July 2007

Secure your place on the Star:track scheme NOW - 6 places remaining!!!

Norwich Union Star:track

HOLIDAY ACTIVITY

at

 Tamworth Athletic Club

Monday 6 - Friday 10 August  2007  

 10 am-3 pm

Suitable  for  8–15 yr olds

A WELL KNOWN ATHLETE WILL BE PAYING A VISIT

Covers all aspects of Track and Field and includes competitions, goodie bag and more! All in a FUN environment

Sports kit and trainers, packed lunch required

Cost

£35 (1 week)   or   £8 per session

(minimum 2 sessions)

 Registration forms and more information   

     from Chris (Star:track Scheme Organiser) 

     at the club or phone 01827 287177/260897

email tamworthac@aol.com

(photos from the last two years are in the gallery section

Four young athletes from Tamworth AC were selected for the Warwickshire Schools Intermediate team in the recent Multi-Events Championships competition.

All four proved their athletic potential as their teams won their age group competitions.

Hurdler and high jumper Hannah Sargeant , Stephen Parkes, Jordan Roach and newcomer to athletics Doug Spark will now go forward to the finals at the National Schools Multi-Events to be held in Exeter in September.

Their results were as follows:

Hannah Sargeant (6th overall) Hurdles 13.7, HJ 142, LJ 4.16, 200m 28.1, 800m 1.40:4. SP 5.73. JT 15.23

Doug Spark Hurdles 13.5, HJ 145, LJ 4.35, 800m 2.26. SP 10.29

Stephen Parkes Hurdles 14.5, HJ 148, LJ 5.30, 800m 2.10:4. SP 8.32

Jordan Roach - finished 10th overall

Mark Williams notched up his 23rd victory of the season last weekend as he retained the Birchfield Open and British Masters 20km Race Walking Championships.

The event was held in extremely difficult conditions on a 1.25km circuit at Perry Park.

The heavy rain caused event organisers all sorts of problems with volunteers having to sweep excess water from the course throughout the race.

Williams had a steady start to the race before closing down early leaders, Nuneaton's Steve Arnold and Birchfield's John Constandinou.

As Arnold made a move at the front Williams tracked him through the opening three laps before making a move to the front after four kilometres, making a decisive break Williams was never headed again.

Walking at a comfortable pace he recorded consistent lap times as he controlled the race over the final 12 laps, taking a comfortable win.

Williams had been in action earlier in the week, along with Baxterley's Ann Wheeler, at the Coventy Godiva's Mid-Summer five mile race walk.

Both Williams and Wheeler took victories on the night.

It was an excellent week for Williams, who also received an invite the compete at to AAA's Track and Field Championships and World Championship Trials, being held in Manchester later this month. Entry to the Championships is by invite only.

Williams also received an invite to represent the Midland Counties at the Annual Inter-Area Track and Field Match fixture against the Northern and Southern Counties later this month.

Tamworth race walkers were in action at the annual Alan Flear Memorial Open Track meeting in Nuneaton.

Hampshire's Jim Ball won the opening race of the day, the Men's 5km, in a time of 24.27 mins while Tamworth's Gordon Chapman walked well to finish in 38.53 mins.

Leicester's Jill Eve won the women's 5km event in 28.22mins, just ahead of Baxterley's Ann Wheeler in second.

Wheeler, representing Nuneaton Harriers, put in a solid performance on her return to competition after suffering from a virus over the past couple of weeks, and this outing should give here some encouragement in her return to full fitness.

In the novice walks, Tamworth's Karen Williams was the clear winner in the women's 800m walk, ahead of Nuneaton athletes Stain and Tandy.

Ann Wheeler and Mark Williams spearheaded the Midland Counties challenge at last weekend's Annual Inter-Territorial Track and Field match against the North and South.

The pair claimed victory in the women's and men's 3km walks respectively.

The meeting, held at the Alexander Stadium, was staged in dreadful weather conditions - the rainfall was so heavy that all jump events at the meeting were moved indoors.

Unfortunately for Wheeler and Williams their events took place in the worst of the downpour but both were able to produce classy performances to record commanding victories on the waterlogged track.

Baxterley-based Wheeler took the women's 3km title in a personal best time of 16:16mins, well clear of nearest challenger, Hillingdon's Anne Belchambers.

Williams made it a double as he recorded a commanding victory in the men's 3km race.

The Tamworth AC man made a slow start from the gun but quickly moved up a gear and in to the lead inside the opening 100m, deliberately upping the pace over the opening couple of laps to distance himself from the chasing athletes.

Williams' tactics proved successful as he opened a clear margin and was able to record some consistent lap times before increasing the pace over the closing stages to take the win in a time of 13.29mins.

Southern counties athlete Phillip Williams took second place in 14.39mins.

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Tamworth Athletic Club's Midland Men's League A team moved a step nearer to promotion to Midland League Division One when they won their latest match at Tamworth last weekend.

The win leaves Tamworth a clear three points ahead at the top of the league table with just one fixture remaining next month.

The top performances of the day were recorded by jumper Adam Smith.

He won the triple jump with a personal best and club record leap of 13.69m as well as the long jump with a personal best of 6.42m.

He also took second place in the high jump when he equalled his personal best clearance of 1.75m.

Tamworth AC's B team finished fourth in their latest Midland Men's League Division Four match at Burton.

The result means they retained their middle of the table overall position with one match remaining.

Personal bests were recorded by Marcus Yoxall (hammer), Dave Williams (2,000m steeplechase and 110m hurdles), Mike Pierpoint (pole vault) and Tom Adams (100m and 200m). Full details in the Reports section.

Tamworth Ac fell running star Kristian Edwards is celebrating a national title.

Edwards won the English Fell Running Association Uphill Championships on the famous Ilkley Moor in North Yorkshire.

His victory in the under-12s competition means Edwards now gets to wear a 'king of the mountains' shirt.

Once again Edwards stunned his fellow competitors on the 2.2km uphill only course over tarmac, gravel tracks, steps, steep banks and moorland paths.

He completed the race which climbed more than 600m to the summit, with a fast finish, beating favourite James Knox from Helm Hill in the Lake District into second place by 29 seconds.

The warm, rainy weather seemed to suit another Tamworth youngster, Richard Mahoney, who produced a superb performance in his debut season as he took seventh place in the under-14 section.

Mahoney ran strongly and was still pulling through at the end showing future potential in fell running.

Both runners have surprised many of the experienced runners who mainly hail from Northern England, Scotland and Wales because the local terrain is more hilly and mountainous and is ideal for training.

However, Edwards and Mahoney follow a professional and dedicated approach to their running, balancing training for speed at the town stadium with hill work.

Both boys arrived the day before the competition to walk the course and get to know the climbs so mistakes on the day were minimised.

If you are interested in training and competing in fell running, call John on 01827 287177.

Various reports on the English Schools Championships by Mick Sanderson taken from the Tamworth Herald over the past few weeks

Tamworth Athletics Club returned from the English Schools Championship with four medals and a clutch of other fine performances.

Nathan Woodward collected his second English Schools' title when he won the senior boys 400m hurdles' event in fine style at the Alexander Stadium last weekend.

Woodward won his heat in 55secs and went on to win the final convincingly in 53secs to complete his 'warm-up' for next week's European under-20 championships in Holland.

Jordan Roach, in his first ever English schools' championships, picked up the silver medal in the junior boys' high jump event when he cleared the excellent height of 1.81m.

Meghan Beasley, also preparing for the European championships, took on the best female sprinters to pick up the silver medal in the senior girls' 100m.

Beesley won her heat in 11.92secs and took second place behind Hayley Jones, of Cheshire, who beat the championship record to win the final with Beesley clocking 11.90secs.

Also picking up his first medal in the championships was Brett Byrd who took third place in the senior boys' javelin event with a fine throw of 58.42m in the final.

Stephen Parkes, in his first ever English schools' championships, claimed fourth place in the junior boys' 1,500m.

He produced excellent performances when he took second place in his heat of the junior boys' 1,500m in a personal best time of 4:18.96mins and 4:16.38mins in the final.

Alex Berrow proved he is one of the top hammer throwers in the country when he took an excellent fifth place in the final of the senior boys' event with a throw of 54.18m.

Hollie Owen took fifth place in the senior girls' heats of the 400m in 59.02secs and went on to join Beesley in the Warwickshire 4x100m relay team who finished in fourth place in the senior girls' final of that event.

Luke Roughley and Milly Kellyman were in their first English schools' championships.

Roughley finished in sixth place in the heats of the junior boys' 800m in a time of 2:07.96mins and Kellyman seventh in her heat of the junior girls' 100m in 13.31secs.

Coleshill hurdler Nathan Woodward will lead the quest for honours as a record nine Tamworth AC members compete at the All England Schools Athletics Championships tomorrow and Saturday

Woodward will be in action at the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr tomorrow and Saturday.

He will be joined by Hollie Owen, Meghan Beesley, Stephen Parkes (all representing Warwickshire) and Jordan Roach (West Midlands).

Luke Roughley, Alex Berrow, Brett Byrd and Milly Kellyman will represent Staffordshire.

Meghan Beesley and Nathan Woodward will lead the quest for honours as a record nine Tamworth AC members compete at the All England Schools Athletics Championships this weekend.

The pair will be in action at the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr tomorrow and Saturday.

They will be joined by Hollie Owen, Stephen Parkes (all representing Warwickshire) and Jordan Roach (West Midlands).

Luke Roughley, Alex Berrow, Brett Byrd and Milly Kellyman will represent Staffordshire in the same competition.

Woodward, who will be in action at the European under-20 Championships in Holland later this month, will compete after proving his fitness in a men's league match last weekend.

A Club record number of nine Tamworth AC athletes have been selected for the All England Schools Championships.

Meghan Beesley, Nathan Woodward, Hollie Owen, Stephen Parkes (all Warwickshire) and Jordan Roach (West Midlands) will all be in action at the Alexander Stadium on July 12 and 13.

Luke Roughley, Alex Berrow, Brett Byrd and Milly Kellyman will represent Staffordshire.

Beesley will take part in the Senior Girls' 100m at the English Schools and must be considered as one of the favourites for the title while Woodward, who will be taking part in his fifth English Schools Championship, has been selected for the 400m hurdles.

Owen, who has been selected for the 400m, will be taking part in her second English Schools Championships.

The Warwickshire Schools' champion for the 300m in 2006 and the 400m this year, she has fought back from injury during the past year to improve her personal best in the 400m to 58.1secs and gain a well earned place in this years' championships.

Roach, in his fourth year at the club, will be taking part in his first English Schools Championships this year after winning 13 of his 15 competitions this season.

Parkes, in his fourth season at the club, will be taking part in his first English Schools Championships.

Selected for the under-15 boys 1,500m event, this year Parkes has won the Staffordshire Championships, the Warwickshire Schools Championships and finished in second place in the Midland Championships, reducing his personal best time for his event to 4:20.5mins to rank in the top ten in the country.

Another athlete taking part in his first English Schools Championships is Roughley, who will take part in the junior boys 800m event.

Staffordshire Schools' champion, Roughley also took second place in the Staffordshire Championships.

Roughley has a personal best of 2:07.1mins for his event which also gives him a high position in the national rankings.

Berrow (hammer) and Byrd (javelin) are taking part in their third English Schools Championships.

Milly Kellyman takes part in her first English Schools Championships in the junior girls 100m. She is the Staffordshire Schools champion and won the Birmingham games 200m this season.

Jog England

 Be part of an exciting new venture!!!

Tamworth AC has the opportunity to host a pilot project aimed at increasing the opportunities for people to increase their fitness through running and walking.

Could you get involved and help Tamworth AC be pioneering in the new Jog England scheme?

England Athletics will fund a “Fitness in Running and Walking” course (normally £60) which would qualify interested individuals to lead groups. The course could come to Tamworth if sufficient interest is shown.

2^nd Meeting for those interested in becoming a jog leader or participating in a group: All welcome.

Tuesday 17^th July – 7.30  @ Tamworth Athletics Club

Contact Jackie Wakeman for further details: 07890 743369 or e-mail: jackiewakeman@doctors.org.uk

Help Our Club Win £50,000 With The Norwich Union  ‘Join Our Team’ Project

IF you have access to e-mail and the Internet then you will be able to vote for Tamworth AC’s exciting new initiative (see below).

Please help us to maintain our lead at the top of the West Midlands regional section by voting NOW!

Take a look at the Norwich Union "Join our Team" campaign

On behalf of the committee, John Graves, Tamworth AC’s Chairman, has recently applied for some funding via a Norwich Union "Join our Team" campaign. If successful, the funding will part fund a much needed indoor training centre that will contain facilities for jumping, vaulting, throwing, sprinting, hurdling and conditioning. The club has already raised £75,000 and has applied for further funding from two other sources.

This project for the indoor training centre will go a long way to raising the standards of support that we are able to give to the athletes in Tamworth and the surrounding areas whilst at the same time enabling technical event athletes (throwers, jumpers, hurdlers, vaulters etc.) to raise their standards of performance by having an indoor centre for the winter months. The facility will be open for use by members of all clubs in the region and so will ensure that standards are being raised not just in Tamworth but in the region as a whole.

Junior athletes in the area will once again have the opportunity of taking part in Sportshall athletics, an excellent introduction to the exciting world of athletics. The club currently has to make use of a gym at a local school that is closing at the end of this term.

Please pass this onto all club members, friends, families, your Christmas card list and work colleagues and encourage them and their families and friends to vote... it will only take a few minutes and the potential future benefit to our club and to sport in Tamworth and the surrounding areas is enormous.

The application is now on a website along with all of the other proposed projects and members of the public have to vote for which one will win the money! 30 votes will win £1,000 and the most votes in the West Midlands will get £12,500.  If that happened then the clubs project would go forward to the final against all of the other Regional winners for £50,000!!

The club is asking for your support to :

·         Vote for Tamworth AC’s project

·         Forward this to anybody else who you work with etc to also support the project and vote.

·         By registering your details and voting you can win prizes such as holidays, tickets to athletics competitions etc so it might be worth your while!

To vote you need to go to www.joinourteam.com. You need to register your details first in order to be able to vote - name, address etc which doesn't take long . Once you are registered go to "Cast your vote" and in the Find Initiative box at the top right hand side select "West Midlands" from the drop down menu. This brings up a list of all of the projects in the Region. Ours is called "Tamworth Athletic Club Indoor Facility". What a massive difference this would make to the club and the community of Tamworth. Please get voting!!!

 Our Initiative – taken from the NU ‘Join Our Team’ website

Tamworth Athletic Club has a track record of innovative club development and sound management, developing, financing and operating our own facility. This initiative began in 2004 and is for an indoor athletics training facility to provide athletes with the opportunity to continue year round training whilst increasing participation opportunities for the local community. There is evidence that facility usage increases by approximately 50% if an indoor facility is available during the winter months. The club has 400 members of who 100 are volunteers who ensure the club functions professionally and are responsible for raising funds for the club. The facility will allow the club not only to offer an enhanced program of formal athletics coaching but also to increase participation in physical activity by all sections of the community particularly females, children of primary school age and those with health or weight issues. Local schools have free access to the outside facility as the club is committed to increasing community usage. Discussions have already taken place with the Local Education Authority for local primary schools to use the facility for Sportshall Athletics and with the Local Authority who are keen for the club to use this building to help address the Authority's health agenda. It is anticipated that the building will be used from 9am until 9pm, 6 days a week - a considerable undertaking for a voluntary organisation.

 John and Chris Graves

Chairman and Club Secretary, Tamworth Athletic Club, tamworthac@aol.com

Several Tamworth athletes represented their county in the Mason Trophy at Alexander Stadium on Saturday.

With eight counties competing, some very high standards were reached as athletes used the match as their final chance to achieve selection for next month's All English Schools Championships.

Top Tamworth performance of the day was Jordan Roach, who won the junior boys high jump for his West Midlands team when he cleared 1.78m.

Luke Roughley, representing Staffordshire, ran an excellent race in the junior boys 800m to take second place in a personal best time of 2:07.1mins.

Also recording a personal best in the Staffordshire team was Milly Kellyman who took third place in the 100m in 12.9secs.

Elyse Jinks took third place in her 3,000m in 12:50.0mins, Sophie Taylor was fourth in the 200m in 27.3secs and Chris Boden was fifth in his 200m in 24.7secs.

Seven Tamworth athletes travelled to Oxford for the Five Star Open meeting and returned with two gold medals and one silver.

Jessica Hirst won the under-11 girls competition with an overall score of 164 points.

Hirst was timed at 11.4secs in the 75m, a personal best and gained another best in the long jump with a leap of 3.77m.

She also clocked 10.6secs in her third event, the 55m hurdles.

Eloise Redfern won the under-13 girls competition with a total of 222 points for her three events.

Redfern ran a personal best time of 29.5secs for the 200m, had another personal best in the long jump with a leap of 4.27m and ran a time of 12.6secs in the 70m hurdles.

Robert Stroud picked up a silver medal with a points score of 178, giving him second place in the under-11 boys event.

Stroud ran the 800m in 2:41.2mins, the 75m in 11.8secs and jumped 3.76m in the long jump.

Elliott Jones took 11th place in the under-12 boys event with a score of 154 points.

Jones recorded a throw of 17.71m in the javelin, had a high jump clearance of 1.10m and ran a time of 15.0secs in the 100m.

Jasmine Oliver took 12th place in the under-12 girls age group, with an overall points total of 160.

Oliver ran the 200m in a personal best time of 31.2secs, had another personal best in the long jump with a jump of 3.21m and was timed at 3:06.1mins in the 800m.

Samantha Lawton finished in eighteenth place in the under-12 girls event with 117 points.

Lawton clocked 16.4secs for the 100m, 17.1secs in the 70m hurdles and a putt of 5.22m in the shot.

Tamworth's youngest competitor, Georgia Oliver, took 15th place in the under-ten girls competition with 76 points.

Oliver ran the 75m in a personal best time of 13.1secs, the 800m in 3:45.0mins and managed 2.06m in the long jump.

The 9^th Festival Dash is now almost upon us! Set to take place in Cathedral Close in Lichfield on Saturday July 14^th,  organizers Sports First and Evolve Fitness at Friary Grange Leisure Centre (FGLC) are gearing up for what is set to be the best Festival Dash yet!

“There’s been a real buzz following the news that four-time Dash winner Steve Blagdon will be lining up on the starting blocks this year. We’re also hoping James Thie, Dash winner in 2003, will make it on the day to challenge Blagdon in a Clash of the Titans race to the title. It will also be great to see how local lad James Trollop of Birchfield Harriers fares against Thie and Blagdon. Trollop has been turning in fantastic performances this season and he could have what it takes! And it’s not just the men you should bet on! We’re also looking forward to welcoming Celia Brown of Rugby and Northampton Athletics Club, one of the UK’s leading female athletes over 800m. Together Brown, Thie, Blagdon and Trollop could prove to be a really explosive mix and make it a nail-biting and fantastic race to the finish!”

Kevin also predicts a potential surprise element: “There’s always one or two athletes who contact me just before the race and I’m keeping two wild card slots open for anyone who thinks they can hack it over the dash course against top flight athletes.” 

The field for the FLORETTE FESTIVAL JUNIOR DASH for U13 and U15 athletes locally is also coming together with the U13 boys and girls race looking very competitive. The U15’s boys looks especially exciting with Friary Grange School’s Luke Roughley (Tamworth AC) set to face stiff competition from Chase Terrace pupil Mark Richards (Cannock & Stafford AC) over the 430m course. The race starts at 11am

Phil Kelly, Centre manager Evolve Fitness at Friary Grange Leisure Centre, is also excited to see how the event is coming together as Dash day draws near: “At Evolve Fitness we’re really proud to be sponsoring this year’s Festival Dash. It’s a great event to watch and one that can inspire people to get involved in sports and healthy activities. It’s also a great family day out, so come along on the 10^th July to watch some really talented local athletes complete for the prestigious title of Festival Dash Champion, Lichfield’s answer to the Chariots of Fire! Evolve Fitness is also offering fitness testing on the day, so come on down and check out how you measure up!”

Other events including 100m and 400m races for juniors, relay races for junior and senior athletes, the popular Pursuit Chase race, athletics coaching from Lichfield Leisure Services Sports Development, tennis demonstrations and coaching plus fitness testing from staff at Evolve Fitness at Friary Grange Leisure Centre, will be staged.

For further information, contact Kevin Wilson on  07971100973