Jeremy Dale

Thank you

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Just a quick thank you for those members who turned up on Saturday to help get ready for the new season.

The Long/triple jump pits were swept and dug, new Discus, hammer, shot and Block racks were put together, new competition blocks sorted out, the sun even shone which is always a bonus. Thank you.

With our Sprints and Hurdles open having filled up so quickly, you may need some more ‘opens’ to attend, to get this years performances onto Power of 10. You can always check ‘power of 10’ ‘fixtures’ for the opens you are able to attend.

First up is Bath field fest on 02/04/17, entries close on Wednesday so there may still be chance to enter.

After our Sprints and Hurdles on 09/04/17 (if you are new to all this and were not quite sure weather to enter or not come along and watch and find out its not too frightening)! are the Mendip opens at Millfield on 4th and 25th May and the Bristol open on 23rd May.

Also worth a check are the Exeter Harriers ac & Cheltenham ac web sites for details of their opens, all of which are good events and give everyone opportunities to compete and push for selection for one of our teams in, Avon track and field, Youth Development or Midland, leagues.

On that note don’t forget to let the team managers for the YDL U17/U20 and Midland leagues (u17 and above) what dates and events you are available for. If you do not let them know how will they know you can compete?

Best of luck

Jeremy Dale

Getting ready for the new season

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Now we’re getting really close to the start of the season, we need to make sure that the track and surrounding areas are ready to host our first events. As you probably already know, Yate Outdoor Sports Complex is run by volunteers from the club, and so we need your help and support to make sure that we’re ready.

So, we’d like to invite you all to come along on the afternoon of Saturday 25th March to get stuck into clearing the banks, cleaning the stands, repairing and painting the jumping boards, cleaning out the steeple chase pit, raking the sandpits, greasing the hurdle weights, extending the shot put demarcations…….and loads more!

The long term weather forecast is looking bright and sunny for Yate on Saturday (no honestly it really is!), so why not stay after training and join us for the afternoon?

And if you’ve not already done so – bring your completed membership forms with you – renewals need to be in by the end of March if you want to compete in April!

Jeremy Dale

GB Masters Medals for our athletes!

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The weekend of 11-12th March provided the first opportunity of the year for Masters athletes (age 35+) to compete at a major Championships.
This year, three Yate athletes made the trip to Lee Valley to compete in the Great Britain Indoor Masters.
First up on Saturday was Karen Jones, competing in the V55 classification Hammer Throw.  Although an Indoor Championships, the hammer throw is, for obvious reasons, held outside!
Having  won this competition last year, Karen was looking to defend her title and knew she probably needed something special to give her a chance.  She certainly didn’t disappoint, throwing a new Personal Best distance of 35.69, beating her nearest rival by almost three metres!
Later in the day, Karen was involved in the Weight Throw.  This is an event very rarely seen on the mainstream athletics calendar, but a permanent fixture in Masters Championships.
Using a 7.26kg weight, Karen was hoping to improve on her 2016 Bronze medal.  Possibly still high on adrenaline from her earlier PB, she managed an impressive 10.52m, which was, again, enough to secure her second gold medal of the day.

Also competing on Saturday was Midland League Team Captain, (and world bronze relay medalist from Sydney last year), Matt Muggeridge in the V40 classification 400m.  Clocking a time of 54.83 Matt did enough to secure a bronze medal.

Day two of the Championships saw a return to competing for the club for ex-Irish International Hammer thrower, Eugene Lawlor, who last competed for Yate in the late 1980’s!
Having the great misfortune of losing sight in one eye just two weeks before the Championships nobody really knew what to expect.
As it turned out, there was no need to worry, as Eugene comfortably won gold, posting a distance of 48.71m which would have put him eighth on the UK all time list, if only he wasn’t Irish!
Following Karen Jones lead from the previous day, he then completed a successful double, by winning the V60 Weight Throw, with a distance of 14.52m

Returning to action for the second day, Matt Muggeridge lined up in the v40 200m.  Clocking a time of 24.51 Matt was again rewarded for his efforts with a silver medal.

Well done to all three athletes.  The signs are already very encouraging for a successful 2017 outdoor season for you all.

Thank you Matt Spicer for this excellent report

Jeremy Dale

New season preparation

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With the new season rapidly approaching its time to renew your Club membership (or join for the first time, if you want to compete)
March is now membership month, so Ellen and her team will be in the club house Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights to accept your membership applications, deal with any queries and hand out our new booklet designed to help you through our great sport of athletics and our clubs’ part in it.

In the meantime, our team managers are getting organised for league competitions kicking off in April and May. They will be busy scouring the power of ten to find performances and make their team selections, so, once you’ve joined, you’re going to want to make sure you record some performances for them to consider.

The first competition to try would be the Bath Field Fest on 02/04/17 where you will be able to compete in the jumps and throws events (and Pole Vault). Go to the Team bath web site for entries.

Our own very popular Sprints and hurdles is next on 09/04/17 at Yate. Entries are limited to 200 so get your entry in as soon as possible as this will be one of the few opportunities to run and register a time before team selection starts for the YDL events later in April.
Entry forms can be found on our web site so don’t delay do it today!