Jeremy Dale

Midland League Title

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One Item of news that slipped through the net during the holiday season was the winning of the Midland league title with our joint Yate/B&W team, only a year after getting promotion to Div 1 !!! I remember last year everyone having real concerns we may not be able to stay up! This is a real credit to our team effort filling spaces great performances and support from officials and families! Attached is Matts report for the day.

Thank you to Matt Muggeridge who has been team manager for this and many years before his hard work both on and off the track is really appreciated and with this division win, his GB vest this year and recent no 1 ranking, it great to see his efforts being reward both on and off the track too!!!

So here is the report From Matt

MATCH REPORT
FOURTH MIDLAND LEAGUE
SATURDAY 5th AUGUST AT NOTTS
 
Saturday 5th August was the fourth and final match of the 2017 Midland League series.  This one was tricky due to holiday season, and a clash with the World Champs in London, which took several of our regulars, including myself, out of contention, so we fielded a relatively small team.
The conditions were challenging weather wise I have been told,  and there was a saga relating to the suitability of the PV bed in the run up to the match, but the athletes who attended did a fantastic job, both in their main events, and also filling in the gaps that we had on the day.  All of this resulted in a second place finish in an incredibly close match (every point literally did count in this one), to finish the season in style.
Overall for 2017, we have won 2 matches and been runner up in the other two, leaving us clear victors of the league overall.  This is the first time in the history of the club, I believe, that we have been part of a team that has won the 1st division of the Midland Senior League, and is a fantastic achievement. 
For a bit of history; In 2013 the composite team was formed and came 4th in Division 2; 3rd the following year and 2nd in 2015 to be promoted to the top Division for 2016 when we retained our place. In 2017 we were clear winners of the Division.  This shows amazing progression.
Yate AC members who made up the team (male):  Daniel Brooks (U17), Adam Brooks (U20), Joe Connors (U20), Matt Spicer (V45), David Thomas (U17), Tom Pallot (U20), Josh Snook (U20), Luke Lorenzi (U23) & Eugene Lawlor (V60)
Yate AC members who made up the team (female):  Lucy Durham (U17),  Jo Smerdon (U23), Lucy Conibear (U20) & Hattie Dent (U23)
There were once again some fantastic performances across the board from both Bristol and West and Yate athletes, and a key element to this match was the flexibility of the athletes to have a go at events they were less comfortable with, to pick up those extra points.
I would like to thank all the athletes who have competed in the league over the 2017 season.  In total, 23 Men and 15 Ladies have come forward to compete in this league over the 4 matches, ranging in age from 15 to 60 years old.
I look forward to 2018, where hopefully our athlete numbers will increase further, and we will be able to repeat this amazing feat.
Matt Muggeridge
Midland League Team Manager
Jeremy Dale

Midland League Report

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MATCH REPORT

THIRD MIDLAND LEAGUE

SUNDAY 16th JULY AT YATE

 

Sunday 16th July was the home match at Yate – the third of four Midland League fixtures.

The conditions were good with a nice wind for the sprinters !  We had our usual last minute team reorganisation following some unfortunate drop-outs in the days preceding and on the day itself, but in the end the team that made it to the track, albeit our smallest team of the year so far, managed to secure a fantastic win.  That means we have won 2 of 3 matches so far, and are in a strong position overall.

Yate AC members who made up the team (male):  Daniel Brooks (U17), Mark Lodge (V45), Matt Muggeridge (V40), Elliot Chard (U20), Steve Beardwell (U23), Leon Graham (U20), Adam Wilson (U23), Jack Joynson (U20), Matt Spicer (V45), David Johnson (U17), Ben Wells (U23), Josh Snook (U20), Anthony Glover (V40) & Eugene Lawlor (V60)

Yate AC members who made up the team (female):  Karen Jones (V55), Ruby Ogborne (U17), Lucy Durham (U17), Georgia Crew (U17), Emily John (U17), Jo Smerdon (U23), Maria Townsend (V35), Floren Scrafton (SW), Chloe Phelps (U17) & Hannah Hobbs (U20)

There were once again some fantastic performances across the board from both Bristol and West and Yate athletes, with some of the Yate performances highlighted below:

Daniel Brooks took advantage of the favourable conditions in the 100 and 200, with a SB in the 200m.

Ben Wells got back to his early season form with a PB in the 100m and close to his best in the 200m.

Tom Pallot joined the team for the first time this year, and moved up to the 400m, taking a whole second off his PB, in the closest race of the day!

Georgia Crew jumped another PB in the Triple Jump for 3rd place in the A string.

Jack Joynson won both Long and Triple Jump A strings, with a PB in the Long Jump.

Hannah Hobbs won the A string 800m comfortably in a PB time.

Floren Scrafton , competing in the league for the first time in a while, dominated the 1500m A string.

David Thomas showed that he is coming back into form, with a 1.75m SB performance in the High Jump.

Emily John was second in the A string high jump, with a fantastic 1.60m PB.

Ruby Ogborne stepped up to the Midland League for the first time and jumped close to her best in the Long Jump with second place in the B string.

Jo Smerdon won the A string Javelin and picked up valuable points in the Discus as well.

Chloe Phelps threw the 600g Javelin for the first time, and showed excellent form with the second longest throw of the afternoon.

The hammer squad of Matt Spicer, Eugene Lawlor and Karen Jones all brought home great points with 1st or 2nd place in their events.

And I don’t often mention myself, but was proud of my Triple Jump, going No 1 in the 2017 UK V40 rankings as I head into the European champs.

These are a selection of the performances, but this is a team event, so all points, great all small, add up to our final total for the day.  A big well done to all the team members whose points all added up to help us secure the win and increase our overall lead of the division.  Thanks also to all the officials and helpers that made sure we delivered a home match that ran perfectly.

 

Looking forward to the fourth and final match, on Saturday the 5th August in Nottingham, where we will look to seal the league victory.

Matt Muggeridge

Jeremy Dale

Busy times!!! AT&F, YDL and Midland League!

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Whilst we are still awaiting the official results for the AT&F competition on 9th July all I can say at the moments is it was a great day and a real team effort which everyone seemed to enjoy!

On the 15th July Team manager Sam took the YDL U13/15s to Cardiff for the regional Finals which in itself was a tremendous achievement, as we were only promoted last season! below is Sam email to the athletes which sums it all up.

‘want to say a massive thank you to each and every one of the athletes that competed in any event in any round throughout the season and tried their best. The competition was fierce yet still pb’s were achieved!! Some came and competed whilst feeling ill and injured, some tried events never done before and yet again some stood in last minute! You were all fantastic and behavior was professional and sporting.

Thank you to the volunteers that give up their time to help official as without them there would be no competitions!
Thank you to the parents that drive their athletes tirelessly to training and competitions – without you I would have a team!
And last but certainly not least thank you to the coaches that constantly help out and spend hours… well…. coaching!  Without them we wouldn’t have such great quality athletes!
We finished in 5th place this time which is fantastic as it’s only our first season at this level and we made the regionals.  Some athletes learnt it doesn’t always go the way they want it too but not once did they give up and for that reason I can’t wait to work with you all again next year.  Some of you will move on to U17’s and I will miss you dearly but wish you every luck in the world. Keep doing what you do, working hard and believing in yourself.
Athletes Remember: Well done for all your efforts, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… It doesn’t matter whether you wear 6, 66 or have a different number… all you can EVER do is achieve a personal best… you are all individual and it’s super important to me that you aim to better yourselves rather than feel you have to win points… Not every round will go as you want it too but that’s all part of the learning curve of athletics and competing – never give up!
 
A special thank you to James Viner who has come along and supported his team mates even though he wasn’t selected and helped out today as my p.a. & photographer!
It’s been a pleasure team managing you all. Here’s to 2018!!
Sam Hillier-Smith
AKA a VERY proud team manager.
Our thanks go to Sam for a tremendous first season as Team Manager. She has done such a great job!
Then on Sunday 16th we co hosted the 3rd Midland league Competition at Yate, which we won! This puts us in a good position to win the division if we perform well at the last meeting in Nottingham on 5th August, so if you can, please make every effort to be available and travel there to help the team. Thanks go to Matt Muggeridge, our team manager for doing such a great job this year (and many previous years)!
Jeremy Dale

Midland League Match Report

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MATCH REPORT

SECOND MIDLAND LEAGUE

SUNDAY 4th JUNE at BIRMINGHAM

 

Sunday 4th June saw the combined senior team of Yate and Bristol & West travel to Birmingham for the second of four Midland League fixtures.

The conditions were variable – overcast to start, torrential rain in the middle, and sunny at the end ! We had our usual last minute team reorganisation, but in the end, the team that made it to the track managed to secure a fantastic second place, only a handful of points behind Birchfield Harriers, who had put out a very strong team for their home fixture.

 

Yate AC members who made up the team (male):  Daniel Brooks (U17), Adam Brooks (U20), Matt Muggeridge (V40), Kane Lee (U23), Steve Beardwell (U23), Joe Connors (U20), Adam Wilson (U23), Jack Moore (U20), Matt Spicer (V45), Tyler Molton (U20), Ben Wells (U23), Rob Philips (U23), Ben Latham (U17), Josh Snook (U20), Abdi Hasan (U17) & Eugene Lawlor (V60)

Yate AC members who made up the team (female):  Georgia Taylor (U20), Katie Robbins (U17), Lucy Durham (U17), Georgia Crew (U17), Emily John (U17), Jo Smerdon (U23), Maria Townsend (V35) & Hannah Hobbs (U20)

 

There were once again some fantastic performances across the board from both Bristol and West and Yate athletes, with some of the Yate performances highlighted below:

 

Daniel Brooks once again held his own in the short sprints against some quality competition.

Rob Philips returned to league competition after several years out and ran a solid B 100m.

Josh Snook took second place in the A 400m, dipping under 50sec once again, before helping the 4*400 team to another second place in the last race of the day.

Kane Lee also finished second in the B 400m, and finished off the day with a great last leg in the 4 * 400 relay, just missing out to Birchfield on the line.

Georgia Taylor ran close to her pb again in a very competitive A string 400m.

Katie Robbins came into the league for the first time and also ran close to her pb for 3rd in the B string 400m.

Abdi Hasan, also competing in the league for the first time, smashed his pb and won the A string 1500m in a fantastic 4:06.50s, before helping out the 4*400 team with a solid 53sec leg.

Hannah Hobbs was second in the A string 1500m with a time of 4:45.55s.

Jack Moore equalled his recent PB of 1.95m in the High Jump.

Adam Brooks matched this, also clearing 1.95m for a SB and to win the B string

Emily John won the B string High Jump with 1.50m.

Ben Latham stepped up to the Midland League for the first time and cleared 2.30m for valuable points in the PV.

Jo Smerdon finished second in the A-String Javelin (29.59m).

Maria Townsend won the B string Javelin with a 24.99m SB.

Tyler Molton was 3rd in the B-String Hammer Throw with another new Senior Implement PB, recording a distance of 35.77m

 

These are a selection of the performances, but this is a team event, so all points, great all small, add up to our final total for the day – actually bigger than our total from the first match.  A big well done to all the team members whose points all added up to help us secure the second place and maintain our lead overall.

 

Looking forward to the next match, which is at Yate on the 16th July – hoping for a big turnout to help us secure a home win !

 

Matt Muggeridge

Don’t forget, if you haven’t done so yet, let Matt know if you are available for the next Match on 16th July at Yate! and check pout our league position on our Midland League Page 

Jeremy Dale

Midland League News

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MATCH REPORT

FIRST MIDLAND LEAGUE

SUNDAY 7TH MAY AT RUGBY

 

Sunday 7th May saw the combined senior team of Yate and Bristol & West travel to Rugby for the first Midland League fixture of the year, with a remaining three fixtures scheduled across the summer.

The conditions were great, and despite a spate of last minute dropouts, the team that made it to the track managed to pull off a magnificent surprise win, scoring a total of 358 points, leaving Tamworth and Cannock & Stafford in joint second place with 335 points and the famous name of Birchfield Harriers in fourth place.

 

Yate AC members who made up the team (male):  Daniel Brooks (U17), Matt Muggeridge (V40), Kane Lee (U23), Steve Beardwell (U23), Joe Connors (U20), Adam Wilson (U23), Jack Moore (U20), Jack Joynson (U20), Matt Spicer (V45), Tyler Molton (U20) & Leon Graham (U20).

Yate AC members who made up the team (female):  Georgia Taylor (U20), Ellie Leather (U20), Hattie Dent (U23), Lucy Durham (U17), Georgia Crew (U17), Emily John (U17), Jo Smerdon (U23), Maria Townsend (V35) & Karen Jones (V55)

 

There were some fantastic performances across the board from both Bristol and West and Yate athletes, with some of the Yate performances highlighted below:

Daniel Brooks , still an U17 athlete, once again showed that he can compete in this Senior League with ease, clocking a wind assisted 22.8s as he won the 200m A-String and 11.4s to finish third in the 100m.

Ellie Leather won the A-string 1500m with a time of 4:48.9s

Jack Moore finished second in the High Jump a new PB of 1.95m, smashing his previous best by  12cm

Jo Smerdon finished second in the A-String Javelin (30.02m), Second in the B-String Shot Put (7.95m), Fourth in the B-String Discus (20.67m)

Kane Lee finished a very creditable second place in the 400m with 51.0s, and finished off the day with a fantastic 49.9s relay leg in the 4 * 400.

Joe Connors won the B-String 1500 with a time of 4:18.7s

Jack Joynson won the A-String Triple Jump with 13.69m, seasons best.

Hattie Dent won the B-String 100H with a time of 17.4s and came fourth in the A-String 400H with a time of 70.0

Tyler Molton won the B-String Hammer Throw with a new Senior Implement PB, recording a distance of 34.66m

Karen Jones came third in the B-String Hammer Throw with a new 4kg PB of 31.29m which ranks her 6th in the GB ALL TIME Rankings for her age category.

Lucy Durham, and Georgia Crew did fantastically in the Triple Jump, getting within 1cm of each other, a pb for Georgia, and very close for Lucy as well.

Georgia Taylor, fresh from her 18th birthday celebrations, came close to her pb in the 400m, and then matched the time in the relay.

Adam Wilson ran a solid 1500m, before stepping up to the 4 * 400 team, and showing a turn of pace with a great 55sec leg.

These are a selection of the performances, but this is a team event, so all points, great all small, add up to our final total for the day.  A big well done to all the team members and officials whose points all added up and managed to secure this early league lead.

Looking forward to the next match, at Alexander Stadium on the 4th June.

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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

Dates for the Diary

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Opens  not to miss if you can.

19/02/17 Birmingham (go to Midland Athletics Association web site)

Bath – Field Fest 02/04/17

Our own Sprints and hurdles at Yate – 09/04/17

League matches

Avon Track and Field League  09/07/17

30/07/17

13/08/17

10/09/17

hopefully all at Yate, but may be one at Gloucester.

YDL Upper Age Group 30/04/17 @ Yate

28/05/17 @ Cheltenham

25/06/17 @ Cardiff

23/07/17 @ TBA

YDL Lower Age Group 22/04/17 @ Yate

20/05/17 @ Yate

18/06/17 @ Cheltenham

15/07/17 @ TBA

Midland league 07/05/17 @ Rugby

4/06/17 @ Birmingham

16/07/17 @ Yate

5/08/17 @ Nottingham

More fixtures are on the fixtures schedule on the notice board in the club house.

Jeremy Dale

Midland League Success

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Firstly, sorry there have not been any news items lately but we have been hacked, so it has taken some time to get us back on line, I will try and retrospectively catch up on some items.

This weekends big news is the Midland League results, having been promoted to Division 1 last year we were unsure how we would perform against the ‘big boys’ like Birchfield Harriers.

The first comp’ at Yate yesterday was a resounding success, we actually won! The provisional result are

1st – Bristol & West /Yate & District    407
2nd – Birchfield                                        395
3rd – Cannock & Staffs                           325
4th –  Wolverhampton & Bilston          266
5th – Rugby & Northampton                 236
6th – City of Stoke                                   222
This was a great team effort with only a few unfilled spaces in the team and athletes stepping in to fill last minute gaps. We had our full compliment of officials and only after the discus results were added on, right at the end of the day, after the relays, was the final result settled.
Whilst there were some great individual performances, the overall outcome was down to a team effort as no one person could be spared! So thanks must go out to all athletes, officials and managers.
The next Midland league is at Rugby on 5th June, there will be a coach for transport, so please try and make yourself available and let Matt Muggeridge know you can compete.
Jeremy Dale

1st Midland League @ Yate

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The first Midland league meet will be on Saturday 25th April at Yate. This year we are lucky to have Matt Muggeridge as joint team manager, so he is really keen to hear from YaDAC seniors & Under 20 who are interested in competing. Please contact Matt (yatemidlandteam@outlook.com 07974 679444) and advise of your interest. We are trying to build our U20 & seniors’ involvement, so now is your opportunity, without even having to travel too far, to start your season off. Have a look at the Midland league web site to check on the events, but I think you will find most are catered for. Go on give it a go!

Jeremy Dale

Midland League

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The Midland league dates and venues have been confirmed, so keep these dates free and contact Matt Muggeridge if you want to be considered for selection.

Sat 25th April – Yate
Sat 6th June – Gloucester
Sat 4 July – Kip Keino, WISE
Sun 9th Aug – Worcester