26th February 2021, Number 314
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Many happy returns to the following Club members who celebrate their birthdays this week:
George Dewhirst, Luca Biagetti, Niamh Memmory, Graham Patterson, Eleanor Williams, Tom Price, Hayden Howell, Ben Sache, Jessica Owen, Jill Van Schie, Cathryn Whalley, Dave Brierley, Ellis Williams, George Davis.
And Next Week: Danny Paddock, Ellie Fernyhough, Anest Muller, Fabian Veal, Georgina Duffey, Ian Ackroyd, Claire Forshaw, Emma Morrison, William Saunders, Jodi Bemand.
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
The Government has announced a roadmap out of the Covid-19 pandemic and England Athletics has released guidance for athletics training and competition effective from March 29.
West Cheshire AC has told Brio Leisure who manage the EPSV site that members would like to return to track training from March 29, and Brio will let the club know if this is possible before EPSV leisure centre is scheduled to re-open on April 12.
West Cheshire AC has a Coaches Meeting on Monday, March 1, to discuss whether training can be supervised safely when sessions are scheduled to return, and a Monthly Club Committee Meeting is being held on Tuesday, March 9.
Club members will be updated when more news can be relayed in terms of preparations for EPSV track training.
Meanwhile, a decision about whether the Cheshire AA Cross Country Championships can be held on April 17 is expected to be made on March 8, and Cheshire AA has it’s AGM on March 15.
Also, can you please renew your West Cheshire AC Membership when you receive a renewal email, and be aware of the new Cashless system being implemented for EPSV Track Training Sessions (further details below under the headline: “IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT…”
CLUB QUESTIONNAIRE
All West Cheshire AC athletes are being requested to complete a quick questionnaire about training and their goals. Please take part by following this link.
CLUB WELFARE TEAM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
UK Athletics recommends that all Clubs have a Welfare Team and West Cheshire AC recognises the importance of Welfare and Safeguarding. Volunteers are needed to form a Club Welfare Team. If you are interested and would like to learn more details then please email our Club Secretary, Julian Tegg, at: [email protected]
ENGLAND ATHLETICS RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP
England Athletics have outlined in an ‘athletics and running roadmap’ infographic what everything means at each stage. More detailed guidance will be provided they have received further information from Sport England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Please note, all these dates are subject to the UK Government’s four-step roadmap to ease restrictions across England and the conditions which must be met before the country is able to move from one step to the next. More details here.
STAY SAFE AND FOLLOW THE LOCKDOWN GUIDELINES
All West Cheshire AC members should be following National Lockdown Guidelines and only exercising within the restrictions, so please abide by the rules and don’t bring the Club into disrepute.
Following the UK Government’s new national COVID-19 lockdown 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 8th.
PLEASE also remember that 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 and the EPSV site remains closed.
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.
GETTING BEHIND ELLIS’ BIG CHALLENGE
Club member Ellis Williams is on target to complete a big fundraising challenge.
To keep himself fit, Ellis is currently taking on the virtual Lands End to John O’Groats Challenge run by Conqueror Events. He has decided to raise money for Young Minds Trust who are the UK’s leading charity fighting for children & young people’s mental health.
To date he has completed 284 miles and is wants to hit his his own target of 300 miles by the end of February. Only another 783.12 to go!
To help Ellis reach his fundraising target please follow this link.
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]
ITEMS NEEDED FOR CHARITY AUCTION FOR CLUB FUNDS
Club coach, Paul Fairweather, and his wife Karen, are planning to organise a charity auction in the next 3-6 months to help raise money for Club funds.
They can host the auction and provide access to a worldwide market of buyers of vinyl and music memorabilia in addition to Sports, TV and Film memorabilia.
In May 2020 Paul and Karen raised £179k for the NHS & Feeding America through a charity auction of items donated by musicians associated with Island Records. There were some amazing lots that were donated and it shows the potential with the right sort of push.
In the North West we obviously have a good pool of musicians, big sporting clubs, and sports/TV stars that people may know who could donate something.
If you can help or would like to get involved please email Dennis at: [email protected]
More information can be found at Paul and Karen’s website.
PLEASE HELP TO STAY IN TOUCH
During this lockdown period when all competitions are suspended, I will do my upmost in keeping the Club Newsletter information and other content going.
I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents, also anything to help everyone stay entertained. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me at: [email protected]
WOMEN IN COACHING PROGRAMME
The Women in Coaching Programme is a collaboration between England Athletics and British Athletics. The programme will focus on providing development opportunities to help upskill female coaches, officials, volunteers and other support staff whilst also addressing the issues of gender inequality in specific areas of the sport and providing a network and support system for women in athletics and running. Further details can be found here.
COACHING COURSE UPDATE
England Athletics has started to publicise Virtual Coaching Courses on their website. Follow this link to find a list of virtual courses.
Please get in touch with Dennis if you do book on the course at: [email protected]
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FOR SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY COURSE
UK Coaching is organising a course to gain the confidence to be able to support people experiencing mental health problems, and help them to thrive inside and outside of your sessions. The link is here.
WEEKLY QUADRATHLON @HOME
Are you missing the buzz of track and field competition while we’re all at home in lockdown? If so, then sign-up for England Athletics new fun weekly track and field Quadrathlon competition – open to anyone aged 9 or over and perfect for setting up at home! Details are here.
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 4, 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 Saturday, July 31, and hosting the final round at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Sunday, August 29.
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]
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 March 1st). 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…
Kris Akabusi, Sonia O’Sullivan, and Joan Benoit. Enjoy…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxS9fNcZs4E
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbmbnqFRaao
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dFgH_vDh6E&t=46s
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/
