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CROFT-The History of a village

 By Alan Sharpe, 2003  

Page 215

Jack Taylor of 123 Stone Pit Lane was a cyclist of some repute in the mid 1950's on the track and in time trials, winning three Northwest Champion ships and the National Championship at Shrewsbury.
Jack's daughter Jenny also excelled at cycling. At fourteen, she was a School Girls Champion and won the National Hill Climb Championship at Beverley, Yorkshire. When Jenny was 16, she rode in a team of 6 for the under nineteen year olds Great Britain Team at Kirby Sports Centre in 1990, against West Germany, Holland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, which Great Britain won. Jenny was the North West Ladies Champion in 1991 and 1992 and the following year, to prove her all round ability, she ran in the London Marathon.
Alex Burt - Slalom Canoeist
Alex Burt was born in Leicester in 1977. His familymoved to Croft in 1980.
He attended Croft County Primary School and Culcheth High School.
Alex' family had regular holidays in North Wales and it was during one of these holidays that he tried canoeing on Lake Bala. Alex' parents, Alison and Mike, became involved in establishing Warrington Canoe Club in 1986, under the supervision of experienced paddlers. Alex enjoyed the challenge of paddling rivers throughout the North West.
Alex entered his fist canoe slalom event in 1987 becoming National U14 champion in 1991 and National U16 champion in 1993. He represented Great Britain in the Junior World Championships in 1995, held in the Czech Republic and went on to win a silver medal in the team event.
Alex represented Great Britain at intermediate level; however, his decision to follow a career as in an Officer in the British Army, made it difficult to compete against paddlers who were training full time.
In 1999, Alex passed out from Sandhurst Military Training Academy, joining the Education and Training Branch of the Adjutant Generals Corps.
In 2001 he decided to change the class of boat which he paddled, from Kayak to Canadian Doubles. He established a pairing with Andy Nicoll, an Officer in the Army Air Corps. They made rapid progress and were selected for the Great Britain Senior Team in 2002 and competed in World Cup races in China, Germany, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Brazil. Alex and Andy competed in the World Championships at Bourg St. Maurice, France in 2002, narrowly missing a bronze medal in the team event, finishing in 4th place.
The army has supported Alex with funding and time to train and compete at events around the world. He expects to continue with the sport of canoe slalom and looks forward to the possibility of competing in the Olympic Games.
Daniel Wilks was another youth excelling at sport - this time in, rather than on, the water. A member of the Warriors Swimming Club, he gained successes at County, National and International level.

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