Bradford have qualified for the Pen-nine Fun In Athletics under-11s finals in Sheffield on Sunday, March 30.

They had to come through an eliminator also featuring Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre.

Due to the expansion of interest in sportshall athletics in Yorkshire, the bottom of the five teams would not qualify for the English Institute of Sport venue, and Bradford came second in the West Yorkshire event with 872 points.

Kirklees nicked the title with 876 points, Leeds coming third with 867 and Calderdale fourth with 827. Wakefield missed out with 674.

Baildon's Alan Oates, of the West Yorkshire Sportshall Association, said: "Bradford qualified in good form and, with this match as practice, can improve at the Yorkshire final and give all the opposition a run for their money."

The West Yorkshire quartet will now face teams from South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Humberside.

However, the West Yorkshire title rested on the final Grand Prix relay, when four boys all tried to go through the tunnel at the same time, a slip on the last lap giving Kirklees the edge over Bradford. Samuel Afar and Kyle Leighton-Bingham each won two events for Bradford, Afar taking the standing long jump with a leap of 2.30 metres and the chest push with nine metres.

Samuel Holdsworth (Bradford) and William Maxwell (Kirklees) were equal first in the target throw, while in the balance test the Bradford trio of Leighton-Bingham, William Giles and Ben Cheetham and Calderdale's Jay Conner all lasted for the maximum of 60 seconds. Leighton-Bingham also triumphed in the vertical jump with 54 centimetres.

In the girls' events, Bradford's Haiqa Farooq won the vertical jump with 53 centimetres and team-mate Lucy Hemsley took the target throw with a score of 22.

The competition featured 15 boys and 15 girls for each team and team events included relay races, an obstacle race, a 1+1 relay, a 4x1 relay, Paarlauf races, hurdle relay races and Grand Prix relay.

* The under-13 and under-15 West York-shire trials is on Saturday, also at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre (2.30pm).