams' Sky Walkers, Leo and Sarah,

who begin to haul themselves up those towers.

Leo emerges first. Sarah is close behind.

She'll be looking for payback

after these two met earlier on the Skywalker.

Leo grabs the first two of 11 rings that need to be collected

during this game. Each is worth five points,

and there's also a 50 point bonus for the team that finishes first.

Sarah's got her rings now, and she gracefully drops down onto the beam.

They need to scramble down those swinging ladders now

before they can tag their team-mates.

Both of them desperately trying

not to get caught up on the ladders while grabbing the next two rings.

They've both got them now, and they just need to get onto solid ground.

Leo is the first one down. He tags Shanice and Sarah tags Thomas,

who sprints off to the base of the bungee tower.

Allard's got his first ring, but Andrew's missed his!

That could cost them dearly.

Allard's got his second, and Andrew has another go.

This time he gets it, but Allard's missed his last ring.

Andrew sweeps in to take ring number 2.

But Allard has recovered and grabs his final ring.

Shanice can sprint back to her bike and the next leg of the relay.

Andrew collects his third ring,

releasing Thomas back into the game now.

He runs back to the bike, but he'll have to ride like never before

to catch up with Shanice,

who's already a fair way through her 200 metre cycle.

Dean, screaming encouragement at Shanice.

He knows this lead could be enough to clinch the game for England.

Thomas' legs are like a whirlwind as he tries to make up lost ground.

Can he do it? Shanice says no, as she finishes her 200 metre dash

and tags Emily for the final leg, the flagpole.

Nothing will stop Emily shooting up that pole, grabbing rings.

Thomas has finished. He tags Phoebe,

but Emily launches herself into the air,

grabbing her team's colours as she goes.

A great win for England.

England got all 11 rings plus 50 points for winning.

They score 105, so England beat Northern Ireland by 217 to 114.

How did it feel pulling the colours of England down

and finishing out on top?

It was really good.

You were there at the end. Were you focused?

What went through your head?

I don't know if you can focus while screaming at them!

So tense, and it was all so close.

Dean, you had some great guys on some great parts of that relay.

I'm so proud of our guys. The Irish team really did push us.

It might not show on the scoreboard, but they're fantastic athletes.

Leo got sticky on that ladder. Did you think it'd go wrong then?

Absolutely not. Everyone delivered today.

I asked them to bounce back from the defeat against Scotland

like champions, and we did that.

We've totalled your scores,

so let's see exactly what that means for the final leaderboard.

England and Northern Ireland currently top the leaderboard,

but Scotland and Wales still have a match in hand,

and you can see that next time on Ultimate Sports Day.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd