St Albans church knows the ropes for skipping boy

A ST ALBANS church has come to the rescue of a visiting Australian teenager in urgent need of a place to train locally for an international skipping event in England.

Thirteen-year-old Isaac Tucker, who lives near Brisbane, is just a hop, skip and jump away from competing in the International Rope Skipping World Championships in Loughborough.

But his jet-lagged dad John had just one urgent mission upon arriving in St Albans last Friday – to find a hall close to where he is staying, with a wooden floor large enough to accommodate his son’s manoeuvres in last-minute preparations for the event.

John said he had found it difficult organising somewhere for extra training in St Albans from Australia, hence the frantic last-minute request upon their arrival in England.

Thanks to Tina Alder, hall booking manager of St Saviour’s Church Hall in Sandpit Lane, the pair got just that. Tina said she was happy to help the visitors: “It’s good for young people to be involved in active sport.”

A relieved John said: “At short notice, to be so accommodating was brilliant. The extra training means that Isaac’s preparation won’t be disadvantaged by the 10,000 mile trip and jet lag.”

More than 500 people are competing in the International Rope Skipping World Championships which runs from July 27 to August 4.