April 2017 - YATE & DISTRICT ATHLETIC CLUB

Sprints and Hurdles Update

15/04/2017/in Yate Sprints & Hurdles/by Jeremy Dale

Thank you to Graham for organising such a great event, the emails of appreciation of how well it was organised keep coming in. (I was going to put them all on this post but it would make it very long)

The day itself went well with great weather (albeit a bit windy at times) and close racing with many PB’s.

Interestingly 25% of the entry were from Yate and District AC, athletes from local clubs and colleges and from further afield, Wales, Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire and beyond making the trip.

Thank you to all those who helped, moving hurdles, track judging, time keepers, signing on, in the photo finish/judges room, doing results etc.

Just in case you were not aware Graham did a great job and had the results on Power of 10 earlier in the week.

Just as a bit of interest attached is an example photo finish to show what actually happens after every race to ensure the results are accurate.

Looking forward to the first YDL LAG at Yate this Sunday!

See you there!

Membership renewal

06/04/2017/in Membership/by Jeremy Dale

Thank you to everyone who has already renewed or applied for membership for the 2017/2018 season. U13 athletes and above (ie those of you in year 6 and above) should by now have received email confirmation from England Athletics that you are licensed to compete – please contact Ellen at yatemembership@outlook.com if you are still waiting to hear.

We are planning to have a supply of competition vests available for new joiners to pick up at Sprints and Hurdles on Sunday – replacement vests are also available at a price of £12.

If you haven’t already renewed your membership, then you will need to do so before you compete, England Athletics require all athletes aged U13 and over to be licensed for insurance purposes. Renewal forms can be found here: http://yateac.co.uk/membership/

Renewals are £20 for athletes aged 19 and below on 31^st December 2017 (ie U20 and below), and £30 for senior athletes (ie U23 and above) – remember that subsequent family members receive a £5 discount. Please contact Ellen directly if you are studying away from home.

Finally, if you need a chat about membership then please grab Ellen – she’s generally behind the bar on a Thursday and Saturday (or in the results room at home fixtures)

Hammer Squad up date

05/04/2017/in Yate Athletic Club News/by Jeremy Dale

YATE AC HAMMER SQUAD 2017 PRE-SEASON REVIEW

With the summer track and field season fast approaching, most of the YHS members have been out and about looking for some early competitive experience at local Open Meetings.

Already we have seen lots of performances that indicate we could have a great summer ahead and are certainly worthy of a mention:

With the early successes of Eugene Lawlor’s double gold and Karen Jones double gold, with a Championship Best Performance, at the British Indoor Masters, the younger members of the squad had a lot to live up to. They haven’t disappointed;

Toby Conibear has already twice surpassed this years Junior Boys English Schools Qualification Standard of 38m.

Improving on his best from last season by almost 6m, he has set a new personal best performance of 45.02m, which also happens to be a National Standard.

Competing in the same U15 age category as Toby for their first season, we also have Owen Merrett and James Viner. Ranked Second and Eighth respectively in last years British U13 rankings, both boys are admirably dealing with the 1kg increase in hammer weight that a new age category brings. Owen has already broken the 30m barrier with a new Personal Best of 30.15. Snapping at his heels, James has set a Personal Best distance of 24.42m.

In the U17 Girls category both Chloe Pitts and Leah Hale have already exceeded the 40m barrier. Chloe has increased her last seasons Personal Best by 20cm, with a distance of 42.82m.

Competing for the first year as an U17, Leah has set a Personal Best of 41.68m. This is an impressive 5m improvement on her best from last season.

Finally, Karen Jones has now twice beaten her Personal Best this year. Having already set it at the British Indoor Masters in March, she nudged it up by a further 11cm, to 35.80m at the recent Bath Field Festival.

So, seven Personal Bests, four Championship gold medals, a Championship Best Performance a National Standard and an English Schools Qualifying distance… And it’s only early April!

Bring on 2017, I can’t wait.

Matt Spicer

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