HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Eddie Gore, Jill Gore, Tiahna Cliff, Cath McGrath, Milo Halliday, Jon Clarke, Jack Gannon, Henry Robinson, Ava Redmond, Florence Hart.

And Next Week: Daisy Johnson, Mary Radford, Liam Davoren, Megan Ithell, Tabitha Kantenga, Nick Duffy, Leo Evans, Olivia Stockton, Louis Tegg, Joanne Cartwright, Isabelle Falkingham, Oliver Edwards, Trevor Holmes.

EPSV TRACK CLOSED DURING LOCKDOWN

With Lockdown restrictions now in place, Brio Leisure who operate Ellesmere Port Sports Village have closed the facilities until further notice.

The EPSV Facility Manager has told the Club not to train at the site, so all scheduled training sessions have been cancelled.

We hope you and your family all stay safe and well during this difficult period. 

Once we know when we can use the athletics track again, we will be back in touch with the new arrangements.

CLUB FINISHES RUNNER-UP

West Cheshire AC finished runner-up in the England Athletics Club of the Year category at the England Athletics National Volunteer Awards. The winners were Blackheath and Bromley AC. 

PROVISIONAL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY…

Subject to Covid-19 rules, West Cheshire AC’s first scheduled league match is planned for Saturday, April 24, at Preston, which is the first of five rounds in the Under 13/Under 15 Youth Development League Merseyside Division, with other matches taking place on Saturday, May 15 (at Bebington Oval), Saturday, June 5, (at Ellesmere Port Sports Village), Saturday, July 17, (at Bebington Oval), and Saturday, September 4 (at Wavertree, Liverpool).

West Cheshire AC’s Under 17/Under 20 Youth Development League Merseyside Division five-round campaign gets under starters orders at Preston on Sunday, May 2, with other fixtures scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 30 (at Ellesmere Port Sports Village), Sunday, June 27, (at Bebington Oval), Sunday, July 25 (at Ellesmere Port Sports Village), and Sunday, September 5, (at Wavertree, Liverpool).

West Cheshire AC’s North Premier West League squad will open their season on Saturday, May 22, at Blackburn, before heading to Preston on Saturday, June 19, then hosting round three at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Sunday, July 11, and concluding the campaign at Trafford, on Sunday, August 1.

West Cheshire AC’s Cheshire League season is scheduled to start at Wrexham’s Queensway Stadium, on Sunday, May 23, before heading to Stockport on Sunday, June 20; East Cheshire on Sunday, July 4, and hosting the final round at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Sunday, August 29. 

2021 CHESHIRE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Cheshire AA committee has agreed to hold the Cheshire Cross-country Championships subject to Covid-19 rules on Saturday, April 17, at Betley Farm in Staffordshire. The original scheduled date of Saturday, February 20, is no longer possible. Another County Meeting will be held on Monday, March 15, to confirm arrangements and open entries or to cancel the event completely.

2021 CHESHIRE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Cheshire AC has agreed to host the Cheshire Track and Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, subject to Covid-19 rules and Ellesmere Port Sports Village being available. 

2021 CHESHIRE AND NORTH WEST ROAD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cheshire has been asked by Greater Manchester to host the North West Road Relay Championships on Sunday, September 12, at Birchwood, Warrington, subject to the availability of the venue and Covid-19 rules.

HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT EQUAL ACCESS TO CROSS COUNTRY RACE DISTANCES

The English Cross-country Association along with the 3 Areas is urging everyone to complete a consultation survey. ECCA say you should put 0 (zero) in question 6 re: distance that events should be equalised at, you can then proceed to the later questions and add your comments if status quo is to be maintained or otherwise.

The survey can be found here.

Alternatively, you could email to voice your concerns at: [email protected]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

From January 1st 2021, there will be a change to the way in which club members are asked to pay for attending training sessions at Ellesmere Port Sports Village. Rather than paying by cash, members will be asked to top up their accounts online, via a link to our club membership system.

As members attend each session, their accounts will be debited by the cost of each session.
You should by now have received an email from West Cheshire AC, containing a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between £10 and £100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system will be provided by Nifty Entries, who maintain our current online club membership system. They also provide similar cashless training payments systems to other clubs, on the same basis of only paying for the sessions that you attend, from your own account.

Please let us know if you have any questions, by replying Dennis at: [email protected]

REVISED ENGLAND ATHLETICS GUIDANCE

Following the UK Government’s new national COVID-19 restrictions and the publication of bespoke instructions from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), England Athletics revised the current guidance for athletics and running on January 5th.

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S PHYSIO OFFER

Heather McLintock has been in touch to say she is still able to offer physiotherapy if anyone is injured over this lockdown…Heather knows how important it is to exercise in this time so if she can keep people exercising that would be great. Heather’s email address is: [email protected]

WHY NOT BECOME ONE OF OUR QUALIFIED OFFICIALS?

Places are being booked very quickly for the Level 1 Field Officials online courses. The dates available are Wed 13 Jan, Thu 28 Jan, Sat 30 Jan and Sun 21 Feb and the course costs £20.

Take your first step on the pathway to becoming a qualified athletics official.  Book via Athletics Hub .

Please get in touch with Dennis if you do book on the course at: [email protected]

SUPPORT WITH TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Funded training is currently available for employed people who live or work in Cheshire or Warrington. 

Fully covered for those who work for a company with under 250 employees (inc. self-employed), 40% funded for larger employers.

This really is a chance for people to access quality training and boost qualifications without the associated cost.

If anyone is interested contact Mark Shepherd on 07494 869 282.

RUN LEADER DEVELOPMENT DAYS

England Athletics Run Leader Development Days is a series of informative and engaging workshops aimed at leaders and coaches from affiliated clubs and RunTogether groups. They are designed to bring leaders and coaches together in an environment where they can network and learn from each other by sharing skills and challenges, plus expand their knowledge of managing and growing groups, and enhance their understanding of technical skills in running.

Run Leader Development Days are going virtual for 2021, featuring five interactive (taking place Mon Feb 1^st, 8^th, 15^th and 22^nd, and March 1^st). Sessions will discuss a mix of topics, tasks, group discussion, Q&As, and the final webinar is based around a virtual practical session. Each webinar will have a lead theme – enabling Run Leaders to develop their knowledge and skills in a wide variety of areas. All five webinars cost £30.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS WEBINARS

A revised list of England Athletics webinars can be found here.

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 – here.

STAYING IN TOUCH WITH DAN GILROY

Our Club President, Dan Gilroy, passes on best wishes to everyone at the club. Dan said he would welcome members to ring him and have a chat. His number is: 07594 464287.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

LOOKING BACK

Kip Keino, Evelyn Ashford, and John Regis. Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_9AAy7yZTc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=86h0iLXu9eo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd4F_O5NuZ0

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

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

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

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

ROY ORFORD R.I.P.

Roy Orford died on 19th December 2019 aged 89, and his funeral was held on 11th January 2021.

Roy was a Vice-President of West Cheshire AC and formerly a member of Chester & Ellesmere Port AC (CEPAC) who he became involved with when his son Mark became interested in athletics. Roy became heavily involved in helping at the club and also took up distance running until a number of years ago.

Everyone at West Cheshire AC would like to pass on their condolences to his family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Brian Beattie, Zofia Roberts, Freddie Rotherham, Keely Smith, Megan White, Mia Jones, Alex Rutherford, Pam Ackroyd, Isaac Holmes, Ingrid Tait, Jack Collier, Danielle Erskine, Ilika Jose Maria, Anna Woolgar.

And Next Week: Ethan Greenland, Tom Yates, Joe Foy, Joe Tabberer, William Rawson, Daniel Tabberer, William Wright, Sophie Madden.

EPSV TRACK CLOSED DURING LOCKDOWN

With Lockdown restrictions now in place, Brio Leisure who operate Ellesmere Port Sports Village have closed the facilities until further notice.

The EPSV Facility Manager has told the Club not to train at the site, so all scheduled training sessions have been cancelled.

We hope you and your family all stay safe and well during this difficult period. 

Once we know when we can use the athletics track again we will be back in touch with the new arrangements.

2021 ENGLISH SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS CANCELLED

The scheduled English Schools Cross Country Championships in March at Hop Farm, Kent, has been cancelled.

Kent Schools AA has offered to host the championships in 2022 which makes complete sense with the amount of planning that they put into the 2021 event. The proposed date is Saturday 12th March 2022, hopefully at Hop Farm.

A ‘Virtual English Schools Cross Country Championships’ will be held this year. Further details will be announced soon, requiring athletes to run a 2k or 5k course (depending on age group) at a venue that has a measured course already. Park run courses are ideal for this and this will be suggested as part of the rules. A simple google form will allow the athlete to send their times in, along with a verification from a coach or teacher. New Balance will support this event with prizes and merchandise for athletes. This will also be a county team event.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

From January 1st 2021, there will be a change to the way in which club members are asked to pay for attending training sessions at Ellesmere Port Sports Village. Rather than paying by cash, members will be asked to top up their accounts online, via a link to our club membership system.

As members attend each session, their accounts will be debited by the cost of each session.
You should by now have received an email from West Cheshire AC, containing a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between £10 and £100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system will be provided by Nifty Entries, who maintain our current online club membership system. They also provide similar cashless training payments systems to other clubs, on the same basis of only paying for the sessions that you attend, from your own account.

Please let us know if you have any questions, by replying Dennis at: [email protected]

REVISED ENGLAND ATHLETICS GUIDANCE

Following the UK Government’s new national COVID-19 restrictions and the publication of bespoke instructions from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), England Athletics revised the current guidance for athletics and running on January 5th.

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S PHYSIO OFFER

Heather McLintock has been in touch to say she is still able to offer physiotherapy if anyone is injured over this lockdown…Heather knows how important it is to exercise in this time so if she can keep people exercising that would be great. Heather’s email address is: [email protected]

WHY NOT BECOME ONE OF OUR QUALIFIED OFFICIALS?

Places are being booked very quickly for the Level 1 Field Officials online courses. The dates available are Wed 13 Jan, Thu 28 Jan, Sat 30 Jan and Sun 21 Feb and the course costs £20.

Take your first step on the pathway to becoming a qualified athletics Official.  Book via Athletics Hub .

Please get in touch with Dennis if you do book on the course at: [email protected]

SUPPORT WITH TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Funded training is currently available for employed people who live or work in Cheshire or Warrington. 

Fully covered for those who work for a company with under 250 employees (inc. self-employed), 40% funded for larger employers.

This really is a chance for people to access quality training and boost qualifications without the associated cost.

If anyone is interested contact Mark Shepherd on 07494 869 282.

RUN LEADER DEVELOPMENT DAYS

England Athletics Run Leader Development Days is a series of informative and engaging workshops aimed at leaders and coaches from affiliated clubs and RunTogether groups. They are designed to bring leaders and coaches together in an environment where they can network and learn from each other by sharing skills and challenges, plus expand their knowledge of managing and growing groups, and enhance their understanding of technical skills in running.

Run Leader Development Days are going virtual for 2021, featuring five interactive (taking place Mon Feb 1^st, 8^th, 15^th and 22^nd, and March 1^st). Sessions will discuss a mix of topics, tasks, group discussion, Q&As, and the final webinar is based around a virtual practical session. Each webinar will have a lead theme – enabling Run Leaders to develop their knowledge and skills in a wide variety of areas. All five webinars cost £30.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS WEBINARS

A revised list of England Athletics webinars can be found here.

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 – here.

STAYING IN TOUCH WITH DAN GILROY

Our Club President, Dan Gilroy, passes on best wishes to everyone at the club. Dan said he would welcome members to ring him and have a chat. His number is: 07594 464287.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

LOOKING BACK

Dai Greene, Hannah England, and Steve Cram, and Seb Coe. Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hur8ve5cHs8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prhi4FyDRr8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgc2oi49X4

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

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

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

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

WEST CHESHIRE Athletic Club is hoping to host a busy schedule of track and field fixtures in 2021.

The purple and gold-vested organisation, newly crowned England Athletics North West Athletics and Running Club of the Year, has pencilled in a number of competitions to organise at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track after lockdown.

West Cheshire AC, who are short-listed for the England Athletics Club of the Year event to be held on Saturday, January 23, plan to host the opening round of the Under 17 and Under 20 Youth Development League’s North Premier West Division on Sunday, May 2.

The club then hopes it can host the second round of the Under 13 and Under 15 Youth Development League’s North Premier West Division on Saturday, May 15.

And West Cheshire AC, after being denied the opportunity to host the two-day Cheshire Track and Field Championships last year due to the pandemic, hope they can play host in May this year.

West Cheshire AC’s seniors are scheduled to play host for the final round of a newly restructured North West Premier League campaign on Sunday, July 11.

And the Club will be looking forward to helping to organise the County Round of the English Schools Track and Field Cup on Tuesday, May 18, and the Regional B Final South on Wednesday, June 9.

John Driscoll has compiled endurance league standings as at the end of December 2020.

Congratulations to Michael and Alex followed, respectively, by Andrew and Andy in the men’s table, and Ellie, Clare and Deb in the women’s.

As mentioned in November, a proposal from John: in view of the problems since mid-March which continue, roll over the 2020 results into 2021 in the hope by combining two years we might get a “year” of competition. What do members think?

See near the bottom of the road race page for further details.

The WCAC Online Quiz, this Friday January 15th at 6pm, is filling up fast! Please email [email protected] ASAP if you want to join in (where else would you be going, really??). Details below.

CLUB QUIZ INVITATION
In a bid to lift all the gloom of Covid-19 and help lighten the mood, the club is looking to organise an Online New Year Quiz on Friday January 15th.

Teams of 4 will be invited to enter at a cost of £10 per team with prizes for the top 3 teams and the rest of the money being put into club funds for an event later in the year.

There will be various topics in the 6-round quiz.

EPSV TRACK CLOSED DURING LOCKDOWN

With lockdown restrictions now in place, Brio Leisure who operate Ellesmere Port Sports Village have closed the facilities until further notice.

The EPSV Facility Manager has told the Club not to train at the site, so all scheduled training sessions have been cancelled.

We hope you and your family all stay safe and well during this difficult period. 

Once we know when we can use the athletics track again, we will be back in touch with the new arrangements.

Meanwhile, West Cheshire AC would like to wish you and your family a healthy and Happy New Year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Issy Clarke, Ben Kelly, Ian Gloyne-Phillips, Lauren Williams, Rory Davis, Isobel Holbrook, Steve King, Abigail Cartwright, Luke Messham, Luke Parker, Kay Hayes, Michael Parry.

And Next Week: Brian Beattie, Zofia Roberts, Freddie Rotherham, Keely Smith, Megan White, Mia Jones, Alex Rutherford, Pam Ackroyd, Isaac Holmes, Ingrid Tait, Jack Collier, Danielle Erskine, Ilika Jose Maria, Anna Woolgar.

ONLINE CLUB QUIZ 

Anyone who wants to take part in the West Cheshire AC Online Quiz on Friday, January 15th, should email Mark Duffey before this Saturday, January 9th.

In a bid to lift all the gloom of Covid-19 and help lighten the mood, the club is looking to organise an Online New Year Quiz on Friday January 15th.

Teams of 4 will be invited to enter at a cost of £10 per team with prizes for the top 3 teams and the rest of the money being put into club funds for an event later in the year. There will be various topics in the 6 round quiz.

If you are wanting to take part, please email Mark Duffey at: [email protected]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

From January 1st 2021, there will be a change to the way in which club members are asked to pay for attending training sessions at Ellesmere Port Sports Village. Rather than paying by cash, members will be asked to top up their accounts online, via a link to our club membership system.

As members attend each session, their accounts will be debited by the cost of each session.
You will receive an email from West Cheshire AC, containing a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between £10 and £100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system will be provided by Nifty Entries, who maintain our current online club membership system. They also provide similar cashless training payments systems to other clubs, on the same basis of only paying for the sessions that you attend, from your own account.

Please let us know if you have any questions, by replying Dennis at: [email protected]

REVISED ENGLAND ATHLETICS GUIDANCE

Following the UK Government’s new national COVID-19 restrictions and the publication of bespoke instructions from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), England Athletics revised the current guidance for athletics and running on January 5th.

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S PHYSIO OFFER

Heather McLintock has been in touch to say she is still able to offer physiotherapy if anyone is injured over this lockdown…Heather knows how important it is to exercise in this time so if she can keep people exercising that would be great. Heather’s email address is: [email protected]

WHY NOT BECOME ONE OF OUR QUALIFIED OFFICIALS?

Places are being booked very quickly for the Level 1 Field Officials online courses. The dates available are Wed 13 Jan, Thu 28 Jan, Sat 30 Jan and Sun 21 Feb and the course costs £20.

Take your first step on the pathway to becoming a qualified athletics Official.  Book via Athletics Hub .

Please get in touch with Dennis if you do book on the course at: [email protected]

SUPPORT WITH TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Funded training is currently available for employed people who live or work in Cheshire or Warrington. 

Fully covered for those who work for a company with under 250 employees (inc. self-employed), 40% funded for larger employers.

This really is a chance for people to access quality training and boost qualifications without the associated cost.

If anyone is interested contact Mark Shepherd on 07494 869 282.

RUN LEADER DEVELOPMENT DAYS

England Athletics Run Leader Development Days is a series of informative and engaging workshops aimed at leaders and coaches from affiliated clubs and RunTogether groups. They are designed to bring leaders and coaches together in an environment where they can network and learn from each other by sharing skills and challenges, plus expand their knowledge of managing and growing groups, and enhance their understanding of technical skills in running.

Run Leader Development Days are going virtual for 2021, featuring five interactive (taking place Mon Feb 1^st, 8^th, 15^th and 22^nd, and March 1^st). Sessions will discuss a mix of topics, tasks, group discussion, Q&As, and the final webinar is based around a virtual practical session. Each webinar will have a lead theme – enabling Run Leaders to develop their knowledge and skills in a wide variety of areas. All five webinars cost £30.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS WEBINARS

A revised list of England Athletics webinars can be found here.

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 – here.

STAYING IN TOUCH WITH DAN GILROY

Our Club President, Dan Gilroy, passes on best wishes to everyone at the club. Dan said he would welcome members to ring him and have a chat. His number is: 07594 464287.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

LOOKING BACK

Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympic Games, 1996 Olympic Men’s 4x400m Relay, and 2017 World Championship Women’s 3,000m steeplechase Final. Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K41ZryHFdXU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibuxljRIkl4&t=251s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4dCk4UYZEU

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

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

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

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