March 2007

Entry forms and full details for the Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire County Championships are now available from Mick Sanderson at the club on training nights.

Entry forms and full details for the Midland Championships will be available shortly.

All athletes who wish to compete in the County and Schools Championships and Open Meetings please let Mick Sanderson , TAC's Athlete Development Officer, know which competitions you are entering and your eventual results.  

Mick ensures all results are recorded on the club database and in reports for the local media. Contact Mick at the club on training nights. A dedicated email address for results will be available soon.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP AND TRAINING FEES 2007 / 2008

All membership subscriptions are up for renewal on 1st April 2007. In line with the Midland Counties / EA 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.

The fees have been held for another year at the 2005/2006 prices  and are as follows

                 Membership fees 2007/2008                         Training fees 2007/2008                               

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

What you get for your membership and training fees

All the seats were taken in Tamworth Athletic Club’s packed clubhouse when World Indoor triple jump record holder Ashia Hansen presented  trophies and medals to club members at the Annual Presentation Evening.  

Nathan Woodward and Meghan Beesley were named joint winners of the prestigious President’s Cup for their many superb performances on the athletics stage over the past twelve months.

‘Double’ award winners were in abundance this year. The Jennifer Lloyd Award for the Best Performance in the English Schools was shared between Nathan Woodward and Meghan Beesley. The highly successful pair of athletes also picked up awards for the best sprinters in the over 15 section.

Javelin thrower Brett Byrd and hammer thrower Alex Berrow shared the Mick Sanderson trophy for the highest grade in any field event and Berrow also won the Ray Rogers trophy for the Men’s League Athlete of the Year.

The ‘doubles’ theme carried through to the Powell-Davis trophy for most attendances at training sessions which went to keen young athletes Olivia Woodward and Robert Stroud and continued when talented athlete Tom Challis took away the NJ Williams Cup for the highest ranked athlete in the Under13/15 category and the Ridgewood trophy for performances in the Young Athletes League.

Mark Williams, who was unable to attend on the night, deservedly won the Cincinnati Cup for Race Walking and the Male Vet of the Year.

Discus thrower Gemma Wheelhouse won the Women’s League ‘Athlete of the Year’ and the National Junior League winners were Sarah Williams who collected the Amy Adams Shield primarily for pole vaulting but also for her ability to turn her hand to any event and to Tom Burton who won the Tom Adams Shield for his excellent hurdling performances. Hollie Owen took the M J Showell Shield for her performances in the Young Athletes Track and Field League over the season.

The Indoor Athletics Trophies were presented to winners Jordan Roach and Sophie Taylor who both show real athletic potential in their chosen disciplines. Roach took 2^nd place in the high jump in the first England Athletics Championship and Taylor took 3^rd place in the Midlands Championships.

Young athletes Hannah Sargeant and Richard Mahoney were rewarded for all their efforts when competing in the Heart of England Track and Field League last season.

The Richard Thornton trophy for the Cross Country Young Athlete of the Year went to worthy winner Matt Wood with athletic all-rounders Ellie Redfern and Kristian Edwards collecting a cross country trophy each for the second year running. Howard Bush won the Graham Lovell trophy for senior cross country.

The club’s very successful race walkers collected further awards when young athlete Christian Jones-Loydon won the Ron Stone Trophy and Sheila Owen the AM Williams Cup. The female Veteran category honours went to Fiona Meldrum.

Last but by no means least were the winners of the Chairman’s Award and the Keith Martin Trophy for the ‘Best Club Member’. Rob James , committee member, membership secretary, official, team manager and volunteer bar helper  won the first award and Pat Wileman who volunteers hours of her time to the club won the latter award. Both have volunteered at the club for many years.

A presentation was made to guest presenter Ashia Hansen by young athlete Olivia Woodward and committee member Peter Flemming. The Chairman, John Graves, reminded everyone that Ashia had been injured for 2 years, had gone through rehabilitation which was a real test of whether she still enjoyed the sport. Even after all the operations and injuries she still loved her sport.

Ashia said that ‘Winning isn’t everything, its about learning and challenging yourself, both physically and mentally. After all the hard work and training you put in over the months and years coming out and competing and actually setting Pb's makes it all worthwhile’.

Seven Tamworth AC athletes, two more than last year, travelled to Leeds for the English School’s Cross Country Championships which were held at Temple Newsam. The course was very fast but extremely hilly and was a true test of cross country ability.

The Senior Boys race is the fastest of the day with many of the leading athletes having international experience and so Tom Adams’s 72nd place (158^th in 2006) was a remarkable result with Simon King, Staffordshire, not too far behind in 162^nd. Tom’s efforts earned him a team silver medal for Staffordshire, the first for a cross country athlete from the club for many years.

In the Junior Boys’ race both athletes performed well with Stephen Parkes, representing Warwickshire, in 37^th , only 30 seconds behind the winner with Luke Roughley, Staffordshire, in 80^th a further 15 seconds back. For both boys, this was their first taste of schools championships and they will have both learned from the experience.

Steve Deeley, Staffordshire, was the club’s only entrant in the Intermediate Boys’ section and his 172^nd was a much better placing than last year.

The Senior Girls is one of the most competitive and for the two runners from Tamworth AC it was a real test of their strength and commitment. Newcomer Emily Field-Lucas, running for Leics, finished in 208^th with Megan Jacobs, Staffordshire, a stride behind in 211^th.

Come along and enjoy the presenting of the awards and trophies by the guest presenter, the supper, dance to the disco music, try your luck on the raffle, enjoy the drinks at the bar, chat with friends and have a good night out.

Tickets will be on sale from Tuesday 26th February from the tuck shop and bar.

Some 27 athletes from Tamworth Athletics Club took part in the West Midlands Regional Sports Hall Finals held at Worcester.

Two of the Tamworth athletes represented Birmingham while the other 25 were representing Staffordshire in very tough competition.

Matthew Browne in the U13 boys section representing Birmingham, won the 6 lap race on his own and came 2nd overall in the vertical jump.

Danielle Norton took a very good second place in the four lap race in 50.6secs and placed eighth in the shot with 6.02m.

Ellie Redfern moved up an age group to gain fourth place in the six lap race in a time of 1:24.0mins and fifth in the standing triple jump with a jump of 6.08m.

Francesca Hughes took fifth place in the four lap race in 51secs and sixth in the vertical jump event.

Chloe Saunders finished in fifth place in the two lap race in 23.4secs and ninth in the shot with 5.88m while Lauren Saunders took fifth place in the speed bounce.

Danielle Cassar was sixth in the standing long jump with 1.84m, Josie Cassar seventh in the high jump with 1.15m and tenth in the two lap race in 25.3secs.

Louisa Facchino-Stack took eighth place in the vertical jump and Iona Glen completed the Staffordshire team effort in the high jump for third place overall.

In the under-13s boys, Staffordshire finished in fifth place. Samuel Greenbank took sixth place in the speed bounce event with Anthony Parkes seventh in the two lap race in 23.3secs and also the standing long jump with 1.88m.

Charlie Mayou took eighth place in the standing triple jump with a leap of 5.60m and Richard Mahoney was eighth in the four lap race in 51.5secs and ninth in the vertical jump event.

Jack Childs took eighth place in the speed bounce event and ninth in the four lap race in 51.8secs.

Ricky Hawkes finished in eighth place in the high jump with 1.20m and Curtis Cresswell came ninth in the two lap race in 24.7secs and tenth in the high jump with a jump of 1.10m.

In the under-15 girls' age group, Sophie Taylor in the winning Birmingham team, took fifth place in the four lap race and sixth in the shot event.

Staffordshire were fifth overall in the team event with Hannah Sargeant eighth in the four lap race in 50.6secs and speed bounce and tenth in the standing long jump with a lep of 2.06m.

Beth Scattergood took tenth place in the two lap race in 24.7secs, the same position in the speed bounce and 11th in the vertical jump.

Maddy Brown took 11th place in both the shot and vertical jump. She was also 13th in the four lap race in 53.5secs.

Amy Williams finished in 11th place in the two lap race in 25.1secs, 12th in the standing long jump with 1.82m and 13th in the shot with 4.72m.

In the under-15s boys' events, Tom Challis, who was a member of the winning Birmingham team, took second place in the four lap race and third in the shot.

Staffordshire finished fourth overall with Stephen Parkes fifth in the four lap race in 45.7secs, sixth in the standing long jump with 2.20m and the same position in the speed bounce.

Adam McGee took seventh place in the two lap race in 21.9secs, ninth in the standing long jump with a jump of 2.08m and 12th in the speed bounce.

Luke Roughley finished in eighth place in the four lap race in 46.5secs, 11th in the standing long jump with 2.04m and 14th in the shot with 5.77m.

Nikita Shelyakin finished in tenth place in the standing triple jump with a jump of 6.28m, 11th in the shot with 7.50m and 12th in the four lap race in 50.5secs.

David Hudson took tenth place in the speed bounce event, 12th in the two lap race in a time of 23.3secs and 15th in the standing triple jump with an effort of 5.30m.