WCAC Newsletter #283, 24-07-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

John Hughes, David Irving, Bethan Jones, Sam Pierre-Louis, Claire Gloyne-Phillips, Claire Bennette, Tom Tudor, Sam Owens.

And Next Week: Mark Gallagher, Bethany Feild, Bob Benson, Sophie Percival, Oliver James, Elizabeth Tweedle, Paul Van Schie, Charlotte Wilson.

PLEASE HELP OUT AT THIS SUNDAY’S TRACK TIDY DAY…

All Club members are being invited to spare some of thei time this Sunday as West Cheshire AC attempts to prepare the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track for the return of track training in week commencing August 3rd.

Helpers and volunteers are needed between 10am and 4pm this Sunday for numerous jobs. If you can help, please let Dennis know by emailing him ASAP at: [email protected] 

PREPARATIONS FOR A RETURN TO TRACK TRAINING

The Club remains on course to welcome fully paid up members back to training at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track from Monday, August 3.

EPSV Facility Manager, Peter Davies, is happy with the Covid-19 Risk Assessment and Training Plan submitted by the Club and preparations are now being put in place (signage, sanitizing materials, etc), to ensure everyone can return and train within a safe environment.

Meanwhile, several members have been taking advantage of attending various training sessions for restricted numbers supervised by Club coaches from the Northgate Arena, Chester; the Next Car Park at Cheshire Oaks; the Blue Planet Aquarium Car Park; and Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port.

Anyone attending these off-site training venues is being asked to contribute a training fee which will be put towards Club funds.

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

PLEASE SUPPORT FRASER CAMPBELL’S FUNDRAISING BID…

Next summer, Club member Fraser Campbell will be undertaking a month-long expedition to Kenya with Tarporley High School and Camps International. During this time, he will be taking part in a community project to improve school buildings for a rural village, and conservation projects such as digging waterholes, making elephant fences and even worming goats! To be able to take part in this amazing opportunity, Fraser has to raise money towards the cost. A sponsored walk of the Sandstone Trail was suggested, but Fraser decided walking wasn’t good enough, he would run it! Therefore, week commencing 10th August, he aims to run the 36 miles of the Sandstone Trail in 3 days. If anyone would like to sponsor Fraser, he would be very grateful and this can be done here. Thank you very much for your support.

JEAN CLAUDE SMASHES 5k PB IN MALTA

Jean Claude Randon posted a massive personal best in his first race after the Covid-19 lockdown, clocking 15 minutes 50 seconds in his home country of Malta.

Randon finished fifth in the race, first in his under 23 age group, and helped his Maltese club, St Patrick’s AC, secure the men’s team prize.

GET BEHIND ALEX STANIFORTH’S BIG CHALLENGE…

In 3 weeks, Alex Staniforth starts his biggest (and probably most ridiculous) challenge yet – running The National 3 Peaks Challenge. This involves Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, and running the entire distance between, approximately 445 miles in under 9 days, the fastest known time.

He’ll be running (very slowly) through Chester on Day 8, Friday 14th August, and he would like support and company for a few miles.

He’s raising funds for a charity he recently co-founded called Mind Over Mountains to restore mental health through the outdoors and would welcome any kind donations here.

TRAFFORD AC OPEN TRACK & FIELD MEETING UPDATE

Update from the organisers for 1st August open meeting.

Trafford are delighted to announce that athletes from Cheshire, Merseyside & Lancashire clubs who entered before entries closed on Monday (20th July) will now be accepted for the meeting on 1st August.

Those athletes whose entries have not been accepted will be contacted by email as soon as possible.

Further announcements regarding the 8th August meeting will be made shortly.

Be aware that these meetings will operate in a Covid-secure environment. This includes only one spectator per athlete.

Trafford are hosting several more meetings throughout August and September.  Any queries please email: [email protected]

BORDERS ROAD RUNNING LEAGUE UPDATE

At the Borders Road Running League AGM the consensus was that there is unlikely to be much racing in 2020 and as such the league should not attempt to put any races on this year.

Options for racing in 2021 were discussed. It was felt that any racing in the early part of 2021 is still in some doubt, and that there is likely to be a log-jam of events and there would be difficulty finding suitable dates. As such it was felt that at the moment the league should not be planning to stage a Borders League in the season 2020/21. A final decision on this will be made at a meeting to be held in September.

Various options for putting on a couple of events were considered, either one-off races or relays in March or April if conditions are appropriate. These will be considered later.

VIRTUAL WIRRAL SEASIDE 5k RUN SERIES FIFTH RACE…

The Fifth Race of the Wirral Seaside Run Series was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 29th July. The organisers have set up another virtual 5K event in an attempt to try and keep people motivated. They have promoted the run through the Wirral Seaside Runs Facebook and website pages.
The start time will be 7pm on Wednesday 22nd July and you have One Week to upload One (and only 1) 5K Run to the Wirral Seaside Run Facebook page using Strava, Garmin etc. The finish time will be 8pm on Wednesday 29th July.
The results will be published on Thursday 30th July. This is for fun and so is free. When you upload your 5K please provide your Name, Gender, Age Category (and Club), and a photo would be nice.

WHAT A MIX-UP!!!…

A mix-up saw American Noah Lyles appear to break Usain Bolt’s 200m world record while running in the Inspiration Games.

Lyles actually started 15 metres closer to the finish line than normal, meaning he only ran 185 metres. Take a look here.

VIRTUAL BIRCHWOOD 10k ROAD RACE

The Birchwood 10k Road Race scheduled to be held in August has been cancelled and replaced by a Virtual race challenge, on August 22 and 29.

 ONLINE COURSES FOR BECOMING A QUALIFIED ATHLETICS OFFICIAL

BOOK NOW! Start your journey to becoming a qualified athletics Official with our new online Field Judge Level 1 qualification .The 4-hour practical course introduces participants to the key roles, responsibilities and duties of a Field Official. Only Β£20pp. Available dates: Saturday 1 August, Tuesday 1 September & Sunday 13 September.

HELP AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE

Club member Mark Shepherd is offering help to anyone who has been furloughed or are employed and looking to up-skill in a certain area.

The basic criteria are that an individual must live or work in Cheshire / Warrington and they have to be employed or self-employed. For businesses employing less than 50 people the funding his business (Accelerate) cover 100% of all training costs and for larger businesses it’s 40%.

Training can be anything from a short CPD type course to a full ILM leadership and Management qualification. From level 2 up to Level 7 (post degree).

If anyone shows interest please feel free to pass on Mark’s contact details and he will do his best to get their training funded.

Mark can be contacted at:07494 869 282 and by email: [email protected]

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has announced a restructuring and details can be found here.

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only Β£20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

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.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun β€˜at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

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]

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 the club’s 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.

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 in FUN activities 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.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

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 here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s Paula Radcliffe, Dick Fosbury, and Top 100m Moments. Enjoy…

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: PB for Jean Claude

JEAN CLAUDE RANDON posted a massive personal best in his first race after the Covid-19 lockdown.

The West Cheshire Athletic Club member and Chester University student clocked 15 minutes 50 seconds in his home country of Malta.

Randon finished fifth in the race, first in his under 23 age group, and helped his Maltese club, St Patrick’s AC, secure the men’s team prize.

Meanwhile, a series of scheduled fixtures have fallen victim to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Birchwood 10k Road Race scheduled to be held in August has been cancelled and replaced by a Virtualrace challenge, on August 22 and 29.

The Northern Road Relay Championships, scheduled to be held in September at SportCity, Manchester, has been cancelled.

The English Schools Combined Events Championships Final at Bedford, planned to be held in September, has been cancelled “due to continued uncertainties about what might be possible.”

The Manchester Marathon, planned to take place on Sunday, October 11; the Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon scheduled to be held on September 13; and the Betwsycoed Trail Challenge planned for November 28, have all be cancelled.

But Run Cheshire and Gogledd Cymru are hoping to organise a Wrexham Elite Marathon if the remaining big UK autumn marathons are cancelled.

The organisers said: “Tentative plans have been drawn up using a speedy 6km (3.73 miles) loop of the Village Bakery Wrexham Half Marathon course. Due to the nature of the course there will be a maximum of 400 entrants, and it will be aimed at runners capable of running 2.40 or quicker.

“The plan rests on two big β€˜ifs’ and they are if the remaining big UK autumn marathons are cancelled and more importantly if Welsh Athletics and UK Athletics are issuing licences for small races.

“The 7-lap course has been officially measured and we are awaiting accreditation. We have suppliers and volunteers on standby, but we will not go live with the race or take any entry fees until we are confident it could go ahead.

“We are keen to know if there is a demand for the race and would ask anyone interested in taking part to contact us.”

Further details can be found here.

WCAC Newsletter #282, 17-07-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Madhuvanti Guruprasad, Dave Bish, Georgia Andrews, Izzy Hunter, Jane Pughe, Anthony Spruce, Gracie Hole, Sophie Webb, Fraser Campbell.

And Next Week: John Hughes, David Irving, Bethan Jones, Sam Pierre-Louis, Claire Gloyne-Phillips, Claire Bennette, Tom Tudor, Sam Owens.

NOT RECEIVING CLUB EMAILS?

If you are not receiving all of the emails from the club that you would like to (eg newsletter reminders, surveys), please use the link that you were emailed either when registering or renewing your membership to access your membership details. At the bottom of these details, you can change “Allow only essential emails about my membership” to “Allow all emails from West Cheshire Athletic Club”. Please note that this will mean that you receive all of the group emails that the club sends (usually no more than 1-2 per week; no third party/ advertising emails are sent). As this is personal data, we recommend that members alter their own information; if you have any trouble with this, please let us know.

PREPARATIONS FOR A RETURN TO TRACK TRAINING

The Club submitted a Return To Track Training Plan and Covid-19 Risk Assessment to Brio this week with the aim of resuming training at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track from Monday, August 3.

More than 180 Club members have expressed an interest to return to training as well as 16 Club Coaches, 5 Assistant Club Coaches, and 6 Volunteers, and as soon as Brio agree to our submission Coaches and Athletes will begin to prepare for a safe return to training under England Athletics guidelines, but please remember that only fully paid up Club members will be invited to return.

Meanwhile, several members have been taking advantage of attending various training sessions for restricted numbers supervised by Club coaches from the Northgate Arena, Chester; the Next Car Park at Cheshire Oaks; the Blue Planet Aquarium Car Park; and Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port.

Anyone attending these off-site training venues is being asked to contribute a training fee which will be put towards Club funds.

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

VIRTUAL ENGLISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to Harriet Wheeler and Gabriel Mikoleizik who competed in the Virtual English Schools Championships. Harriet achieved 28.58m in the javelin, and Gabriel posted 11.48 seconds for the 100m. 

ONLINE COURSES FOR BECOMING A QUALIFIED ATHLETICS OFFICIAL

BOOK NOW! Start your journey to becoming a qualified athletics Official with our new online Field Judge Level 1 qualification . The 4-hour practical course introduces participants to the key roles, responsibilities and duties of a Field Official. Only Β£20pp. Available dates: Saturday Aug 1st, Tuesday September 1st and Sunday September 13th.

AUTUMN 2020 NORTHERN ROAD RELAYS CANCELLED

The Northern Road Relay Championships scheduled to be held in September have been cancelled. A statement from Northern Athletics can be found here.

2020 ENGLISH SCHOOLS COMBINED EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS CANCELLED

Statement released on Sunday: “Due to the situation relating to the coronavirus, it has been necessary to cancel the Regional Rounds of the Combined Events. It was hoped that we would be able to stage the Final at Bedford in September as planned, however due to continued uncertainties about what might be possible the decision has been made to cancel the Final too.”

HELP AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE

Club member Mark Shepherd is offering help to anyone who has been furloughed or are employed and looking to up-skill in a certain area.

The basic criteria is that an individual must live or work in Cheshire / Warrington and they have to be employed or self-employed. For businesses employing less than 50 people the funding his business (Accelerate) cover 100% of all training costs and for larger businesses it’s 40%.

Training can be anything from a short CPD type course to a full ILM leadership and Management qualification. From level 2 up to Level 7 (post degree).

If anyone shows interest please feel free to pass on Mark’s contact details and he will do his best to get their training funded.

Mark can be contacted at:07494 869 282 and by email: [email protected]

2020 WREXHAM ELITE MARATHON RACE PLAN

Run Cheshire and Gogledd Cymru are hoping to organise a Wrexham Elite Marathon. Further details can be found here

2020 MANCHESTER MARATHON CANCELLED

The Manchester Marathon, which was due to take place on Sunday October 11th, has been cancelled.

2020 LAKE VYRNWY HALF MARATHON CANCELLED

The Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon, which was due to take place on September 13th,has been cancelled.

2020 BETWSYCOED TRIAL CHALLENGE POSTPONED

The Betwsycoed Trail Challenge, which was due to take place on November 28th, has been cancelled.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has announced a restructuring and details can be found here.

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only Β£20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

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.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun β€˜at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

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]

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 the club’s 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.

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 in FUN activities 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.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

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 here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s Harold Abrahams, Eric Liddell, and Fanny Blankers-Koen. Enjoy…

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: Local Races Cancelled

THIS year’s Essar Chester Half Marathon, and MBNA Chester Marathon/Metric Marathon have all been cancelled.

Race organisers, Active Leisure Events Ltd, have officially decided to cancel the three popular fixtures due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The MBNA Chester Half Marathon had originally been organised for May 17, but was then postponed and rearranged for September 20 before being cancelled.

“Since we announced our update statement in May, we have been closely monitoring the ever-evolving situation around the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest government guidance and developments emerging throughout the events industry,” an online Active Leisure Events Ltd statement said.

“We would like to thank the 3,500 people who completed our recent survey about running in a Covid-19 environment.

The responses and comments received have been an integral part of our decision making. A hugely significant result was that over 66% would not be comfortable taking part in events in 2020.

“It’s clear that staging two, large scale, mass participation events this year would be inappropriate. It is with regret and a heavy heart, that we announce the cancellation of our two remaining 2020 events; the Essar Chester Half Marathon scheduled for the 20th September and the MBNA Chester Marathon/Metric Marathon scheduled for the 4th October.

“Our overriding priority is the safety and health of our runners, staff, contractors, volunteers, spectators, local community and society as a whole.

“Runners registered for both events will be contacted on the 17th July confirming the cancellation and outlining the next steps regarding refunds, deferrals and other options available to them. At that stage more details will also be available on our website. We have been trying to keep up with your queries and we understand a lot of you will have questions, but please bear with us as we continue to work through these difficult times.

“With the original 2020 Essar Chester Half Marathon being in May, the medals, race shirts and goody bag items were ordered pre-lockdown and are already with us. As a result, those who are entered into the race have the option to run the event virtually. Further details of the virtual event and how we will be making it special, will be announced
shortly.

“For the 2020 MBNA Chester Full and Metric Marathons we have made the decision to cancel the events before the key order deadlines and as a result, we will not have race shirts and medals so we will not be able to offer a virtual alternative.

“We appreciate many of you will be disappointed with our decision and may feel frustrated. As a Team, we have spent a significant amount of time exploring, considering and planning numerous alternative scenarios, to enable the events to go ahead safely.

“The amount of uncertainty surrounding large scale events and the lack of clear directionΒ has been challenging and has only extended the time to come to a final decision. We are sincerely sorry for this, andΒ for having to cancel our remaining 2020 events and the 2020 Chester Triple. It’s not what anyone wanted but it’sΒ essential that everyone’s health and well-being take priority over all else.

“We’d like to offer a huge thank you to our runners, sponsors, volunteers, local council, medical teams and other key stakeholders for their understanding and support throughout this incredibly difficult time. We have been overwhelmed by theΒ generous outpouring of positive comments and well-wishes.

“The multi-award-winning Essar Chester Half Marathon and the MBNA Chester Marathon have become two of the UK’s staple running events on any runner’s race calendar. They provide opportunities for all to run, compete and help with their journey to achieve and maintain fitness and a healthy lifestyle; whilst serving as an inspiration to people of
all ages and abilities to get active, improve their lives and accomplish something they maybe didn’t think was possible. The events raise the profile of Chester as a destination city to a national and international audience and raise millions of pounds each year for charity.

“Please use this disappointing news as motivation for your next event. We certainly are! With the amount of new lockdown runners and the continued appetite for events within the running community, we’re anticipating that the post Covid-19 demand for running events will be greater than ever. We will use this time to bounce back and prepare for a complete season of 2021 running events and the 2021 Chester Triple.

“We hope you will all be able to join us next year for the 2021 Aldi Chester 10K on 14th March, 2021 Essar Chester Half Marathon on 16th May, and the 2021 MBNA Chester Marathon/Metric Marathon on 3rd October.”

Preparation for return to track

As part of the club’s plan to return to training, we need to find out how many athletes are ready to come back to the Ellesmere Port Sports Village athletics track later this month. We may have to temporarily change the day of your training group, depending on how many athletes would like to return to training, while maintaining social distancing requirements. We will let you know what days and times your group is training.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have not responded by Sunday evening, 12-07-20, we will not include you in the track training groups and you cannot just come along to the sessions, as social distancing applies and an individual coach can only train 5 athletes. Also, if you have not paid your membership, you will not be allowed to train

Please provide the following details:

I WOULD / WOULD NOT like to return to training at the EPSV athletics track.

NAME: …………………………………………………………………………………

AGE GROUP OR SCHOOL YEAR: ……………………………………………….

NAME OF THE PERSON (COACH) WHO YOU NORMALLY TRAIN WITH:……………………………………………….

Please email your answers ASAP to Jill Gore: [email protected]

or Dennis Wall: [email protected]

WCAC Newsletter #281, 10-07-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Steve Fernyhough, Zac Lunt, John Mercer, Jessica Lark, Dylan Moore, Megan Bould, Bethany Long, Genevieve Smith, Tony Thackray, Macey Lockerbie.

And Next Week: Madhuvanti Guruprasad, Dave Bish, Georgia Andrews, Izzy Hunter, Jane Pughe, Anthony Spruce, Gracie Hole, Sophie Webb, Fraser Campbell.

PREPARATIONS FOR A RETURN TO TRACK TRAINING

Every Club member was this week sent an email asking whether they were wanting to return to the EPSV Track later this month.

If you haven’t yet replied to this email can you please do so ASAP because the club needs to start making plans to ensure everyone is safe when a return happens?

The request asked members wanting to return to provide their name, their school year/age group, and the training group they worked with before lockdown, and email their reply to either Jill Gore or Dennis Wall at: [email protected] or [email protected] 

Meanwhile, several members have been taking advantage of attending various training sessions for restricted numbers supervised by Club coaches from the Northgate Arena, Chester; the Next Car Park at Cheshire Oaks; the Blue Planet Aquarium Car Park; and Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port.

If you have not yet paid your Club Membership Fees and are currently taking part in the training sessions being supervised by Club coaches, please support your Club and pay your Membership Fee.

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

MANY CONGRATULATIONS!

The Club would like to congratulate Laura Turley and Heather Miller who have just passed their degree courses at Chester University.

Laura is celebrating a 2:1 Bachelor of Science with Honours in Sport and Exercise Sciences, and Heather is celebrating a 2:1 Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology with Criminology.

WELL DONE NIKKI!

Nicola Gore is celebrating after being awarded the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) which supports the professional development of aspiring and serving senior leaders.

2020 ESSAR CHESTER HALF, MARATHON & METRIC MARATHON CANCELLED

Active Leisure Events Ltd has cancelled the previously rearranged Chester Half Marathon, Chester Marathon and Chester Metric Marathon. More details can be found here.

ENGLISH SCHOOLS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS VIRTUAL EVENT

This week would have seen pupils making final preparations for the English Schools Track & Field Championships in Manchester, an event that has only been cancelled during the Second World War, and would have been the 90th Championships.

With the loss of the event that so many young athletes look forward to each year, a decision has been made to offer an opportunity for athletes to compare their progress with others across the country during the week of the Championships.

Athletes can enter more than once during the week commencing Sunday, July 5th and ending this Saturday, July 11th, but can only enter one event, in the same way they can enter the actual Championships. Their best result will be used to determine the final rankings.

Clearly, as these will be training results, and photo-finish won’t be in use, they won’t be eligible for Power of Ten, and there are large areas where errors can creep in, from coaches misreading tapes to out and out exaggeration of results, which we hope won’t happen, but we hope to get a good set of results from a fun competitive opportunity, even if nobody is going to be crowned ESAA Champion!

All athletes will receive a certificate to show they participated in the event, sent by email to the contact email address we have in the entry and we will also send a discount voucher very kindly donated by Neuff Sports, which can be used for anything except javelins and ground equipment, and another kindly presented by Championship sponsor, New Balance.

You will be able to see a link to the results on the ESAA Facebook page after the end of competition. This is very much a trial on our part, and volunteers are staging it, with a results system put together by students (for which we thank Buxton Community School in Derbyshire), so please bear with us that we can’t provide running results during the week, but only final results afterwards. If we are able to list intermediate results at some stage during the week, we will do so.

To enter the competition, click on this link, which will open to give you a form to complete with various details about the athlete and the event and performance. Complete the form, remember to include a contact email for the coach or teacher so we can send the certificate to show you competed in the 2020 virtual ESAA.

When you enter – note that the dates are in the American style, with month, then day, then year. I hope you are able to take part in one of the events and get some enjoyment out of being part of a national event, albeit a virtual one. Good luck!

MESSAGE FROM DAME JESSICA ENNIS-HILL…

β€œWhy you might be doing ab exercises wrong… I often get messages from people who experience neck pain when doing ab exercises, so I’ve written a about how one technique change can fix it right away.

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only Β£20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS VIRTUAL 5k ROAD RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Entries to the England Athletics Virtual 5K Road Running Championships (July 11-13) are now . With the original event cancelled due to Covid-19, EA has launched a free-to-enter virtual running version of the race for 2020 (following government guidelines). The Virtual 5K Championships provides a platform for performance-focused runners to challenge for the national title and, with no minimum entry standard, also gives runners a chance to gain their first experience in national competition! 

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

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.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun β€˜at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

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]

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 the club’s 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.

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 in FUN activities 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.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

VIRTUAL CHESHIRE ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cheshire County Athletics Association in conjunction with Run Cheshire and Gogledd Cymru are organising the Cheshire County Virtual Road Racing Championships.

The online entry link is here.

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 here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s Funny athletics moments, 7 Impossible Comebacks in running, and 10 Legendary Track & Field Records. Enjoy…

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: Rogers Sets the Pace in Virtual Race

(Photo courtesy of Chris Morgan)

ROSEMARY ROGERS is on course for a hat-trick of victories.

The West Cheshire Athletic Club member headed the BTR Virtual Race leaderboard in three different events at the end of June.

Rogers clocked the fastest women’s time of 23 minutes 55 seconds for the Port Sunlight 5k, 46:22 for top spot in the Mersey Tunnel 10k Race, and 63:53 for the Off-Road 8 Miles Race.

The BTR Virtual Race Series will continue for July and August and at the end of the three months the winners in each race will receive a winners trophy.

Runners not aiming for the top spot are being urged to use any of the distances as great motivation to get them through this period of lockdown – and they will also be helping support a local business during very difficult times.

Further details can be found here.

WCAC Newsletter #280, 03-07-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Lily Moorhouse, Callum Hill, Joseph Hancock, Jenny Manning, Jessica Lark, Edith Storey.

And Next Week: Steve Fernyhough, Zac Lunt, John Mercer, Dylan Moore, Megan Bould, Bethany Long, Genevieve Smith, Tony Thackray, Macey Lockerbie.

FIRST STEPS FOR A RETURN TO TRACK TRAINING

The first steps towards a return to track training at EPSV took place this week when Eddie Gore and Dennis Wall met EPSV Facility Manager, Peter Davies, to discuss re-opening the athletics facility.

From what was said it looks like we are targeting week commencing 27th July as a re-start date, but more details will be released once a decision has been finalised.

Meanwhile, several members have been taking advantage of attending various training sessions for restricted numbers supervised by Club coaches from the Northgate Arena, Chester; the Next Car Park at Cheshire Oaks; the Blue Planet Aquarium Car Park; and Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port.

If you have not yet paid your Club Membership Fees and are currently taking part in the training sessions being supervised by Club coaches, please support your Club and pay your Membership Fee.

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only Β£20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS VIRTUAL 5k ROAD RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Entries to the England Athletics Virtual 5K Road Running Championships (July 11-13) are now . With the original event cancelled due to Covid-19, EA has launched a free-to-enter virtual running version of the race for 2020 (following government guidelines). The Virtual 5K Championships provides a platform for performance-focused runners to challenge for the national title and, with no minimum entry standard, also gives runners a chance to gain their first experience in national competition! 

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

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.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun β€˜at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

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]

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 the club’s 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.

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 in FUN activities 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.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

VIRTUAL CHESHIRE ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cheshire County Athletics Association in conjunction with Run Cheshire and Gogledd Cymru are organising the Cheshire County Virtual Road Racing Championships.

The online entry link is here.

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 here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s The quickest sock in history, Roger Black, and a Brilliant British Women’s 4x400m Relay Win. Enjoy…

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: Six Hope to Star in Manchester

SEVERAL West Cheshire Athletic Club members are focusing their sights on the re-scheduled British Athletics Championships.

Laura Turley, Emma Howe, Joseph Morrison, Ewan Bradley, George Hyde, and Sophie Percival are all hoping to be in action at the event to be held on Friday and Saturday, September 4 and 5, behind closed doors at the Manchester Regional Arena.

Turley’s 400m personal best of 54.66 seconds achieved in June last year in France, should reward her with a place in the starting line-up.

Howe will be hoping to achieve a mark better than the javelin qualification standard of 47m before the September fixture having hit a personal best of 45.27m at Stretford in July last year.

Morrison, who finished third at the British Universities and Colleges Indoor Championships at Sheffield in February with a new 800m personal best of 1:50:67, will be hoping to better the qualification standard of 1:50:50.

Bradley will also be aiming to better his 110m hurdles personal best of 15.3 seconds clocked at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village track last July as the qualification standard for Manchester is 15.0 seconds.

Hyde, a student at Loughborough University, hopes to improve on his shot put personal best of 15.50m at last year’s Manchester International as the qualification mark stands at 15.75m.

And Percival will be keen to better her javelin personal best of 45.03 seconds and reach the qualification standard to secure her place.

The format and shape of September’s championship will be subject to the government guidelines and will be broadcast live on Friday night on BBC2, 1830-2100 and Saturday, afternoon on BBC1, 1315-1630.

Joanna Coates, CEO of UK Athletics said: β€œWe are delighted to be able to offer our athletes an opportunity to compete and still become British Champions at the end of the summer in what has been the most unprecedented of circumstances for all sport.

β€œPeople will be aware of my passion for women’s sport and I am grateful that the gender mix in athletics means everyone gets to return to the field of play. However, for those sports where men and women compete in separate structures, I urge those organisations to ensure efforts getting women’s sports back up and running are championed with the same passion and sense of urgency.

β€œThanks to the BBC for supporting us to showcase our sport under the Friday evening lights, and also to Manchester City Council for their investment into the facility and working with us to confirm we could stage this event in such challenging times.

β€œWe are sorry that we cannot host our brilliant athletics supporters this year but hope for a healthy return for fans at sports events next year and to welcoming spectators to next year’s Olympic trials scheduled for June 26-27.”

MEANWHILE, the Helena Tipping Wrexham 10k Road Race, scheduled to be held on Sunday, July 26, has been cancelled.

The organisers posted a statement on Facebook: “As you may be aware the sports governing bodies have recently extended the ban on road racing until at least July 31. This clearly means that our race will be unable to take place and so to prevent further congestion later in the year, we have now cancelled the race moving all entrants automatically to the 2021 staging of the race on Sunday, July 25.  “We are really disappointed as we have a new accredited course and were looking forward to a record entry field and some fast times.”You (runners) should have received an email with further information so please check your spam/junk folders. If you have any questions please contact us via: [email protected] as we are a small organisation and it is not always possible to keep track of or respond to social media comments. In the meantime please stay safe.”

WCAC Newsletter #279, 26-06-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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

Glenys Potter, Stephen Ball, Natasha Cobb, Lauren Dimbylow, Stuart Hague, Harry Lark, Ellen Molloy, James Smith, Marley Renowden, Patrick Tait.

And next week: Lily Moorhouse, Callum Hill, Joseph Hancock, Jenny Manning, Jessica Lark, Edith Storey.

STAYING IN TOUCH

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Attempts are being made by Club coaches and athletes to take small steps towards staying in shape after the lockdown, and England Athletics have set-out a timetable of steps towards a new normal in terms of organising pilot club competitions before attempting to put on open meetings, subject to restrictions being relaxed.

In terms of the EPSV Athletics Track re-opening, the Club have been in touch with track operators, Brio, who this week promised to keep the Club updated in light of Tuesday’s announcement by the government to re-open gyms and play areas.

Once Brio confirm the EPSV Athletics Track can re-open all Club members will be informed about arrangements for training, so please keep an eye on your email inboxes and the Club’s website and social media platforms. 

If you have not yet paid your Club Membership Fees and are currently taking part in the training sessions being supervised by Club coaches, please support your Club and pay your Membership Fee.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

DO YOU HAVE HALF AN HOUR TO FILL?

England Athletics have set up this inter-club competition 30 minute Challenge, which may be of interest to some of our members.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics. Details are here

AWARDS DEADLINE IS THIS SUNDAY

Dennis Wall has again nominated West Cheshire AC for the North West Regional Club of the Year, but Club members can also nominate individuals for the other Volunteer Award Categories, and the deadline is this Sunday, June 28. Don’t miss your chance to nominate them for the North West Regional Volunteer Awards 2020. Submit your nominations , before midnight on Sunday evening.

Through the nine awards categories, England Athletics are looking to reward athletics and running clubs, RunTogether groups, coaches, leaders, officials, volunteers and young volunteers… as well as highlighting long-term service to athletics or running and recognising fantastic community-focused activity.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online , a great development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only Β£20. New dates available – Tue 14 Jul, Sun 26 July & Tue 4 August.

VIRTUAL CLUB NIGHT WITH CHRISTINE OHURUOGU

England Athletics are holding a Virtual Club Night featuring a live interview & Q&A with Olympic, World and Commonwealth 400m Champion Christine Ohuruogu! To join at 19:00 on Tuesday 30th June, book your place .

ENGLAND ATHLETICS VIRTUAL 5k ROAD RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Entries to the England Athletics Virtual 5K Road Running Championships (July 11-13) are now . With the original event cancelled due to Covid-19, EA has launched a free-to-enter virtual running version of the race for 2020 (following government guidelines). The Virtual 5K Championships provides a platform for performance-focused runners to challenge for the national title and, with no minimum entry standard, also gives runners a chance to gain their first experience in national competition!

HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OUR SPORT…

England Athletics is inviting members of the England Athletics family to take part in a short survey as part of the collaborative conversation with UK Athletics to help shape the future of our sport. Recordings from the first virtual consultation sessions, which took place this week, are also now available to view online (with one session remaining on 1 July). To access the survey, watch the recordings or sign-up for the remaining virtual consultation session, by visiting .

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

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

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

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.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun β€˜at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

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]

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 the club’s 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.

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 in FUN activities 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.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

VIRTUAL CHESHIRE ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cheshire County Athletics Association in conjunction with Run Cheshire and Gogledd Cymru are organising the Cheshire County Virtual Road Racing Championships.

The online entry link is here.

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 here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s Colin Jackson, Ed Moses, and Laura Muir. Enjoy…

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/

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