Press Report: Records All Round

SIX new West Cheshire Athletic Club records were smashed in three events at the weekend.

Keely Smith and Michael Young improved their own outright club Marathon records, while Wullie McGarrell (MV55) and Sarah Hibbert (FV50) broke age-group Marathon records, Brian Wright (MV65) broke his age group 10k record; and Jon Clarke (MV65) smashed his age group 100m record.

Smith clocked two hours 58 minutes 10 seconds at the Cheshire Marathon, ahead of Young who posted 2:31:06, and McGarrell completed the 26.2 miles in 2:58:05 for first spot in his age group. 

Hibbert won her over-50 age group with a time of 4:05:06 at the Goodwood Running Grand Prix Marathon, while Wright posted 44:02 for first position in his age group at the Goodwood Running Grand Prix 10k.Β 

Clarke travelled to Trafford’s Longford Park Stadium to compete in the St Helens at Sutton AC Sprint Meeting and posted 11.32 seconds for 60m.

KATIE CLARKE and Cosette Wearden have also recently broken West Cheshire AC records

Clarke clocked a new 5,000m women’s track record of 17:23:06 at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships at Columbia, in America.

And Wearden rounded the under 15 girls 3,000m in 12:49:33 at a Trafford AC Open Meeting held at Longford Park Stadium.

WCAC Newsletter #322, 23-04-21

23rd April 2021, Number 322

CLUB TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS…

Part two of the trials are on Thursday 29th April (6.15-8pm approx.), so Club training will be cancelled on that night.

THURSDAY’S TIMETABLE IS:

Order of Events (Events start 6.30pm, finish 8pm approx.)

3000m – U17 upwards – mixed race – if demand

100m – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B, U17L, U20L, U17M, U20M;

300m – U15G, U15B.

400m – U17/20.

150m – U13G.

200m – U13B, U15G, U15B, U17L, U20L, U17M, U20M;

800m – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B, U17L, U20L, U17M, U20M;

SHOT PUT: This will be available all evening from 6.30-8pm, so when you have a gap between your track event(s), please go directly over and report to the officials at the circle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Matthew Coombes, Tanja Dwight, Tony Kennedy, Jean Claude Randon, Freddie Cogan-Williams, Adam Gloyne-Phillips, Michael Maxwell, Ava Longman, Thomas Chalmers, Callum Stow-Povall, Daniel Thwaites, Eloise Eccles, Evelyn Hogan, Wullie McGarrell.

And Next Week: Neil McIntyre, Jack Nash, Harvey Tegg, Holly Coates, Johnny Goodall, George Mann, Milly James, Alex Duffey, Hannah Moorhouse, Matthew Smithdale, Thomas Wilde, Thomas Wilson, Andrew Leishman, Michael Young.

MANY THANKS!

The Club would like to pass on it’s thanks to all those helpers and officials who made part one of the West Cheshire AC Track & Field Trials held on Saturday, 24th April, such a success.

CONGRATULATIONS!

A total of 57 Club members competed at last week’s Cheshire AA Cross Country Championships held at Betley Court Farm.

Many congratulations to everyone who took part at the event – one of only 2 County Cross Country Championships to have taken place this year in England.

Results from the event can be found at: www.avtiming.com

CONGRATULATIONS!

Many congratulations to Katie Clarke (SW 10,000m), Cosette Wearden (FU15 3000m) and Jon Clarke (MV65 100m) on achieving club records in recent weeks.

NORTHERN ATHLETICS 5k CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2021 Northern Athletics 5K Road Race Championships will return to the Sunderland 5K – hosted by Sunderland Harriers. The event will be on the evening of Thursday, 22nd July 2021, (subject to govt. regulations). Entry details will be posted on the Sunderland Harriers website when available.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS CLUB CONFERENCE

England Athletics is hosting its virtual Club Conference 2021 on Saturday 15 May – supporting volunteers and clubs.

The free online conference offers a fantastic opportunity for individuals in a range of club roles to come together and hear from keynote speakers, join interactive workshops, network and share examples of best practice. The conference is designed to further support England Athletics affiliated clubs, and their volunteers, as our sport continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A series of sessions will take place throughout the conference on Saturday 15 May, with club volunteers able to join for the whole day or for either the morning or afternoon only. The conference activity is tailored to suit club volunteers of all levels and experience – including club leaders, committee members, welfare officers, volunteer coordinators and those in other club support roles, as well as anyone who may be thinking about volunteering to support their club in the future.

The varied programme will include keynote speaker presentations, themed workshops and club networking sessions. The morning session will focus on support to volunteers around building resilience and leading in uncertain times. During the afternoon, the conference offers sessions on club development specifically focusing on volunteer and member experiences, innovation and adapting to change.

CLUB TRAINING HAS RETURNED

Club training at EPSV has restarted and training groups are now also permitted to meet off-site to help everyone get back into a routine.

The Club has resumed track training in small Covid secure groups and we are operating over threeevenings (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) and Saturday morning.

Athletes wanting to attend training sessions need to book through their coach. Hopefully after 3 months (end of June), if the situation continues to improve we can then revert to larger groups.

Group track training MUST only start by implementing the same strict club rules and guidelines that were in place when we last trained. There must be NO deviations from this if we are to stay COVID safe and to avoid criticism from the public.

You must only come to training if your health allows. If for any reason you have been in contact with somebody who has tested positive for Covid-19 then you MUST NOT come to training for 10 days. Always report any problems to your coach/leader, so that others can be alerted.

Please continue to act safely and make sure you have paid your annual club membership fee, and be aware of the new Cashless system being implemented for EPSV Track Training Sessions (further details below).

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT…

There is 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 Β£10 and Β£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]

EARLY 2021 OPEN TRACK AND FIELD MEETINGS

Sat, 1 May – Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford. Entry Details: www.traffordac.co.uk/

Sat, 1 May – Nuneaton Spring Special Open. All age groups. Entry Details: https://entry4sports.co.uk/#/

Sun, 9 May – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors. Entry Details: www.traffordac.co.uk/

Sat, 15 May – Trafford Open U15s. Entry Details: www.traffordac.co.uk/

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]

TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITION UPDATE

England Athletics updated their Return to Athletics and Running Guidelines on 26th March which can be found here: www.englandathletics.org/coaching/athletics-and-running/news/guidance-update-2021/

RACE WALKING QUALIFICATION

England Athletics have places available for their latest online Level 1 Race Walking Officiating qualification. If you’re looking to take your first steps towards becoming a qualified athletics official then sign-up today and join in a virtual classroom on Wednesday 28th April (7-9pm). Cost Β£20. Sign up here: 

ENGLAND ATHLETICS RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP

England Athletics have outlined in an β€˜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: www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/guidance-update-2021/

COACHING WEBINARS

Take a look at the long list of EA webinars relating to running, jumping and throwing at this link: www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/coaching-webinars/

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 Β£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 like to get involved please email Dennis at: [email protected]

More information can be found at Paul and Karen’s website here: https://www.omegaauctions.co.uk/

PLEASE HELP TO STAY IN TOUCH

I would welcome any contributions for the Club Newsletter 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]

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:www.athleticshub.co.uk/course-list/eng?what=Coaching%20Assistant%20&_ga=2.18717049.1392192673.1

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: www.ukcoaching.org/courses/learn-at-home/mental-health-awareness-for-sport-plus

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 Ellesmere Port Sports Village), 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 Wigan (still to be confirmed) 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 Macclesfield, on Sunday, May 23, before Macclesfield host round two and three on Sunday, June 20 and Saturday, July 24; and West Cheshire AC will host 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.

Read more and book online at: 

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

ENGLAND ATHLETICS WEBINARS

A revised list of England Athletics webinars can be found here: www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/coaching-webinars/

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 the following link:

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/westcheshireac/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_content=gs-w1

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: https://www.athleticsweekly.com/

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. The link can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6DK6xTdLkmwBkVBUkZZ2L_oTT6VXErNO
CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…
Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squatvideo exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page here:https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=601025713836494
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 Β£10. His email address is: [email protected]

And Jason’s new website can be found here: https://www.sportsphysiotherapyonline.co.uk/

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 your 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 β€˜Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here: https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/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 inFUNactivities 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: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIIvWCjutNqP4ZSY2FSEQVwThe link to other updated webinars can be found here: https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/coaching-webinars/here: https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/running-at-home/and here:https://www.englandathletics.org/about-us/athletics-at-home/club-support-webinars/

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 at the following link: https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/sport-physical-activity-and-mental-health/get-active-feel-good/staying-active-at-home/?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=info&utm_content=stayingactiveathometips&fbclid=IwAR3NWJ5fNXYr6uqQYN_DCnaK3u2mzIaNkVkeOXbPuN70Qj837OdCnNJ7EV

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link: https://www.sportengland.org/news/how-stay-active-while-youre-home

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link: https://www.youthsporttrust.org/free-home-learning-resources-0

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury: https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/running/article/strength-and-conditioning-exercises-for-runners-to-help-you-avoid-injury/

LOOKING BACK…

This week: High Jumping, Fanny Blankers-Koen, 1964 Olympic Long Jumping. Enjoy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLlo4u2HHD4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aezipxdr_9E

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcmaNL0IbsU

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 jnr to u20 middle distance group

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

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

Press Report: Big Turnout at Betley

A TOTAL of 57 West Cheshire Athletic Club members competed at Saturday’s Cheshire Cross Country Championships.

Carys Roberts (second position), Aimee Phillips (fourth), and Isabella Rimmer (fifth) were supported by 10th placed Megan White to win the under 15 girls team title at Betley Court Farm, near Crewe.

Ruby Phillips (fourth), Eleanor Williams (fifth), and Cerys Rowlands (10th) were backed up by Cosette Wearden (11th), Amelia McLintock (20th) and Lottie Blake (23rd) to finish second in the under 13 girls team event.

Kate Titlow (third), Kerry Riley (fifth) and Claire Harris (eighth) combined for second spot in the Senior Ladies team competition, backed up by over-45 veterans Heather McLintock (seventh), Claire Williams (eighth), Clare Mallon (11th), and Debra Bemand (16th).

Joseph Morrison (second), Tom Booth (sixth), Graham Wells (fourth over-45), and Steve Fernyhough (16th) earned second spot in the senior men’s team event, backed up by Andrew Clague (sixth over 50), James Robinson (21st), Richard Hayes (16th over 50), Mark Davies (14th over 40), Andy Carter (21st over 50), Phil Howe (25th over 50), Tony Kennedy (ninth over 60), Jon Moorhouse (26th over 50), and Dave Tiernan (12th over 55).

Jodi Bemand and Lily Moorhouse were second in the under 17 and under 20 ladies races respectively, while Fraser Campbell and Sammy Hollins completed the under 17 men’s event in second and fourth positions, and Jac Goodall and Paul Morrison finished sixth and seventh in the under 20 men’s race.

Reece Munro (seventh), Andrew Barratt (10th) and Ellis Hancock (15th) combined for third team spot in the under 15 boys event.

Florence Harte (sixth), Olivia Zarac (10th) and Anna Birkett-Evans (12th) were backed up by Lucia Khanijay (13th), Mae Grant (14th), and Edith Carr (19th) for third team position in the under 11 girls race.

Thomas Rimmer (second), Hugo McLintock (12th) and Joe Williams (15th) were supported by Dylan Gledhill (21st), William Mallon (22nd), Sidney Carr (26th), Ellis Williams (28th), Tom Birkett-Evans (30th), and Edward Baker (31st) for third team place in the under 11 boys event.

Daniel Walker (12th), Noah Woolgar (21st) and Oliver Mallon (22nd) combined for fifth team spot in the under 13 boys race.

WCAC Newsletter #321, 16-04-21

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR CLUB TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS

The deadline for members to sign-up for the Club Track & Field Trials is midnight on Monday April 19th.

The Trials are now open to Under 13s, Under 15s, Under 17s, and Under 20s, with a 3,000m for members who are Under 17 and above.

The dates of the trials are:

Saturday April 24th (9:50am -12 noon approx.): Hurdles, 1200m/1500m and most field events.

Thursday April 29th (6:15pm – 8pm approx.): Most track events and shot put.

In order to help the club to select teams for the first Youth Development League Match (on Saturday June 5th, at Ellesmere Port), which is for U13s (school years 6/7) and U15s (school years 8/9), the club needs performance information for each athlete. There are two ways to do this – (a) the club junior trials (details below) and/or (b) going to an open meeting.

YDL team selection for the 1st meeting will use both trials and open meet results. The trials are aimed at U13 and U15 age groups.

Please sign up for any event you wish to do by emailing Dennis Wall ASAP at:[email protected] with your name, age group/date of birth, and events you want to do.

We would be really grateful if any parents are able to help us out on either date.

Trials details and provisional timetable:

There is no requirement to wear your West Cheshire vest, but suitable athletics clothing should be worn. Bring pins for your vest and a drink as normal. Aim to arrive in time to do a warm up.

On arrival give your name in at the desks to receive your athlete number. The desk will be open from 9:15am on Saturday April 24th and from 6pm on Thursday April 29 th.

Athletes who have finished all their events may leave before the normal end of the session if parents are here to collect and they let one of the West Cheshire AC officials know – Otherwise please remain at the track until the normal finish time for your lift.

If you are running in a hurdles event on the Saturday and want to practice beforehand, you can come down at 9:15am to register, collect your number, warm up and we will have the hurdles set up from approx. 9:45am

TIMETABLES

Saturday April 24th – Order of Events (Events start at 10am, finish 12 noon approx.)

TRACK – Hurdles (Hurdles practice available from 9.45am)

10:00am HURDLES 70m U13 G; HURDLES 75m U15G, U13B; HURDLES 80m U15B.

1200m – U13G

1500m – U13B, U15G, U15B.

FIELD – 10:00am – Hammer U15G, U15B; Javelin – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B; Discus – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

10:30am onwards – High Jump U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

11:10am onwards – Long Jump U15G, U15B (pit 2); Long Jump U13G, U13B (pit 1).

Thursday April 29th – Order of Events (Events start 6:30pm, finish 8pm approx.)

3000m U17 upwards – mixed race – if demand

100m U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

300m U15G, U15B.

400m U17/20 – if demand

150m U13G.

200m U13B, U15G, U15B.

800m U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

SHOT PUT: This will be available all evening from 6.30-8pm, so when you have a gap between your track event(s), please go directly over and report to the officials at the circle.

PLEASE NOTE: Club training on both trials dates will be cancelled.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Fletcher Harvey Hunt, Phil Woodley, Noah Woolgar, Mike Lamb.

And Next Week: Matthew Coombes, Tanja Dwight, Tony Kennedy, Jean Claude Randon, Freddie Cogan-Williams, Adam Gloyne-Phillips, Michael Maxwell, Ava Longman, Thomas Chalmers, Callum Stow-Povall, Daniel Thwaites, Eloise Eccles, Evelyn Hogan, Wullie McGarrell.

CHESHIRE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Good luck to all of the  West Cheshire AC members in the Cheshire AA Cross-country Championships taking place at Betley Court Farm (CW3 9BH), this Saturday, April 17th.

Many thanks to our cross-country secretary, Dave Alexander, for collating and organising the entries on behalf of the club.

Further information about the event can be found here.

CLUB TRAINING HAS RETURNED

Club training at EPSV has restarted, and training groups are now also permitted to meet off-site to help everyone get back into a routine.

The club has resumed track training in small Covid secure groups and we are operating over threeevenings (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) and Saturday morning.

Athletes wanting to attend training sessions need to book through their coach. Hopefully after three months (end of June), if the situation continues to improve, we can then revert to larger groups.

Please also be aware that there will be some disruption and restrictions to the planned Track & Field meetings.

The first two YDL meetings for u13s and u15s have already been cancelled, and the Club Track and Field Trials will be held on Saturday April 24th (10am-12 noon), and Thursday April 29th (6-8pm).

Group track training MUST only start by implementing the same strict club rules and guidelines that were in place when we last trained. There must be NO deviations from this if we are to stay COVID safe and to avoid criticism from the public.

You must only come to training if your health allows. If for any reason you have been in contact with somebody who has tested positive for Covid-19 then you MUST NOT come to training for 10 days. Always report any problems to your coach/leader, so that others can be alerted.

Please continue to act safely and make sure you have paid your annual club membership fee, and be aware of the new Cashless system being implemented for EPSV Track Training Sessions (further details below).

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT…

Since our return to training, there has been 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 have received an email in December 2020 titled “West Cheshire AC Membership. Please do not ignore!”, from club Membership Secretary Jane Pughe. This email contains a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between Β£10 and Β£100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system is 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]

EARLY 2021 OPEN TRACK AND FIELD MEETINGS

Sat April 17thTrafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat April 24thTrafford Open U17s-Seniors, at Stretford.

Sat May -1st  Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat May 1stNuneaton Spring Special Open. All age groups.

Sun May 9thTrafford Open U17s-Seniors.

Sat May 15thTrafford Open U15s.

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]

TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITION UPDATE

Ahead of competition restart from March 29th, England Athletics released a draft of the 2021 Competition calendar onΒ 16th March which can be found here.

RACE WALKING QUALIFICATION

England Athletics have places available for their latest online Level 1 Race Walking Officiating qualification. If you’re looking to take your first steps towards becoming a qualified athletics official then sign-up today and join in a virtual classroom on Wednesday 28th April (7-9pm). Cost Β£20. Sign up .

ENGLAND ATHLETICS RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP

England Athletics have outlined in an β€˜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.

SPEED COACHING WEBINARS

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

  • April 21st (6:30-8pm): Coaching Teenagers. Hosted by Mike Leonard

More details can be found here.

COACHING WEBINARS

Take a look at the long list of EA webinars relating to running, jumping and throwing at this link.

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 Β£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

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 Ellesmere Port Sports Village), 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 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 Β£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

This week: Carl Lewis, Marie-Jose Perec, and Jamaica 4x100m team at London 2012.Enjoy.

IT’S GOOD TO TALK Members and parents are reminded to look at the club website, and Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates about the club.

Press Report: Racing returns this Saturday

WEST CHESHIRE Athletic Club members are preparing to take part in this Saturday’s Cheshire Cross-country Championships.

The purple-and-gold vested outfit will be represented by more than 50 members at the Covid-19 secure course at Betley Court Farm, near Crewe.

The race timetable is: 10:45am: Under 11s (2km); 11:15am: Under 13s (2.5km); 11:45am: Under 15s (3.2km); 12:20pm: Under 17s (5km); 1:20pm: U20s/Seniors/Veteran Women (6.4km); 2:20pm: U20s/Seniors/Veteran Men (6.4km).

Chip timing will be used and the races will be time trials. There will be no manual timekeeping or number recording. Race information will be announced over a PA system and competitors will be called prior to each race.
The start area will be marked out so that athletes can line up in rows of five, each row two metres apart to maintain social distancing.

Races will be started in waves of 25 runners. After each wave has started, the subsequent waves will walk forward five rows and start approximately 15-30 seconds after the previous wave.

In the senior races the athletes will be seeded with the fastest runners starting first. Athletes’ bibs will be colour-coded to indicate which wave they are in.

Junior races are won’t be seeded but faster runners will be encouraged to line up at the front to minimise overtaking. In each age group, boys will start first.

WCAC Newsletter #320, 09-04-21

April 9th 2021, Number 319

SIGN UP FOR THE CLUB TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS

Saturday April 24th (9:50am -12 noon approx.): Hurdles, 1200m/1500m and most field events.

Thursday April 29th (6:15pm – 8pm approx.): Most track events and shot put.

In order to help the club select teams for the first Youth Development League Match (on Saturday June 5th, at Ellesmere Port), which is for U13s (school years 6/7) and U15s (school years 8/9), the club needs performance information for each athlete. There are two ways to do this – (a) the club junior trials (details below) and/or (b) going to an open meeting.

YDL team selection for the 1st meeting will use both trials and open meet results. The trials are aimed at U13 and U15 age groups.

Please sign up for any event you wish to do by emailing Dennis Wall ASAP at: [email protected] with your name, age group/date of birth, and events you want to do.

We would be really grateful if any parents are able to help us out on either date.

Trials details and provisional timetable:

There is no requirement to wear your West Cheshire vest, but suitable athletics clothing should be worn. Bring pins for your vest and a drink as normal. Aim to arrive in time to do a warm up.

On arrival give your name in at the desks to receive your athlete number. The desk will be open from 9:15am on Saturday April 24th and from 6pm on Thursday April 29 th.

Athletes who have finished all their events may leave before the normal end of the session if parents are here to collect and they let one of the West Cheshire AC officials know – Otherwise please remain at the track until the normal finish time for your lift.

If you are running in a hurdles event on the Saturday and want to practice beforehand, you can come down at 9:15am to register, collect your number, warm up and we will have the hurdles set up from approx. 9:45am

TIMETABLES

Saturday April 24th – Order of Events (Events start at 10am, finish 12 noon approx.)

TRACK – Hurdles (Hurdles practice available from 9.45am)

10:00am HURDLES 70m U13 G; HURDLES 75m U15G, U13B; HURDLES 80m U15B.

1200m – U13G

1500m – U13B, U15G, U15B.

FIELD – 10:00am – Hammer U15G, U15B; Javelin – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B; Discus – U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

10:30am onwards – High Jump U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

11:10am onwards – Long Jump U15G, U15B (pit 2); Long Jump U13G, U13B (pit 1).

Thursday April 29th – Order of Events (Events start 6:30pm, finish 8pm approx.)

3000m U17 upwards – mixed race – if demand

100m U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

300m U15G, U15B.

400m U17/20 – if demand

150m U13G.

200m U13B, U15G, U15B.

800m U13G, U13B, U15G, U15B.

SHOT PUT: This will be available all evening from 6.30-8pm, so when you have a gap between your track event(s), please go directly over and report to the officials at the circle.

PLEASE NOTE: Club training on both trials dates will be cancelled.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Ethan Ackroyd, Emma Howe, Carys Roberts, Freddy Newberry, Ruby Billington, Kathryn Boden, Nieve McCulloch, Bethan Taylor, Lisa Davies, Kyran Croft Ilich.

And Next Week: Fletcher Harvey Hunt, Phil Woodley, Noah Woolgar, Mike Lamb.

CHESHIRE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

More than 50 West Cheshire AC members are being entered for the Cheshire AA Cross-country Championships taking place at Betley Court Farm (CW3 9BH), on Saturday, 17th April.

Many thanks to our cross-country Secretary, Dave Alexander, for collating and organising the entries on behalf of the club.

Further information about the event can be found at: www.avtiming.com

CLUB TRAINING HAS RETURNED

Club training at EPSV has restarted, and training groups are now also permitted to meet off-site to help everyone get back into a routine.

The club has resumed track training in small Covid secure groups and we are operating over threeevenings (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) and Saturday morning.

Athletes wanting to attend training sessions need to book through their coach. Hopefully after three months (end of June), if the situation continues to improve, we can then revert to larger groups.

Please also be aware that there will be some disruption and restrictions to the planned Track & Field meetings.

The first two YDL meetings for u13s and u15s have already been cancelled, and the Club Track and Field Trials will be held on Saturday, 24th April (10am-12 noon), and Thursday, 29th April (6-8pm).

Group track training MUST only start by implementing the same strict club rules and guidelines that were in place when we last trained. There must be NO deviations from this if we are to stay COVID safe and to avoid criticism from the public.

You must only come to training if your health allows. If for any reason you have been in contact with somebody who has tested positive for Covid-19 then you MUST NOT come to training for 10 days. Always report any problems to your coach/leader, so that others can be alerted.

Please continue to act safely and make sure you have paid your annual club membership fee, and be aware of the new Cashless system being implemented for EPSV Track Training Sessions (further details below).

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT…

Since our return to training, there has been 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 have received an email in December 2020 titled “West Cheshire AC Membership. Please do not ignore!”, from club Membership Secretary Jane Pughe. This email contains a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between Β£10 and Β£100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system is 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]

WEST CHESHIRE AC TO HOST 2021 COUNTY TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Cheshire AC will host the Cheshire AA Track and Field Championships at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Saturday and Sunday, 21st and 22nd August.

EARLY 2021 OPEN TRACK AND FIELD MEETINGS

Sat, 10 April – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors, at Stretford.

Sat, 17 April – Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat, 24 April – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors, at Stretford.

Sat, 1 May – Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat, 1 May – Nuneaton Spring Special Open. All age groups.

Sun, 9 May – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors.

Sat, 15 May – Trafford Open U15s.

CHANGES TO 2021 CHESHIRE TRACK AND FIELD LEAGUE SEASON

Following an emergency meeting for the Cheshire Track and Field League, the main points decided were:

  1. For Match One on May 23rd – the age groups will be U11 and U13.
  2. For Match Two on June 20th– the age groups will be U15 and U17.
  3. In both cases above there will be no guests. There will be four U11 & U13 Boys and 4 U11 Girls for the track and 2 for the field. There was a lot of debate over guests, but all agreed to keep social distancing down best to go along with this. Where possible use different athletes for the track and field events.
  4. Match Three will be on Saturday July 24thnot Saturday July 17th.
  5. Matches 3 and 4 will feature all athletes and age groups using Match 3 and Match 4 timetables.
  6. The athletes match fee will be Β£4 per athlete.

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]

TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITION UPDATE

Ahead of competition restart in from March 29th, England Athletics released a draft of the 2021 Competition calendar on 16th March which can be found here.

RACE WALKING QUALIFICATION

England Athletics have places available for their latest online Level 1 Race Walking Officiating qualification. If you’re looking to take your first steps towards becoming a qualified athletics official then sign-up today and join in a virtual classroom on Wednesday 28th April (7-9pm). Cost Β£20. Sign up .

ENGLAND ATHLETICS RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP

England Athletics have outlined in an β€˜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.

SPEED COACHING WEBINARS

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

  • April 21st (6:30-8pm): Coaching Teenagers. Hosted by Mike Leonard

More details can be found here.

COACHING WEBINARS

Take a look at the long list of EA webinars relating to running, jumping and throwing at this link.

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 Β£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

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 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 Β£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

This week: The Perfect Mile, Women’s 100m, and Haile Gebrselassie. Enjoy.

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

Members and parents are reminded to look at the club website, and Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates about the club.

Press Report: Steve Stars in Ultra

STEVE FERNYHOUGH is celebrating a podium finish.

The West Cheshire Athletic Club distance runner clocked a time of six hours 57 minutes for second spot at the Manchester to Liverpool 50 miles Ultra Marathon.

A total of 114 competitors completed the course from Old Trafford Stadium to Fazakerley on Good Friday.

WEST CHESHIRE AC members are being invited to take part in next month’s rearranged Cheshire AA Cross Country Championships.

All fully paid up members of the purple and gold-vested outfit who want to compete in the April 17 event at Betley Court Farm, near Crewe, will have their entry fees paid for by the club.

Any club member wanting to compete in the event should email [email protected] before April 7th 2021 with the following details:

  • Name and date of birth of the person to enter.
  • Name and mobile phone contact number of parent/ guardian who will transport them to the race.
  • Please can any entrants in the under 20 and senior races also provide an estimated 5k time.

And finally, can all who wish to run please check that they have renewed their membership for this year!

The Ellesmere Port Sports Village-based organisation, who restarted restricted group training sessions last week, is doing all it can to help club members return to competition after experiencing 12 months of lockdown.

The timetable for the event is: 10:45am start – Under 11s (2km); 11:15am – Under 13s (2.5km); 11:45am – Under 15s (3.2km); 12:20pm – Under 17s (5km); 1:20pm – Under 20 Ladies, Senior Ladies and Veteran Ladies (6.4km); 2:20pm – Under 20 Men, Senior Men, and Veteran Men (6.4km).

Further details about the event can be found online at: www.avtiming.com

WCAC Newsletter #319, 02-04-21

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cheshire AA has been awarded a licence for the County Cross-country Championships, to take place atΒ Betley Court Farm (CW3 9BH), on Saturday April 17th 2021.

Any club member wanting to compete in the event should email [email protected] before April 7th 2021 with the following details:

  • Name and date of birth of the person to enter.

  • Name and mobile phone contact number of parent/ guardian who will transport them to the race.

  • Please can any entrants in the under 20 and senior races also provide an estimated 5k time.

And finally, can all who wish to run please check that they have renewed their membership for this year!

Further information about the event can be found at: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Eve Duret, Dave Dentith, George Hyde, Ewan Bradley, Katie Lever, Val Ornsby.

And Next Week: Ethan Ackroyd, Emma Howe, Carys Roberts, Freddy Newberry, Ruby Billington, Kathryn Boden, Nieve McCulloch, Bethan Taylor, Lisa Davies, Kyran Croft Ilich.

CONGRATULATIONS STEVE FERNYHOUGH!

Many congratulations to Steve Fernyhough who clocked 6 hours 58 minutes to finish second in the Manchester to Liverpool 50 miles Ultramarathon on Good Friday.

CLUB TRAINING HAS RETURNED

Club training resumed on Monday, 29th March.

The Club’s track training at EPSV has restarted and training groups are now also permitted to meet off-site to help everyone get back into a routine.

The Club has resumed track training in small Covid secure groups and we are operating over threeevenings (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) and Saturday morning.

Athletes wanting to attend training sessions need to book through their coach. Hopefully after 3 months (end of June), if the situation continues to improve we can then revert to larger groups.

Please also be aware that there will be some disruption and restrictions to the planned Track & Field meetings.

The first two YDL meetings for u13s and u15s have already been cancelled, and the Club Track and Field Trials will be held on Saturday, 24th April (10am-12 noon), and Thursday, 29th April (6-8pm).

Group track training MUST only start by implementing the same strict club rules and guidelines that were in place when we last trained. There must be NO deviations from this if we are to stay COVID safe and to avoid criticism from the public.

You must only come to training if your health allows. If for any reason you have been in contact with somebody who has tested positive for Covid-19 then you MUST NOT come to training for 10 days. Always report any problems to your coach/leader, so that others can be alerted.

Please continue to act safely and make sure you have paid your annual club membership fee, and be aware of the new Cashless system being implemented for EPSV Track Training Sessions (further details below).

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 have received an email in December 2020 titled “West Cheshire AC Membership. Please do not ignore!”, from club Membership Secretary Jane Pughe. This email contains a link to the top-up system. From there, you will be able to top-up by between Β£10 and Β£100, and set both regular top-up amounts and warnings to prompt you when your account is low.

The cashless payment system is 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]

WEST CHESHIRE AC TO HOST 2021 COUNTY TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Cheshire AC will host the Cheshire AA Track and Field Championships at Ellesmere Port Sports Village on Saturday and Sunday, August 21st and 22nd.

EARLY 2021 OPEN TRACK AND FIELD MEETINGS

Sat, 10 April – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors, at Stretford.

Sat, 17 April – Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat, 24 April – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors, at Stretford.

Sat, 1 May – Trafford Open U15s, at Stretford.

Sat, 1 May – Nuneaton Spring Special Open. All age groups.

Sun, 9 May – Trafford Open U17s-Seniors.

Sat, 15 May – Trafford Open U15s.

CHANGES TO 2021 CHESHIRE TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE SEASON

Following an emergency meeting for the Cheshire Track and Field League, the main points decided were:

  1. For Match One on 23rdMay – the age groups will be U11 and U13.
  2. For Match Two on 20thJune – the age groups will be U15 and U17.
  3. In both cases above there will be no guests. There will be four U11 & U13 Boys and 4 U11 Girls for the track and 2 for the field. There was a lot of debate over guests, but all agreed to keep social distancing down best to go along with this. Where possible use different athletes for the track and field events.
  4. Match Three will be on Saturday 24thJuly not Saturday 17th July.
  5. Matches 3 and 4 will feature all athletes and age groups using Match 3 and Match 4 timetables.
  6. The athletes match fee will be Β£4 per athlete.

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]

TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITION UPDATE

Ahead of competition restart in from March 29th, England Athletics released a draft of the 2021 Competition calendar on 16th March which can be found here.

RACE WALKING QUALIFICATION

England Athletics have places available for their latest online Level 1 Race Walking Officiating qualification. If you’re looking to take your first steps towards becoming a qualified athletics official then sign-up today and join in a virtual classroom on Wednesday 28th April (7-9pm). Cost Β£20. Sign up .

ENGLAND ATHLETICS RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP

England Athletics have outlined in an β€˜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.

SPEED COACHING WEBINARS

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

  • April 7th (6:30-8pm): Peaking for Championships. Hosted by Michael Baker
  • April 21st (6:30-8pm): Coaching Teenagers. Hosted by Mike Leonard

More details can be found here.

COACHING WEBINARS

Take a look at the long list of EA webinars relating to running, jumping and throwing at this link.

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 Β£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

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 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 Β£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

This week: Mike Powell, Jonathan Edwards, and Five Athletics World Records that could be beaten in Tokyo! Enjoy.

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/

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