Sep
2008
Forth Valley League
During the spring and summer most
of our junior members competed in the Forth Valley League, an inter-club athletics
competition involving many of the clubs in Lothians, Fife and Central Scotland.
Although we finished 6th out of 7
in Division 2, we achieved a BIG improvement on last year - over 200 event points
more - in a much more competitive league. There were many more competitors from the
participating clubs, so it's a great credit to everyone involved, especially for the
effort in getting out such a large team out for the final meeting.
For those who competed in
any of the Forth Valley League matches, I have uploaded details (as spreadsheets) of
everyone's perfomances in all the matches onto our website (www.harmenyac.org.uk). There are also some printed
copies in the registration bag for anyone who’d like a copy.
Many thanks to
George Miller and Catherine Barr our team managers for this league, and to all the coaches
and helpers who came along to support our junior athletes.
The final meeting
of the Forth Valley League is the Presidents Select Invitation meeting which took place on
Saturday 6 September, where the top performing athletes from all the clubs are
selected to make up three composite teams: Div 1 v Div 2 v Presidents
Select (ie best of the rest)
The
following Harmeny athletes were selected for the Div 2 Select:
U11 Girls
Kirsty Marriot 100m & relay
squad.
U13 Girls
Anna McPhillips Shot Putt
U13 Girls
Laura
Barr
1500m
U15 Girls
Karen Craigie Discus
U11 Boys
Ross Cairns 200m,
Shot Putt & Relay squad
U13 Boys
Graham Miller Shot Putt
U13 Boys
Mark
Craigie Javelin
Unfortunately Laura and Anna were
unavailable. Results will be posted on our website once they are available.
Proposed
Autumn – Winter Programme
Balerno High School / Malleny Park: Between the start of the school
term and the mid-term break we aim to go outside into Malleny Park as much as possible,
provided the weather isn’t too bad. When it is not possible to go outside we will use
the Games Hall and Gymnasium. We still meet up for registration in the corridor outside
the Games Hall.
As well as the regular
training at Balerno High School, there are a few other things we would like to do:
Track training – taster
session: Those
aged 12 and over, who would like to do some serious, structured speed work (including
using starting blocks), we will hold a taster session at Saughton Track on Thursday 25
Sep, 6.30-7.30. This is open to older juniors who may want to do speed work for other
sports (eg rugby, hockey, football etc)
Edinburgh Leisure charge juniors
£1.70 for using the track (we charge nothing). Meet at the cash desk by 6.25. (Adults
could join the Harmeny adult runners/joggers who are regularly on the track at this time.)
Cross-Country
races: During the autumn / winter
there will be a series of cross-country races. Gail Crosbie has volunteered to be the team
manager (many thanks!) but as yet we don’t have dates or venues for these races.
In order to give prospective
particiapants a feel for distance running, we may organise some runs round the Water of
Leith loop (WoL Walkway – Lymphoy Rd) on training nights.
Visit to Grangemouth or
Pitreavie Indoor Centre: There are some good
indoor facilities not too far away at Grangemouth and Pitreavie (Dunfermline). If there is
enough support we’ll organise visits to one / both of these centres during the
winter, probably on a Sunday afternoon. This would provide an excellent opportunity for
everyone to see what “real” athletics facilities are like.
SportsHall Competitions: There is also a National
SportsHall competition involving regional teams. Again, if there is support we’d like
to have a go at raising U13 boys and girls teams.
Parents
Meetings: We
will be holding “welcome to the club” meetings for parents of new and existing
members on Monday 22 & Wed 24 Sep at 6:05, ie just after the juniors start their
training session. This is your chance to find out a bit more about what we do, ask
questions etc,…. and our chance to find any new volunteer helpers for the various
activities we would like to organise this autumn / winter. As mentioned in the
introduction pack, we will require a parent / guardian from all families to take turns on
a rota helping our coaches.
We would
specifically like to hear from anyone who has been involved with sports coaching at any
level, or who has any skills or qualifications which you think would be useful. Please
speak to any of the coaches or contact me (Bob Douglas) at 449-6105.
Harmeny AGM
We will be holding our club AGM
on Tuesday 30th September at 7:30 in Currie Rugby Club. At the AGM we review the club’s
activities over the year just past, and agree committee jobs and fees for the coming year.
As ever there will be a couple of opportunities for those wanting to play a more active
part in the club.
Shortly after the AGM we will
start to collect membership fees for 2008 / 09.
Coaching News
Erin Moving on: We are sad to announce that
Erin McIntosh will be moving to Manchester on the completion of her studies at Napier University.
Erin first joined Harmeny as a 9-year old, and after progressing through the junior ranks
has been coaching for the last three years. We wish her all the best in her new career.
Robyn progresses to UK
Athletics Level 2: Congratulations
to Robyn Hewat who has qualified at UKA Level 2. Like Erin, Robyn first attended Harmeny
as a junior and has progressed from junior sprinter, student coaching assistant and is now
a qualified coach.
We are pleased to welcome back
Roddy MacLeod and Aisling Dennis to our squad of coaching assistants. Both are currently
at Balerno High School, and not that long ago were “on the other side” as
athletes being coached by us older folk.
School
Holidays / Closures
Unless notified otherwise, there
will be no training on days when the school is closed:
Mon
15 Sep
Mon
20 Oct / Wed 22 Oct (mid –term week)
We are also aware that Industrial
Action by Council employees may result in school closures at short notice.
Summary of Diary Dates:
September
Sat 6
President’s
Select Invitation Meeting
Mon 15
No
training at BHS
Mon 22 / Wed 24
Parents
meetings, 6:05 BHS
Thu 25 Sep
Speed
Work taster session 12 & over
Saughton
track, 6.30-7.30
Tue 30 Sep
Harmeny
AGM, Currie Rugby Club, 7:30
October
Mon 20 / Wed 22
No
training at BHS
tba
Council Employee “Industrial Action”
Cross Country races
Visit(s) to Indoor Athletics Centre (Grangemouth or Pitreavie) |
