NEWSLETTER OF HARMENY ATHLETIC CLUB, BALERNO, EDINBURGH

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IMPORTANT HEALTH AND SAFETY NEWS FOR PARENTS

In line with most other youth organisation and clubs we will now require parents to take turns in supporting our coaches on training nights and helping out with team management at inter-club competitions.

As part of the condition of juniors joining the club we will require parents / guardians to take turns at assisting the coaches at training. Once you have been contacted with a date for helping out, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement if you are unable to attend.

 Our coaches will have the right to limit the number they will take if there are insufficient helpers. It is therefore the responsibility of parents accompanying youngsters to bring them into registration until we accept them into the training session.

 Attached is a form for parents to register their availability, and a bit of info about what’s involved. Thanks to those who have already completed this and sent into Jenny Barr.

 WE ARE PARTICULARLY KEEN TO RECRUIT ADDITIONAL PARENTS TO HELP JENNY CO-ORDINATE A HELPER’S ROTA, AND ANYONE WHO COULD HELP WITH THE ATTENDANCE REGISTER THAT IS TAKEN AT THE START OF TRAINING ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.

Coaches & Parents council

The next meeting of the coaches & parent helper’s council will take place on Monday 16 April, Currie Rugby club, 7:45 pm. This is open to all parents of members who wish to help out.

 Summer 2007 programme

 Forth Valley League: On three Thursdays evenings in April, May & June and on one Saturday in August we participate in a local inter-club competition with a mixture of track races and field events (jumps and throws).

 The dates and venues for these are now available:  

 We are competing in Division 2, along with Livingston & District AC, Corstorphine AC, Dunbar Running Club,

Edinburgh Southern Harriers, Linlithgow AC and Musselburgh & District AC. Our targets this year are:

• More points than last year
• Third place in the league

This is the only club-based team event we compete in, so after a winter of training we will expect everyone to be available for selection for our team. Our team managers and coaches will require and expect the full co-operation of parents in confirming team selection and supporting the team. There are no entry fees as the club covers the cost of League membership.  

Mini-Championship Nights

Following the success of the last 2 years we will be holding mini-championship evenings for members and friends on some of the club training nights. At these mini-championships we award Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the first three in each event in each age group, M & F.   The proposed dates are:

1: Mon 14 May    800m races and Shot Putt

2: Mon 4 June       100m races and Long Jump

3: Wed 13 June      Water of Leith Mini-marathon

Saturday Morning Monthly Family runs.

We would like to introduce a new event on the programme, a family fun run (or race for the more competitively minded) once a month on Saturdays during the summer.

The first of these is provisionally scheduled for Saturday 28 April, 10:00 and will be a run round Harlaw reservoir, slightly under 3.5 km (2.2 miles) All children must be accompanied by an adult who can either join the run or marshal the route. Please arrive in plenty of time at the Harlaw reservoir cark park so we can organise runners and marshals.

 Future events will very much depend on the success or otherwise of this one.

Reminders and organisation details on all of the above will be handed out nearer the time, but please pencil these dates into your calendar now.

Edinburgh & Lothian athletic “Trials”, Meadowbank Stadium, Sunday 8 April

The City of Edinburgh Athletic Club are organising their annual athletic trials meeting on Sunday 8 April at Meadowbank. This acts a trial for girls hoping to make the Lothians team which competes in the Scottish Womens League, but is also an open meeting for boys / youths / men. There is an entry form attached to this Herald. As this is an open meeting for all the local clubs, it is up to yourselves what events you might want to try, but it is worth speaking to your coach if you want any advice. The event runs from mid-morning to mid-afternoon but at the moment we don’t have any info on timings. Please note that entries must be in by 31 March.

Club Vests

We carry a supply of club vests to Forth Valley League meeting and lend these out to youngsters who don’t have their own vest. At the end of each year we always seem to have fewer than at the start of the year, so if you have a borrowed vest, please return it to your coach. They are rather easy to spot in the clothes drawer – bright red with a green diagonal stripe.

If there any members who have outgrown their vest and would like to contribute back into the stock we carry for lending out, then all contributions will be gratefully received.

Results

A few of our younger members have been enjoying some races in the cross country season. Performances details:

 East League, Kirkcaldy, 26 Nov

36 B.Turner            9:08
44 Graeme.Miller    9:27

East League, Broxburn,     20 Jan

 Scottish Championships, Falkirk, 10 Feb

In conditions that even our adult runners described as horrible Emma and Harris competed in the National Championships at Calendar Park Falkirk. This is the first time for a few years that any of our younger members have taken part in these championships, and we hope to see few more taking part next year.

Track and Field events: Although sprinting is usually associated with the summer, there are a couple of events over the winter that sprint coach Bob Douglas competes in:

New Year Sprint Meeting, Musselburgh, 28 Dec 2006

This is a handicap event, which means that everyone starts at their handicap mark rather than from the same start line. It has been an annual highlight for me for the last few years. But this year old father time (aka the handicapper) finally caught up with me. I was penalised 75cm from last year, so when I sensed the guy in the next lane in my heat edging past me as we approached the finish line, I knew then it wasn’t to be. The whole meeting was dominated by one runner, a 71-year-old from Leeds who won the Main sprint, the Vets 90m and the Open 90m, plus all his heats, a total of 6 races wins in 2 days. Respect! But the handicapper will get him next year…

Scottish Masters Indoor Track & Field, Kelvin Hall, 10 Feb

This required a serious re-adjustment in the training regime – preparing for a track 60m rather than the 71.25m on grass at N.Year meant shorter speed reps in my training session   - and a serious re-adjustment to footwear – off came the 15 mm grass spikes and on went the 5mm carpet spikes. It was a strange line-up with an ex-pat over from Canada for the week (wearing a Canadian vest), a Guernsey-Islander, a British International, and only one other home based Scot. Finishing as 2nd Scot sounds better than 4^th out of 5, only 3/100s off a bronze. At least I only had a 95 mile journey for my 8.47 seconds of running!

Some news of former members

Many youngsters start their athletics career with Harmeny before progressing onto a bigger stage, and we often see them at events or hear about their exploits in the athletics news:

At the new Year Sprint meeting, Tommy Ashby, a U13 Scottish 100m sprint champions when with Harmeny, was 7th in the final of the New Year Sprint. Stacey Downey also featured in the New Year sprint meeting and in the sports section of “The Scotsman” newspaper where there was a large colour picture of her winning her heat.

Gillian Kerr represented Scotland in the Triple Jump against Ireland and Wales last summer in the Celtic games meeting at Grangemouth. She has continued to progress at the Triple Jump, and recently set a new National record in defending her Scottish Women's triple jump title, which she then went on to break 24 hours later in the Indoor City Challenge with a jump of 12.87m.

Pentland Runners News