09-01-07 County Cross Country Ch

27-12-08 Midland Joint Track & Field League

Cannock & Stafford remain in Division 5 for next year's Midland Joint Track & Field League. In the draft League structure they will compete against Bromsgrove & Redditch and Burton (promoted from Division 6), Leamington and Newport (relegated from Division 4) and Stratford.

23-12-08 Cannock Stadium to be demolished

The Express & Star today reported that Cannock Stadium is to be bulldozed.

The report said that at last night’s meeting of the full Cannock Chase Council, opposition members tabled an amendment to the ruling coalition’s motion to demolish the facility, asking the chamber to defer the decision to see if a trust could be formed with Sport England, Cannock Chase Football League, Cannock & Stafford Athletics Club and other interested parties to take over the running and maintenance costs.

However, after a lengthy and heated debate the Lib Dems and Conservatives voted against the amendment and passing the original motion to demolish the Stadium.

The stadium saga has proved a great embarrassment for the Council with a promise to provide a "seamless" move to a new stadium being broken. The Council also based their financing for all leisure facilities across the Borough on an unrealistic land valuation and even quoted inaccurate costs of keeping the stadium open as they were based on interest on the money the Council hadn't even received for the land!

22-12-08 Most Improved Young Athlete of the Year

Jamie Hammond was presented with the Most Improved Young Athlete of the Year Award by our club President, Derek Fellows, before training last Tuesday (16th).

Jamie consistently raised his long jump best over the course of last season, from 5.54m to 6.06m and, as a result, became the top ranked long jumper in the club. His triple jump best also improved by 90cm over the season, from 10.84m to 11.74m.

He has represented the club in both Young Athlete and Junior Leagues this season.

16-12-08 Chairman's Report

It's been another rollercoaster year for the club, dominated by the fight to keep open Cannock Stadium. As we all know, after a two-and-a-half year battle we finally had to leave Pye Green Road and make our home Rowley Park. Many of us feared for the future of the club at the time but, although we lost a few members, it's been business as usual and the club has thrived.

A big tribute must go to all the coaches who, to a man and woman, have gone the extra mile for the sake of their athletes week in, week out. We must never lose sight of the fact that Cannock & Stafford AC is built on the efforts of volunteers and, again, the committee's and the members' thanks goes out to every last one of them.

We also need to thank the staff at Rowley Park who have made us so welcome here at Stafford and, on a personal note, I would like to thank Karen Moody, Carole Jones, Dawn Jones, Derek Fellows, Nick Cooke, Simon Evans, John Turner and all members of the committee for their tireless work behind the scenes.

Special mention goes to John Atherton, who stands down tonight after three years as vice-chairman and a year as treasurer. John is the man who has helped put this club firmly in the black by standing at reception at the old stadium, collecting training fees every Tuesday and Thursday. He also played a big part in delaying the stadium's closure for as long as we did. Thank you, John.

Turning to the track, it's been another good year for the club. Tom Humphries and Stacey Johnson have flown the flag nationally for the young blood of Cannock & Stafford AC and the under-20s Junior League team had a fantastic first summer in the Midlands Premier League.

The men's and women's teams have come on much stronger this year, which we need to encourage in 2009, and the under-17s Young Athletes League team just missed out on reaching the national finals. The veterans again had a strong 2008, with both the men and women reaching the Midlands final, and Dave Crutchley's disabled squad took another impressive tally of medals.

It's another round of thank-yous but well deserved, I think, for team managers Bob Hughes, Martin Derry, Shaun Ainge, Sue Kneill-Boxley, Alison George, Andy Weetman, Terry Faulkner, Carol Denning and Lynne Boulter. It's a thankless task but they do it superbly.

So where to next year? We'll obviously talk to the council about what happens in Cannock. With their application to sell off the land and build on it refused, their immediate argument will be that they don't have the funds to build a new stadium, that they don't have the funds to repair the old stadium and that there's no way they could afford to run it. No surprise there.

On the plus side, we have a cracking little track here at Rowley Park. On the minus side, we have moved away from the Cannock arm of Cannock & Stafford AC. It's something we need to discuss as a club.

If there is anyone I have forgotten to thank, I do so now.

Gary Denning
Chairman

15-12-08 North Staffs Cross Country League - Westwood High School, Leek - 13 December 08

The young athletes of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club continued their outstanding performances last weekend when they contested the fourth and final round of the North Staffs Cross Country League held at Westwood High school in Leek and hosted by Staffs Moorlands.

The under 15 girls secured the overall team gold position with another great display of team running from Sarah Hulme finishing in an excellent second place with sister Catherine fourth, Charlotte Smith fifth, Teresa Hulme sixth and Julie Addison seventh. In the individual placings it was Teresa, who was suffering from the effects of a bad cold, who took the gold medal from her sister Sarah who took the silver.

The under 17 girls race produced the only complete team to finish on the day with Rachel Atherton finishing in a splendid second place with Becky Bray third, Becky Cooke fourth and Beth Clarke sixth. Individually it was Becky Bray who gained a well earned silver medal following her two previous victories and also a second place.

Another athlete taking the silver medal overall was under 11 Ryan Ashforth who previously had finished with two seconds and a third but this time he scored a brilliant victory over his two main rivals narrowly missing out on the gold.

In the Under 15 boys Ashley Wickett scored a decisive fifth place which helped to keep him in the silver medal place overall.

Millie Ridgway recorded an excellent second place in the under 13 girls that secured her a bronze medal overall and with fellow club mates Alex Smith in 12^th Becky Wallace 14^th the team finished in a splendid third place overall.

The under 17 men easily took the gold medal in the team competition with Philip Pugh finishing fifth ahead of team mate Sam Derry in 11th with Stuart Davies 15^th and David O’Farrell 19^th. Philip Pugh took the individual honours with an overall silver medal.

The under 11 girls had two finishers with Hannah Smith 5th and Chloe Preston 12^th and the senior ladies had one competitor finishing for the club which was Sarah Pickering in seventh place.

Bob Hughes

Team Manager

14-12-08 Team Gold for Stacey Johnson in European Cross Country Champs

Cannock & Stafford's Stacey Johnson helped the GB U23 team to win gold at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on Sunday 14th December.

Stacey came an excellent 11th in the race in a time of 22.02. Team mate Sarah Tunstall finished second in 21:10, Scot Morag MacLarty just missed out on bronze to Russian Yuliya Zarudneva in a sprint to the line. Both were given a time of 21:24. Katherine Sparke (seventh, 21:47), Hannah England (16th, 22:10) and Susie Hignett (37th, 22:49), ensured that GB comfortably beat Russia and Germany to gold in the team event.

05-12-08 Cannock Stadium Update

Cannock Council's planning application to build housing on the site of Cannock Stadium has been refused.

Local government minister Hazel Blears refused planning permission because it would have led to a loss of open space, and the leisure benefits did not outweigh this. She said the council’s evidence on affordable housing was “wholly insufficient”, according to a report on the Express & Star website.

More to follow.

03-12-08 Stacey Johnson Selected for GB U23 Cross Country team

Stacey Johnson has qualified for the Great Britain U23 cross country team for the European cross country championships taking place this weekend in Brussels.

The trial was at Sefton Park, Liverpool, part of the UK series and the race was combined with the Senior women's race consisting of one small lap and 2 large laps, a total of 8.1km - 2km further than any race this season. The top 6 were to qualify and Stacey finished 5th in the U23s and 16th overall.

Stacey said "I am absolutely delighted as I have been trying to qualify for this championship since I was an u17 in the respective under 20 age group. I'd like to thank the club for their support and also hope that I can help inspire other athletes in our club to persist their ambitions despite set backs such as injury and illness as I have faced. It shows if you want something badly enough you can do it, going through all those set backs just made me stronger and made me want it more! Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything."

30-11-08 Message from our President

This has proven to be a difficult year for our club, the closure of Cannock stadium has caused many problems which we are trying to come to grips with. The training figures at Rowley Park are proving very encouraging, and the ground staff there, have made us very welcome.

We are losing some income on refreshments, although once again things are slowly picking up. We are still in need of volunteers to help out, and in general most of the duties carried out by our officials are being carried out by the same few people.

We need people to come forward to sit on our committee, during the past year our numbers have dwindled and it is only the hard core of people making all of the decisions.

On the track our only disappointment was the failure of our young athletes to qualify for either the main final or the auxiliary final. The under 20s team competed very well in the premier division for the first time and easily retained their position for another season. Our senior men and women’s team retained their position in the Midlands League and our veteran teams again excelled with our women’s team winning their division for the 6^th successive season.

On an individual front, our two shining stars are Tom Humphries (won the national x/country championship, inter counties x/country and was highest placed European in the world x/country) and Stacy Johnson who set a string of personal bests and won both Great Britain and England vests. We also had several young athletes and veteran athletes who competed at international level.

Special mention must go to Martin Crutchley who went to Beijing and competed with distinction, finishing 5th in the shot put for athletes competing with cerebral palsy. Martin became our 5^th Olympian athlete.

One of the initiatives carried out by our committee has been the introduction of the “hoodies” and the young athletes in particular seem keen to wear theirs with pride, I do know that there are other things in the pipeline but more about those later.

We always need to recruit more coaches and officials and to help our needs our club pays for any costs incurred. If you feel that you may be able to help with these needs then please approach any of the committee.

None of us yet know if we will be able to compete with the best in the young athletes’ league, almost certainly we will not get the influx from the Cannock schools that we have enjoyed in the past, but we are determined to try. We have some excellent talented young athletes at our club.

The decision on the Cannock stadium should be known before our A.G.M. takes place, but having seen at first hand how the ruling councillors perform, I do not expect them to put our athletic problems very high on their agenda.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all officials, coaches, athletes, helpers and volunteers for their efforts over the past year and to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy and successful new year.

Derek Fellows

President

30-11-08 AGM - 11th December 2008

The committee hereby give notice that the AGM of Cannock & Stafford AC is to be held on the above date in the Function Room at Rowley Park Stadium, Stafford..

The meeting will receive the annual report of the club's activities in 2007/08, as well as the audited accounts. This will be followed by the election of members to fill vacant positions. These are Chairman, Secretary, Social Secretary, Road Running Team Manager. Please note that the Chairman and Secretary is a 2 year tenure. As the Vice Chairman / Treasurer are half way through their term in office, these positions are not up for election until the AGM November 2009.

Due to work pressure, our Vice Chairman / Treasurer has had to stand down from committee duties. Former club Subscription Secretary, Carole Jones, has offered to take on the Treasurer role and Dawn Jones has offered to take on the Subscription Secretary's duties. These roles will commence after the 2008 AGM.

Also, could I remind all members that the club subscriptions became due on 1st October 2008. If you have not already paid, please forward your fee to Dawn Jones.

Karen Moody

Cannock & Stafford AC Secretary.

23-11-08 Cannock & Stafford Veteran Completes 100 mile Stage Race

During the first week of November, Cannock & Stafford veteran athlete, Les Green, completed a 100 mile race in India.

The Himalayan 100 mile stage race took place over 5 days. The first leg started on Monday 3^rd November in Manebhanjang (6,600ft above see level) and finished at Sandakphu (11,800ft), 24 miles later. The following day, the athletes ran 20 miles in a route that returned to Sandakphu and took in views of four of the world’s five highest mountains, Everest, Lhoste, Makalu and Kanchenjunga.

On Wednesday, day 3, the race took in the Everest Challenge Marathon, a race within a race. The 26.4 miles ran from Sandakphu to Rimbik (6,560ft). Day 4 saw a relatively short stage (13 miles) from Rimbik to Palmajua leaving a 17 mile run on the final day finishing back in Manebhanjang.

The whole race consisted of nearly 18,000ft of climbing in constant up and downs.

Les said that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the surface was loose cobblestones and rough rocks which killed his feet. He commented that “The (descent) of the marathon was exceedingly difficult with steep rocky narrow paths which, because I was still out after 5pm had to be picked over by torchlight. It cost me a lot of time avoiding injury and ensuring I followed the correct route but this was about finishing”

Les’s overall time was 41 hours 50 plus minutes and, at 70 years old, he was the oldest finisher and is believed to be the first man over 70 to finish in the 18 years that the event has been going. His training took place on the hilly side of Cannock Chase and up and down the Wrekin. He said “Now I need to use the rest of the winter to get a base down for some track in April”.

Well done Les! An amazing performance.

18-11-08 North Staffs Cross Country League - Stafford Common - 15 November 2008

The young athletes of Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club continued their outstanding performances last weekend when they contested the third round of the North Staffs Cross Country League held at Stafford Common and hosted by Stafford Harriers.

In the under 15 girls Teresa Hulme battled through the heavy conditions of the common to score a brilliant victory which now sees her overall leader in her age group and she had excellent back up from her sisters with Catherine finishing a splendid fourth and Sarah fifth and along with Julie Addison in sixth the team now have a massive lead over their rivals.

Another athlete moving into the overall leader spot is Becky Bray with her second successive victory finishing well clear of her nearest rival who was actually joint leader with Bray going into this race.

In the Under 15 boys Ashley Wickett scored a third consecutive second place but with different winners from previous races he also leads the overall lead with team mate Jack Lockett 5^th.

Millie Ridgway recorded an excellent second place in the under 13 girls to secure second place overall and with fellow club mates Danielle Woodward 10^th, Becky Wallace 14^th and Sara Dimmock 22^nd the team improved one place into second spot.

The under 17 men lead in the team event with outstanding performances from Philip Pugh finishing third with Sam Derry 13th, Stewart Davies 16th and David O’Farrell 20th.

In the under 11 boys Ryan Ashforth finished third but retains second overall while the under 11 girls lie in fourth spot overall with Hannah Smith 8th Chloe Preston 12th and Katie Wickett 17^th.

16-11-08 British & Irish Masters Cross Country International - Swansea - 15 November 2008

In the veterans international cross country challenge held at Swansea on Saturday 15^th November, we had two representatives from our club running for England.

Christine Kilkenny ran in the W55 age group and put in her usual gutsy performance finishing 2^nd on the day behind one of her England team mates, she was rewarded with an individual silver medal and a team gold medal.

Dot Fellows was our representative in the W60 age group and despite running the first two of three laps with stomach cramp she was to finish in 5^th place and help her team to team gold. Due to the amount of rain the course was very heavy and could best be described as testing.

10-11-08 WMYACCL - Newbold Comyn - 9 November 2008

The Cannock & Stafford U15 Girls and the U17 Men both lead their respective team events after the second WMYACCL meeting at Leamington on Sunday.

Having won the County Schools Championships the previous day, Jade Bird had another successful run, finishing 3rd and lifting herself up to 5th in the current individual standings one place behind Rebecca Straw who came 8th on the day. Lydia Trow and Teresa Hulme also finished in the top 20.

In the U17 Men's race, Philip Pugh came 7th on the day to lie in joint 6th currently in the individual competition. Chris Perrin came 11th (9th after 2 races).

Hannah Smith was again our highest U11 Girl's finisher in 35th place and Amelia Ridgway came 7th in the U13's race (8th after 2 races).

Rebecca Bray came 11th in the U17's race to lie joint 7th in the individual standings after the first two meetings.

With a 9th place finish on Sunday, Ryan Ashforth is in joint 3rd position overall in the U11's Boys category and Jamie Ross was our highest place finisher in 22nd place in the U13's.

Ashley Wicketts 5th place in the U15's race was enough to lift him to 6th in the overall individual positions and Alex Hunter came 18th in the same race to help the U15's team to close the gap on Birchfield Harriers to just 5 points at the top of the team standings.

Congratulations to all of the other athletes who competed at Leamington to enable Cannock & Stafford AC to remain in the top four of the overall team positions.

09-11-08 Stacey Johnson represents England - Mol, Belgium - 9 November 2008

Cannock & Stafford's Stacey Johnson gained an international vest when she represented England in the Senior Women's Lotto Cross Cup in Mol, Belgium on Sunday.

In a quality field, over a distance of 6400m, Stacey came home 24th in a time of 25mins 30secs.

03-11-08 2009 London Marathon Places Available - FINAL REMINDER

Cannock & Stafford AC are entitled to apply for club entries to the 2009 London Marathon.

If any member would like to be considered for one of these places, please contact Karen Moody by e-mail to kazmoody@yahoo.co.uk or by phone on 01543 685057 to register your interest by 14th November 2008 at the latest. Normal entry fees will be payable for these places.

31-10-08 Birmingham & District Cross Country League - Senneleys Park - 25 October 2008

James Houghton gave himself, and the C&S men’s cross country team, a tremendous start to the Birmingham & District Cross Country League season by winning the Division 3 race at Senneleys Park by a 20 second margin.

Craig Pearson’s excellent third place and an impressive 24^th place for Hayden Carter helped C&S finish 5^th on the day but they were also thankful to Dave Constance (38^th), Jamie Graham (76^th) and Brian Peacock (78^th) without whose performances we would have failed to record a score.

In the women’s Midland Cross Country League race, Stacey Johnson finished in 3^rd place and Chris Kilkenny in 53rd.

22-10-08 North Staffs Cross Country League - Park Hall Country Park, Stoke - 18 October 2008

Cannock & Stafford AC athletes are having a successful season to date in the North Staffs Cross Country League.

In the meeting at Park Hall Country Park, Ryan Ashforth came 2nd in the U11 Boys race and currently lies 2nd in the overall individual standings. James Russell was our only U13 representative and finished 5th. Ashley Wickett leads the way in the U15 boys individual standings after a 2nd place finish on Sunday.

The U17 men's team are currently in 1st place lead by Philip Pugh (2nd and 2nd overall), Sam Derry (12th), Stuart Davies (13th), and David Farrell (17th).

In the U11 Girls race, Hannah Smith (9th), Katie Wickett (15th) and Chloe Preston (20th) helped the team to 4th place in the current standings.

The U13's team lie in 3rd place with Amelia Ridgway finishing 4th and Leanne Dimmock a further place back. Alex Smith was 15th, Danielle Woodward 16th, Becky Wallace 25th and Sarah Dimmock 27th.

The older girls are lining themselves up for a haul of medals. The Hulme sisters ensured the U15's stayed at the top of the team standings with Teresa coming home 2nd and Sarah 3rd. They also currently lie 2nd and 3rd in the individual standings. Catherine also ran well to finish in 7th place.

Rebecca Bray won the U17's race to lead overall and Rebecca Cooke came 3rd to maintain her overall 3rd place position. Beth Clarkes 5th place finish helped the girls to win the team race on the day.

Sue Kneill-Boxley was our only senior competitor taking part and she finished a credible 49th.

13-10-08 WMYACCL - Pype Hayes - 12 October 2008

Cannock & Stafford AC are second in the table after the first WMYACCL race of the 2008-09 season at Pype Hayes.

The highest individual finish came from Ryan Ashforth who was placed 2nd in the U11 Boys race. Tom Osbourne finished 15th in the same race.

In the U13 boys, Jamie Ross was C&S's first athlete home in 15th place. The U15 Boys lie in 2nd place assisted by Ashley Wicketts 9th place finish and Stephen Sutton (18th). The U17 Men are currently first after top twenty performances from Chris Perrin (8th), Philip Pugh (10th) and Radek Bednarczyk (20th).

Our first U11 Girls runner to finish was Hannah Smith in 28th place and Amelia Ridgway came 11th in the U13 Girls.

Team performance of the day came from our U15 Girls team who finished first overall with four athletes in the top 20. Rebecca Straw led the way in 4th place ably assisted by Jade Bird (10th), Teresa Hulme (15th) and Sarah Hulme (19th). In the U17 Women, Rebecca Bray came 9th.

Congratulations to all of our other runners who took part on Sunday.

12-10-08 Veterans Chosen to Represent Country

Two of our veteran women have been selected to represent England in the cross country international to be held at Singleton Park, Swansea on the 15^th November.

Chris Kilkenny was selected in the W55 age group and Dot Fellows in the W60 category.

06-10-08 Athletics Officials Courses

If you are interested in qualifying as an athletics official, please find below details of forthcoming level 2 and 3 officials courses in the West Midlands.

Level 2: 1^st November 2008,

Alexander Stadium, Birmingham cost £10

Track, Field, Timekeeper, Starter/Marksman 10am – 3pm

Level 2 is the course to start with if you have a reasonable knowledge of athletics. If you are connected to Cannock & Stafford Athletic Club there will be no cost to you for attending this course. If interested in being an official either contact me direct or through the website e-mail address.

Level 3: 2^nd November, Alexander Stadium, Birmingham

Generic, Track, Field, Timekeeper, Technology Modules: False Start, EDM 9am – 5pm

Simon Evans

Cannock & Stafford Officials Secretary

05-10-08 British Masters Cross Country Relays - Mansfield - 4 October 2008

On Saturday 4^th October C&S sent a team to compete in the British Masters x/country relays which were held in Mansfield. There were sixteen complete teams contesting 3 separate age groups though we were the only club to have a team in the W55 age category.

Chris Rollason was our first leg runner and with a time of 20.04 mins she came back in 12^th position overall, Dot was our 2^nd leg runner and with a time of 19.08 mins she lifted the team up to 10^th, Our final leg was run by Chris Kilkenny and despite clocking the fastest time for our team of 17 56 mins the team dropped back to 11^th overall.

Whilst it was disappointing that there was no-one to contest our age group, the team took great satisfaction in beating 2 teams in the W35 age group and 3 teams in the W45 age group, Their performance in fact would have given them the silver medal in the W45 age group.

04-10-08 Stadium Enquiry Results Delayed

The club have received a letter advising that the result of the enquiry into the Cannock Stadium closure, due at the start of November, has been delayed until the 4th December.

29-09-08 Blackpool Open Medal Meeting - Blackpool - 28 September 2008

On a sunny day in Blackpool, Cannock & Stafford's athletes enjoyed a day at the seaside and came away from the Open meeting with a number of medals and pb's.

Chloe Boulter and Alicia Clarke were our first two athletes in action and both came away with gold medals. Chloe won the high jump with 1.45m and Alicia smashed her discus pb by almost 6m, with a throw of 21.13m. Alicia's sister, Beth, was our first track athlete and she won silver in the 800m in a time of 2:39.5.

Adam Smith took part in his first 100m race and ran 12.2. Richard Evans finished in 12.6 and Paul Edwards in a season's best 12.9. Chad Barton came 3rd in the SM Javelin, throwing 55.29 and Matthew Paynter threw 33.83m. In the U17 event, Daniel Millerchip finished 2nd with a distance of 39.46m and Dan Timmis 3rd with 16.87m.

There were six Cannock & Stafford athletes in the senior men's 400m race. Jamie Mills won the race overall in 52.2, Adam Smith came 4th in 55.1 and Jamie Graham recorded a time of 57.1. Close behind Jamie came Andy Weetman with 57.4 who just pipped veteran team mates Shaun Ainge (57.6) and Paul Edwards (58.5).

In the women's 300m, Hollie Allan won silver with a time of 45.0 whilst in the U17 men's discus Dan Timmis threw 40.35m to win his second bronze of the day and Dan Millerchip threw 36.43m. Matthew Paynter won the senior's discus with 31.14m.

In the final event of the day, the 200m, Beth Roberts recorded a time of 28.5 in the U15 girls race, and Hannah Greaves won a silver medal with 27.8 in the seniors. In the men's event, Jamie Mills won his second gold of the day with a fantastic pb of 23.2, Jamie Graham ran 25.8, Richard Evans 26.0 and Paul Edwards 26.1, equalling his season's best.

29-09-08 Conductive Education 10K - Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham - 28 September 2008

Melanie Leek recorded a time of 50:09 to win the W45 category at the Conductive Education 10K race in Cannon Hill Park on Sunday. Mel finished 82nd overall out of a field of 170. Martin Leek came home in 45th place achieving his target of a sub 45 minute run, finishing in 44:33.

16-09-08 Paralympics - Beijing - 2008

Cannock & Stafford's Martin Crutchley finished in an excellent 5th place in the F37/38 shot putt in the Paralympics in Beijing.

His best throw came in the last round where he recorded a distance of 12.72m. He started the competition with a throw of 11.41m and followed this with throws of 12.20, 12.49, 11.99 and 12.68m.

Well done Big 'Un. We're all proud of you!

08-09-08 European Masters Games - Malmo, Sweden - 29 August to 7 September 2008

At the European Master Games held in Malmo Sweden , Alison George won 2 silver medals, one in the Hammer with a season’s best of 27.95M and the other in the Weight Throw, again with a season’s best of 9.78M.

Unfortunately she had to withdraw from her main event, the shot, due to a foot/ankle injury.

This was the first ever European Masters Games and is a multi sports event to be held every four years. The Malmo event consisted of 25 sports spread over 9 days of competition and over 10,000 competitors were expected to take part.

31-08-08 UK School Games - Bath & Bristol - 28-31 August 2008

Louise Foster, Gemma Smith and Harriet Thompson represented the West Midlands in the UK School Games at the weekend in Bath.

The UK School Games is a multi sport event, spread over 4 days, designed to replicate the feel of a major event such as the Olympics or Paralympics.

Louise was first to compete and came joint 5th in the pole vault with 2.80m. Gemma came 2nd in a close triple jump competition with a best of 11.82m, just 5cm behind the winner and 1cm ahead of the third placed athlete. Harriet qualified for the final of the 80m hurdles by winning her heat in 11.80 seconds. In the final, Harriet clocked 11.74 into a slight headwind to finish 4th.

30-08-08 Blackpool Open Meeting and Illuminations Trip - 28 September 2008

On the 28th September, Blackpool & Fylde AC have organised an Open Meeting at Stanley Park. This is traditionally the last meeting of the outdoor season that a number of our athletes take part in.

John Turner has organised a coach which leaves Stafford at 9am to get to the meeting. After the meeting, there is a short trip to the Pleasure Beach before leaving at around 7pm to drive through the illuminations on the way home.

The cost per seat is £12 (this does not include entry fees for the open meeting). If you are interested, please see John Turner or arrange through your coach.

Entry forms for the meeting are available here. You will need to submit this form yourselves by the closing date of 22nd September. There are no entries on the day.

30-08-08 England Athletics Region West Midlands 2008 Awards Evening

The England Athletics Region West Midlands 2008 Awards will take place in the Directors Suite, overlooking the Villa Park pitch, on 19th September 2008. Gemma Smith and Bob Hughes have been shortlisted for awards.

The awards evening will be hosted by BBC's Nick Owen and some of the West Midlands top performance athletes, including 2008 Olympians, will be present.

Tickets for the event are £15 which includes a 4 course meal with wine and there will be a pay bar. So why not go along and support Gemma and Bob? Tickets are available by contacting Zena Weeks at zweeks@englandathletics.org or on 0121 356 8849.

17-08-08 England Athletics U17 & U15 Championships - Alexander Stadium - 9/10 August 2008

Gemma Smith recorded a best triple jump of 11.78m to take silver in the England Athletics U17 Championships at Alexander Stadium. She was beaten to gold by Emma Pringle of Gateshead who improved her pb by nearly 50cm to win with a jump of 12.08m

29 -07-08 Cannock Stadium Public Enquiry

John Turner and I went along to the public enquiry to represent our club, the hearing lasted four days. Also in attendance every day was our hurdles coach Charles Harvey and on several occasions there were parents of athletes, athletes themselves and some of the stadium staff in attendance.

The hearing started with the council producing some of their senior officers and in our opinion they did not give a very good account of themselves. In turn they were followed by some councillors themselves who seemed more intent on making political statements then addressing the issue on the table which was the planning application to build houses on the stadium land.

Mr Lavender who was conducting the enquiry intervened and made it quite clear that he would not allow political comment. There was a lot of technical discussion regarding the planning application before members of the public were allowed to have their say, and 19 people had registered their intention to speak. I can only recall one person who was in favour of the planning application with by far the majority against it.

The leader of the council Mr Neil Stanley had requested that he be allowed to speak last before the final addresses by the legal teams representing both sides. Both John and I feel that he was discredited on several accounts and that his testimony did his sides efforts more harm than good. He finally admitted after more than two years in denial that he did promise that they would not close the track until there was a new facility in place. He claimed that all the money raised from the sale of the stadium land would be spent on leisure facilities within the district. He then revealed that some of the money would be spent on improving housing stock on some of the properties surrounding the current stadium. He had to admit that the often quoted figure of £1,000 per day to keep the stadium open was in fact a greatly inflated figure and included central office overheads in the town council offices, which would still remain if the stadium were closed or not. He also revealed that there had not been no planning application made to put the new track down at Blake, Mr Lavender stated at this point that it did cast doubts in his own mind as to whether the council did intend to replace the current track.

We were assured by the Q.C. representing the council, that should planning permission be granted to build on the stadium land, that there is a legally binding document that the council must provide the new facility, but they would not commit to when that would be. Mr Lavender undertook site visits to several sites to be clear in his own mind what the various discussions had been about, he visited our stadium on Thursday 19^th July and was escorted round by John. He did report back to the hearing on the Friday that he had made the visit and was most impressed by what he had seen.

Both John and I are of the opinion that the save our stadium campaign won the arguments hands down, but we will have to wait probably several months before a decision is made. We can only wait and hope.

Derek Fellows - Club President

28 -07-08 European Veterans Athletic Championships

Gary Myles ran brilliantly in both his heat and the final of the M45 110m hurdles to win a bronze medal at the European Veterans Championships in Slovenia. After finishing 2nd in his heat in a time of 17.54, Gary went even faster in the final recording a time of 16.87 secs.

Andy Weetman recorded a personal best of 12.06 in the 100m heats. His third place finish in his heat was good enough for him to qualify for the semi-finals as one of the fastest losers. In the semi final, Andy finished 6th in a time of 12.42.

Paul Edwards was in action in the 400m hurdles on Saturday. A brilliant season's best of 64.08 was good enough to earn him 3rd place in his semi final and to qualify for the final. In Sunday's final, Paul finished 8th in a time of 64.53.

Les Green, who turned 70 during the championships, completed the M65 marathon in 19th place in a time of 5hrs 56 mins 26 secs.

22 -07-08 Stadium Memories

I had many emotional highs and lows coaching and travelling through a 14 year Olympic and international journey with my wife Clova. Good and bad. Up and down, and not since those times have I had similar to what I went through this weekend

Saturday - international success and a truly amazing performance

Sunday - sad goodbye to a stadium,

Gem's (Gemma Smith) performance winning the international title at Bedford was one of quality, confidence and maturity and after 4 successive silver medals in championships nobody deserved this better ,and to win your first major representing your country is special, and to do it with 4 of the leading 5 jumps in the country including the best in the country is something to be very proud of. Yes she was representing her country but she was she also representing her club as always. Cannock and Stafford can be proud of her and her performance on Sunday it was fitting she broke the stadium record but of course sadly that is lost forever but memories are not. Both myself and Clova have many memories of the stadium and although we were with Wolverhampton on the day we were also with you guys.

To finish off with the lap of honour which was well supported was good , and to finish Gem of course got a dip in the water jump from her Wolves training partners

Regards

HOWARD COURT

Being both a parent and athlete I have many great memories of Cannock stadium:-
John's booming voice, Numb bum and feet after 2 hours of watching athletes going round and round,

Bob's cap (has he got any hair?),

Gary and Charlie's endless pursuit of hurdle technique perfection,
Negotiating a bend in ice and snow,

Not being able to see athletes in the back straight for fog,

The great banter that goes on between the athletes,

Jamie's motivation and leadership,

To see my daughter (Nat) loving athletics again, the list goes on....
But the one memory that will really last is a recent one....

'Super Kev's' (Sammons) wailing screams echoing around the stadium when he finishes a race. Those who have witnessed it will know what I
mean!

Nuff said.

PAUL EDWARDS

I can only echo Paul's sentiment. Watching my son and then taking up the sport myself, I found that it was fantastic how two of my sons were welcomed into joining in and competing for this fantastic family club.

We have met some very genuine people and despite its seemingly low stature in the local sporting scene it has provided a great source of talent and rewarded many young people at a National level and Olympics.

I have seen for myself the hard work by the coaches and the progress made by youngsters. I have also been encouraged by fellow veterans and masters.

I must thank the following people who I hope do not vanish from the scene and continue to brave the elements where ever they decide to don there spikes or trainers, big John, Paul (boing boing) Edwards and Shaun having watching you on your knees after a training session and thinking that will never happen to me.

I cannot forget to mention my son Craig who has made me very proud, encouraging me and all the young people who have encouraged, cajoled and made me laugh.

Special mention to Jamie Mills and Keiron, there are too many to mention, I have enjoyed and hope to continue training and competing in your great company.

Once again I thank everyone who has smiled at me, encouraged me and cheered me and anyone wearing the Green vest of this fine club to the finishing line and beyond.

KEVIN SAMMONS (M50)

12 -07-08 English School's Championships - Gateshead

There were a strong contingent of Cannock & Stafford athletes in action at the English School's Championships at Gateshead.

Shanie Reed finished 4th in her Junior Girls 800m heat in 2:23.82 and Ashley Wickett 6th in his Junior Boys race in 2:09.75. Tom Lake ran 54.63 to finish 6th in a first round heat of the 400m.

Seven of our Intermediate Girls made it to the Championships. Louise Foster just missed out on a medal in the pole vault clearing 2.80m for 4th place but Gemma Smith won a medal on Friday, finishing second in the triple jump by equalling her pb of 11.63m. Isabel Rogers jumped 5.18m for 9th place in the long jump and Jane Bourne threw a pb of 8.74m in the shot to finish 17th.

Harriet Thompson made it to the final of the 80m hurdles by finishing as one of the fastest losers in the heats in a time of 11.60 seconds. Elisha Bateman just missed out, finishing 4th in her heat in 11.97 secs. Both of these performances were personal bests. In the final, Harriet finished 7th in 11.64.

Rachel Atherton progressed through the first round of the 800m in 2:18.91 and went slightly faster in round 2 (2:18.82) but, unfortunately, failed to make the final.

In the Senior Girls, Cally Reed comfortably reached the final of the 800m in 2:12.17 and then came 7th in the final on Saturday in 2:13.62. Sam Evans also progressed to the final in the Senior Boys race by winning his heat in 1:53.92. He ran slightly faster in the final (1:53.71) but ended in 5th place.

Chad Barton smashed his pb in the Senior Boys javelin and achieved an excellent 5th place finish with a throw of 59.64m.

In the penultimate event of the afternoon, Cally Reed & Lucy Dubberley both bought home bronze medals as part of the Staffordshire Senior Girls 4 x 100m relay team

11-07-08 2009 London Marathon Places Available

Cannock & Stafford AC are entitled to apply for club entries to the 2009 London Marathon.

If any member would like to be considered for one of these places, please contact Karen Moody by e-mail to kazmoody@yahoo.co.uk to register your interest as soon as possible. Normal entry fees will be payable for these places.

09-07-08 Stadium Closure

Dear all,

After two-and-a-half years of struggle and heartache, we have finally lost the battle to keep Cannock Stadium open. There seems no alternative to the gates closing for the last time on July 31.

Much as we are angry and upset at the injustice of it all, it is time to move on, look to the future and ensure we keep our club together. Now is the time for positive action.

With a replacement stadium two years away at the earliest, we have been working as a committee to bridge the gap and to keep the routine athletes, coaches and parents are used to.

Our intention is to make our base Rowley Park in Stafford. We believe this is the best way to ensure the sense of unity and friendship which is the cornerstone of Cannock & Stafford AC.

Ok, it's not the ideal solution and it will cause logistical problems for some, but it's the best we can do for the majority.

To maintain continuity, we have secured the use of Rowley Park for training on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Those who already use Stafford can carry on with their normal Monday and Wednesday sessions and Cannock athletes will be able to use the facilities on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There is obviously room for crossover and, if it makes it easier, any athlete can use the track/field on any of the four nights.

There are restrictions which we have to bear in mind and that it is best we know from the start.

There is a long-standing arrangement with Stafford Town FC that the hammer cage can't be used because of the damage it does to the pitch. The other problem with the cage is that it is taken down for maintenance/protection from October to March. There is also a health and safety issue that the floodlights are for track training and not of sufficient strength to allow throwing in safety. So this virtually precludes using the cage. We, and the council, are aware that this is not ideal and both sides are hopeful the situation can be resolved next year. Shot and javelin throwing are OK.

This new arrangement will start week commencing August 4 - the Monday after Cannock Stadium closes.

To help athletes and parents financially, the committee has decided to set subs at £1.50 for junior members and £2.00 for senior members with non-members paying an extra £1.00. This is a reduction on the charges we have had at Cannock Stadium. This arrangement will stay in place as long as we are taking enough each week to cover what we have to pay the council.

For those who do not know Rowley Park, it is staffed by extremely committed park rangers who take great pride in it. They are delighted we are going to use the track and field facilities for four nights and they want to help us be successful.

So we ask you to remember the happy times we have shared at Cannock Stadium and then to look to the future, use Rowley Park and keep alive Cannock & Stafford AC.

The coaches at Cannock have been fully consulted about the move and are willing to give it their best shot. We hope you, as athletes and parents, will follow suit.

Training is from 6-9pm on each of the four nights. There is a club room we can use to meet in and toilet facilities in the adjoining block.

Directions to Rowley Park will shortly be available on the club website. Maps will also be issued over the next few weeks.

If there are any queries or suggestions please feel free to talk to any members of the committee.

With your help and support, we can have a bright future.

Yours sincerely,

GARY DENNING
CHAIRMAN
ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE

07-07-08 BMAF Track & Field Championships - Alexander Stadium - 5/6 July 2008

Several of our veteran athletes took part in the British Championships at Alexander Stadium last weekend.

Christine Kilkenny dominated the W55 5000m race to win in a time of 19:55.96. Kristian Lundby won a silver medal in the M60 long jump with 4.63m and bronze in the triple jump with 9.88m. He also just missed out on a medal in the javelin, throwing 38.77m.

Our throwers did well with Martin Roberts and Alison George both winning two medals each. Martin threw the hammer 42.92m and the weight 11.11m for two bronze medals whilst Alison recorded a shot of 9.53m to win silver, just 2cm behind the gold medal winning put and also threw the weight 7.79m for bronze.

Gary Myles took silver in the M45 110m hurdles in 21.31 and recorded a time of 13.22 in the heats of the 100m. Paul Edwards took a bronze medal home after finishing 3rd in the 400m hurdles. Andy Weetman made the final of the 100m by running 12.46 in his heat and came 7th in the final in 12.73.

02-07-08 BMAF 10k Road Championships - Loughborough - 29 June 2008

Dot Fellows gained a silver medal in her age group at the BMAF 10k Road Championships at Loughborough on Sunday.

The event doubled up as the Midland Masters Championships where Dot again won the silver medal.

01-07-08 INAS Learning Difficulties European Championships - Sport City - 27-29 June 2008

Jamie Graham represented GB in the Learning Difficulties Open European Championships at Sport City at the weekend. 22 European countries took part along with teams from South Africa and Australia.

Jamie, at a few days short of his 17th birthday, was the youngest athlete to have represented GB in any INAS World or European competition.

As expected, the competition was of a high standard and Jamie finished fifth in his heat, despite recording a time of 57.15. He also ran the first leg of the 4 x 400m where the GB team came 5th in the final but were unfortunately disqualified.

30-06-08 National Junior League - Cannock- 28 June 2008

Cannock & Stafford's U20s team finished second to Birchfield in the latest Junior League Midland Premier match at Cannock Stadium on Sunday. This result lifted the club to 3rd in the eight team League and guaranteed their survival in the division for next season.

Again, the success was based on athletes being willing to fill gaps in events that they would not normally do. The pole vaulters appeared for the first time this season and Louise Foster and Sammy Witton went on to gain maximum points in 'A' and 'B' vaults. Guy Mayer recorded an amazing 52.8 in his first competitive 400m. Radek Bednarczyk gained a pb in the 800m with 2:05.4 and Chris Perrin, on his debut, beat his previous best 1500m time recording 4:15.8.

Adam Smith and Adam Rigby scored heavily in their specialist events of 400m hurdles and high jump as well as competing in a number of other events.

Ian McCann and Becky Cooke doubled up in 800 and 1500m races and Cally Reed ran 57.7 secs in the 400m before winning the 1500m. Hollie Allan lowered her best 400m time to 62.4 and Harriet Thompson, also in her first meeting of the season, came 2nd in the 100m.

Hannah Greaves competed in the 800m before running 27.6 in the 200m and the 3000m runners, Alex Jackson, Philip Pugh, Rebecca Phillips and Rebecca Bray, had to endure torrential rain to score well in the event.

Alasdair Rigby competed in the 110m hurdles and steeplechase, two events where we usually have no competitors and James Perrin also made his debut in the steeplechase. Dan Millerchip gained pbs in both discus and hammer, Chad Barton won the 'B' discus as well as throwing the javelin over 53m and Dan Timmis came 3rd in the 'A' shot and 'B' hammer. Jamie Hammond and Ashley Bennett scored well in long and triple jumps and Isabel Rogers won the women's long jump event.

Sally Clague threw a pb of 28.89m in the javelin and Hannah Jones won the 'B' javelin and also threw the hammer.

Jane Bourne and Anna Denning contributed well in the throwing events and Chloe Boulter showed her all round abilities by finishing second in the high jump and triple jump as well as running the 400m hurdles. Leanne Jones recorded a season's best in the triple jump as well as competing in the 100m, 200m and long jump and Elisha Bateman finished her 400m hurdles run despite struggling with a knee injury.

25-06-08 British Masters 5k Road Race Championships - Horwich - 22 June 2008

On Sunday, in Horwich nr Bolton, the British Masters held their 5k road racing championships. Once again our women were equal to the challenge with Christine Kilkenny taking a silver medal in the W55 category and Chris Rollason finishing 7^th in the same age group. Dot Fellows missed out on a medal in her age group finishing 4^th with her race being won in a world record time.

Our team combined to win the W55 team gold, and put in such a strong performance they would have secured 3^rd place overall in any age group.

23-06-08 Stacey Johnson wins Gold at England U23 Championships

Stacey Johnson ran a very controlled race to win gold at the England Athletics U23 championship 1500m in a time of 4:31.3. She finished over 5 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

In the U20 men's 800m, Sam Evans qualified for the final by finishing 3rd in his heat in 1:52.1. In blustery conditions in the final, Sam came home 5th in a time of 1:54.25.

13-06-08 Cannock & Stafford Athlete nominated for Beijing Paralympics

Today, UK Athletics nominated a team of 35 athletes for the British team for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing and amongst them was Cannock & Stafford's Martin Crutchley. Martin recently achieved the qualifying standard in the F38 shot with a pb throw of 13.73m.

UK Athletics Director of Disability, Tim Jones said:

“We are pleased to be able to nominate such a strong team for Beijing, which is a real blend of both youth and experience. Over half of the nominated team are set to make their debut at the Paralympic Games, in particular 8 of the 14 female athletes.

“UK Athletics set some tough qualifying standards to ensure a high quality team, and it is testament to the determination and talent of our athletes that these were achieved and exceeded.

“It is important that a large majority of the travelling team is capable of winning medals, and we are confident that this will be the case in Beijing. We all know that the Paralympics will be the real test, but we believe the Paralympics GB athletics team is exceptionally well prepared for the challenge ahead.”

08-06-08 Midland Masters T & F Championships - Solihull - 08 June 2008

On a scorching day at Solihull on Sunday, a number of C&S's veteran athletes competed in the Midland Championships and between them came away with a haul of medals.

First to gain a medal was Alison George who achieved a Championship best performance in the W45 shot of 9.54m. She was followed shortly afterwards by Martin Roberts who won the hammer with 40.96m and Shaun Ainge who came first in the high jump with 1.60m. Shaun later won his second gold by winning the M40 400m in 57.2.

Gary Myles and Paul Edwards won gold and silver respectively in the 110m hurdles with Gary recording a time of 17.6 and Paul 19.4. Paul followed this with gold in the 400m hurdles in 64.9 and also competed in the 100 and 200m before finishing off with a great run of 58.8 in the 400m although, in a very competitive M45 category, this was only good enough for 6th place.

Considering the strong opposition, Andy Weetman did well to qualify for both the 100 and 200m finals in times of 12.1 and 25.7 seconds but just missed out on the medals running slightly slower than his heat times in the finals.

Kristian Lundby had a very successful day in the M60 age group winning silver in the high jump and following this with gold in the long jump (4.54m), javelin and triple jump. Kevin Sammons, competing in his first Midland Championships, ran in the 100m, 200m (30.0) and 400m (75.0)

Christine Kilkenny was our second female athlete to compete and she led the W55 5000m from start to finish to win gold in 19:56.7.

08-06-08 Midland Men's & Women's Senior League - Solihull - 07 June 2008

C&S kept in the hunt for promotion by finishing second to Solihull and Small Heath in the 2nd Senior League meeting of the season on Saturday.

Guy Mayer won both 100m A race and 200m B race in times of 11.4 and 23.4. Jamie Mills won his 400m B race in 52.0 secs and Adam Smith won the 800m B race in 2:18.8 soon after recording a pb of 61.3 in the 400m hurdles. Alex Jackson ran brilliantly to win the 3000m in a pb of 9:19.9 and also came 3rd in the 800m with 2:05.8.

Steve Haywood stepped in at the last minute to run the 3000m steeplechase and, with an excellent performance, sprinted away from his nearest rival at the final water jump to win. Richard Parker won the shot put with 11.85m and came 3rd in the discus. He was ably supported by Josh Tunnicliffe who came 2nd in the 'B' in both events. Martin Roberts won the hammer with 44.14m.

Hannah Greaves ran her best time of the season to finish 2nd in the 200m (27.2 secs) and Cally Reed ran the same time to win the 'B' race. Kerri Genders won the 400m B race with 61.1 and later came 2nd in the 800m. Rebecca Cooke won the 1500m in 5:07.6 and Lucy Haywood won the 3000m in 10:25.5.

The women's shot putt was a successful event with Alison George winning the 'A' competition and Carol Denning the 'B'. Alison also won the hammer with 27.20m.

The women's 4 x 400m team of Cally Reed, Becky Cooke, Natalie Ainge and Kerri Genders were the final C&S winners of the day.

Praise must also be given to the clubs younger athletes who competed for the club against athletes who were sometimes much older than themselves and never looked out of place at this level. They include Josh Sutton, Alasdair Rigby, Sam Derry, Stuart Davies, Daniel Millerchip, Chloe Boulter, Natalie Ainge, Beth and Alicia Clarke and Anna Denning.

25-05-08 National Junior League - Tamworth - 25 May 2008

The Cannock & Stafford AC U20 team finished fifth in the latest Junior League meeting at Tamworth but were only ten points behind a second consecutive third place finish.

A number of athletes had given up the opportunity to compete in the Midland Championships to take part in this meeting and their attendance was greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, there were still gaps, with nobody taking part in the pole vault, steeplechase or sprint hurdles.

Events started on the field. Jamie Hammond continued his excellent progress by finishing 2nd in the long jump with a pb of 6.02m and later finished 4th in the 'B' triple jump with 10.99m. Ashley Bennett won the 'B' long jump with 5.86m and came 4th in the triple jump with 11.77m. In the hammer, Daniel Millerchip threw 25.52m and was ably supported by Chad Barton who threw 23.53m. Daniel later threw a pb in the shot of 11.36m and came 4th in the discus with 29.94m. Special mention must go to Chad who followed his hammer throw with a first place in the javelin. After the first three rounds of throws, Chad was lying in 3rd place. Whilst all the other competitors decided to gain shelter from the poor weather conditions, Chad continued and made it pay with a throw of 49.79m. Josh Tunnicliffe won the 'B' shot with 10.31m and came 2nd in the 'B' discus with 27.78m. Hannah Jones threw a pb of 20.17 to finish 4th in the women's javelin.

In the women's hammer, Chloe Boulter, throwing the implement for the first time, recorded a distance of 16.82m to finish 6th. It was a busy afternoon for Chloe who showed her versatility by also running the 400m hurdles and coming 5th in the high jump. Anna Denning came 5th in the 'B' hammer and also scored useful points in shot and discus. Jane Bourne had been hospitalised during the week but turned out to finish 2nd in the 'B' javelin, 5th in the discus and 6th in the shot.

Another all rounder, Adam Rigby, won the high jump with 1.80m, came 4th in the 'B' 400m hurdles and 2nd in the 'B' javelin. Sean Rich, competing for the first time at this level, gained a pb of 1.70m in the high jump and also ran well in the 400m hurdles. In the women's 400m hurdles, Natalie Ainge won the 'B' race in 71.4, winning the race by almost three seconds in only her second attempt at the event. Nat also came 3rd in the triple jump with a pb of 9.84m and 5th in the 400m with 63.1. Hollie Allan won her 2nd 'B' 400m in succession in 64.4.

Isabel Rogers finished 2nd in the long jump with 5.02m and had good support from Leanne Jones who finished 3rd in the 'B'. Leanne also came 2nd in the 'B' triple jump and ran in the 100m and 200m. Natalie Edwards also doubled up in the 100 and 200 and came 3rd in the 'B' high jump with 1.40m.

Guy Mayer came 5th in the 100m in 11.7 and 6th in the 200 in 23.8. Josh Sutton, despite a terrible start, came 4th in the 'B' 100m in 12.0 and Kieran Walsh ran 24.2 in the 200m and gained a new pb in the 400m of 52.8, just being beaten to the line by a Notts athlete in the 'B' race. Sam Evans finished 2nd in the 'A' 400m in a time of 49.7. The 800m saw two debutants at this level. Radek Bednarczyk ran 2:08.4 to finish 6th and Becky Cooke 2:27.7 to finish 4th. Jamie Graham (2:17.5) and Beth Clarke (2:45.6) were the 'B' runners. In the 1500m, Cally Reed came 2nd in a season's best 4:47.6 and Beth Clarke came 3rd in the 'B'. In the men's races, Ian McCann came 4th in 4:22.3 and Sam Derry 2nd in the 'B' in 4:44.9.

The 3000m women both performed excellently with Rebecca Phillips coming 2nd in 11:29.5 and Rebecca Bray 2nd in the 'B' in 11:47.0

The men's and women's 4 x 100m relay teams finished 4th and 5th respectively. It was the turn of the women's 4 x 400m to out perform their male counterparts by finishing second in their race (Natalie Ainge 64.5, Hollie Allan 64.8, Becky Cooke 64.5, Cally Reed 58.4) whilst the lads couldn't quite repeat the heroics of Alexander Stadium finishing in 4th. (Radek Bednarczyk 56.3, Ian McCann 55.5, Kieran Walsh 53.5, Sam Evans 50.1)

25-05-08 Midland U15/U17 Championships - Alexander Stadium - 24 / 25 May 2008

Harriet Thompson raced to gold in the U17W 80m hurdles at the weekend. With Elisha Bateman unfortunately missing the event due to injury, Harriet won her heat in 11.91 and then went even faster in the final, winning in 11.84 secs.

Gemma Smith took gold on countback in a very close long jump competition. She won with a distance of 5.20m whilst team mate Isabel Rogers jumped only 6cm less and finished 5th! On Sunday, Gemma gained her 2nd gold of the weekend by recording 11.30m in the triple jump.

Louise Foster and Sammy Jo Witton won gold and Silver in the pole vault with jumps of 2.70 and 2.60m respectively and Craig Ridgway just missed out on a medal finishing 4th with a vault of 3.50m.

Beth Denning took a fine bronze medal in the discus with a throw of 22.71m and also took part in the shot, finishing 8th with 8.45m.

Elsewhere, Craig Sammons made the final of the U15 100m finishing 2nd in his heat in 12.43 and came 7th in the final despite going faster (12.26). The following day, Craig also reached the final of the 200m, finishing 8th, by running 24.76 secs. Chad Barton threw the javelin 55.10m for fourth place and Chloe Boulter cleared 1.50m in the high jump for fifth.

Megan Jones competed in the 100m (4th in heat in 13.43), long jump (4.32, 11th) and 200m where she ran a new pb of 27.45. Megan Humphries also ran the 100m (13.78, 6th in heat).

Chris and James Perrin both had to contend with two 1500m runs in a day. Chris finished 8th in the final in 4:26.44 whilst James finished 11th in 4:41.21, both times slightly slower than their heats. Sarah Hulme ran in the U15G 1500m, finishing 5th in her heat in a new pb of 5:11.36.

In the U15 800m, Shanie Reed reached the final and came 6th with a time of 2:27.31. Catherine Hulme ran 2:31.31 in the heats and Julie Addison 2:39.17. In the U17, Rachel Atherton came 4th in her heat with 2:24.06. In the U15B 800m, Ashley Wickett finished 2nd in his heat in 2:20.58 but unfortunately failed to make the final.

In the javelin, Sally Clague finished 6th in the U17 with a throw of 28.15m and Lucy Heap 11th in the U15 with a throw of 20.19m.

10-05-08 Disability Sport Regional Athletics Championships - Alexander Stadium - 18 May 2008

Martin Crutchley recorded a new National record for the discus at the English Federation of Disability Sport Regional Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium with a throw of 30.37m, beating his personal best by over 2m.

In other events, there were gold medals galore for C&S athletes. Ian Cope won gold in 100, 200 and 400m (Wheelchair). Jamie Graham gold in 200, 400, 800m and Ben Gilbert won gold in both Wheelchair Club and Distance Club (Wheelchair)

The disabled athlete coach, David Crutchley won gold in Distance Club and Discus and Kevin Ward gold in 100,200,400m (Wheelchair)

10-05-08 Staffordshire AAA Championships - Stoke - 10 May 2008

Cally Reed took home two gold medals from the County Championships on Saturday but, after winning the 800m in 2:12.9, it was her Championship best performance of 57.4 in the 400m that stole the show.

Gemma Smith also recorded a Championship record, and equalled her pb, whilst recording 11.55m in the triple jump. This was also Gemma's third medal of the day having won the U17 100m and gained silver in the long jump behind team mate Isabel Rogers who won with a leap of 5.19m.

Craig Sammons had a successful day in the U15, winning both the 100m and long jump, and gaining bronze in the 200m. Adam Phillips won the U15 shot and came 2nd in both hammer and discus. In the U17 age group, Daniel Millerchip won a full set of medals with gold in the shot, silver in the discus and bronze in the javelin.

Adam Smith gained two pbs in winning the U20 400m hurdles in 61.8 and finishing third in the 400m in 53.9. Gary Myles won the 110m hurdles race to record C&S's only senior men's gold.

In the U15 800m, C&S athletes filled the top three places with Shanie Reed winning in 2:25.4 followed by sisters Teresa and Catherine Hulme in 2nd and 3rd.

Harriet Thompson won the U17 80m hurdles and Chloe Boulter cleared 1.55m for the first time to win the high jump. Sally Clague won the javelin with a throw of 27.00m and Louise Foster headed a C&S 1-2 in the pole vault with a height of 2.90m, Sammy-Jo Witton getting the silver medal with 2.50m.

Leanne Jones won the U20 triple jump with 9.55m and, in the seniors, Katie Leek won double gold in the 200 and 400m races recording times of 26.9 and 60.8 respectively.

Other medallists were:

Silver: Jordan Barrett (U13B 1500m); Charlie Low (U13B long jump); Jade Bird (U15G 1500m); Rachel Atherton (U17W 800m); Josh Sutton (U17M 200m); Jamie Hammond (U17M long jump); Craig Ridgway (U17M pole vault); Hannah Greaves (U20W 100m); Natalie Edwards (U20W high jump); Guy Mayer (U20M 100m); Paul Edwards (110m hurdles) and Martin Roberts (hammer)

Bronze: Amelia Ridgway (U13G 1500m); Grace O'Connell (U13G 200m); James Russell (U13B 800m & javelin); Lucy Heap (U15G javelin); Jessica Leek (U15G long jump); Ashley Wickett (U15B 800m); Richard Stanley (U15B javelin); Isabel Rogers (U17W 100m); Natalie Ainge (U17W 300m); Rebecca Bray (U17W 1500m); Chris Perrin (U17M 1500m); Alex Pinner (U17M 200m); Hannah Greaves (U20W 200m) and Jamie Graham (U20M 800m)

29-04-08 National Junior League - Alexander Stadium - 27 April 2008

Cannock & Stafford’s Junior athletes excelled on Sunday at Alexander Stadium to finish third in their first Junior League outing of the season.

It was a day of numerous personal best performances. Kieron Walsh and Adam Smith both recorded their fastest 400m times for the second meeting in succession (53.14 and 54.04 respectively) whilst Natalie Ainge (61.22) and Hollie Allan (62.5) achieved best times in the women’s race. Cally Reed shook off recent injury problems to win the 800m ‘A’ race in a pb of 2:11.64 and Sam Derry ran 2:19.04 for his best time in the 800m. Sam also ran in the 1500m in his first event at this level.

On the field, Chad Barton threw the javelin a massive 55.88m to beat his previous best by almost 4m and Dan Millerchip threw the shot 11.12m in his first competition with the heavier weight, whilst Isabel Rogers won the long jump with 5.44m. Jamie Hammond achieved pbs in both long jump (5.72m) and triple jump (11.42m)

Across the board, the C&S athletes turned in good performances. Sam Evans (1500m ‘A’), Alex Jackson (3000m ‘B’), Alasdair Rigby (high jump), Chloe Boulter (400m hurdles ‘B’ and high jump ‘B’), Natalie Ainge (long jump) and Gemma Smith (triple jump) were other individual winners.

Guy Mayer, Josh Sutton and Lucy Dubberley all doubled up in the 100m and 200m to earn valuable points. Leanne Jones finished 2^nd in the triple jump ‘B’, 4^th in the javelin ‘B’ and ran 13.81 in the 100m whilst her sister Hannah threw the javelin 19.26m in her first competition. Kieron Walsh competed in the hammer and javelin as well as his 400m run and Adam Smith also ran the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles (63.03). Daniel Millerchip came 3^rd in the discus and competed in the hammer and Adam Rigby cleared 1.85m in the high jump as well as finishing 3^rd in the ‘B’ discus.

Ian McCann ran 9:19.41 to finish 3^rd in the 3000m ‘A’ and Alasdair Rigby showed his versatility by competing in the 400m hurdles and 2000m steeplechase. Ash Bennett came close to his pb’s in both long jump (5.98m) and triple jump (12.31m). Rachel Atherton doubled up in the 800m and 1500m, finishing 2^nd in the ‘B’ 800m and 5^th in the ‘A’ 1500m. Rebecca Bray (4^th in ‘A’) and Beth Clarke (3^rd in ‘B’) ran well in the 3000m. Elisha Bateman ran her fastest 400m hurdles time in a race where the league record was broken.

Jane Bourne, also in her first competition at this level came an excellent 3^rd in the discus and also took part in the shot and she was ably supported in the throws by Anna Denning who scored useful points in discus, shot and hammer.

As always, the relays finished the meeting in magnificent style. After both the men’s and women’s 4x100m teams finished 6^th in their races, our excellent 4x400m squads took centre stage. Natalie Ainge, Rachel Atherton, Hollie Allan and Cally Reed came a comfortable 2^nd behind Birchfield with all four runners recording excellent split times (62.3, 63.1, 64 and 57.5 respectively).

The men were involved in a memorable race. Solid runs from Adam Smith (54.8) and Ian McCann (54.1) and an amazing leg from Kieron Walsh (53.2) who stormed through the field still left Sam Evans at least 30m behind the Birchfield runner when he was handed the batten. Sam steadily eat into the lead and despite still being around 10m behind when rounding the final bend he managed to pull alongside with 40m to go and eased past to win in 3:30.77. Sam's spilt was 48.9.

A fitting end to a great day.

28-04-08 CP Sports Athletics Grand Prix - Harvey Hadden - 26 April 2008

At the CP Sports Grand Prix meeting at Harvey Hadden on Saturday, Martin Crutchley threw a pb in the shot of 12.93m.

Martin was one of four C&S athletes taking part in the meeting. Jamie Graham ran season best performances in both the 200m (25.61) and in the 400m (56.03). Wheelchair athlete Ian Cope competed in the 100m (22.58), 200m (39.96) and 400m (77.89) whilst young Ben Gilbert threw the discus 4.75m and the club 7.27m.

28-04-08 Midland Masters Road Relays - Sutton Park - 20 April 2008

On the 20th April the Midland Masters Road Relays were held at Sutton Park and our W45 team of Chris Rollason, Chris Kilkenny and Dot Fellows successfully defended their title of Midland Masters Champions.

Chris Rollason went off first and was opposed by Leamington ACs best runner and when Chris came back 1min 18 secs in arrears, Christine Kilkenny set off with great determination on the second leg and turned the deficit into a lead of 3min 17 secs. Dot went off on the last leg and eventually bought the team back with a victory margin of 1min 58secs, It must be realised that all of our team are over 55 years old and one is over 60. The Leamington team were all under 50 years old.

The only women's team to finish ahead of the C&S trio, in any age group, were the Bournville W35 team.

20-04-08 Charnwood Open - Loughborough - 20 April 2008

The conditions were against the sprinters who took part in the Charnwood Open meeting on Sunday but, despite this, there were some promising performances by Cannock and Stafford athletes.

A strong wind blowing into the faces of the runners in the home straight on a generally cold and overcast day meant that times were always going to be down against normal performances. Our first athlete to compete was Adam Smith who ran 64.4 in the 400m hurdles. Our veteran athletes led the way in the 100m with Andy Weetman recording 12.6 and Paul Edwards 13.2. Olivia Walker (U15) and Leanne Jones both finished in 14.2 seconds, Natalie Edwards 14.6 and Emily Fowler-Parkes (U13) a personal best of 15.6. Olivia followed her fine 100m performance by completing the 75m hurdles in 14.4.

Jessica Leek is in her first year of competing as a U15 athlete but the holder of the club record for the U13 long jump looks set to carry on where she left off last season as she recorded a pb of 4.93m in the long jump competition. She also competed in the 200m where she recorded 29.3 seconds. Josh Sutton was the fastest of our runners in the 200m with 24.8 followed by Andy Weetman (25.8), Jamie Graham (26.4) and Paul Edwards in 26.7. Also competing in the 200m were Leanne Jones who ran 30.8, Natalie Edwards (30.2), Emily Fowler Parkes (33.6) and Paul Crutchley (29.1).

Probably the best performances on the track came in the longer sprint events. Natalie Ainge won the 300m by 6 seconds whilst finishing in 43.2 secs. Katie Leek won her 400m race with a strong last 100m in 61.4 and Adam Smith and Kieron Walsh both recorded pbs in 54.3 and 54.2 seconds respectively. Jamie Graham ran 58.6 to follow on from his 800m performance of 2:24.2 and Paul Edwards finished in 59.1.

07-04-08 Officials for home meetings

The 2008 Athletics season is only a few weeks away, would any officials who have received an availability letter but have not returned it please do so as soon as possible. It is vital that sufficient officials are available to successfully hold the 4 matches that the club has agreed to host.

Those matches are:-

18^th May UK Athletics YAL Cannock

19^th June Midlands Vets League Stafford

29^th June National Junior League Cannock

20^th July UK Athletics YAL Cannock

Any officials who have not received an availability letter or email please contact the club and your details will be forwarded to Simon Evans, Officials Co-ordinator.

02-04-08 BMAF National Cross Country Championships - Bloxham - 29 March 2008

Three athletes representing Cannock & Stafford took part in the BMAF National Cross Country Championships at the weekend and pride of place went to Christine Kilkenny who not only won the W55 age group in 28min 40secs, she relegated Paula Fudge and Anne Ford to 2nd and 3rd in her age group. Paula and Anne are former Great Britain internationals and tend to dominate in their age group.

Christine made a strong start on the first of three laps and had a good lead going into lap two. With spectators telling Paula and Anne how far they were behind they worked really hard to close the gap but Christine had kept enough in reserve to earn a wonderful win. Christine was well supported in the W55 age group by Chris Rollason, who despite being out of an individual medal place ran a strong race.

In the W60 age group we were represented by Dot Fellows, who ran strongly throughout but had to give second best to Angela Copson from Rugby/Northants. Dot finished over 4minutes clear of the third finisher.

At the awards ceremony we discovered that out three athletes had in fact took the W55 team gold award and were crowned the British W55 team champions for 2008.

24-03-08 Support CP Sport by running 10k
Cannock & Stafford's Martin Crutchley takes part in the Cerebral Palsy Grand Prix series and the charity who runs the events has asked for his help by looking for people willing to take part in one of two 10k races taking place in Manchester in May.

Firstly, CP Sport has guaranteed places in the Great Manchester Run on the 18 May 2008 if you are able to raise £125 in sponsorship. Full details and entry form are available here.

The B of the Bang 10k takes place on the 25th May and is a race around the Sports City complex. An entry form for this event is available here.

21-03-08 Stacey Johnson to represent GB
Stacey Johnson has been chosen to represent GB in the World University Cross Country Championships in Mauquenchy, France.

Stacey said "I am absolutely delighted, it is my first GB call up of what I intend to be of many. I hope that I can help inspire younger athletes in the club to continue competing when faced with injuries as from Under 17 I have battled with several injuries which have hindered my progression. Gaining selection is the ultimate reward and makes all the hard training worth while."

Congratulations Stacey!

21-03-08 Midland Combined Men's and Women's League
This season, the Midland League have combined both men's and women's leagues.

Cannock & Stafford will compete in Division 5 against Solihull & Small Heath, Stratford, Worcester, Leicester and Shrewsbury.

15-03-08 Inter Counties Cross Country Championships - Wollaton Park - 15 March 2008
Following his excellent recent victory in the National Cross Country Championships, Tom Humphries of Cannock & Stafford AC put in another impressive winning performance in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.

Representing Staffordshire, Tom Humphries was pushed on in the early stages by Phil Wicks of Surrey but finally managed to finish 8 seconds in front of his rival at the race at Wollaton Park in Nottingham.

The race doubled up as a trial for the World Championships in Edinburgh at the end of the month and Tom's selection was well earned.

10-03-08 Officials Course
For anyone interested in officiating next season, there is a Level 2 course available on 12th April at Alexander Stadium.

You will be able to choose from Field, Starter/Marksman, Timekeeping or Track.

I understand that the fee will be covered by Sport England so, in the first instance, please contact me via the website and Simon Evans will forward the relevant forms.

10-03-08 Milford 21 - Competitor's Comments - Milford 21 - 9 March 2008
As I sit here with ice packs on my rather sore legs, thought I’d let people know what a great race the Milford 21 is.

It’s not a highly publicised race and doesn’t attract a massive field, allegedly due to how tough it is. For a tortoise like me that made it a tad daunting, normally on the start line I give a glance around to see who I’m sure I’ll be in front of….. with only a handful of women entered, all of those had single figure body fat and well worn club vests, I feared my results may not be too good! My target was just use it as training, not to come last and to run the whole 21 miles.

The first couple of minutes set the tone of the race as it’s a steep uphill climb which certainly sorts the men from the boys. I was amazed as I ran round they’d managed to find a route that was 90% uphill, how did they manage that? The downs were so steep, no advantage was made time wise as it was necessary to watch your footing. It’s a mixture of sand, shale, mud, track you name it we ran on it. The views are fantastic, the course a real challenge (but fun), the marshals superb and even a good amount of drinks stations.

My target of to run the whole course was stuppered by a couple of fierce hills which turned even the leaders into walkers with hands on thighs to make the summits.

I was very pleased to see Stuart (my other half) a mile or so from the finish as he had finished over an hour earlier and had walked back to encourage me up the final climbs. I dragged myself over the finish line in 3.38 which was not in last place and definitely earned me the mars bar we were given.

Anyone wanting to up the miles with a marathon looming or to set themselves a challenge I would strongly recommend doing this race run by Cannock and Stafford Athletic club.

Perie Haddon - Derby Tri

I would just like to say a big thank you to all involved in the Milford 21 on March 10 2008. I was impressed by the friendliness of the assembled “condemned man” the cheerfulness of the marshals, which pop up all over the course and in the strangest of place and the St John Ambulance for their attendance, although I had to turn down their offer of a lift. – Very well organised.

Like your last competitor (Perie Haddon) I too had targeted this race as a training run after being off colour for about 3 weeks and with London looming, Milford became a “do or die” attempt at getting back on track. I managed to finish (be it rather slowly in 3 hrs 39 min) but would wiling do it again for another Mars bar? I too have never seen a course quite like it, the only thing it hasn’t got is a ”flat piece” and the series of back to back hills at around 11 miles is absolutely sole destroying. If any runner needs to test their mental strength, then I can strongly recommend this event. The rewards are magnificent with good views on the hills over looking Staffordshire and flora and fauna be suiting a conservation area. Why other runners choose to hammer out 20 miles in the other tarmac race down the road is quite beyond me. Perhaps they just like an easy life.

Many thanks again.

Andy Osgathorpe - Stone Master Marathoners

25 -02-08 British Masters Indoor Championships - Lee Valley - 23/24 February 2008
Andy Weetman qualified for the final of his first event as a M45 athlete by winning his heat of the 60m in 7.77secs. In the final, Andy finished 6th and recorded a slightly better time of 7.73secs.

25 -02-08 England Athletics U15/U17/U20 Indoor Championships - NIA, Birmingham- 23/24 February 2008
Three C&S athletes took part in the England AAA U15/U17/U20 Indoor Championships at the NIA at the weekend.

Sam Evans achieved his first national medal when finishing third in the 800 metres at the Under 20s National Indoor Championships at Birmingham on Sunday. These championships were an excellent learning curve for Sam having to contend with both a qualifying heat and final within four hours of each other. Having qualified for the final by comfortably winning his heat in 1:55.68, Sam found himself in last place at the halfway distance in the final, having been tripped and spiked early on. He demonstrated tremendous spirit and determination in recovering from this set back and running an excellent third lap before attaining third place overall in a time of 1:56.30.

Gemma Smith jumped 11.42 for the second time this season to win a silver medal in the U17W triple jump event. Adam Rigby was our other entrant and he recorded a height of 1.81m in the U20M high jump.

25 -02-08 National Cross Country Championships - Alton Towers- 23 February 2008
Tom Humphries of Cannock and Stafford became the hero of Staffordshire when he competed in the National Championships last weekend at Alton Towers and took the title with an outstanding performance leaving all of his rival’s way behind.

On a tough hilly 12000 metre course, close to the theme park, there were three laps of four kilometres and straight from the cannon Humphries was in the leading three athletes vying for first place with almost two thousand runners behind. On the beginning of the second lap he injected a faster pace to brake the following pack and for a while only Phil Wicks from Belgrave could muster any pressure but he soon started to lose touch with Humphries as Tom kicked again on the third lap to take complete control of the race.

The only anxious moment came towards the end of the race when a mass of back markers blocked his way on a steep climb giving Wicks a chance to close in but a bit of physical contact soon saw Humphries through and he went on to finish over thirty seconds ahead of his opponent.

This was his first senior national title but a second title following his under 17 win five years ago.

C&S, for the first time in years, finished a scoring six athletes in the senior men’s race with Rob Little crossing the line in an excellent 58^th with James Houghton 109^th, Craig Pearson 209^th, Dave Constance 691^st and Tim Buss 1030^th. The team were 25^th.

The senior women’s race saw Stacey Johnson finish in a fantastic ninth place beating some of the country’s top female senior runners to put herself in contention for selection to the world champs in March. Christine Kilkenny was the only other woman in 174^th.

Another C&S star in the making is twelve year old Jade Bird who, following her two county titles at club and schools level produced her best performance to date finishing a brilliant fifth place in the under thirteen girl’s championship. In about twentieth early on she rapidly moved through in the latter stages to finish ahead of several fancied athletes. Giving Jade good support were Rebecca Straw 56^th, Tara Thorpe 138^th, Lydia Trow 163^rd, Amelia Ridgway 186^th and Alex Smith 313^th. The team were a splendid 10^th overall.

The under 13 boys ran really well to finish 28^th with Joe Bailey in 63^rd, Matthew Haywood 159^th, Ryan Terry 202^nd,William Haycox 208^th, Tom Childs 221^st and Jasper Hall 302^nd.

The under 15 girls were a fine 12^th place with Catherine Hulme 94^th, Rebecca Bray 97^th, Rebecca Cooke 102^nd, Teresa Hulme 139^th, Rebecca Philips 187^th, Sarah Hulme 196^th and Julie Addison 227^th.

The under 15 boys were a creditable 17^th place with good runs from Chris Perrin 47^th, Ashley Wickett 105^th, Sam Derry 162^nd, Jack Lockett 185^th, James Perrin 208^th and Stuart Davies 293^rd.

The under 17 men and women had only one competitor each with Rachel Atherton 89th and Hayden Carter 177^th.

Bob Hughes, Team Manager and U.K. Athletics Coach

21 -02-08 Stadium Closure - Chairman's Letter to Council
The letter below was sent to the Council earlier this week.

Dear Sirs,

It is two years exactly since the decision was announced that Cannock Stadium was going to close. As a club we fought against the closure, frustrated that such an outstanding facility would be lost. As time passed, we accepted the stadium would go but have worked with you, the council, to ensure it would be replaced with like-for-like facilities. This, as you know, was coupled with a promise that there would be no break in provision.

Two years on, one or two things have changed.

At our meeting in January, you told us of plans for a new track and attendant facilities at Blake Valley. These sound good. You also told us that to build the new stadium by August 2009 the present Pye Green Road facility would close at the end of July (at the earliest) this year. A promise broken.

This gave us much to discuss at our latest committee meeting and at a more recent open meeting for all club members. Everybody was extremely disappointed that the council had gone back on its 'seamless transition' pledge but, at the same time, impressed and excited by the prospect of a brand new facility by next summer.

To get to the point, we have voted to work with the council. We want to be part of the planning process for the new stadium at Blake and to ensure that the project is completed next summer. In making this commitment, we expect to be fully involved along every step of the way. As a committee we have worked extremely hard to bring the whole club along and we can't let them down.

To be frank, the members don't trust the council.

We need to go back to them with guarantees that the finances are in place for the new stadium and that it will be built by August 2009 – almost three-and-a-half years after this process began.

UK Athletics and Sport England are fully up to speed with where we are and they are monitoring the situation. They have pledged their support to Cannock & Stafford AC and will work with us to ensure there are legal guarantees in place.

The most vital thing for us is keeping the club together for the year's gap. A break in provision for up to 13 months is a real problem for us to manage. We run the risk of losing athletes (many of whom could be good enough to make the 2012 Olympics), coaches, officials and helpers. The council has already offered to help us bridge this gap – to enable the club to continue training ready for the 2009 season, when we will still be competing in league fixtures – and we will need to call on this offer of assistance both practically and financially.

Our members have placed trust in us to guarantee the delivery of the new facility on time and to ensure that we have minimum disruption during the break in provision. Work with us to make this happen. Involve us in discussions with the architects and contractors and use our experience and expertise.

We have three meetings booked at the stadium in May, June and July. These, we understand, will be OK to proceed.

I look forward to our meeting at 4pm on Tuesday, March 4.

Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Yours faithfully,

GARY DENNING
CHAIRMAN

17 -02-08 Indoor Open Meeting - NIA - 17 February 2008
The C&S field event athletes continued their great start to the season at the final open indoor meeting at the NIA.

In the high jump, Adam Rigby tied in first place with a jump of 1.85m whilst his brother, Alasdair, equalled his pb for the second time in a week to finish third in the U17M with 1.80m. Gemma Smith jumped 11.31m to win the U17W triple jump and Jane Bourne improved last weeks bronze medal winning distance by almost half a metre with a shot put of 8.29m.

Louise Foster gained a new pole vault pb of 2.60m and Sammy Witton cleared 2.30m in the same event.

On the track, Guy Mayer ran 7.37 in the U20M 60m to finish 3rd in his heat. Probably our busiest athlete in the indoor events this season has been Megan Humphreys. This week she ran 9.01 for the U15G 60m and 30.75 for the 200m. Liberty Thornton completed the 60m hurdles in 10.84 and then cleared 1.25m in the U15 high jump.

In Hollie Allen's first year at U17, she completed the 400m in 65.51 secs.

13 -02-08 Birmingham & District Cross Country League - Blackbridge, Gloucester - 9 February 2008
Rob Little completed his fourth consecutive victory at Gloucester to finish as the leading senior athlete in the Birmingham & District Cross Country League Division 2. With James Houghton finishing as runner up in the race and taking fourth place overall, it was a successful season for them as individual runners.

Unfortunately, it was not as good for C&S as a team. With athletes withdrawing close to this race, we were unable to field our full contingent of six runners and therefore failed to return a score. Of our other competing athletes, Paul Lester finished in 25th place, Dave Constance was 100th and Tim Buss 170th.

11 -02-08 Midland U15 / U17 Indoor Championships - NIA - 9/10 February 2008
Cannock & Stafford's pole vaulters won a full set of medals at the Midland U15 / U17 Indoor Championships at the NIA on Saturday. Louise Foster won the gold in the U17W event, vaulting the same height of 2.30m as team mate Sammy Witton but having fewer failures. Sammy took home the silver medal. In the men's U17 pole vault, Craig Ridgeway once again equalled his pb of 3.30m and this was good enough to win him bronze.

Elsewhere in the field events, Alasdair Rigby started his season in tremendous fashion by clearing a pb of 1.80m in the high jump to finish 5th.

On the track, Natalie Ainge's training over the winter appears to be paying off as she ran within one tenth of a second of her personal best in her 300m heat. Such was the quality of the large field, her excellent time of 42.77 only gave her a place in the final as 3rd fastest loser. She then ran 43.68 in the final to finish 6th with the winner clocking an astonishing 40.43.

Megan Humphries also ran really well to record a time of 29.00 in the U15G 200m heats. This was fast enough to qualify her for the B Final when she ran 29.79 to finish 4th.

On the second day of competition, Gemma Smith (U17) recorded the second longest triple jump in the UK so far this year to win gold. Her jump of 11.42m was over half a metre ahead of her nearest rival. Gemma was also triumphant in the long jump where 5.17m was enough to win gold.

Rachel Atherton and Rebecca Cooke competed in the U17W 800m with Rachel winning bronze in a time of 2:22.87 and Rebecca finishing 5th in 2:24.63. Daisy Perry ran in the 60m for U15 girls and achieved times of 8.83 in her heat and 8.96 in the B Final.

Jane Bourne, in her first season as a U17 athlete, won a bronze medal in the shot put with a distance of 7.82m.

03-02-08 Birmingham Games - NIA - 2/3 February 2008
The media attention may well have been focused on the return of controversial athlete Dwain Chambers but Cannock & Stafford athletes put in some good performances at the annual Birmingham Games at the NIA.

On the opening day, Jamie Hammond, starting his first full season for the club, gained a pb in the U17M long jump, leaping 5.70m to finish 7th out of a field of 14. Guy Mayer ran well to record 7.42 in his heat of the 60m, finishing 2nd.

Megan Humphreys (U15G) and Lucy Dubberley, competing in her first season as an under 20 athlete, ran in both the 60m and 200m events. Megan gained her fastest 60m time of the season (8.71) before running 29.41 in the 200m. Lucy came 2nd in her 60m heat in 8.36 secs and then won her 200m race in 27.42.

Jo Harper came 6th in the 1500m SW final with a time of 5:07.22

On day 2, C&S had three competing athletes. Liberty Thornton (U15G) completed the 60m hurdles in 10.94seconds and then jumped 3.71m in the long jump. Chloe Boulter (U17W) cleared 1.45m in the high jump and Hollie Allen ran 47.3 seconds in the 300m, although it was recorded that the athletes in that event ran over distance due to incorrect track markings.

30-01-08 Extraordinary General Meeting to be held 7 February 2008
The club is hosting an Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday February 7, 2008, starting at 7pm at Cannock Stadium to discuss the future of the stadium. Here is some background detail and the options we face as a club:

The Background

It was in February 2006 that Cannock District Council announced it planned to close down Cannock Stadium and much has happened over the past two years.

Our initial reaction as a club was to fight the closure and, for about six months, we launched a robust campaign to do just that.
There was a 6,000-name petition, letters to MPs, to party leaders, to the sports minister and to the 2012 Olympics Committee. The council knew they were in for a fight. By the summer of 2006, it became obvious that the council was determined to close the present stadium but, because of our lobbying, had promised to build a like-for-like facility in the district. They also said that the new stadium would be built before the old one was closed, ensuring a 'seamless transition' from one to the other.

That was a crucial time in the whole process. We could have stuck our head in the sand and fought to keep the present stadium or go with the council's plans to make sure any new provision was suitable. After careful consideration, we chose the latter route and for the past 18 months we have tried to work with the council to get the best deal for the club.

It's been a lengthy and frustrating period involving a succession of meetings with council officers. The council's preferred choice has always been Blake Valley, just five minutes from our present base, but it's been a long road to where we are now. The council has brought in architects and, from what we have been told, their design includes a covered grandstand with toilets, changing rooms and a clubroom overlooking the track. There are also plans to build a fence around the whole facility to maximise security, which was one of our big concerns. So the replacement facilities look and sound promising and the council has invited us to work with them to thrash out the fine detail. To fund this new stadium, however, Cannock Council says that this summer it has to sell the land on which the present stadium stands. This, they say, will free up the cash to start the new facility in early 2009 and finish it by August 2009.

With Pye Green Road earmarked to close at the end of July 2008, this obviously will leave a gap of around 13 months where there are no track/field facilities in Cannock.

So the council has gone back on its 'seamless transition' promise but has stuck to its pledge to provide a 'like-for-like' stadium. They have also promised that, if there is a break in provision, they would help the club financially to bridge the gap from summer 2008 to summer 2009.

Outline planning permission is due to go before the council's planning committee on January 31. The next council cabinet meeting is on February 21.

The Options

NUMBER 1

Accept the council decision to apply for planning permission on January 31, sell the land to a developer and close the Stadium in July at the end of the school year. We then work with the council to agree a new track, grandstand, clubhouse and other facilities at Blake School to open August 2009.

If the developer land banks, or does not start to develop straight away, then the council will "lease back" the stadium and keep it open.

We will continue discussions with the council to agree what help they can provide to ensure C&S AC has training facilities during the period when the stadium is closed.

NUMBER 2

We fight the council's decision to close the stadium and seek to enlist the help of UK Athletics and Sport England to block planning permission.

The Drawbacks

OPTION 1

No training facilities in Cannock for track, throws and jumps; athletes, coaches and parents drift away from the sport, or they move to other clubs. C&S AC lose the position it has achieved over the years i.e. Premier League status for Young Athletes and U20s.

No place for potential new members south of Stafford to visit, train and hopefully join.

We may end up with marvellous new facilities but a much smaller club base.

OPTION 2

If we fight the council we will be frozen out of any involvement regarding the development of Blake and any help towards funding training facilities during any gap in provision.

If, with backing from UK Athletics and Sport England, we try to block planning permission and the sale of the stadium the council finances are in a mess and the council may close the stadium as a cost-cutting exercise with no money to invest in other facilities.

Sport England have advised us to be pragmatic and to work with the council for the future and get the best facilities we can. This view has been endorsed by UK Athletics.

Conclusion

We either go with the council, which means we are full involved in the plans for Blake School and that they will fund alternative arrangements for the potential 13-month gap in provision, or we try to fight it, which could mean the stadium closes in July and no new facility is built.

C & S AC COMMITTEE

30-01-08 uk:a Indoor City Challenge - Manchester - 27 January 2008
C&S athlete Sam Evans took part in the uk:a Indoor City Challenge at Sports City, Manchester on Sunday.

Representing Team Birmingham, Sam came 3rd in the 800m in 1:55.13 against athletes from Sheffield, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Birmingham came 2nd overall behind Sheffield and have qualified for the final to be held on 17th February in Sheffield.

20-01-08 Midland Counties U20 / Senior Indoor Championships - NIA - 20 January 2008
Athletes from Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club were again amongst the medals this weekend when they contested the Midland under 20 and senior championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Although only four athletes competed all of them gained medals with one gold, two silver and one bronze.

The gold medal went to Sam Evans who was defending his 800 metre under 20 title and with a splendid piece of tactical running he successfully took this years crown as well.

With four laps of the two hundred metre track to run he stayed with the opposition for the first two laps and as they entered the third lap he injected a fantastic burst of speed that none of the other competitors could match and even though he finished in a time of 2 minutes and two seconds (ten seconds outside his personal best) he still won by over thirty metres)

The two silvers went to the two female athletes competing which were Stacey Johnson in the senior 800 and Cally Read in the under 20 800, both being in their first year in their respective age groups in a three year span and both finding older opposition just slightly stronger than themselves. Johnson finished in a time of 2 minutes 14 seconds with Read returning with a time of 2.17, both times just outside their outdoor personal bests.

The bronze medal went to Adam Rigby in the under 20 High Jump with a height of 1 metre 90 cms

Bob Hughes Team Manager and U.K. Athletics Coach

20-01-08 Birmingham & District Cross Country League - Wyken Croft Park - 19 January 2008
The senior men of Cannock and Stafford were in action last weekend when they contested the third round of the Birmingham and District Cross Country League at Coventry.

Due to unavailability and injuries the team only managed ninth on the day but the highlight again was another victory for Rob Little who leads the Division in the individual race with a great performance over a very wet and muddy course of 9000 metres.

With four laps to complete he soon had only one other athlete from Sphinx Athletic Club from Coventry for company but an injection of pace going into the final lap was enough to gain a comfortable victory which sees him leading overall by six points.

Giving good support was James Houghton with a vastly improved run from his second race to finish in sixth place with Craig Pearson 7^th, Junior Ian McCann 52^nd, Dave Constance 115^th, Brian Peacock 160^th and Tim Buss 178th.

Bob Hughes Team Manager and U.K. Athletics Coach

20-01-08 Midland Masters Cross Country Championships - Perry Barr - 20 January 2008
Midland Masters held their cross country championships at Perry Barr today on a soggy course in steady rain.

The C&S women performed excellently. Christine Kilkenny was 1st in the W55 age group with Chris Rollason 2nd.

In the W60 age group Dot Fellows was beaten into 2nd place but our 3 athletes combined to win the W45 team gold, Centurian took the silver.

13-01-08 Staffordshire AAA Cross Country Championships - Lyme Valley Parkway - 5 January 2008
Cannock and Stafford Athletic Club enjoyed a highly successful time at the recent Staffordshire County Championships which were held at Lyme Valley Parkway in Newcastle Staffs coming away with two individual champions and six team awards including one gold, two silver and three bronze.

On a three mile course with a demanding hill Stacey Johnson put in a superb performance in the senior competition controlling the race from start to finish taking the gold medal with a final burst over the last hundred metres.Giving Stacey good support and helping the tem to a splendid third place was Chris Kilkenny in 16^th, Dot Fellows 25^th and Sue Kniell-Boxley 29^th.

The latter three of Kilkenny, Fellows and Kniell-Boxley also took an excellent silver in the Veteran team award.

The other individual gold medal came in the under 13 girls where Jade Bird continues to improve with each race as she stormed to an impressive victory finishing over twenty seconds ahead of her nearest rival. The team scored a fine bronze award with Amelia Ridgway 11^th Alex Smith 17^thand Alice Fone 19^th.

The under 15 girls were the only team to take gold medals with the Hulme triplets taking the first three scoring places for the club with Catherine in 7^th, Sarah in 10^th and Teresa in 11^th with team mates Julie Addison 12^th and Rebecca Bray in 14^th.

In the under 17 Girls C&S only had one representative in Rachel Atherton finishing in a splendid 6^th place.

The under 13 boys finished in a creditable third place with Joe Bailey 5^th, Ryan Terry in 8^th, Oliver Harris 23^rd, Josh Craig 24^th, Matthew Haywood 25th, James McCann 28^th, Jasper Hall 30^th, James Lake 39^th and Tom Eustace 43^rd.

The under 15 boys had Chris Perrin in a bronze third place with team mates following up in 7^th place with Jack Lockett, Ashley Wickett 8^th, Sam Derry 9^th, Radick Bednarczyk 10^th, James Perrin 18^th, Liam Brazier 20^th, Michael Smith 21^st and Stuart Davies 24^th. The team took a well earned second place ending up just behind City of Stoke.

The under 17 men had two competitors with Ryan Bromley in 11^th and Alex Jackson 13^th.

In the senior men’s race James Houghton ran well for 14^th place with Craig Pearson 19^th and Tim Buss 104^th.

Bob Hughes Team Manager and UK Athletics Coach

07-01-08 Norwich Union Grand Prix tickets available - 16 February 2008
Members can purchase special tickets for the above event at the following rates. Adult £16, Concessions (U16, NUS, OAP) £10, Family (2 adults, 2 concessions £42).

Tickets include:

Seating in the NIA stand reserved exclusively for clubs.
On the day access to an exclusive club lounge which has a selection of free merchandise and refreshments.

Simon Evans is the contact for organising tickets and orders and payment should be with him by 16th January at the latest.

If you are interested please either contact me on shaun@csathletics.com , contact Simon direct or see Gary Denning or John Atherton on training nights at Cannock.