Over 85 Tamworth AC club members and supporters aged between 2 and 70  braved the bitterly cold weather when they donned fancy dress for the Santathon Run Walk held at the Marlborough Way Stadium at the week-end.

The event organised by club stalwarts Trevor Stevenson and Pat Wileman, was a resounding success and is testament to all their hard work and to the camaraderie amongst Tamworth AC’s athletes, their families, club members and supporters.

There were 6 age group races in all with Andy and Sandra Day in charge of officiating . First off was the ‘Mini’ race with fourteen starters dressed as Santas, elves, snowmen etc,  the youngest participant being 2 year old Max Showell supported by Dad Gavin who was always close at hand.

The next four groups in their own races, battled against each other around the track keeping up a good pace to keep warm but Ellie Redfern as a sumo wrestler and Josie Cassar, Fran Hughes and twins Chloe and Lauren Saunders all dressed in slippers and dressing gowns, were never going to produce pb’s!

Last to go and making up the largest and by far the most competitive group, were the senior runners. Maybe it was just that they were so cold as they had waited for their race, the final one of the day, but all competitors in the line up including Dave Williams as a diver, Alan Oliver as a chef, a number of Santas in personalised suits and Melanie Wood and Barbara Williams as Santas elves, were quick off the mark and surprisingly quick to finish.

It might also have been the promise of mulled wine and mince pies awaiting them in the bar!

Everyone who took part was presented with a medal and a chocolate santa by Father Christmas and all agreed it was well worth the effort and that if a similar event was held again it would be well supported.

Photographs from the Sanathon are now on the Gallery.

Tamworth AC’s Simon King made an impressive debut landing 35th position and 7^th junior athlete, at the second cross country fixture of the Birmingham Cross Country League, Division 2 at Coundon Hall Park Coventry on December 1st. Simon ran with maturity beyond his years in a very competitive divisional race and was duly rewarded.

The story of the day belonged though to Howard Bush, of ‘Race the Train’ fame, who arrived straight from work ten minutes before the start and placed his kit with what he thought was the Tamworth team and prepared for the race. Bush, as ever, stormed round to be second Tamworth AC man home in 59th position but upon his return discovered that his kit had done some fast travelling also and had been picked up by the departing Telford ladies team who took it back up the M6 to Shropshire. Bush was left with no car keys or kit and had to explain to the local garden centre that he would not be able to remove his car that evening while sporting only his vest, shorts and spikes.

Dave Williams and Tom Orton continued their season's battle over the predominantly grassland course of six and a quarter miles and it was Dave who was victorious on this occasion finishing 84th to Toms 86th.

Paul Tasker was next home, in 93rd, making a welcomed return to action and was followed by John Jenkins in 108th. Mark Waplington came home 155th and Nigel Fisher completed the Tamworth finishers just behind him in 159th. Tamworth remain in 14^th place overall, safely above the bottom three clubs.

Meanwhile Sunday 16th December saw three Tamworth AC runners take part in the gruelling Mortimer Forest 10 mile race in freezing weather conditions. The fell race in the Clee Hills above Ludlow had over 300 entrants and is not for the feint hearted.

Not that Andy Wright could be ever accused of that! The Tamworth Marathon specialist produced a quality display coming home in 14th place in 74.27. Tom Orton was hot on his heels though in 19th place marking a rapid return to form for him in 75.21. Steve Deegan completed the Tamworth trio in 57th place in 81.52.

Thanks to Tom Orton for this report.

Contact Tom through the Club Secretary on 01827 287177/260897 (24 hour answerphone), email tamworthac@aol.com or visit the website at tamworthac.co.uk

FANTASTIC NEWS

 We have an Officials Secretary at last!!

Three cheers for Alan Oliver and let's give him all the support he needs! He will be supported in this, his first year, by Ray Lloyd and Brian Ferris.

The club still requires the following helpers:

AOTM coordinator

an assistant to the club secretary - especially admin at peak times of the year

assistant team manager for the National Junior League    

3/4 Meeting managers for the summer league home meetings

Team manager for BAL Cup

Contact Chris, John, Kevin or Andy by emailing tamworthac@aol.com. Thank you!

Christmas & New Year Opening Times 2007/2008

Thursday 27 Dec-    Open  -  7- 9.00pm ONLY

Thursday 03 Jan -    Open  -  7- 9.00pm ONLY

Tuesday 25 Dec – CLOSED

Tuesday 1 Jan - CLOSED 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 THE NEXT

Volunteers Party

is on Friday 15 February 2008

in the TAC Clubhouse from 7.30pm

BOOK THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY NOW AND

WE’LL SEE YOU THERE

Food, Bar & Live Entertainment

Invitations out SOON!

West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country, Tipton

December 2^nd 2007-12-09

Youngsters show all-round improvement

In what were probably the worst conditions for many years with torrential rain and strong winds, Tamworth’s young athletes improved their overall position from 7^th to 6^th with several impressive individual displays but just as importantly excellent displays from most of the teams.

The first race to take place was the under 11 girls’ and they actually had the worst of the conditions with the rain and wind both at their worst.

Tamworth had seven girls in this event with Sarah Turner having her best race of the season considering she still has a year to go in this age group taking 9^th place with Jessica Hirst not too far behind in 13^th. Sarah is in 10^th position for the race series so far. Vicky Hollinshead and Harriet Beech came 45^th and 50^th respectively and both should be very pleased with those results as it’s their first season in cross country.

Claudia Farley has only been at the club a couple of weeks and to come 63^rd after such a short period of training bodes well for the future. With Courtney Toogood in 70^th and Georgia Oliver in 79^th the team now lie in 4^th place overall with 3^rd place a possibility in the remaining 2 races.

The under 11 boys are lying in 2^nd overall after another fine team performance. Robert Stroud finished 3^rd on the day but is still in 1^st for the series but he was ably backed up be Ellis Cross in 4^th, Patrick Thomas 8^th and Luke Jones 15^th. Patrick is 4^th and Luke 10^th overall. The team had excellent support from George Hatton 29^th, Ryan Christian 55^th, Matthew Redfern 75^th and Lewis Dunne in 78^th. It is worth while remembering that one of the attractions of cross country running is that every runner counts, no matter where they finish in the race and so every runner is vital.

The under 13 girls had some extremely testing conditions underfoot but still battled on to have their best race as a team over the year. Corrine Blythe ran her usually consistent race to come 19^th and maintain her 10^th position for the year but Ellie Redfern had been ill all week and the conditions were too much for her after being so weak and she eventually completed the course in 70^th. Bethany Puffett completed the course in 78^th with Jasmine Oliver 83^rd and Elisha Freeman in 87^th not too far behind. The team was completed with Sam Brady in 102^nd and Sam Lawton in 111^th. This girls’ team should be an inspiration to all of the teams as they keep turning out to race in spite of running against girls who are older and much bigger than them.

The under 13 boys haven’t had it all their own way this year and the extra competitive edge is bringing the best out of them. Once again Kristian Edwards was the club’s first finisher and his second place on the day moved him up to second overall. Anthony Parkes was 14^th to stand 8^th in the annual standings. Ben Wright is recovering from his recent illness and his 23^rd position gained good points for the club. Oliver Wood and Aidan Blythe had a tremendous tussle throughout the race with Oliver getting the upper hand to finish in 28^th with Aidan 29^th. With Sam Greenbank 47^th, Josh Roughley 49^th, Zac Gray 56^th, Ricky Hawkes 64^th and Elliott Jones 74^th, this has to be the best race for the whole of the team for many years. To have 10 athletes in the first 74 places in one of the best leagues in the country is an outstanding performance and fully merits the 2^nd position for the club in the team standings.

Unfortunately there is a shortage of under 15 girls in the cross country team and this meant that there were only two Tamworth representatives in this section. Lauren Mann finished in 44^th in spite of not feeling well and Leanne Lewis 68^th. Well done to both girls for turning out in spite of not being able to complete a team.

The under 17 ladies are 8^th after 3 races and have finished a team in all of those races, a first for the club for many years. On this occasion Elise Jinks came 30^th and she was chased all the way by Laura Lewis in 36^th with Amy Williams 37^th. The good news is that all three girls will be in this age group next year.

With injuries and illness depleting the under 15 boy’s team, there were only three turned out for the club but what performances the three athletes produced. Luke Roughley was 4^th, his best result of the season which leaves him lying in 5^th for the season but Richard Mahoney and Jack Childs ran well above themselves considering they are bottom of the age group to take 12^th and 13^th respectively, a fantastic result for all three boys.

The under 17 men are 3^rd in the league only just behind Tipton after another solid team performance. Steve Deeley had the best race for the club in 8^th which leaves him in 10^th in the league. Matthew Wood was 15^th on this occasion but still lies in 7^th place and Steve Harris came 16^th to consolidate his 9^th place. The team was completed by Sam Micklewright in 24^th and Jacob Hughes in 26^th.

The next league race is at Nuneaton on January 13^th. If all athletes turn out then the club once again has the opportunity to improve on its league positions.

To find out more about cross country training and competition at Tamworth AC contact 01827 287177 or email tamworthac@aol.com  and for mores results, reports, news and photos visit the club website at tamworthac.co.uk.

The details of the two coaching courses coming up in the new year at the Town Stadium which are being hosted by Tamworth AC are as follows:

First off is the UK Athletics Level 1 Assistant Coach Award on Saturday 26th January 2008.

This will be followed in February by a UKA Level 2 Core Module course which is over 2 days on Saturday and Sunday 23rd/24th February 2008.

The cost is £60 for Level 1 and £140 for Level 2.

Anyone wishing to apply should download an application form from the UKA website and send the completed form to Zena Weeks, England Athletics, Regional West Midlands Office,

Alexander Stadium, Walsall Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2LR.

Some funding is available for the UKA Level 1(16 ) and UKA Level 2 through the club for club members who wish to commit to coaching at TAC. External funding is also available for Level 3 & 4 courses for club members who are already committed club coaches at Tamworth AC. Please contact Andy Day, Coaching Coordinator, Amy Frith Coach Education Coordinator or Chris, Club Secretary at tamworthac@aol.com or on 01827 287177 for more information on coach education and opportunities.

Well done to Tamworth AC athlete Alex Berrow who competed in the Midland Open throws meeting at Birmingham Alexander Stadium at the weekend, finishing in second place in the under-20s shot competition with a putt of 10.90m.

If you have any results from meetings such as the one Alex Berrow attended please let Mick Sanderson know asap. Contact him on club nights or ask for his phone number at the club.

Check out the Power of 10 on your pc. Look for your name or the name of our club and find out where you are ranked within the club and nationally. Very useful for athletes and coaches. That's why it's so important to let Mick know your results.

Tamworth AC race walkers took a trio of individual Midland Winter League titles last weekend, claiming wins in the final meetings of the series at Tamworth AC's athletic stadium.

Mark Williams claimed both the 5km and 10km men's series victories.

It was particularly exciting to see three young race walkers taking part in the competition the most from this age group for quite some time. All three train at Tamworth AC and are able to learn from and train with the inspirational international walker Mark Williams

Christian Jones-Lyndon claimed his first Midland title, winning the Boys' under-11 series.

Debutants Matt Redfem and Maisha Newhill produced excellent performances making it a superb day for the home club.

Williams set the positive tone of the day for Tamworth with victory in the 10km race.

Already with a commanding points lead in the series, Williams only needed to feature in the top ten.

He had a race long battle with Ireland's Brendon Boyce, winning with a strong finish over the fast closing lap, claiming the win in 47.12mins.

His victory was two seconds ahead of Boyce, with Coventry's Antonio Crillio third almost five minutes adrift.

Redfem claimed a stunning win in the boys' under-11 1km event.

Redfem, who had looked promising in training took his form into the race with a clear victory, won the race in a very good time of 6.05mins, leading the race from start to finish.

Redfem's team-mate Christian Jones- Lyndon walked really well to finish in a time of 7.32mins and claimed an excellent series title, receiving plaudits from officials for excellent technique.

Maisha Newhill made her debut in the girls under-13 2km event.

Newhill demonstrated excellent technique, moving through the field to take a superb fifth place against really good opposition, recording a very quick time of 13.28mins.

Williams was back in action in the final event of the day, claiming his second race win of the day, the men's 5km event and the 5km series title to add to his 10km title.

The Tamworth man ditched his plans to produce a quick time and opted to control the race to secure the series.

Williams took the win in 23.55mins, ahead of Nuneaton's Simon Hambridge and Coventry's Mark O'Kane.

John Culshaw Junior, John Culshaw Senior and Gordon Chapman all performed the home club, with Chapman taking the award for his improved times through the series.

 Use of Torc Vocational Centre Indoor Facility

 Thursday evening training sessions ONLY

 SQUADS

Jonathon (early), Gordon & Catherine,

Field events, Circuit training, Gym work and Vets

 Torc has been taken over by the new Vocational Centre and is no longer part of Staffordshire County Council. This means that the club has to pay for the use of the facility and therefore it is vital that coaches and their athletes use the scheduled time slot.  

 The  gym is now ready to use and has therefore  been booked for the sole use of Tamworth AC on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9pm starting this Thursday 6th Dec and finishing around Easter.  Dates when it will not be used are 27th Dec 07 and 3rd Jan 08.  

The timetable for the evenings are as follows:  

Session 1 — 6.10 to 7pm  Jonathan’s early session squad (SQUAD MUST BE AT THE CLUB FOR 6PM)

Session 2 — 7 to 8pm — Sportshall based led by Gordon and Catherine 

Session 3 — 8 to 9pm – Final group — pole vaulters, throwers, jumpers. gym work, vets etc

·          All athletes must sign in at the club,  and junior athletes should also put on a reflective bib, meet with their coach & walk to the gym with their squad.

·          The first two groups will urgently need parent helpers and young coaches to accompany them to the gym and back to the club at the end of the session. If you can help please talk to the coaches mentioned above or to Andy Day.