The Chairman’s Message 22.06.2015

I think I’ve said before that the South West Schools Championships is the biggest meeting that many of we officials go to. With teams from the seven south west counties the days starts early and ends late and it’s all go in between. To make up for that the Exeter stadium always lays on a pretty spectacular buffet for officials to graze on through the day. I’m particularly fond of the little curried pasties!I was a marksman this year. Until you’ve done it it’s hard to appreciate just how much walking around there is. Chief marksman, Kieron, is an old friend and working with him is a pleasure. But by the time Lesley and I were getting our evening meal from Uncle Wong’s in Yate both of us were about out on our feet.How did Avon athletes do? Well, a kind of pattern emerged. Three of our middle distance runners fell. Aidan Noble started it rolling, tripping in the 1500m, finishing the race but well short of what he could reasonably have hoped to do. Two others fell within feet of winning their races. One girl managing to practically crawl across the line for a silver medal. The boy – possibly the most exciting find of the day – going down within sight of a really fast time.Tyler Moulton won his hammer event for the second year running and the rest of Matt Spicer’s & Paul Thorne’s hammer group also acquitting themselves very well.

Lesley has sweated blood over this meeting, because this year she has found herself doing it all on her own. I wrote last week how our dining table is event HQ for Avon Schools and this year there was a YDL match the following day, which also had its own corner of the table.

It would have been nice to report that Yate won their home match, but that proved too difficult. This time it was boy hurdlers who fell. (What is going on????!!!) Daniel Brooks and Jack Holbrook looked impressive from my vantage point at the top of the timekeepers stand.

My call for volunteers, initially to run the results programme, resulted in eight people coming forward to help. So I must express my gratitude to all of them for playing a key part in making sure that the day ran smoothly. In particular I must than Sophie Reed and Georgia Taylor who operated the computer so that results could be published. In record time, I understand.

All in all, a very pleasant day’s athletics, though very windy. Lesley now as the English Schools team to sort out and administer. But an end is in sight. Sixteen days before we set off for France to watch the daughter compete in Geneva. Have I told you about that? You must be one of the very few!!!