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 at Betley Court Farm (CW3 9BH), on Saturday April 17^th 2021.

Any club member wanting to compete in the event should email [email protected] before April 7^th 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 1^st 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 £10 and £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 23^rdMay – the age groups will be U11 and U13.
2. For Match Two on 20^thJune – 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 24^thJuly not Saturday 17^th 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 £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 £20. Sign up .

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.

SPEED COACHING WEBINARS

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

• April 7^th (6:30-8pm): Peaking for Championships. Hosted by Michael Baker
• April 21^st (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 £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 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

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/