England Athletics have released a flow chart to be followed for club members who either develop symptoms or test positive for Covid-19.

 

This flow chart also contains information on what to do if someone in a member's household has symptoms or tests positive.   Flow Chart

 

England Athletics have released a flow chart to be followed for club members who either develop symptoms or test positive for Covid-19.

 

This flow chart also contains information on what to do if someone in a member's household has symptoms or tests positive.   Flow Chart

 

The Club's Management Committee have decided that the membership fee for 2021 will be reduced for those first claim members who paid the full membership fee for 2020.

 

This decision has been made due to the lack of club competition provided this year in both track and field and the coming winter cross country season, along with loss of training facilities during lockdown.

 

The fees will be reduced from last year's levels by £15 for individual members and £20 for family membership. This amount is in addition to the normal discount for paying before midnight on 31st January 2021.

 

This means that current first claim members aged under 17 or still in full time education, who paid the full membership fee this year, will pay £25 for 2021 if paid before 31st January 2021. 17s or over will pay £30 and a family of two will pay £50 with £20 for each additional family member.

 

Please note that for each member, we have to pay a £15 registration fee to England Athletics out of the membership fee. Despite the lack of competition opportunities this year, England Athletics did not reduce the registration fee.

 

All new members, or returning members who did not join last year, will pay the normal membership fees.

 

Although we are returning to training on Wednesday, please DO NOT come to the track unless you have pre-arranged to attend with your coach.

 

NOTE that Lorna and Ross will not be starting up their  Monday / Wednesday groups again until the New Year.

 

The Committee give notice that the AGM of Cannock & Stafford AC will be held using the Microsoft Teams virtual platform on 11 December 2020 at 7pm.

 

Any full members who wish to attend should contact the Secretary, Karen Moody, by email to kazmoody.co.uk by 11.59pm on Friday 4th December 2020. You will then be sent the details of how to join before the meeting takes place.

 

The positions of Chairman and Secretary are up for election at the AGM. Note that these positions are for a two year term. Please complete the nomination form for anyone willing to stand for the vacant positions by 11.59pm on 4th December 2020. The nomination form has been emailed to all full members with their details registered on Loveadmin.com.

 

AGENDA

1.  Welcome

2.  Minutes from Previous AGM 2019

3.  Chairman's Report

4.  Treasurer's Report

5.  Election of Officers

6.  Constitution Changes - No changes submitted this year

7.  Nominations for Life Membership

8.  Date for next Committee Meeting - TBC

9.  Any Other Business

 

Following discussions between England Athletics and the Government, it has been confirmed that we will be allowed to restart training from Wednesday evening with the same guidance to that we used before the current lockdown.

Following the announcement that Stafford and South Staffordshire Council's are in tier 3, we are awaiting clarification as to whether this will effect our return to training on Wednesday 2 December.

 

All being well, we will be allowed to restart with similar guidance to that we used before the most recent lockdown. Freedom have issued the following information

 

It goes without saying that, while it’s been a difficult year for everyone, it’s been a particularly frustrating one for the majority of our athletes.

 

For the individuals who put in all of the hard work over last winter, there weren’t many opportunities to show what they could do as Covid-19 played havoc with life generally. The first lockdown came towards the end of the indoor season and denied the Club of any outdoor league competition across all age groups, with the Lower and Upper Age Group YDL, Senior League and Midland Veterans League all cancelled.

 

Following lockdown, as soon as we were given the go-ahead to begin club sessions, we began to put the necessary measures in place to enable us to get back on the track. It took a lot of work to produce the risk assessments and athlete and coach guidance necessary to enable us to be able to return to club sessions, especially as they needed updating each time Government and EA guidance changed. Fortunately, Freedom Leisure were supportive of allowing us access as early as possible and we became one of the first clubs (if not the first club) in the Midlands to return to club training sessions.

 

Aside from the paperwork, the quick return would also not have been possible without the co-operation and assistance of our coaches. I must thank them all for their flexibility in accepting time slots for training sessions that enabled training groups to safely return to the track. Distance groups utilised the grass where possible for their sessions and hurdles groups were moved to the quieter club nights. The coaches co-ordinated sessions, using different lanes or areas of the track, where possible, to enable athletes to maintain social distancing.

 

Even during the enforced break, some coaches were sending sessions for athletes to do during their allowed daily exercise period and core sessions were undertaken using Zoom or other meeting apps that seemed to become extremely popular during this period.

 

At a time when mental health is so openly discussed, the help that these sessions would have given to individuals, whilst socially isolated, should not be underestimated.

 

Thank you to all our coaches for giving up their free time to help our athletes throughout the year.

 

Thank you also to the athletes for, on the whole, complying with the instructions and guidance when they have attended sessions. Maintenance of social distancing was obviously never going to be perfect but, apart from a few gentle reminders from the coaches, it has been pretty well adhered to.

 

Once again, I’d like to show my appreciation for the work carried out by our other volunteers at the club.  Although, due to the circumstances, there hasn’t been many Committee meetings this year, the Management Committee members have dealt with any matters arising over phone and email and have ensured that the club has operated as smoothly as possible. Other volunteers who assist at training sessions, collect money at training or undertake other tasks have all helped to keep the club running within the current restricted guidelines.

 

Despite the period away from club activity, there was still time during 2020 for some competition for our athletes.

 

The only team competition possible this year was the conclusion of the cross country league seasons. Unfortunately, both our Senior Men and Women were relegated from the top divisions of the Birmingham & District and Midland Women’s League respectively. 

 

There were, however, a number of C&S athletes who achieved individual success.

 

At the Scottish Indoor Championships, Megan Davies won silver in the 400m and in the Welsh Indoors, Olivia Walker took home a 60m hurdles silver whilst Cara Brown won pole vault bronze in an extremely truncated Midland Indoors Champs.

 

Three C&S athletes competed at British Championships: - Natalie Griffiths in the 400m in the Indoor Champs in Glasgow and Megan Davies (400m) and Beth Rees (javelin) in the Outdoor competition in Manchester. Ranking high enough in the Country and achieving the standard required to receive invites to this level of competition is a reward for the hard work and determination of these athletes. We are fortunate enough in the club that we also have other athletes who may have made the Championships if circumstances were different. Hopefully these athletes will inspire others at the Club and show what you can achieve if you’re willing to put the effort in.

 

Carl McMullen, Paul Edwards and Mathew Paynter all won individual medals at the BMAF Indoor Championships in track and field events and Craig Pearson won a silver in the BMAF Cross Country Championships. There were also medals for Chris Kilkenny, Dot Fellows and Nina Skilton in the Midland Masters Cross Country Championships.

 

In the world of virtual events, Chris Perrin flew the C&S flag by finishing first in the opening week of England Athletics Weekly30 Run Challenge.

 

All County and Midland Outdoor Track and Field Championships were cancelled but from late July, a number of open meetings were given the green light to take place at a time when the season is usually coming to a close. I did send a note of thanks to the organiser of the Nuneaton meetings who did a great job in putting on a series of competitions which at least gave our athletes the chance to get some performances in this season.

 

Please stay safe everyone and I know it’s early but I wish you all a happy and healthy Christmas and let’s hope we get back to a state of relative normality sometime next year.

 

Shaun Ainge

Chairman

 

Freedom Leisure will be closing all facilities at Rowley Park, including the public toilets, function room, athletics track and football pitches from 10pm tonight (Wednesday) until Wednesday 2nd December.

 

Although the park will remain open until 5pm, the track should not be used during this period of lockdown and this is being policed.

 

England Athletics have, this morning, announced that they are working with Sport England, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and other key stakeholders to provide clarity of what the latest lockdown announcement will mean for athletics.

 

Further detail is expected over the coming days.

 

With a lack of cross country competitions this year, the club's endurance athletes and coaches held a cross country training day at Rowley Park on Saturday.

 

This included the chance to take part in a timed run around the park over either a long or short course. The times can be seen here.

 

Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the day. All of the comments I've seen from the athletes who took part have been positive.

 

Staffordshire AAA have, unsurprisingly, announced that this winter's County Cross Country Championships have been cancelled.

The Midland Women's and Birmingham & District Cross Country Leagues have issued a statement this evening confirming that this season's league meetings have been abandoned.

 

For those who normally pay their training fees to Donna, please note that if the weather conditions are poor, she will be set up at a table inside the club room where the Park Rangers are.

 

Athletes (or parents of athletes) will be required to follow Freedom Leisure's guidelines when entering the building. These are:-

• Only one person is allowed in the room at any one time. Please wait outside until the person in front has left the desk.

• Masks are to be worn when inside the room.

• Athletes (or parents) should follow the route through the room, entering through the door nearest the car park, After paying, they should leave the room promptly to allow the next person to pay.

• Freedom have also recommended that anyone entering the room uses the NHS app to scan the QR code for track and trace (the club has its own register of athletes attending for track and trace purposes).

Payment should be made by card wherever possible but, if not, exact change should be used.

 

Shaun's group and the Development Group should continue to pay as they have been doing.

 

Athletes are reminded to maintain 2m social distancing at our club training sessions. Failure to do so could lead in your coach asking you to leave the session.

 

The latest Government announcement allows us to carry on training in our current format as we are working in a 'Covid Secure Environment' but this environment fails if distancing is not observed.

 

All athletes and coaches should already have read the Information for Athletes and Information for Coaches contained on our Risk Assessment and Covid-19 Information page on our website. This information is updated as and when necessary so please revisit now and again to make sure you have the latest guidance.

 

Cannock & Stafford had two athletes competing in the British Championships in Manchester over the weekend.

 

On Friday, Megan Davies ran her fourth fastest ever time of 55.78 to finish fifth in her 400m heat.

 

On Saturday, Beth Rees missed out on a fourth consecutive British Champs bronze medal by one place despite throwing a season's best 49.32m (her fifth best ever throw)

 

When we return to club competition, we need people to help officiate at meetings. Qualified officials are required to enable meetings to be held and results can not be included on the Powerof10 without sufficient number of officials at an event.

 

Qualified officials also score points for the club at league meetings, often more than the athletes themselves. This shows their importance to athletics.

 

England Athletics currently have online courses available to start the process to gain a Level 1 qualification as a field judge. The cost is £20 but the club will refund this when you gain your Level 1 license.

 

After completing the online course and a free online Health & Safety module, you need to help out at 4 meetings to gain your Level 1 qualification.

 

All of the information to enable you to start the process is available on the England Athletics website here. Please let me know if you are doing a course and / or if you need any help in applying.

 

Chris Perrin is keeping the Cannock & Stafford AC name in focus with his runs the England Athletics organised Weekly30 virtual challenge.

 

The challenge is open to all registered athletes and participants complete a 30 minute run at any time on Saturday or Sunday and then upload evidence of their run to produce the weekly results.

 

Chris finished first in the opening week, recording a distance of 8,700m and has followed that with two more top ten finishes, a fourth place in week 2 with 8,310m and sixth (as at time of writing) with 7,960m in week 3.

 

The England Athletics Guidance has now been updated to include jumps, although the measures required to enable training in these events are restrictive due to the cleaning regime required.

 

The latest guidance can be found via this link.

 

We will be returning to restricted club training sessions in the evenings from 15th June.

 

Club coaches have been allocated spots during the week and will be contacting their athletes to pre-arrange who attends each session (each coach is limited to 5 athletes per session).

 

It's not currently possible for athletes to gain as much track exposure as normal due to social distancing guidelines but it's a start and hopefully things will gradually move towards normal in the coming weeks and months.

 

Please note that, at present, we are not allowed to use the high jump or pole vault beds or the sand pits.

 

Athletes should not attend unless they have pre-arranged to be part of their coach's group for that session as they will not be allowed on the track.

 

The guidelines we have sent out to athletes are here and to coaches here.

 

All being well, we will be accepting payment by contactless card method.

 

England Athletics have issued updated guidance for a restricted return to activity for athletes, coaches and venues.

 

The use of pole vault and high jump beds and sand pits are still not allowed at this stage.

 

Groups of one coach and five athletes from different households can now train together providing the 2m minimum social distancing is observed.

 

Full details can be viewed on the England Athletics website via this link.

 

England Athletics have issued guidance for a restricted return to activity for athletes, coaches and venues.

 

Please note that use of pole vault and high jump beds and sand pits are not allowed at this stage and, wherever you train, ensure that social distancing is maintained.

 

Sessions can now take place between two athletes, or an athlete and a coach, as long as the 2m minimum distancing is observed.

 

Unsurprisingly, given last week's post on England Athletics' thoughts on what type of competitions may be possible if athletics events are allowed to resume, the Midlands League have decided to cancel the remaining two fixtures this season.

England Athletics are considering various scenarios for the possible return of track and field competition, obviously dependant on Government advice.

 

The first scenario considered by EA is if competition is allowed to start in July. The ideas being debated can be seen here

 

England Athletics have today announced the extension of suspension of athletics competition until the end of June.

 

The suspension on other athletics activity such as training, coaching etc (currently to 31 May) will be reviewed after further announcement from the Government regarding the lockdown period, expected week commencing 4 May. The full statement can be viewed here

 

We have been notified by the Chair of the UKYDL that there will be no YDL fixtures this season.

 

Below is an extract from the communication from the League which gives the reasoning behind the decision.

 

In the light of the continuing uncertainty around the Coronavirus situation the YDL management committee held a Skype meeting on 29 March to look at all the possibilities for the 2020 season and have decided regretfully that all matches scheduled for the 2020 season will be cancelled forthwith.

 

There were a number of factors influencing our decision, namely:

·          Whilst government guidelines have forbidden mass gatherings until the end of May, it’s by no means certain that this won’t be extended, indeed if one were to use other countries as a model, it’s more than likely that this will continue for at least a further month if not longer.

·          We have been made aware that first aid support from St John’s Ambulance at meetings is likely to be withheld until at least the end of June.

·          We are aware that a number of tracks intend to extend their closure until June or July at least.

·          We felt that it would be helpful to clubs if we were to make a definitive decision so that they have as much notice as possible to cancel tracks or transport arrangements to avoid possible charges.

·          With the limited number of weekends likely to be available for competitions, there would be undue pressure on those dates, and clubs and athletes may be more willing and able to compete at a more local level than having to travel some distance to compete. This being the case we have requested that any dates previously allocated for YDL, be reserved for clubs who wish to organise local and open competitions.

·          We wish to support the Home Countries in their endeavours to try and salvage what remains of the 2020 season, and hope that our decision gives a little clarity to a confusing situation.

·          We also considered the duty of care owed to our officials, some of whom may have to undertake a 12-week isolation period, which takes us well into June.

 

The correspondence then goes on to apologise to the athletes for whom this season would have been their last opportunity to continue in the YDL

 

The English Schools Championships in Manchester is the latest competition to be cancelled.

 

England Athletics have extended the suspension of all athletics activity until the end of May. Therefore, all of our club training sessions are cancelled until further notice.

 

This means that competitions, committee meetings, athlete camps, running groups and social events should also not take place.

 

In the last update (24th March) they also stated that all physical coaching was to cease. Athletes can keep active but must comply with the measures advised by the Government.

 

The full statement from England Athletics can be found here.

 

Following the Government's latest instructions, England Athletics have advised that all club training sessions should be suspended until at least the end of April. Therefore, all of our club training sessions are cancelled until further notice.

 

They have also advised that competitions, committee meetings, athlete camps, running groups and social events should also not take place.

 

Athletes are encouraged to maintain their own personal fitness and keep active but do so whilst complying with the social distancing measures advised by the Government.

 

The full statement from England Athletics can be found here.

 

It was a good start to the British Fell Running Championships for Nina Skilton as she finished third in the V50 category in the first race of the season at Yr Aran in Wales.

 

Nina completed the 10 mile race, with a climb of 945m in 2:09.36.

 

Congratulations to Craig Pearson who won a silver medal in the M35 category at the British Masters Cross Country Championships at Corwen on Saturday (14th)

 

Craig completed the course (approx 8km) in 33:34.

 

Olivia Riley came 25th out of 46 competitors taking part in the National Combined Events Championships at EIS Sheffield on Saturday (14th).

 

In the 60m hurdles, Olivia ran a pb of 9.40 and then followed this with a 1.51m clearance in the high jump. She gained a second pb of the day in the shot, throwing 9.02m before jumping 4.33m in the long jump.

 

Olivia finished the competition with a run of 2:48.04 in the 800m for another pb to give her a total of 2795 points.

 

There was one C&S athlete taking part in the English Schools Cross Country Championships at Sefton Park on Saturday (14th).

 

Luke Powell came 312th in the Senior Boys race.

Paul Edwards and Mathew Paynter both won medals at the BMAF Indoor Championships and Outdoor Throws at Lee Valley last weekend (7/8th March).

 

Mathew won four medals, three bronze in the discus (36.15m), hammer (26.53m) and 15.88kg weight (8.40m) and a silver in the javelin (34.23m). He also came fourth in the shot with a throw of 11.11m.

 

Paul won a silver in the 60m hurdles, finishing in 10.26 seconds.

 

Congratulations to Dot Fellows who broke the W75 British Record for 5 miles at Alsager on the 2 February. Dot's time of 39:01 is also, unofficially, a World 8k record!

Natalie Griffiths (Ainge) took part in the 400m at the British Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Saturday (22nd), finishing fourth in her heat in 57.47.

Bill Chesters and Chris and James Perrin took part in the National Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park in Nottingham on Saturday (22nd).

 

In extremely muddy conditions, Bill came 93rd out of the 195 competitors who completed the Junior Men's race.

 

In the Senior Men's race, Chris Perrin finished 199th and James 575th of the 1710 that managed to complete the course.

 

In her first appearance at a National Championships, Charis Farmer ran a 60m pb of 8.32 in her heat at EIS, Sheffield.

 

Mia Wainwright ran pbs in the 60m and 200m with 8.40 and 27.52 respectively at an Indoor Open meeting in Manchester. Charlie Peters also competed in the 60m, running a season's best of 8.16.

 

Five Cannock & Stafford athletes were in action at the BUCS Indoor Championships in Sheffield last weekend.

 

Becky Brown, representing University of Central Lancashire, came 6th in her 1500m heat in her best time for two years, 5:14.60.

 

Hannah Malpass (Newcastle)  came third in her 400m heat in 59.08 and Becky's sister, Cara (University of Birmingham), cleared 2.60m in the pole vault.

 

Megan Davies (Loughborough) and Amy Pye (Bath) both ran for their university in the 4x200m heats and helped them to reach the final with the two fastest qualifying times (1:39.79 and 1:40.37 respectively). Unfortunately, neither were selected for their teams for the final.

 

A number of our athletes were in indoor action over last weekend.

 

At the truncated Midland Indoor Championships event at the HPC, Cara Brown won bronze in the U20W pole vault, clearing 2.40m. Olivia Riley just missed out on a U17W high jump medal on count back, clearing 1.55m. She also jumped 4.35m in the long jump and Charlie Peters ran a season's best of 8.17 to finish fourth in her SW 60m heat.

 

At the Masters Grand Prix event in Sheffield, Rob Law ran two pbs, 8.32 in the 60m and 26.49 in the 200m. Stephen Terry-Short ran 8.06 in the 60m and 26.39 in the 200m.

 

Natalie Ainge ran her second fastest 400m time of 56.59 and Hannah Malpass started her season with 59.32 in the same race.

It was a disappointing end to the cross country season this weekend as our Senior Men were relegated from Division One of the Birmingham & District Cross Country League.

 

Needing to finish comfortably ahead of Wolverhampton & Bilston to maintain our place in the top division, we could only finish 15th of the 16 clubs on the day to remain in 14th in the final league table.

 

In the meeting, at Newbold Comyn, Chris Perrin came 33rd to finish 20th in the overall individual standings and Bill Chesters an excellent 42nd to place him fifth in the U20 individual competition for the season.

 

Phil Wolfe came 59th and was followed home by James Perrin (98th), Craig Pearson (133rd), Matt Bonney (158th), Owen Hurcombe (174th) and Darrell Wilde (180th).

 

On Sunday, the final WMYACCL meeting of the season took place in horrific weather conditions at Aldersley.

 

Martha Shenton came 53rd in the U11G race and Isla Williams 59th in the U13G.

 

Caitlain Disley (29th) and Isabel Beckett (65th) ran in the U15G and Harry Beckett finished in 65th in the U15B.

 

Each season, the top point scorers in the Midland Senior League, Youth Development League - Upper Age Group and Youth Development League - Lower Age Group, are presented with an award at the club's presentation evening.

 

The top 10 scorers for 2019 in each age group are shown below.

 

Midland Senior League
Male			Female
Name	Pts		Name	Pts
Alasdair Rigby David (Rodders) Underwood Martin Roberts Mathew Paynter Ross Goode Oliver Greensill Jak Carpenter Darrell Wilde Jack Longmore Jack Turner	74 40 37 34 20 19 17 17 11 10		Natalie Ainge Chloe Boulter Chloe Wilde Amy Pye Charlie Peters Hannah Malpass Rebecca Brown Allegra Soutar Charlotte Hall Millie Peters	117 77.5 46 43 36 30 20 16 15 15

 

Youth Development League - Upper Age Group
Male			Female
Name	Pts		Name	Pts
Jack Turner Ross Goode Joe Taylor Bill Chesters Nathaniel Sackey Cameron Futers Josh Richards Ethan Johnson James Malpass Christian Roe	101 56 42 39 37 25 23 21 20 17		Issey Kelly Charlie Peters Elysia Ashton Bethany Lewis Amy Pye Libby Moore Millie Peters Ellie Virgo Sydney Davies Thando Hart	46 44 38 23 18 18 16 16 13 12

 

Youth Development League - Lower Age Group
Male			Female
Name	Pts		Name	Pts
Henry Heathcote George Stevenson Daniel Cleaver Tom Larkin Josh Blakesley William Riley Ethan Eisenhauer Christopher Arthur Harry Davenport Cameron Efford Jake Weavell	69 55 55 53 51 47 31 23 22 22 22		Olivia Riley Grace Matthews Emily Pearce Charley-Mae Keyte Mia Wainwright Sapphire Wainwright Corrine Haynes Heather Law Lucy Richardson Olivia Malpass Tessa Budworth-Rogers	91 60 59 58 57 57 57 45 42 41 41

 

Megan Davies won a silver medal at the Scottish Championships and Olivia Walker silver at the Welsh Championships over the weekend.

 

In Glasgow, Meg came second in her 400m heat in 58.83 to qualify. She then improved to 57.10 to take the silver medal in the final.

 

Olivia ran her best 60m hurdles time since 2014 to finish second in her heat in 8.61 in the Welsh Indoor Championships in Cardiff. In the final, Olivia came fourth in 8.67, taking silver as the second placed Welsh qualifying athlete.

 

It was the first indoor outing of the season for many of our athletes last weekend.

 

With only short track events catered for at the Midland Counties due to the unavailability of a full indoor track in the Midlands, many of our athletes ventured to Sheffield on Sunday (26th) for good quality competition.

 

In the 60m, Stephen Terry-Short ran 8.05, Paul Edwards 8.94, Charis Farmer a pb of 8.36, Sydney Davies 8.56, Matilda Perry 8.50 (pb) and Mia Wainwright 8.61.

 

Henry Heathcote ran a pb of 25.06 in the 200m, as did Rob Law with 26.58, Olivia Riley (27.09), Matilda Perry (28.98), Ella Beeson (32.87), Sapphire Wainwright (33.33) and Beth Beeson (35.96). Allee Rigby was the quickest of our athletes with 23.86, Stephen Terry-Short ran 27.00, Paul Edwards 29.23, Natalie Ainge 26.26, Sydney Davies 28.43, Charis Farmer 27.64, Heather Law 29.36 and Mia Wainwright 28.06.

 

In the 400m, Henry Heathcote and Rob Law again recorded pbs with times of 57.96 and 63.18 respectively. Natalie Ainge ran 57.01.

 

Ella and Beth Beeson both ran 800m pbs (2:49.27 and 3:04.64) and Heather Law cleared 1.50m for a high jump pb. Olivia Riley jumped 1.55m.

 

Sapphire Wainwright threw a pb of 5.53m to win the U13G shot and sister Mia jumped 4.18m in the long jump.

 

Up in Manchester, Charlie Peters ran 8.27 for a season's best in the 60m.

 

Christine Kilkenny and Dot Fellows both won gold medals and Nina Skilton picked up a bronze at the Midland Masters Cross Country Championships in Loughborough on Saturday.

 

The Masters event was integrated into the Midland Cross Country Championships. Nina was our first athlete to complete the course, finishing 48th overall in the SW race and third in the W50 category. Sue Kneill-Boxley came 96th which gave her fifth place in the W50s and Chris Kilkenny 125th which won the W65 race.

 

Dot Fellows picked up the gold in the W75 category, finishing 171st in the SW race.

 

Our Senior Men are still battling to remain in Division One of the Birmingham & District Cross Country League after the penultimate race of the season at Northampton on Saturday (11th).

 

Chris Perrin finished in 28th place, Bill Chesters 82nd, Phil Wolfe 93rd, James Perrin 95th, Craig Pearson 137th, Paul Lester 174th and Tom Orton 232nd as the team finished in 14th place on the day.

 

In the WMYACCL meeting on Sunday (12th) at Nuneaton, C&S had five athletes competing.

 

Jack Hadley came 37th in the U11B race and Harry Beckett 71st in the U15B and, in the girls races, Delilah Dempsey finished 61st in the U13G and Isabelle Beckett and Dawn Riley came 69th and 70th respectively in the U15G race.

 

The club's presentation evening took place at Stafford Rangers FC on Saturday (4th).

 

During the evening, acknowledgement was given to the following, with apologies for any achievements that were omitted in error.

 

For the third year on the trot, Carl McMullen won the World M35 title at the Icosathlon World Championships in Helsinki. The Icosathlon is a double decathlon over 2 days.

 

Carl and Emma and Chris Hollinshead won medals at the European Masters Games in Turin

 

There were medals for Carl McMullen at the British Masters Pentathlon Championships and Per Kristian Lundby, Martin Roberts and Sally Gray at the British Masters Outdoor Championships.

 

Sue Kneill-Boxley and Martin Roberts represented the Midlands in the Inter Area competition in Solihull with Sue doing four individual events and a few of our Masters athletes took part in the Welsh Masters Championships with Stephen Terry-Short winning the M45 100 and 200, Emma Hollinshead winning the W45 400 and 800 and Chris Hollinshead the M50 3000m.

 

In road running, Chris Hollinshead retained his title in the M50 age group at British Masters 10 mile Championships and in the 5k Road Championships, Hazel Cane won silver in the W55.

 

Cross Country

 

Our Senior Women’s cross country teams retained their place in the first division of both the Midland Women’s and North Staffs Cross Country Leagues and the Men maintained their position in the top division of the Birmingham and District Cross Country League.

 

In the North Staffs League, Nina Skilton won the W50 competition for the third year running with Sue Kneill Boxley finishing in third place. Christine Kilkenny won the W65 category and Dot Fellows the W70. Geoff Kitching came third in the M65 age group

 

Nine of our athletes represented their county at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. Allegra Soutar, Thando Hart, Tom Peters, Bill Chesters, Matt Bonney, Connor Mills, Josh Ward, Jasmine Lovatt and Lucy Richardson all represented Staffordshire.

 

Track and Field

 

In track and field, this year, we only had four athletes chosen to represent Staffordshire at the English Schools Track & Field Championships:- Amy Pye, Jack Turner, Bill Chesters and Olivia Riley. Amy won bronze in the 100m hurdles.

 

Five of our athletes were invited to compete in either the British indoor or outdoor Championships – Again, all female!:- Olivia Walker, Natalie Ainge, Amy Pye, Beth Rees and, for the first time, Cloe Wilde with Beth winning her third successive bronze medal in the javelin. Beth also won bronze medals at the BUCS Championships and England U23 Champs.

 

In other National Championships, Olivia Walker was Welsh Champion in the short hurdles in both the Welsh Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Also at the Welsh Outdoors, Beth retained her javelin title and Chloe took silver in the 400m hurdles. In Scotland, Megan Davies won silver in the 400m in the Scottish Indoor Championships

 

Nat, Chloe, Beth, Amy and Charlie Peters represented Staffordshire in the Senior Inter Area competition and Jack Turner was selected to represent England Midlands in the shot in the Welsh International.

 

Before we start giving the awards to the athletes, our Chairman thanked the following:

 

Firstly, all of our coaches who give up their free time for no payment, in fact it costs some a considerable amount of money to come and coach our athletes. Also our officials and other volunteers for the work that put in during the season. Without these people giving up their time we simply wouldn’t have a club.

 

He also thanked Alyson Ainge who does a great job looking after all of our young athletes and senior track and field teams, preparing the numbers for each athlete and organising any changes on the day, as well as doing the results at the vets meetings and Alison George for the sports therapy work she carries out for athletes at the club. Finally, he thanked Sandi Thompson who, as well as officiating at some of our meetings this season, organised the presentation evening.

 

Veterans

 

The club has a very strong group of veterans (or Masters) athletes and, this season, against Birchfield, Stoke, Telford, RSC and Tamworth, our men’s team won their league and our women's team came runners up in theirs.

 

Stephen Terry-Short was called up to accept the League winners shield and he gave a short review of the season and announced the Veterans Male Athlete of the Year. Our Chairman then read a short report from our women's veteran's team manager, Emma Hollinshead, and then announced the award for the Veteran's Female Athlete of the year.

 

The following awards were presented / announced: 

 

YDL Lower Age Group Divisional Winners Trophy - Collected by Steve Jones

Veterans Male Athlete of the Year - Paul Edwards

Veterans Female Athlete of the Year - Hazel Cane

Young Athletes Lower Age Group, Leading Male Point Scorer - Henry Heathcote

Young Athletes Lower Age Group, Leading Female Point Scorer - Olivia Riley

Young Athletes Upper Age Group, Leading Male Point Scorer - Jack Turner

Young Athletes Upper Age Group, Leading Female Point Scorer - Issey Kelly

Senior League, Leading Male Point Scorer - Allee Rigby

Senior League, Leading Female Point Scorer - Natalie Ainge 

 

AAA Certificates were also presented to Development Group athletes who had achieved them during the season.

 

Presidents Cup – This trophy was introduced by our past President, Derek Fellows, and is awarded to a person, or persons, who the President feels has provided great service to the club over the past 12 months.

 

Our current President, Bob Hughes, made the presentation to Donna Tomkins.

 

Those of you who train at the track will know Donna, especially if you forget your money to pay for training. She’s at the track most evenings collecting the money which is a job that we are obviously grateful to her for doing.

   

 

David Sunderland Memorial Award

Dave Sunderland was one of the country’s top middle distance coaches and a great supporter of schools athletics as well as being a coach at the club. When he died in 2014 we were given a trophy to present each year in his memory.

 

Previously, the award has been given to longer distance runners at the club but this year the club presented it to Bob Hughes who has a great involvement with Schools athletics and long distance running.

 

 

Most Improved Young Athlete of the Year 

This award is voted for by the club’s coaches and is presented to the athlete who, in the coaches’ opinion, has improved the most over the year. Fifteen coaches voted this year.

 

This award was presented to Olivia Riley. Olivia had a great season achieving 18 PBs over 9 different events. She improved her high jump from 1.42m in 2018 to 1.58m in 2019 which moved her from 357th to 35th in the country in the rankings for her age group and also earned her a place in the Staffs team at English Schools.

 

At the relocated County Cross Country Championships at Betley Court Farm on Saturday we had third place finishes for our senior and veteran men and a third place individual finish for Chris Perrin.

 

The U20 and Veteran athletes races were incorporated into the Senior race and backing up Chris's position were Bill Chesters in 16th (4th in the U20), James Perrin (22nd), Phil Wolfe (29th), Matt Bonney (32nd) and Tim Kelly (38th). Craig Pearson came 40th followed by Owen Hurcombe (48th), Chris Metcalfe (49th), Paul Lester (50th), Darrell Wilde (69th), Nick Tomkinson-Hill (78th) and Malcolm Down (93rd), Pedro Havelock finished 97th, John Cooke 108th and Geoff Kitching 110th as the team finished third.

 

Tim, Owen, Paul, Darrell, Nick, Malcolm, Pedro, John and Geoff were our athletes that finished third in the Veteran Men's category.

 

In the Senior Women's race, Rebecca Brown was our first athlete home in 27th with Sue Kneill-Boxley 34th, Chris Kilkenny 44th, Lucy Berry 45th, Dot Fellows 49th and Lynda Clare 53rd.

 

Ella Beeson came 12th in the U13G race. Delilah Dempsey finished 15th and Isla Williams 16th.

 

Isabelle Beckett was our only U15G competitor, finishing 26th and Luke Powell our only U17M as he finished 16th in his race.