Site last updated: 20th August 2010
Latest News
Club Championships
The annual informal end to the track and field season is soon upon us. On Saturday 25th Sept training is cancelled in favour of a fun-filled day of running, jumping and throwing.
There are trophies and medals for the first three in each age group U11, U13, U15 and U17. All club members can enter and it's a great way to end off the summer season, just before the cross country and Sportshall season kicks off.
Entry details are being given out at training and can also be downloaded HERE.
Runners Up at Mini League
The 2010 Derbyshire Mini League came to a close on 14th August at Moorways and saw Chesterfield DAC lift the Track and Field trophy.
AVAC athletes were very badly hit by holiday absences yet Chesterfield had such an unassailable lead a full team would have made no difference to the overall score. AVAC finish in second place for a second year in a row with Derby AC in third, the combined Buxton AC and Blackwell and Dist team in fourth and 2DASH fifth.
Two new Mini League records were set on the day both from AVAC athletes. Jethro McGraw, out on his own again against the clock, took a second off the U13 boys 1500m record as previously held by former AVAC athlete Ben Connor from 2005. Jethro also won the 75m H and 100m for maximum club points.
The AVAC quartet of Cara Brown, Maisie Knighton, Emily Coope and Tamsin McGraw had been close to the U11 girls 4 x 100m relay record in the past and in a last ditch attempt they went all out, taking half a second off in fantastic style. Individually Emily won the 80m, Tamsin the 600m and long jump, Cara the turbo javelin, and Amy Day won the 150m.
Other event winners included Joseph Johnson in the U11 boys 80m, Megan Bruce U13 girls shot, Jake Norbury, U13 boys shot and Elliot Henry U15 boys javelin.
Athlete of the Match Awards are given to those athletes who are judged to have done the best performance in a match, based on the AAA Common Standards Scheme. Georgina Trace won the female award for her shot put performance in match 1 and Jethro McGraw won the male award also for match 1 for his 800m run.
Full results can be found on www.dcaa.org.uk.
No Training 4th September
Please note that we have cancelled training on Saturday 4th September for all groups. T
here is a significant league match that day for the club and the majority of coaches will be going, either as parents of athletes competing, team managers or officials.
Remember that training is also cancelled on Saturday 14th August due to the Mini League match at Moorways (see below).
Final Mini League Match 14th August
This may the last chance for many young athletes to compete in track and field this season so take the opportunity while you can. Details can be downloaded here and also here, or pick up entry details from training. Easy to enter. Just let us know you're coming and which events you want to do. Turn up, pay just £2 and run, jump or throw!
It is almost certain now that AVAC will finish the season as Mini League runners-up as Chesterfield have a hefty lead going into the final match. However Athlete of the Match awards are still up for grabs as well as recording performances for possible selection for the Derbyshire U13 / U15 team for the Inter-counties match on 11th September.
Remember that there is no training on this day at Ilkeston.
Competitions Coming Up
The updated fixture list, including cross country and Sportshall athletics events, can be viewed here.
Updated Club Records
These continue to change. See the latest changes here.
Open Events Coming Soon
The end of August traditionally brings a flourish of Open competitions as the track and field season comes to a close.
An 'Open' event means that anyone can enter (club selections are not made), so you enter yourself and make your own way to the venue. Great for doing the events you really want to do and having a pop at a new pb.
Some of the best local events are as follows. Check the club websites for entry forms or see the AVAC noticeboard.
Charnwood Open / Wed Aug 11th / Loughborough Uni track /
http://www.charnwoodac.com
Rotherham Harriers / 22nd August / Herringthorpe Stadium, Rotherham /
www.rotherhamharriers.org
Stars of the Future / 22nd August / Loughborough Uni track /
http://www.charnwoodac.com
Mansfield Harriers / 30th August / Berry Hill Park, Mansfield /
http://www.mansfield-harriers.org
Keepmoat (Doncaster) / 30th August / Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster /
www.doncasterathleticclub.com
Scunthorpe Festival / 29 / 30th August / Quibell Park, Scunthorpe /
www.scunthorpeathletics.com
See How You Run
Anyone who runs, adult or child, competitive or non, fast or slow can benefit from understanding how they run. With a multitude of running shoes on the market with confusing titles for pronators, stability, neutral etc it's worth knowing your running gait and the type of shoe you should be wearing.
Jog Derbyshire has secured the services of the Asics gait analysis team. They will be at Alfreton leisure Centre on Wednesday 18th August between 3.30 and 7.30pm and will provide free gait analysis using video technology.
U20s Win Place In Promotion Play-off Match
Team CDAV, the joint Chesterfield/Amber Valley U20 / U17 team, won a place in the NJAL Midlands Region Promotion Match at Derby on 29 August when they finished in 2nd place in Trent Division after the four match programme.
They will compete against the top two teams from the other two divisions, and, subject to gaining a top two finish again, will return to the Midlands Premier Division after a year's absence.
At the fourth round match on 25th July at Moorways, hosted by AVAC and Chesterfield, the team finished in second place out of seven teams.
Notable AVAC performances came from Alex Turner who had her customary wins in the 400m and 400mH while sister Jessica took full points in the 800m A string with Emily Allsop doing the same for the B string. Jodie Wills won valuable points when taking both the 100m and 200m B string wins, and Michael Feeney added to the points tally with a win in the 110mH, second in A string 100m and first in B string long jump.
Mini League Match 3 24th July
What an excellent match this was - good weather, loads of athletes and their supporters and a sackfull of Mini League records broken!
The McGraw siblings were in sparkling form again with Tamsin setting a new Mini League record in the U11 600m and Jethro a new U13 800m record. Emily Coope won the U11 80m and tied with Tamsin for a joint victory in the 150m.
At U13 there were wins for Niamh Emerson (800m), Georgina Trace (shot) Megan Bruce (LJ) and Jake Norbury (shot). Jack Newton recorded two wins in the U15 age group in discus and 80mH, whilst Dominic Hare won long jump.
Particularly pleasing was the breaking of one of the clubs longest standing records. The U11 girls 4 x 100m relay record has stood since 2001, held by a very talented quartet who went on to represent the club and county many times.
The new generation of young 'speed queens' Emily, Tamsin, Maisie Knighton and Cara Brown took point 2 of a second off the old record and now have their sights set on the Mini League record!
Can You Help?
The club is wanting to make a small design change to it's logo but we don't know anyone with the necessary computer skills and software to make this happen.
Is there a member, parent or supporter out there who could help? If you think this is something you could help the club with please get in touch to discuss our requirements. Please email us at info@avac.org.uk.
Heart of England League Match 2
Despite many first and second place finishers, loads of personal bests and even a couple of new club records the clubs trip to Worcester again proved disappointing from an overall perspective. With so many first team athletes unavailable it was impossible to field a full team and many events had no AVAC athletes in at all, and the 'B' strings went largely unfilled. No surprise then that the team finished in 6th place out of 7 teams.
The only age group to buck this trend however were the U11 Girls who finished first overall. In particular the efforts of Tamsin McGraw and Emily Coope boosted team points. Tamsin lead from gun to tape in the 600m whilst Emily won the B string. Both girls recorded the same time in the 75m to both finish 2nd, Tamsin in the A and Emily in the B, whilst Emily recorded another B string win in the long jump with Maisie Knighton 3rd in the A.
Jethro McGraw continued his onslaught of the U13 boys club records. He lowered his existing 800m record to comfortably win this event with Daniel Jones picking up 1st in the B. He also shattered the boys long jump record and equalled the 100m record, winning the A strings of both. Kasey Pearson was impressive winning the boys discus whilst Ben Michell came 2nd in high jump. Similarly, the U13 girls had their fare share of success. Megan Bruce recorded two A string wins in the 100m and long jump, plus a second in 200m. Naimh Emerson had a strong run to win the 800m and record a first place in B string long jump. There was no stopping Georgina Trace who added another 30cm onto her existing club record in shot to win the A string whilst Olivia Bridge picked up useful points winning the B string.
Dominic Hare was on form in the U15 boys recording two A string wins in the 400m and long jump. Both performances came inside the English Schools qualifying standards (unfortunately a couple of weeks late for him to be considered for selection). The long jump performance increased his existing club record by a further 12cm. Elliott Henry made his AVAC debut to great effect taking B string 1st in long jump and 2nd in B string shot. Jack Newton won the A string discus and had a close competition the shot to take second place A string.
A very depleted U15 girls team struggled to make their mark but
Sylvie Doleman and Emily Heappey recorded A and B string wins in shot
and an A string 2nd place for Emily in the 75mH.
The sparse U17 Mens team as usual relied on Tom Bridge to bank points,
winning the A string discus and second in the shot. Michael Bosworth
came first in the B string discus.
The U17 & women's team were bolstered by mum coaches Deana Emerson and Judy Payling. Deana, more used to running marathons, bravely tackled the 1500m to finish third, and completed a relay leg despite being in pain from an earlier ankle strain, to ensure the club had a relay team. Judy Payling stepped aside from her team manager role for a while to compete in shot where she came first in the B string and third in discus.
The third and final match in this league is on Saturday 4th September at Banbury, not Tamworth or Rugby as previously stated.
New milestone reached for the website!
The 1st week of July 2010 was when the 100,000th visitor clicked on the AVAC website.
The site was created by Richard Szarkowski in 2001 and continued on by Michael Astle. The statistics were compiled from April 2003 and now there are over 15000 visitors per year to the site.
A big thank you to all regular contributors, including Julie & Jim Feeney, Judy Payling & Nigel Smith.
If you have any item you want posted on the website, or have any photos you'd like to see attached to a report please email them to info@avac.org.uk.
Heart of England League match 2
Directions to Worcester Athletic Club for the Heart of England League match 2 at Nunnery Wood Sports Complex, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2NL:
*M5 to Junction 7
*A44 towards Worcester going straight on at 1st & 2nd roundabouts
*At 3rd roundabout go right (by Oak Apple Pub)
*Then 2nd left to school and Sports Complex, follow the drive to the coach & car park.
Facilities:
Changing rooms & toilets are in the sports complex. Vending machines providing drinks, crisps etc are also in complex.
NB there are no meal facilities. There is a covered stand (providing seating & shelter from sun/rain ) also some tarmac & a small amount of grass.
Michael Defends His Multi-Events Title
Michael Feeney re-gained his Senior Boys Decathlon title at the Midland Schools Combined Events Championships. This year hosted by Nott's Schools at the excellent facilities at the Ashfield School track, Michael completed the 10 events over the course of the weekend in almost unbroken sunshine and scorching temperatures. It was a comfortable win being 400 points ahead of the athlete in second place and recording lifetime bests in shot, high jump and discus until a slight groin strain during pole vault caused him to take the remaining events at a steadier pace in order to complete the event. He will now go through to the English Schools National Combined Events Final in September.
Three other AVAC athletes competed at the Championships for the first time with pleasing results. Jack Newton was as high as 3rd in the Junior Boys Pentathlon following solid performances in hurdles, long jump and shot before falling back to 7th overall after high jump and 800m.
Emily Heappey finished 9th overall in the Junior Girls Pentathlon and was a scoring athlete as part of the team competition where the Derbyshire quartet finished 2nd. Also finishing 9th was Jessica Turner who can be pleased with her position given that she was almost certainly the youngest girl in her age group. Her final points score increased her existing club record for the event and she also continued to lower her 200m best with another fine run over the distance.
California Dreamin' Becomes Reality For The Smiths
Busy field official Paul Smith and his up-and-coming son Aiden (16) have both been selected by UK Athletics to go on an exchange programme to the USA at the end of July. Their one week stay in Sacramento, California takes in the USA Masters Track and Field Championships where they will get to work observing and being part of the meeting. The exchange programme is an opportunity for them to experience the different approaches to officiating and to share best practice to the benefit of both UK and USA officials.
Paul is a popular figure at the club and in the last three years that he has been involved with AVAC he has rapidly progressed through the officiating ranks and is a regular sight at local and national competitions. Aiden began assisting at competitions with his dad, building up his officiating experience, including helping at major championships, quite unusual for one so young. Both are hoping that they may have the chance to officiate at the 2012 Olympics.
We wish them all the best with this fantastic opportunity.
Team CDAV Pushes For Promotion
As a result of an excellent win in match 3 of the National Junior Athletic League Trent Division match at Derby in extremely hot conditions and on the day England was playing in the World Cup, Team CDAV, the joint Chesterfield & DAC & AVAC team, moved into 2nd place overall. If this can be maintained in the fourth match, which Team CDAV are hosting at Derby on 25 July, we should gain a place in the Midlands Region play-off match also at Derby on 29 August.
Match result: Team CDAV 421, Rugby & Northampton 399, Derby AC 378, Central Mercia 312, Corby AC 211. Team Arrows and Nuneaton did not turn up.
Results can be found on www.nationaljunioraathleticleague.co.uk. Well done to Alex Turner, Catherine Ross, Kelly-Jay Payling, Jodie Wills, Arran Smith, Tom Bridge, James Morley for your efforts and thank you to those who team managed and officiated.
Sisters Go Top of the Class
The Derbyshire team for the English Schools Finals on July 9th and 10th has been announced and 4 AVAC athletes have been selected. All have achieved the tough entry standard to reach the prestigious Finals in Birmingham, which for many is the highlight of their track and field season.
Sisters Alex and Jessica Turner have both made the Finals. For Year 13 student Alex this will be her sixth and final trip to the Finals having qualified every year possible since 2005, including winning the Junior Girls 800m title in 2006. This year she contests the Senior Girls 400m.
For Jessica this will be her first time at English Schools. Better known as an 800m runner she has made vast and unexpected improvements in the 200m this season and it is this event in the Inter Girls age group that she will compete.
Michael Feeney makes his fourth and final outing to the Finals to contest the Senior Boys 110m hurdles, hoping to reach the event final as he did last year.
Tom Bridge is another English Schools veteran. This, his third Finals, he will be throwing discus in the Inter Boys age group having competed previous years in the shot finishing 4th in 2009.
Good luck to all!
Can Anyone Say 'Bonjour' to Matthieu?
There is a young lad in Chalons, age 18, name of Matthieu Continho, who wants to come to Ilkeston for a few weeks this summer to improve his English. His father is Vice President of the COCAA, the Chalons Athletic Club, and the family apparently hosted when AVAC visited last time in 2009.
Matthieu stayed with one of our athletes when we hosted three years ago so is no stranger to us. Matthieu has summer holidays from 3 July to 31 August with a period of time to suit within these dates.
If anyone would like to help please get in touch with Dave Turner who will pass on the details or email our webmaster at info@avac.org.uk.
Club records updated.
You can now see the recently updated club records by clicking here.
Schools Combined Events
Three AVAC athletes took medals at the Derbyshire Schools Combined Events Championships on 26th / 27th May at Moorways.
Jack Newton came first in the Junior Boys pentathlon, Jessica Turner came second in the Intermediate Girls Heptathlon and Emily Heappey came third in the Junior Girls pentathlon. As the only Senior Boys entrant Michael Feeney also 'won' his event competing alongside the Inter Boys to register scores.
All four go through to represent Derbyshire Schools at the Midlands Schools Combined Events Regional Final at the Sutton-in-Ashfield track, Nott's on 26 / 27th June where they will be hoping to secure either an individual or team place at the National Final in September.
Jessica's total points score sets a new club record at U17 in the heptathlon beating the previous record by 400 points.
Heart of England League Match 1
The AVAC team for this match was hit by a catastrophic number of unavailability's due to holidays and exam revision, and as a result lies in 6th place out of 7, in the relegation zone. The boys team finished bottom overall with the girls fairing a little better in third but it will take a considerable effort now in the remaining two matches to overhaul the deficit and climb up the league to a more respectable position.
Many of the results by those there were excellent and many PB's came about but with many events going unfilled those vital match points go begging. Well done to all athletes particularly those who took part in their maximum number of events to bolster the team score.
Results can be downloaded HERE and also HERE. Please note that U15G shot is not included (problem with results card).
Watch Out For Year 7 Miniathlon
Derbyshire Schools are holding their popular Miniathlon for Year 7's again. Derbys North event is at Tupton track on 7th July and Derbys South is at Moorways on 30th June.
Entries must be made via school so see your PE teacher if you want to take part, as they should be receiving entry forms very soon.
Athletes choose 3 events from a small choice of run, jump and throw. Medals for top 3 boys and girls.
Junior League Second Place Finish for Team CDAV
Under bright blue cloudless skies AVAC U20 and U17 athletes contributed to an excellent second place finish by Team CDAV in the National Junior League Trent Division match at Rugby.
The CDAV men won the male category overall with the women finishing 2nd in the female category. After two matches Rugby and Northampton head the leader board with two composite teams, Team CDAV and Central Mercia, tying for the all-important second place to keep promotion prospects alive.
Earning maximum points for the team, Michael Feeney who won both the men's 'A' 110m hurdles and javelin. Arran Smith was pushed all the way to win the men's 'A' 200m increasing his own club record for the event by almost half a second, and taking 2nd in the 400m.
Alex Turner easily won the women's 'A' 400m hurdles and finished 2nd in the 400m, whilst younger sister Jessica clearly found the sweltering conditions to her liking taking 2nd in the 'A' 800m in a new personal best time, and another second in the 'B' 200m.
Tom Bridge managed an excellent 2nd place in the men's 'A' discus despite throwing the heavier U20 weight implement in this league.
Other AVAC athletes who boosted the overall team performance included Jodie Wills, Kelly-Jay Payling, Catherine Ross, Michael Bosworth and James Morley. Well done to all.
Final results:
1 Rugby & Northampton AC 463
2 Team CDAV 442
3 Central Mercia 382
4 Derby AC 345
5 Nuneaton Harriers AC 107
6 Team Arrows 102
7 Corby AC 73
Mini League Match 2
The second match in the Derbyshire Mini League is on Saturday 29th May at Moorways Stadium, Derby.
All young athlete members are expected to take part as the format is ideal for novice and experienced athletes alike.
Events start at 10.30am and athletes should report to team managers from 9.45am onwards.
Download details here and entry form here. It really helps team managers if you tell us that you are intend competing.
Please note that training is cancelled on this day to allow all athletes to take part (must be minimum age 9 years). Training for U17+ athletes as normal at Ilkeston.
Training cancelled 5th June
Please note that due to the Heart of England League match 1 we are having to cancel training on Saturday 5th June.
The majority of coaches will be attending the match as either parents, officials or team managers and this does not leave enough coaches to lead normal training.
Heart of England League Venue Change
This match on 5th June is now at Tamworth NOT Rugby as stated on selection letters to athletes.
The team bus will still leave from Belper Leisure Centre with the new departure time of 10.15am.
Summer Training
As from the first training session in June (Wednesday 2nd) all groups
will be training on the track. The use of the Tennis Centre will resume
in the autumn.
This means that all athletes on Saturday and Wednesday sessions should come straight to the track and pay and register there.
Athletes Shine Despite the Weather
Yes, it really was May at the weekend for the annual County Track and Field Championships, although judging by the hats, gloves, blankets and even hot water bottles being used to keep athletes, spectators and officials warm and dry you could be mistaken for thinking it was January.
Continual showers, high winds and temperatures not exceeding double figures were difficult conditions for all to perform at their best. Despite the adverse conditions there were some excellent performances from AVAC athletes including three athletes setting new Championship Best Performances.
Undoubtedly man of the match was Jethro McGraw who changed the face of the Championships record books in the U13boys section. He lowered the existing 200m record by half a second, took almost half a second off the 75mH record and obliterated the 800m record by 5 seconds. In addition he also won the U13 boys shot putt, 1500m and 100m.
Georgina Trace delivered what she has been promising for weeks now in training and competition with a shot putt over 9m to set a new CBP by half a metre. Michael Feeney took advantage of a following wind to have his name written in the record books as he set a new CBP in the Junior Mens 110mH.
Elsewhere other notable performances came from Megan Bruce who recorded a sprint double winning both the U13 girls 100m and 200m. Niamh Emerson had yet another closely contested race to win the U13 girls 800m and might have been expected to do the same in the 1500m but a tumble to the ground early on in the race meant she had to settle for silver.
At U17 Jessica Turner picked up three silver medals for 800m, 80mH and high jump whilst Tom Bridge also went home with three medals, this time all gold's for U17 shot, javelin and discus.
Full results and a list of Championship Best Performances can be found on www.dcaa.org.uk.
Incorporated into the County Championships for the first time was the Quadkids competition for U11's. On this occasion the emphasis was on individuals rather that team competition with each athlete competing in the Quadkids standard four events of 75m, 600, long jump and howler javelin testing all-round ability across running, jumping and throwing.
AVAC athletes dominated the entry list and five youngsters topped the medal rostrum. The girls event was won by Tamsin McGraw, with Emily Coope in second and Cara Brown in third. George Dave and Scott Ram were locked in a tight battle for top spot with only 3 points separating the friends at the finish, with George just coming out in front for first place.
Full results can be found on www.quadkids.org on the Derbyshire microsite option under results and rankings.
What Do You Think?
The club is always welcome to hear your views on it's activities.
If you'd like the management committee to hear what you have to say come along to a Parents Forum at Charles Hill Sports Centre, Loscoe on Monday 17th May at 8pm.
If you have ideas on improvements or questions you want to ask on any matter let's hear them at this informal meeting. All welcome.
Another Bronze for Feeney
AVAC elder statesman David Feeney came away with another bronze medal in university athletics.
Competing at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the weekend in Bedford he added the 110m Hurdles bronze medal to his collection.
In what may be one of his last outings as a Loughborough University student David also finished a pleasing 6th place in the shot put and made the final of the discus.
Team CDAV Pipped for Second
In the first round match of the National Junior League, Trent Division, Team CDAV were pushed into third place by just three points. Having maintained second place throughout the majority of the match, the final relays made all the difference with the Central Murcia composite team edging through.
The joint AVAC and Chesterfield DAC team featured on this occasion just a small number of AVAC athletes who made a valuable contribution to points.
Alex Turner started her season with two A string wins in the women's 400H and 400m. Michael Feeney was untroubled in the Mens 110mH for A string first place and took third in the 100m. Arran Smith recorded a massive personal best in the Mens 400m to finish second in a close race and Kelly-Jay Payling won the B string shot putt.
Overall result: 1 Rugby & Northampton AC 472, 2 Central Mercia 427, 3 Team CDAV 424, 4 Derby AC 392, 5 Corby AC 186, 6 Nuneaton Harriers AC 134, 7 Team Arrows 85
The National Junior League provides good quality competition for U20 and U17 athletes. The next match is on 23rd May at Rugby.
Any athlete who wishes to be considered for the Team CDAV team should contact Nigel Smith.
Visitors to this site since April 2003