Latest News from West Norfolk AC
West Norfolk AC awarded Club Mark Accreditation
West Norfolk Athletic Club have been awarded Club Mark Accreditation by England athletics, this award is only given to clubs which can demonstrate that they have committed to being a safe, effective and member - friendly club. A lot of hard work was put into this achievement and a great deal of effort needs to be applied to keepthis status. All persons working with the athletes have now obtained CRB (Criminal Record Bureau)checks to prove that the juniors can train safely in a good environment West Norfolk now join City of Norwich AC as the only two clubs in Norfolk to attain this status.
COUNTY TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010
The very best of West Norfolk ACs athletes travelled to Great Yarmouth on Sunday for the Norfolk County Athletics Championships. Cold weather and a strong headwind in the home straight made sprinting, hurdling and other technical events difficult. Despite this 22 athletes made the trip returning with 12 gold medals, 10 silver and 14 bronze. There were many great performances with a number of the athletes producing times and distances ranked high on the National ranking system. In fact 16 individual performances were at this high level.
For the Under 13 boys Edward de Winton started the day off with a great gold medal in the high jump. He jumped 1m35 in cold and wet conditions and also won silver in the discus and bronze in the 75 metre hurdles with a time of 15.3. James Greenhalgh produced a top class perfomance winning the 75m hurdles in 13.7 seconds. He outpaced a classy Norwich athlete by one tenth of a second in a great time considering the headwind. James also won bronze in the 100m and long jump. Ryan Coates gained great experience as a first year under 13 with a brave run in the 1500, coming 4th in a personal best time. Ben Martin also made a great return for action with a personal best in the long jump and a good run in the 100m for 5th. For the girls at this age group Lucy Edwards did well in her 100m and 200m heats just missing out on the final but running well against class opposition. Lucy is also a first year U13 athlete and has stepped up well. Her long jump of 3.76m just missed out on a medal for 4th place. Beth McKay produced a championship best ever performance for gold in the Pole Vault (1m60) which is a real tribute to Beth and the great Pole Vault coaching she has received.
Craig Brooks was one of a number of Under 15 boy athletes who performed excellently. The club is very strong at this age group and will perform well in team competitions this year. In this individual event Craig won the long jump in 4.68m and ran great 100m and 200m races for silver in both and in the 200m ran a personal best of 26.2. Matthew Bailey won the 80 metre hurdles in a fast time of 13.9 and has improved massively in this event this year. He was also placed 2nd in the triple jump. The Forde brothers won 6 medals between them. They are both excellent middle distance runners who like to try different events which is to their credit. Ronan's best was gold in the 800m (2m25.9) whilst his brother saved the best for 400m in 56.4 and 1500m in 4.54, both winning silver medals. Ryan Gowler ran well to make the final in both the 100m and 200m, in great times. He saved his best for bronze in the long jump and is clearly a great prospect for the club. For the girls Nikki Howling won silver in the high jump and bronze in the long jump. Nikki has competed excellently for the club in recent months having represented Norfolk at the National Sportshall final in April.
Newcomer Amy Burrell surprised many in the Under 17 age group with bronze in the 100m (13.5 secs). Amy is a new recruit spotted at the recent street athletics event in Kings Lynn. Freya LeServe continued her classy javelin throwing for silver in 33.95m and Brogan Webber won the high jump in 1m 50cm. Brogan is another athlete benefitting from great coaching at the club as is all round athlete Rebecca Russell who won bronze in the triple jump and long jump.
The older athletes found that the competition was not as fierce and it was difficult to find the extra effort required for top class performances of which they are all capable and will perform later in the season. Rebecca Daines won the 3000m in 11.03 minutes, all the more remarkable because she had fallen asleep and only woke up when the starter called the athletes to the line. Kate Davies won gold in the 1500m and silver in the 800m and Ben Collison silver in the 1500m. Molly James for the veteran woman found the going tough but still ran well enough for 2 golds in the 800 and 1500m.
The Under 11 age group are only able to compete in the 600m, 80m and long jump and all three athletes bravely took part in all three. Hannah Greenhalgh performed her best effort in the long jump and Danielle Middleton proved she is a great athlete with bronze in long jump and 80m. Niamh Jackson was the star of all the U11s with a great silver in the long jump and a brilliant gold in the 80m, where she powered against the wind for a fantastic victory.
The club is performing better than ever before and is indebted to some excellent coaching particularly at the sprints, hurdles, high jump and middle distance. The club desperately needs help with the throwing events and also to coach younger athletes. Training is from 7pm on a Thursday at Lynnsport
EASTERN YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE 2010
A number of athletes from West Norfolk Athletics Club and Ryston Runners competed in a combined team with Thetford and Diss AC, in the first round of the Eastern Young Athlete League in Bury St Edmunds. The team finished in 5th overall which was a great achievement against big city opposition.
There were a number of 1st places in the A-string races and lots of personal bests. There were also some performances that ranked highly nationally within the current performance grading system.
Star of the day has to be Eliot Holland in his first appearance winning the A string 1500m for U13 boys in a time of 4.57.7, which is a grade 2 on the national rankings and one of the quickest in the UK this year. Eliot was joined by Ryan Coates in this race who finished a creditable 2nd in the 1500 and won the A-string high jump. The other under 13 boy was James Greenhalgh who won the 75 metres hurdles A string in 14.2 and also won the long jump A-string in 4.20m, both again are ranked highly nationally. James was also 3rd in the 100m
The Under 13 girls had a some debutant competitors. Lucy Edwards sprinted well for a new pb in the 100 (15.4) and 200m (32.6) and won the B string long jump. Alysha Cain ran well in the 800m and it was great to see Augustine Hammond back in action and Imogen Walker gaining experience in her first event, both in the 800m.
The Under 15 boys were well represented by Craig Brooks who ran 13.0 for the 100, and 26.6 in the 200m plus long jumped a new pb in 4.74. Matthew Bailey hurdled excellently for 3rd in the A- string (14.0) and won the B-string shot. Brothers Lorcan and Ronan Forde competed in the 800m and 200m with their 2.25 and 2.26 respective 800m times good enough for 2nd in the A and 1st in the B races.
Star of the U15s was Edward Boorman who won the pole vault overall in a new pb of 2.50m
The U17 men were again represented by newcomer Ryan Rodwell. Ryan's abilities were not that well known beforehand so he ran as a non scorer, but he performed excellently in all three sprints. He ran 12.5 (100m), 26.1 (200m) and 58.2 (400m), and will certainly challenge for a place next time. He also earned his place in the relay team and ran this to perfection.
Freya Leserve won the U17 ladies A javelin with a great throw of 34.30m, again a top ranking performance nationally. Brogan Webber again returned to action with 2nd in the High jump A string (1.55m) and 4.19 in the long jump for 2nd in the B string competition.
All the athletes enjoyed the match and competed on a level footing with athletes from much bigger clubs gaining valuable experience and in some cases proving their abilities at a high level. The next match is in Ipswich on 6th June.
EAST ANGLIAN LEAGUE 2010
Athletes from West Norfolk Athletics Club journeyed to Bury St Edmunds in good numbers for their first East Anglian League meeting of the season. In slightly breezy but fine conditions, the Under 13 Boys won their age grouping by a huge margin and when the results from all three meetings running concurrently were computed they were found to be at the top of the League, the first time for West Norfolk that any age group has been top over many years in this competitive competition.
The sprint hurdles have been a rewarding event for the boys many times and James Greenhalgh ran 13.5s to finish a close 2nd place in the A String and Ed Dewinton won his B String event in 15.0s. In his scoring debut in this League, Ryan Coates underlined his potential in middle distance running by finishing 3rd in the A String 1500m and Tom Middleton also battled well in the 800m and was rewarded with victory in the B String. Elliott Holland proved to be a revelation in the Shot Putt. Throwing for the first time ever competitively he recorded an excellent 7m17 for 2nd place overall. Andrew Todd augmented the sprinters with a good scoring run in the 100m and Ben Martin also accrued valuable points in the sprints as well as forming a part of an excellent relay team who stormed home in 2nd place.
The Under 15 Boys were hit hard by some late call offs but nevertheless marshalled their resources to finish a strong 3rd on the day. Craig Brooks ran impressively especially in the 400m where he was just edged out into 2nd place in the A String. Aaron Gardner also had a busy day with three second places being a good return. Mathew Bailey again underlined his versatility and swapped events to help the team. His best performance was an exceptionally fluent hurdles race which resulted in a deserved win (13.6s). Mark Todd for not the first time pushed himself to the limit with a battling run in the 1500m and Ryan Gowler saved his best performance until the end with an incredible third relay leg in which he demolished the opposition setting up Craig Brooks to deliver a truly exciting 2nd place finish.
Despite being short of numbers, the Under 17 Men accumulated points throughout the day to finish a promising 4th. Ryan Rodwell ran in three highly competitive races and performed really well with a 2nd place in the 400m a highlight. Danny Howard took on the middle distance races and was 2nd and 3rd within touching distance of the winners in two amazingly tight finishes.
The Senior Men were also missing some key athletes but still finished a creditable 4th on the day. Ian Reeve provided a strong backbone to the team and ran impressively and rewardingly in his sprints. Carwyn James volunteered at the last minute to run the 3000m to help the team and ran well for 3rd place in the B String and Ben Collison ran in his usual competitive way for 4th place in the A String (11m18.9s). Jack Trow was again impressive in winning the 400m race (56.4s) and Kevin Rodwell made a good start to his season in all four throwing disciplines including a 2nd place in the B String Javelin. Also making his seasonal debut, Chris Yarrow was just edged out into 3rd place overall in the Javelin. George Woelner made his club debut in the Shot and started his season well.
The Under 11 Girls were represented by Danielle Middleton and Niamh Jackson who both cruised to victory in their respective 80m races and then finished 1st and 2nd respectively in their Long Jump event.
The Under 13 Girls were somewhat depleted in numbers but still managed a respectable 26 event points. They were led by Lucy Edwards in her first year at this age group and she jumped a fine 3m60 in the Long Jump for 4th place in the A String competition. Also jumping well was Annalise Ward who achieved 4th place in the B String Long Jump.
In the Under 15 Girls section Natasha Gamble continued her excellent progress in the 200m with a promising time of 30.8s and she was joined by Ellen Gowler who is also a fast improving athlete (32.1s). Completing the team, Imogen Walker ran a strong 800m for 4th place in the A String.
The Ladies provided the Club's most athletes and a 4th place overall was not a fair reflection of the tremendous exertions on the day. By a country mile, Freya Leserve underlined her class in the Javelin with an emphatic victory (35m19), and like wise in the 1500m , Becky Cousins stormed home for 1st place (5m05.3s) although closely followed by a procession of fine performances from her team mates. Winning the B String event was Bex Daines (5m10.0s) and also finishing strongly there followed Kate Davies and Serena Smith. The five Ladies really deserved some bonus points as Molly James was in fact 2nd overall (5m05.5s) but due to the structure of competition accrued no points. Serena also bravely took on the Hammer event and accrued 4 valuable event points. Amy Burrell competed well in the 100m sprint but also crucially ran a strong Relay leg to bring the ladies home in a competitive 4th place. Jess Paterson also formed a key part of that Relay team as did Brogan Webber who was just edged out into 3rd place in the High Jump. Victoria Borrmann made a strong debut in the League for West Norfolk and accrued points over a number of disparate events and Lauren Ely accrued points in the throwing events especially the Javelin where she supported Freya with an excellent 3rd place in the B String event herself. Stepping in at the last minute to help the team, Sally Edwards underlined her versatility by competing strongly in both the Shot and the 800m events.
Well done to all those who supported the Club as either athlete or official. The next venue on this season's tour of East Anglia is Great Yarmouth on Sunday 20th June.
SPORTSHALL LATEST NEWS
NORFOLK SPORTSHALL AGMThe Annual General Meeting for the Norfolk Sportshall Athletic League will take place on Friday 11th June at 7 pm.
For anyone wishing to attend, the meeting will be held at the Dereham Runners Clubhouse at Neatherd High School, Dereham.
NORTH NORFOLK 7
Three runners from West Norfolk Athletics Club made the trip to Holt for the North Norfolk 7 road race run through the attractive Kelling and Weybourne area.
Leading the way, the evergreen Terry Gamble completed the undulating course in a commendable 55m27s and proved the benefit of his regular training. Next Club runner to complete the course in almost ideal conditions was Paul Bushell who ran consistently throughout to finish in 58m30s. Completing the trio, Richard Vincent managed a time of 63m49s and in his 14th running of this race in its various formats.
Overall 244 runners competed on the day in this ever popular event.
Richard Vincent (West Norfolk Athletics Club)
PLEASE NOTE TO TAKE PART IN ANY ATHLETICS MEETING FOR WEST NORFOLK AC YOU MUST BE A CLUB MEMBER. MEMBERSHIP FORMS AVAILABLE FROM CATH JOHNSON ON TRAINING NIGHTS. West Norfolk AC train on Thurs at Lynnsport (8-13s 7pm -8pm) and Seniors plus over 13's from 8pm to 9pm.