March 2005

   You may not be able to commit to coaching at TAC but you may be able to spare some time to help out over the week-end of the 9/10 April when the Level 2 coaching course, which is over subscribed,  takes place at the Marlborough Way Stadium.

   Kevin Wood could do with some help with outside equipment, preparation of the function room, manning the tuck shop etc over the 2 days. Your contribution would be much appreciated, especially by Kevin!

   So speak to him ASAP if you can help.

   10 TAC athletes attended the over subscribed UKA Level 1 Athletics coaching course held at the Town Stadium home of Tamworth AC on Saturday 12 March 2005.

   All the new coaching assistants will be working with either the summer Reception Squads or the main squad sessions from 7 to 8pm.

   Thanks to all those who attended especially Charlotte Haynes and Kevin Wood 3^rd who have already started working with the multi-discipline and endurance groups respectively.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP AND TRAINING FEES 2005/2006

All membership subscriptions are up for renewal on 1st April 2005. In line with the Midland Counties rules, athletes who have not paid their subscriptions by June 1st will not be able to compete or train at the club as they will not be insured.

Current membership and training fees for 2004/2005 stand until the AGM on Wednesday 20 April 2005 when a decision will be made on whether any increases are necessary for 2005/2006 .

The current fees are as follows

                 Membership fees 2004/2005                      Training fees 2004/2005  No change from 2003 / 2004                               

Renewal forms will be available from the registration table in the clubhouse .

What you get for your membership and training fees

The Cross Country Reception Squad that started in October 2004 and ran on Thursdays from 5.30 to 6.30 pm has now finished for the season. A summer Track and Field Reception Squad will start in May 2005 and run until September 2005. More details soon.

Watch this space for the full report on the Annual Presentation Evening coming soon and keep checking the Photo Gallery for the presentation photos.

Here's just a snippet from the event in Cardiff. Mick Sanderson's full report will appear ASAP.

The Under 17 Men’s competition had a sensational ending when Nathan Woodward (Tamworth) swept round the 800m in 2:00.17 to rocket from fourth overall into the Gold medal position with 3131 points. He overtook Will Lambourne (Milton Keynes), who finished second on 3021 points, Joe Lancaster (Sale), third on 2988, and Robert Kite (Basingstoke Mid Hants), fourth on 2933.

Under 17 Women’s winner Amy Hill (City of Sheffield AC) went to 10^th all-time with her total of 3372 points. Meghan Beesley (Tamworth) was second with 3288 and Sereeta Shone (Weymouth St Pauls) finished third with 3274 after holding a lead of 71 points prior to the 800m. Helen Banks (Rotherham) was fourth with 3237

The final two events in the domestic cross country calendar for Tamworth AC are the Inter Counties competition which was held on the 5^th March and the English School’s Championships on the 12^th March and Tamworth had 4 athletes in each event this year.

The Inter-Counties Championships were held at Nottingham in appalling conditions and for three of the younger athletes it was their first taste of this unofficial British Championships.

Craig Farrell was in the under 13 Boys competition and he showed that he is slowly returning to form after being injured for 10 weeks with an excellent 74^th position, only 20 seconds from being in the top 20.

Simon King was 143^rd in the under 15 Boys section having been surprised by the extremely fast start of the leading athletes.

Tom Adams has been suffering with knee problems all season and he did extremely well to finish 210^th in such a competitive field in the under 17 Men’s.

Arguably the performance of the day from a Tamworth athlete was Martin Naunton’s 46^th in the Under 20 Men’s race as he still has two more years left in this age group.

The English School’s Championships were held at Norwich in much better conditions although it was still bitterly cold.

Meghan Jacobs was in the Intermediate girl’s race and her 267^th showed promise as she is still eligible for this age group next year.

Katherine Snowden’s preparation has been for the shorter events on the track this year and she did well to place 262^nd in the 4.2km Senior Girl’s race.

The club’s final two athletes were in the Senior Boy’s event. Adam Bache was in his first representative race and ran his usual solid race in 252^nd position but once again Martin Naunton took centre stage when he placed 29^th.

 For more information on training, coaching and competition at Tamworth Athletic Club please ring 01827 260897, email tamworthac@aol.com or visit the club’s website at www.tamworthac.co.uk

Our very own club Secretary Chris Graves has been named the West Midlands Official of the Year by UK Athletics.
Chris has been honoured for her hard work in developing athletics provision in the area.
Chris will now go forward to the national finals where she will be up against 11 other regional winners for the National Athletics Official of the Year award.
A big well done to Chris, I'm sure everyone is proud of you and appreciative of the hard work that you do for the club.

At the National Universities Championships in Sheffield, Laura Langowski took second place in her heat of the 400m event and finished in fourth place in her semi-final, just one place off qualifying for the final.
   Langowski clocked 57.52secs in her heat and 57.18secs in the semi-final. Amy Frith took fourth place in her heat of the 800m in 2:26.86mins and Chris Smith finished in the same position in his heat of the 800m in 2:01.82mins.