Oct / Nov 2003 Vol 20 Issue 1
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Oct / Nov 2003 Vol 20 Issue 1 |
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Club AGM
At the club Annual General Meeting held in late September we bade a sad farewell to Christina Graham and Willie Lyall form committee duties, but have been joined by David Gibson, Kristin Lownie and Dorothy Smith. There are a few other tasks we hope to complete during the winter with a few more volunteers who are not formally on the committee.
Subscriptions for 2003-2004: The good news is that we are not changing the club subscription of £22 per member (the 3rd & additional members of a family only pay £7). The bad news is that the club year runs from October – September and it is now time to sit down, fill in the membership form which came with this Herald and send in with a cheque. As the year progresses we'll list memberships received as a reminder to those who forget the 1st (2nd , 3rd.. ) time of asking.
Harmeny Coaches need your help
We are updating our rota of parent helpers for the current session and over the coming weeks Lyn Carmichael will be contacting parents of junior members to seek further assistance – so. Having sufficient adult supervision is an essential part of ensuring that we can maintain a safe and fun environment for everyone, and it makes life considerably easier for Monika, Norma and some of the new coaches coming on-board.
Over the winter this may be as little as one night a month. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Lyn on 449 3727.
Autumn Coaching courses
The first batch of potential new coaches and coach helpers have been on their first training course. Lynsey Douglas, Erin McIntosh and Carol-Anne Brash have all completed UKA Level One (a very easy one day course!), but with University & School work the main priority for all just now it will probably not be until next spring / summer that they will put their training into practise.
Hopefully by the time this Herald is published a few more older athletes and parents will have taken their first steps in becoming a coaching assistant or jogleader.
We would still like more parents to consider taking that all important first step to a coaching qualification – it's much easier than you might think (just ask any of the girls who have been on the course).
Winter Programme – Outdoor Competition
The only real events that take place outdoors over the winter are cross-country races. The term cross-country may sound a bit daunting as in reality most of the races, especially for juniors take place in playing fields or parks on fairly well managed grassland, sometimes including trail paths.
The distances start at about 1500m for U11 and build up through the age groups. The best thing about x-country is that you race at a given time, and there is no restriction on the number of club members in each race. (Those familiar with Track and Field events will appreciate the simpler format!). You do need to be there in plenty of time to register, and all event organisers encourage younger participants to walk round the course beforehand so they know where it goes.
The club participates in the East League – so for this the club pays the entry fee. There are a few other cross-country races nearby (eg Lasswade) where you have to enter yourself. As it is a case of "turn up and run" we do not get heavily involved in team management – it is very much up to each runner (& parents) to sort out attendance etc, but for East League we do have a Club Number which should be worn with the club vest. The main contact on everything to do with cross-country is Ian Hislop (441 1604).
See the fixture list at the end of this Herald. Wherever possible we will hand out entry forms and details of forthcoming x-country events at training, and will also place copies on the notice boards at Balerno HS and Currie HS.
Outdoor Winter Sprint races: There is one event for sprinters (and middle distance runners) held in the middle of winter – the traditional Edinburgh New Year ("Powderhall") sprint. A few members enter this, but with entries closing on 1st Nov it will probably be too late for most.
European Cross-Country Championships arrive in Edinburgh: A special highlight this year will be the European Championships, which will be held in Holyrood Park on 14 December. This will be a major festival of running with:
- Inter-District Children's races (District Selections are being made through the schools – so if you are interested and your school isn't, ask why not!!!!)
- A 5k race for "ordinary" adult runners (I've a stock of entry forms – sign up quickly if interested)
- The European Championships themselves. This is the event where a certain Paula Radcliffe starting winning races, and there are reports that Liz McColgan might come out of retirement to run for the UK team.
(And as with all major Championships an army of volunteers is needed. So if you wan to be close to some top class action PLEASE get in touch.)
Winter Programme - Indoors
As usual we'll try to spice up the club indoor training with a few different things and maybe some outings:
- Norwich Union Shine Awards: This is a scheme sponsored by Norwich Union for all youngsters which sets performance targets and rewards achievement over a variety of activities. All participants who complete sufficient events receive will certificates / medals based on achievement. The events are similar to the sort of things we already do at training. As this is a new (computer-based) scheme the coaches will need a bit of instruction on how to manage it, and we may have to organise a training session for ourselves, to which parents will be invited.
- Grangemouth Indoor facilities: The last two years we have organised a Sunday afternoon trip to use the indoor training facilities at Grangemouth. These were the best in Scotland, and have recently been extended to provide a much larger indoor area which we're keen to try out.
- Christmas Games night: The last night before breaking up for the Christmas holidays is traditionally a Games night (fit parents can join in). Everyone should bring a small gift (wrapped, costing about £1) for a "Secret Santa" lucky dip.
- SportsHall: Last year we provided the Edinburgh U15 Boys AND Girls teams for this national competition – and both teams qualified for the South of Scotland Final. We have been informed that this year SportsHall teams will be selected through the schools, so we would like to encourage of many of our 11 – 14 year-old members whose school is taking part to have a real go! (And get your school-friends to do so is well). If you make the Edinburgh team it is a great day out, and you get a team t-shirt. (Many of last winter's t-shirts are often spotted at training)
- Indoor Championships: The East District and National age group Indoor Championships, Junior Relay (4 x 200), Combined events, and Veteran Championships take place in the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow in January and March. There are also Indoor Schools championships, which have the added incentive of time off classes (or so I'm led to believe). Our more experienced members should start thinking now about which events they may like to do.
- Event-specific Coaching: We expect a few more event-specific coaching sessions to be provided to anyone during the winter. For example there is a High Jump group led by Brain Burgess which meets at Bathgate Sports Centre on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm (but attendees must be capable of 1m25). If we can find coaches willing to travel to Balerno on Monday nights or to Saughton on Thursday nights AND we can get sufficient people interested we will attempt to arrange further event sessions.
Spetember - October is usually a fairly quiet time for track, and cross country hasn't fully started, but there has been a lot of activity for road runners. (The non-competitive / recreational running performances are reported in the Pentalnd Runners section).
Junior Great North Run, 20 Sep
Shaun Desport made a return to Newcastle to run in this prestigious event for juniors which is held the day before the main event (Great North Run Half Marathon). Having learnt a bit from last year when most of the competitors were hemmed into the start for ages before the race started, Shaun and a few of the more experienced runners kept their warm up going until the final call to places. This paid some dividend as Shaun finished sixth in a high quality field containing many of the UK's top U17 runners.
... but Shaun has another claim to fame from the start ........
Not all the runners went into the start at the last call. There was one final runner dropped into place after everyone else by a rather anxious mother ...a certain Liz McColgan, who the proceeded not to get out off the course before the race started. The start of the race was captured by BBC Children's TV, and I have it from a very reliable source, who may still have the video, that the former World Champions (and now the President of Scottish Athletics) is unceremoniously barged out of the way by someone in a red & green vest.......
Junior Road Running Championships, Rouken Glen, Glasgow 5 Oct
Having both come off very successful track seasons when both Shaun Desport and Philip Purves repeatedly set personal bests for the 800m, it was a step up in distance and a swap from spikes to running shoes for the national road running championships. In the U20 race over 7.5k Phil was 8th in 27m 9s, and in the U17 race over 5K Shaun was 6th in a time of 16m 27s.
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