WCAC Newsletter #289, 04-09-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Many happy returns to the following Club members who celebrate their birthdays this week:

Imogen Pughe, Fergus Garland, Ben Scott, Charlie Boyce, George Fraser, Sharon Stoll, Sara Pearson, Isla Shillington, Heather Miller, Victor Oyesola, Ursula Archer.

And Next Week: Evan Miller, Miles Thompson, Alan Littler, Joshua Oates, Kadie Gledhill, Jac Goodall, Mae Grant, Rob Little, Beth Mackay, Isaac Millachip, Luca Richards, Daniel Walker, Eleanor Neve, Andrew Barratt, Elizabeth Jones, Jayne Noble, Abigail Pinnells, Ewan Watson.

GOOD LUCK!

Four Club members will be in action at this week’s British Track and Field Athletics Championships in Manchester.

George Hyde, Laura Turley, Joseph Morrison, and Emma Howe will compete at the two-day fixture being televised live on the BBC on Friday and Saturday, September 4 and 5.

George will compete in the men’s shot put on September 5 at 2.03pm; Laura’s 400m first round takes place on September 4 at 4.45pm, and the final will be held the following day at 3.30pm.

Joseph will appear in the first round of the men’s 800m on September 4 at 8.10pm hoping to qualify for the following day’s final at 2.50pm, and Emma will compete in the women’s javelin competition being held on Saturday at 11.12am.

Good luck and best wishes to you all from everyone at West Cheshire AC.

ROAD RELAYS RACE INVITE

Ellie Robinson is co-ordinating Club entries for a road relays fixture being held at Haydock on Sunday 20th September. There are 3×2.1km races for under 11s, under 13s, and under 15s, as well as 3×4.2km under 17s races, a 4×4.2km senior women’s race, and a 6×4.2km senior men’s race. Members wanting to compete need to email Ellie ASAP at: [email protected]  

HURDLES INVITATION

Club coach Karl Fenney is keen to hear from any Club members wanting to attend his hurdles training sessions at the EPSV Track on Mondays (6-8pm). Please email Karl if you are wanting to attend at: [email protected]

PLEASE HELP OUR CLUB WHEN YOU SHOP…

West Cheshire Athletic Club has registered with easyfundraising, which means over 4,000 shops and sites will now donate to the Club for FREE every time you use easyfundraising to shop with them. These donations will help SO MUCH, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long at this link.

VOLUNTEERS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED AT TRACK & FIELD TRAINING SESSIONS

Eddie Gore and Dennis Wall are currently the Club’s Covid-19 Liaison Officers during track and field training at Ellesmere Port Sports Village.

But Dennis will be self-isolating later this month with his mum because she is waiting for a hospital operation, so Eddie will need assistance before and after training sessions with the Covid-19 signs, tables and hand sanitizers.

Anyone who can help should email Dennis ASAP at: [email protected]

TRACK & FIELD TRAINING NOTES

Only athletes who have been invited by their coaches shall be allowed on to the track facility for training sessions.

Athletes will arrive through the Black Entrance Gate ONLY (adjacent to Ellesmere Port Sport Village), Parents/ Guardians will drop their children here, remembering to keep social distancing.

Parents/Guardians do not come past the Black Entrance Gate or go on to the track side.

At the Black Entrance Gate, the athletes will then sanitise their hands.

Then they will put their track fees in a box (correct change would be good, £1.00 per hour or £2.00 for 2 hours), then they will go direct to their coach. There must be no socialising between groups.

Exit is via the Blue gates ONLY near the Old Sportshall Annexe to the Car Park to avoid mixing of groups. Parents/guardians to collect their children at Blue gates exit gates, parents/guardians do not come past the Blue Exit Gates on to the trackside to collect their children.

Athletes should bring their own named water bottle. The trackside toilets will not be open, but in an emergency, athletes can use the EPSV toilet facility and must wear a face mask. All athletes must apply the one-way system.

Athletes and coaches MUST not attend training if they or any of their household are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms or if local lockdown rules apply or if anyone has just travelled back from abroad from areas that lockdown applies to must NOT ATTEND TRAINING.

Only fully paid up members of EA and West Cheshire AC are eligible for training.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS/ECCA/AREA LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY UPDATE

The following was published by England Athletics on 28th August:

England Athletics is pleased to announce that we have begun making steps towards a restricted return to Cross Country competition. On 27th August we held a meeting with the Cross Country community, including the ECCA, the areas, and some league organisers to agree on the following proposed timeline for a return to Cross Country Competition:

Mid-September to mid-October – Pilot XC Competitions

5 October – Licence application process opens

17 October – Licensed Cross Country competition can resume

These dates are provisional and will be adapted if necessary, with any additional Government guidance that is issued.

Cross Country competition will be unable to resume in the traditional format, adaptations will have to be made based on the current circumstances regarding the virus. However, England Athletics believe this is an exciting step forward for the Cross-Country community and we are currently working on guidance with the named organisations to support competition providers in providing a safe return to adapted cross country competition.

We are aiming for a version of the guidance to be published for competition organisers on W/C 14 September 2020. It will be the decision of the competition provider whether they will host competitions given the restrictions within the guidance. The 2020/21 XC fixture dates are below. All cross-country dates will remain ring fenced until further notice. Due to the licensing timeline above all have agreed the first league fixture date in October will be cancelled. All licensed competitions will be published on the England Athletics website when licensing opens.

Cross Country fixture lists subject to change and race formats to be confirmed subject to guidance.
10 October League 1 Cancelled, 17 October Area XC Relays tbc, 31 October ECCA XC Relays, 7 November League 2, 28 November UK Cross Challenge & European Trials, 5 December League 3, 13 December European XC, Ireland, 9 January County XC Champs, 6 January League 4, 13 February League 5, 20 February CAU IC XC & World Trials, 6 March ECCA National XC, 13 March League 6, 20 March World XC Champs, Australia, 20 March English Schools XC Champs, 27 March SIAB Schools International.

All fixtures are subject to confirmation by event organisers and subject to government guidance updates.

PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

TRAFFORD AC OPEN MEETING NEWS

Josh Ford was one of many Club members to register a new personal best at Saturday’s Trafford Open Meeting.

Josh posted a new under 20 men’s 100m best of 11.23 seconds and added a time of 22.89 seconds in his 200m.

Macy Brett clocked a new under 13 girls 150m best of 22.09 seconds, while Lewis Parsons (12.06 and 24.66) and Robert Austin (12.62 and 26.07) both celebrated 100m and 200m bests.

Luke Parker rounded the under 15 boys 300m in a new best of 44.56 seconds, while Charlotte Austin claimed new under 13 girls 100m (12.17), and long jump (3.25m) personal bests.

Luke Haslam hit 7.95m in the under 15 boys shot put and 29.12m in the javelin for new bests, while Sara Pearson celebrated new bests in the under 15 girls shot (10.17m) and javelin (17.76m).

Sophie Haslam posted 11.36 in the under 13 girls 100m, and 3.92m in the long jump, and Ruby Wisbey clocked 12.19 in the under 15 girls 75m Hurdles, and achieved 4.66m in the long jump.

Anyone wishing to compete at the Trafford open meetings, please see this link.

ENTRIES OPEN FOR BARTLETTS FARNDON 10k ROAD RACE

A new Covid-19 secure race will have a waived start and runners will be set off in a group based on their predicted finishing time. Race numbers and chips will be posted and race instructions will be emailed approximately 7 days before race day.

The entry link is here.

ONLINE COURSES FOR BECOMING A QUALIFIED ATHLETICS OFFICIAL

BOOK NOW! Start your journey to becoming a qualified athletics Official with our new online Field Judge Level 1 qualification . The 4-hour practical course introduces participants to the key roles, responsibilities and duties of a Field Official. Only £20pp. Available dates: Tuesday 1 September & Sunday 13 September.

HELP AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE

Club member Mark Shepherd is offering help to anyone who has been furloughed or are employed and looking to up-skill in a certain area.

The basic criteria are that an individual must live or work in Cheshire / Warrington and they have to be employed or self-employed. For businesses employing less than 50 people the funding his business (Accelerate) cover 100% of all training costs and for larger businesses it’s 40%.

Training can be anything from a short CPD type course to a full ILM leadership and Management qualification. From level 2 up to Level 7 (post degree).

If anyone shows interest please feel free to pass on Mark’s contact details and he will do his best to get their training funded.

Mark can be contacted at:07494 869 282 and by email: [email protected]

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has announced a restructuring and details can be found here.

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only £20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

All the latest athletics news can be found on the Athletics Weekly website here.

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

HOME PENTATHLON UPDATE…

If you haven’t completed the Home Pentathlon yet, please give it a go and let me know how you get on.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun ‘at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

Cathryn is also thinking of doing a Facebook live/Zoom video of a 20-30 minute exercise routine, if anyone is interested. 

JASON OSWELL’S LOCKDOWN PHYSIOTHERAPY 

Jason Oswell has been in touch to say he is doing Physiotherapy video consultations during lockdown. If anybody has any issues, he is prepared to provide a consultation to anybody from the club for £10. His email address is [email protected]

HELP AND SUPPORT

Anyone requiring help and support while self-isolating can contact the local council hotline number of 0300 123 7031.

This is a dedicated hotline number for those self-isolating and who don’t have anyone to help. A call to this number will provide help organising food or medicine deliveries, or some sort of social contact. The number for the most in need is 0300 123 7031. It is open Monday to Sunday (8am-7pm).

ALSO – Please feel free to ring me (Dennis) if you want a chat or need any help or support. My numbers are: 0151 201 1254 and 07968 643038.

UPDATED ONLINE ATHLETICS WEBINARS

In these unprecedented times, I wanted to draw the club’s attention to some of the great resources available online. England Athletics is expanding its campaign to support Athletics and Running for everyone @home, with a focus on ‘Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here.

There are many webinars, interviews and tips from top coaches and athletes on how to stay conditioned and focused.

In addition, there are some fantastic videos for 4-11 year olds on the Funetics webpage put together in conjunction with England Athletics. The videos demonstrate parents and children (aged 4-11) taking part in FUN activities based on fundamental core movement skills: running, jumping and throwing. Funetics is a programme that has been designed to reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2. At this time when our children are currently schooling at home, we hope that these video activities will support the need for education to continue at home.  You can access the videos here.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

STAYING FIT AND HEALTHY

The links below offer a range of advice on exercises we can all do while confined indoors.

MIND provides a series of workouts here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s GB v USA at White City in 1969, Ann Packer, and Herb Elliot. Enjoy…

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

Members and parents are reminded to look at the following links for updates about the club:

FACEBOOK: West Cheshire AC, West Cheshire AC Road Running, West Cheshire AC U13 to U20 Middle Distance Group

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/westcheshireac/