WCAC Newsletter #315, 05-03-21

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Danny Paddock, Ellie Fernyhough, Anest Muller, Fabian Veal, Georgina Duffey, Ian Ackroyd, Claire Forshaw, Emma Morrison, William Saunders, Jodi Bemand.

And Next Week: Rob Boggild, Phil Mercer, Eleanor Wheeler.

GETTING READY TO RESTART…

EPSV Facility Manager, Peter Davies, has told West Cheshire AC that track training can’t restart until the EPSV leisure centre is scheduled to open on Monday, April 12.

This is obviously a big disappointment as the Club was hoping to restart from March 29 – the date that England Athletics earmarked for athletics training and competition guidance to start.

West Cheshire AC has a Monthly Club Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 9, when plans will be discussed to prepare for a restart.

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.

Please remember to 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 8^th.

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.

SPEED COACHING WEBINARS

This series of free webinars focuses on developmental topics for the various speed events.

10 March (6.30-8pm): Ensuring your drills are fit for purpose. Hosted by Graham Pilkington
7th April (6.30-8pm): Peaking for Championships. Hosted by Michael Baker
21st April (6.30-8): Coaching Teenagers. Hosted by Mike Leonard

More details can be found here.

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.

UPDATED PROVISIONAL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY…

Subject to Covid-19 rules, West Cheshire AC’s latest revised league season looks like this:

Under 13/Under 15 Youth Development League Merseyside Division: Saturday, June 5, (at Ellesmere Port Sports Village), Saturday, July 17, (at Bebington Oval), and Saturday, September 4 (at Wavertree, Liverpool).

Under 17/Under 20 Youth Development League Merseyside Division: Sunday, May 30 (at Ellesmere Port Sports Village), Sunday, June 27, (at Bebington Oval), Sunday, July 25 (at Bebington Oval), 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 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 Lifetime Vice-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…

European Indoor Championships memories. Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zS-9sCbAcA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzNNR0IUBhg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp_Eq6RvoF0

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/