October - December 2008
Sportshall Match 5
Sunday 11th January Queens park leisure centre Chesterfield, meet at 1. o'clock upstairs in the cafe.
This is the last chance for those of you who haven't done one yet to get there for this match to be able to qualify for selection for the Derbyshire squad, this only applies for u13s and u15s.
Come along have fun support the club. Its open to all athletes aged 9 years on the day through to 15 year olds who were u15 during the 2008 track and field season. Letters are being handed out at all training sessions with all the details on.
If you have any questions feel free to ask Nicky Newton (Boys team manager) or Judy Payling (Girls team manager), both are available at all training sessions.
Christmas Dates
The last training session is on Tuesday 23rd December before a well-earned break for athletes and coaches. Training re-starts on Saturday 3rd January.
There will be one training run for the junior middle distance group (Jim Feeney's group) on Tuesday 30th December, meeting at the Visitor Centre, Shipley Park at 11am.
Throws Area Moves a Step Closer
A dry and sunny afternoon on 6th December saw over 20 athletes, coaches and parents helping to prepare the piece of land earmarked for the clubs throwing area for hammer, discus, javelin and shot putt.
Responding to a plea for 'all hands on deck' young and old(er) grabbed buckets and spades to spend around three hours picking and digging stones and rubble by hand from part of the land situated between the track and the golf course. The area is in a sorry state as it is earth that had been removed and dumped when the track was originally constructed around 5 years ago.
The satisfying collection of rubble in the skip by the time the afternoon light was fading consisted of everything from small stones to paving slabs, even an old horse shoe! All helpers were rewarded with free sausage and chips and hot drinks which were very welcome, especially considering some athletes and coaches had come straight from the morning's training session to help out.
%20-%20Copy.JPG)
There may be a few sore backs and knees in the morning but this was a fantastic effort by all concerned and thanks go to everyone involved.
Missed out on the fun this time round? Looks like we'll need another stone picking session to finish the job on what is a huge piece of land to clear by hand. Date to be announced soon.
Mini League Cross Country
The second match out of three in this league is on Saturday 13th December. The match is hosted by new club 2DASH at their training base at Mount St Mary's College, Spinkhill, just off M1 Junc 30 (for directions go to www.msmcollege.co.uk).
Using the purpose-built cross country course (part of the enviable sports facilities at the school) all runners of all abilities and ages (age 9 on the day to those in school year 10) should turn out for the club. The first race is at 11am starting with the U11's, then working through the age groups, finishing with the U15 boys. This league is ideal for the beginner runner, and has seen some of the counties top young cross country runners learn their craft in their formative years.
Remember that there are only 3 further competitions for U11's to get involved with this winter - grab the opportunity! Report to Jim Feeney, AVAC team manager, from 10am onwards, pay £1 and don't forget that you'll need a club vest or T-shirt to run.
Last Chance for County Championships
A reminder that entries for the Derbyshire Cross Country Championships have to be posted to Mick Bannon (at the address on the form) to reach him by the closing date of 15th December. AVAC will not do this for you.
Being one of the main cross country events of the year all endurance
athletes should enter. Races for all ages including U11's for the first
time.
SPORTSHALL MATCH 4 SUNDAY 14TH DECEMBER
BE THERE FOR 1 PM TO REGISTER, UPSTAIRS IN THE CAFE.
We are second after the three matches, in which the turnout is getting better, but could do with a few more u13 /u15 girls - where are you all?!
Lets hope we get more of you there for match 4 - come along have fun & support the club. It's open to all athletes aged 9 years on the day through to 15 year olds who were u15 during the 2008 track and field season.
Letters are being handed out at all training sessions with all the details on, or email us - info@avac.org.uk
Tamara runs well at UKA Cross Challenge event at Liverpool.
Tamara Armoush ran in the highly competitive UKA Cross Challenge race at Liverpool's Sefton Park on Saturday 29th finishing 9th in the U17 women's category.
North Midlands Cross Country League - match 3 at Berry Hill park, Mansfield - Sat 29th November - updated 03.12.08
A hardy collection of Amber Valley athletes of all ages braved the cold fog to compete in the North Mids XC league match at Mansfield's Berry Hill Park. Star performance of the day was again Niamh Emerson winning the U11 girls event with great confidence just as she did in the opening event a few weeks ago at Markeaton Park. Sam Paisley also ran in the U11 race finishing in 10th place.
Our U13 boys were well represented with Jerome Richards leading them home in 19th place followed by Dominic Hare (22nd), Jethrow McGraw (32nd) and Joel Paisley (37th). We were short of U13 girls with only Molly Mee able to compete but she had a really good run finishing 22nd in a very strong field.
In the U15 boys event Michael Bosworth had probably his best cross country run of the season to finish 14th with David Narborough, Andy Fenwick and Alex Harker pushing each other along to finish 21st, 22nd and 23rd. In the U15 girls Ella Smith was 18th followed by Jess Turner (19th).
In the senior ladies race Wendy Ray and Jane Poole were 56th and 65th. In the senior men's 9 km race Paul Moore in his XC debut for Amber Valley finished a very creditable 59th followed by Martin Slyz (99th), Andy Marriet (114th).
Tony McGraw and Trevor Jolly were locked in an epic struggle at the end with Tony just managing to fight Trevor off to hold on to his 139th place with Trevor a split second behind in 140th.
A professional photography company (Armada Photography) were the authorised company taking snaps throughout the day. You can see there photographs by following this link -
and you can also order copies online in a variety of sizes.
AVAC Awards Evening
AVAC athletes swopped running gear and spikes for ball gowns and dickie bows at the Awards Presentation Evening. With a topical James Bond theme, athletes , coaches and parents dressed in their finest for what was a very enjoyable and lively night at the Riddings Park Community Centre.
The annual event is a chance to reflect on what the athletes and the club has achieved over the last year, and to reward and thank many with certificates and trophies.
Master of ceremonies, club Chair Dave Turner lead the proceedings
along with club Sec Julie Feeney.
First up, coaches Judy and Sarah presented the U11's with performance
certificates and special coaches awards to Jessica Lockwood, Aaron
Truman, Kasey Pearson, Emma Ashley and Niamh Emerson.
Next, Dave presented certificates to all those athletes who had achieved a Standards Grade throughout the track and field season, with Julie announcing the Achievement Award recipients Jethro McGraw, Megan Bruce, Dominic Hare, Emily Heappey, Ryan Newton, Catherine Ross, Claudia Rogers, Zak King, Louise Feeney, Sam Stone and David Feeney.
Club coaches have the pleasant task of nominating a small number of athletes who they think deserve special recognition so coaches John, Jim and Bob, Julie and Dave presented Abbie Langley, Tamara Armoush, Tom Bridge, Michael Bosworth, Michael Feeney and Lori Marshal with their Coaches Awards for exceptional performance, commitment and attitude.
Trev Jolly announced the winners of the Senior Grand Prix, Gary Bostock and Jane Poole, and then asked Gary to come up again to accept the Athletes Athlete of the Year Award (senior) along with Zak King (junior) as voted for by their fellow athletes.
Julie introduced the winner of the David Dilkes trophy, this year awarded to Jodie Wills for her commitment to the club and emerging strong performances in the sprint events.
Finally, Judy presented Dean Bower with what she described as his
award for being the funniest and wettest athlete of the season,
referring to his popular steeplechase
events!
It was then time for a plentiful buffet (supplied by Munchies Sandwich Bar of Ripley) and dancing till the close of the evening.
Help Needed For Our Throws Area
The much needed throwing area for javelin, discus, hammer and shot putt is gradually taking shape. The piece of land between the track and golf course has now been fenced off and funding for the installation of a discus / hammer cage is in place.
Before anything else can happen, the ground needs to be cleared of anything other than soil and grass. We are organising a 'Stone Picking Session' on Saturday 6th December where we need as many club members, athletes and parents to come along in wellies and old clothes to clear the ground of rubble, stones and anything else before any further seeding, rolling and throwing can take place!
Turn up at 12 noon or stay behind after Saturday training.
Top 20 Athletes
As usual 'Athletics Weekly' are publishing age groups ranking lists and AVAC athletes have made the national Top 20 based on the track and field season of 2008.
Barrier jumping seems to be the clubs strength at the moment! So far there is Tamara Armoush topping the U17 women's rankings at 1500m steeplechase, with Alex Turner coming in 8th, whilst Jack Elliot ranks 16th in the U17 Mens event.
Claudia Rogers is 7th ranked in the U17 women's 300m Hurdles, Michael Feeney is 16th in the U17 Mens 100m Hurdles with Sam Stone coming in 20th in the U20 Mens 110m Hurdles. David Feeney is likely to come in 15th in the Senior rankings for the decathlon (5th at U23).
Congratulations to all those athletes, and if you want to see where your performances place you, look on www.athleticsdata.com
Kit Yourself Out
New Club Clothing officer Nicola Newton has searched locally for the best suppliers of club kit. She has new ranges of popular AVAC branded sweatshirts, hoodies, fleeces, beanie hats and shower-proof rain jackets for athletes, coaches, officials and team managers, as well as our usual stocks of club vests, crop tops and girls shorts. All come with club name embroidery or printing and / or logo.
Nicola is present at most training sessions to place an order or view samples. Prices and details will also be available on the updated clothing web pages at the end of November.
Christmas is Coming...
As if you didn't know! There will be no training on 24th 25th, 27th, 30th, 31st December, 1st January. The Rutland Sports Park track will have limited opening hours during the festive period for casual (non-club) use, for those of you who can't keep away from the track.
Some coaching groups may offer other training opportunities for specific events. Please see your normal coach for details.
Derbyshire Cross Country Championships
Entry forms for these are now available on the Derbyshire Athletics website www.dcaa.org.uk . Races for ALL age groups including, for the first time, Championship races for U11 girls and U11 boys (for those aged 9 or 10 on the day of the competition)
This is a fantastic opportunity for all young runners to take part in the County Championships. Take note of the closing date, 15th December, as no late entries will be accepted by the organisers. Medals for the first 3 in each individual race and team winners too.
The top runners in each race (not U11's) will have the chance to
compete for Derbyshire in the Inter-Counties in March at Wollaton Park,
Nottingham, in this televised, exciting and prestigious event.
Derbyshire Mini League Cross Country
The first match in this league was hosted by AVAC on 15th November. This league is specifically designed for U11, U13 and U15 distance runners from the county's clubs and schools.
Despite ideal conditions and on home soil the turnout from AVAC runners was, it has to be said, very worrying, and those who train regularly in the junior distance group need to ask themselves why they didn't run and why they let their club down? As a result AVAC are down in 3rd place in the team competition.
However, despite the poor turnout there were some nuggets of quality. Emily Allsop ran her heart out to win the U15 girls race despite being closed down in the final stages of the race, and Niamh Emerson dominated the U11 girls race.
Full results are on www.dcaa.org.uk The next fixture is on Saturday 13th December hosted by 2DASH using the purpose built cross country course at Mount St Mary's College, Spinkhill (M1 Junc 30).
Second Place for Tamara
Tamara Armoush had an excellent run on 15th November at the first
fixture in the UK Athletics Cross Challenge. She finished 2nd in the U17
women's race. There are 4 further fixtures in this winter series of cross
country races, designed to give quality competition to the countries top
runners.
North Mids cross country – Corby 8th Nov 2008
On a chilly but bright autumn day, 15 athletes plus supporters enjoyed the sunshine in West Glebe Park, Corby for the second of this season’s North Mids Cross country league.
Despite the low turnout, no doubt because of the long journey, the runners came up with some good performances on a course which was a little greasy and twisty but only boasted a couple of minor climbs.
The first race saw Jerome Richards just manage to stave off the challenge of Dominic Hare once more with 20th and 22nd respectively in the U13 Boys race.
The U15 Boys race saw the Club’s only complete team of the day. David Narborough’s form continues to improve with a great 6th position, followed very shortly by Andrew Fenwick in 8th, Michael Bosworth 11th and Aiden Smith in 22nd.
The U17 Women’s race saw two excellent performances with Tamara Armoush leading home Lori Marshall with 2nd and 3rd places. The form of both runners looks good at this early stage of the season.
In the Ladies’ Vets race, sisters Wendy Ray and Jane Poole continued their rivalry with Wendy narrowly beating Jane at the end. The correspondent failed to note their finishing positions on the day – sorry!
The Men’s race saw Andy Marriott first home in 102nd position with Amer Armoush in 119th and Trev Jolly in 150th. Welcome back Amer after a few seasons away!
Sharni Richards was our sole entrant in the mixed U11 race where she came a great 22nd.
And in the last race of the day, Arran Smith brought home the field with 22nd in the U17 Men’s race.
Minibus for NMXCL at Corby Saturday 8th November
A number of people have asked about transport to Corby for this Saturdays NMLXC race. Hence, we have booked the minibus which will leave Belper at 10:00.
Please let Jim or Amer Armoush know at training this week or e-mail if you need a place. Cost will be £4 per person.
New York marathon - well done to Deana
Congratulations to Deana Emerson (AVAC coach and mum to Niamh) for completing the New York marathon. This was Deana's first marathon and she finished in a very respectable 3 hours 52 mins.
Deana was running for the Breast Cancer Campaign charity - click here if you wish to make an on-line donation.
English Cross Country Relays Championships - Berry Hill Park, Mansfield Saturday 1st November
On a cool but mostly dry autumn day in the pleasant surroundings of Berry Hill Park runners from all over the country gathered for one of the most exciting events of the year - the English National Cross Country Relay Championships.
As usual, the course comprised a fast mix of open parkland and woodland with lots of support from crowds of enthusiastic team-mates and spectators. Amber Valley were strongly represented in the younger age groups but once again were disappointed not to be able to field senior or u20 teams and we even failed (again) to muster an U17 men's team.
Full results are available on the ECCA website.
Our U17 women trio of Tamara Armoush, Lori Marshall and Alex Turner were the highest place Amber Valley team finishing 7th with Tamara recording the 10th fastest individual time across all three 2.5 km legs. Lori had a particularly strong run on the 2nd leg ( including a very strong uphill finish) where she not only hung on to the 6th place when taking over from Tamara but pulled 2 places back to hand over to Alex in 4th place at the end of her leg. Facing some very tough competition Alex worked hard to bring the team home in 7th place.
In the U13 girls 3x2km event Jennie Lockwood, Molly Mee and Kennady O'Brien finished 51st out of 72 complete teams. Our U13 boys trio of Dominic Hare, Jethrow McGraw and Jayson Fenwick were 53rd.
In the U15 age group our girls team of Jess Turner, Ella Smith and Emily Allsop were 41st. In the boys Michael Bosworth, Alex Harker and Andrew Fenwick were 47th. We had entered 2 teams in this event but were short of a third leg runner for our second team but Josh Rae and Aiden Smith had good runs finishing 64th and 72nd out of a total of 116 starting teams.
Annual Awards Evening and Disco
This years 'big do' is on Friday 28th November, at the Riddings Park Community Centre, Church St, Riddings (half way between Alfreton and Ripley), 7.30 to 11.30pm. With a James Bond theme, attendees are invited to dress smartly, Bond-style, the posher the better! Dinner jackets and gowns if you have them, smart evening wear if you don't. Definitely no jeans, T-shirts or sportswear please.
Presentations of trophies will be made to those athletes of all ages who have had an outstanding year of athletics, as well as those athletes who have achieved Standards Grades at track and field, and to U11's achieving primary age grades, plus surprise awards!
Drinks are available from the bar and the ticket price includes a buffet and disco. Tickets cost £5 for a single and £15 for a family of up to four. Tickets are on sale now from the payment desk or person at a training session at the track (Tuesdays and Thursdays), Sportshall (Saturdays and Wednesdays).
For the safety and enjoyment of all please note the following.
Entry is with ticket only. The maximum number of persons in the hall must not be exceeded so for this reason tickets are limited and there will be no pay on the door entry. The evening is a social time for all, and the event organisers will only be able to offer minimal supervision to under 18's. Single tickets will not be sold to those in school year 8 and below.
It is not appropriate or acceptable to complete your James Bond outfit with any type of imitation weapon. To comply with our hire agreement of the venue, only drinks bought on the premises should be consumed. Thank you for your cooperation with these arrangements.
North Midlands League Cross Country
Match 2 in this league is on Saturday 8th November at West Glebe Park, Corby. All cross country runners of all ages should take part, not forgetting the U11's who have their own mixed race. Race timetable and directions can be found on www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk
Come And Run!
The Cross Country Mini League kicks off on Saturday 15th November with the first race in the league hosted by AVAC. The league, now in it's eighth year, is specifically designed for young runners aged 9 to 15 years (present school year 10's) and is great for novice and experienced runners alike. All AVAC members can take part.
If you've never raced at cross country before that's fine! Give it a go! The league is for Derbyshire club and school teams with a league trophy up for grabs to the winning team after the 3 fixtures. There are also individual medals for the overall top 3 in each age and gender group, so it makes sense to compete in all 3 fixtures.
The first fixture is to be run on the cricket pitch and surrounding parkland at the Rutland Sports Park, Ilkeston. The first race starts at 11am starting with the U11's, then working through the age groups. Distances are appropriate to age groups.
It's so easy to take part. Turn up at least 45 minutes before the start with a club T shirt or vest, find and AVAC team manager (usually one of our familiar coaches) pay £1, warm up (there will be people there to show you where to go) and then race!
Training will take place as normal in the Sportshall or track for those not wanting to do cross country.
SPORTSHALL MATCH 2, SUNDAY 26 TH OCTOBER, QUEENS PARK LEISURE CENTRE CHESTERFIELD.
BE THERE FOR 1 PM TO REGISTER, UPSTAIRS IN THE CAFE.
We are second after the first match, in which we had a very poor turnout with only 1 u15 girl and 3 u13 girls where were you all, we had full teams for the other age groups!
Lets hope we get more of you there for match 2, come along have fun support the club. Its open to all athletes aged 9 years on the day through to 15 year olds who were u15 during the 2008 track and field season.
Letters are being handed out at all training sessions with all the details on.
English Road Relay Championships - Sunday 19th Oct at Sutton Park.
Last Sunday many of our athletes in the U13 - U17 age groups were racing around Sutton Park in the English Road Relay Championships. This is always an exciting event with all the major Clubs and the countries best young endurance running talent taking part.
It was a mild but blustery autumnal day and it kept dry so the
conditions were close to ideal for running. Amber Valley had a smaller
turnout than in recent years but many of our younger athletes competed
in this event for the first time to gain valuable experience. Most
importantly everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable day of racing.
Each team comprised 3 runners completing the same 3.86 Km course of
undulating parkland with a long and tiring hill to cope with in the
early stages just after a fast downhill start. Our best team performance
was in the U17 women with our trio of Tamara Armoush, Alex Turner and
Lori Marshall coming home in 11th place.
Results for all Amber Valley athletes are given below with full
details available at
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2008/natyarel.htm
U13 girls - Jennie Lockwood 49th (17 mins 26 secs), Kennedy O'Brien 43rd
(17.26 also!) - we only had two runners in this race.
U13 boys - Jerome Richards 53rd (17.18), Jayson Fenwick 45th (15.47),
Dominic Hare 28th (16.16)
U15 girls - Ella Smith 63rd (16.45), Jess Turner 57th (16.44), Emily
Allsopp 48th (15.40)
U15 boys - Michael Bosworth 55th (14.16), Andrew Fenwick 52nd (14.41),
David Narborough 45th (14.27)
U17 Women - Tamara Armoush 7th (14.21), Alex Turner 11th (15.42), Lori
Marshall 11th (15.06)
Bronze for Mourby
Those athletes, coaches and parents who know Chesterfield's Ed Mourby will be delighted to learn that he has won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. Competing for N Ireland, 17 year old Ed clinched a medal in the Mens Pole Vault, vaulting a PB on 4m70, and taking bronze on count back.
Ed has been a regular on the local athletics scene for several years. Young athletes may be interested to know that Ed has competed and trained in almost all events, including Sportshall and cross country. He was an outstanding hurdler, high jumper and multi-eventer in particular, before taking up and excelling at pole vault relatively recently, which goes to show that it's important to try all athletics disciplines just in case you haven't yet 'found' your event!
Ed has also not always had it easy either . A serious knee injury
caused him to have almost a year out of the sport and he got
appendicitis only 6 weeks before the CYG.
Congratulations Ed from all your friends at AVAC!
Club Championships
The annual fun end of season Club Championships took place at the end of September in gloriously warm weather. It's the opportunity for all junior club members to try a run, jump, throw format with annual trophies and medals for those in each age group amassing the most points, decathlon-style.
Not forgetting the senior athletes, the mixed Mile Handicap provides an interesting slant on the usual middle distance races. Craig Bethall found the longer than usual distance to his liking taking 1st place, from Geoff Lowry in 2nd and Jeff Slysz in 3rd.
As usual this event wouldn't have been possible without many people working behind the scenes. Thank you to everyone who helped on the day by officiating, putting out equipment etc and especially to Paul Smith for preparing the facilities, Julie Feeney for planning and prep before the day, Judy Payling for making sure everything ran smoothly on the day, and to Stella Jolly for working out the results.
You can download the results here.
Team Silver for Multi-Eventers
Michael Feeney and Arran Smith were part of the Derbyshire Schools Intermediate Boys quartet who placed in silver medal position at the English Schools Combined Events Finals at Birmingham at the end of September.
Along with Jack Andrew from Macclesfield AC (the events individual
winner) and Dan Burdett from Chesterfield DAC, the lads put up a fine
team show and were leading for much of the 8-event Octathlon, before
being reeled in by the Durham team on shot and the 1500m at the close.
Michael finished in 23rd position and Arran in 31st.
Michael Bosworth competed in the Junior Boys Pentathlon and finished a creditable 16th place and Emily Butlin competed at her first English Schools Final, finishing 33rd in the Junior Girls pentathlon.
Well Done John!
Club coach John Davis won the Podium Coach of the Year category at the recent England Athletics East Midlands Awards Evening, held at Pride Park.
Beating off nominations from other coaches in the East Mids, John was rewarded for his work with the clubs sprinters, in particular helping Claudia Rogers to her English Schools silver medal.
North Midlands Cross Country League - Saturday 11th October.
The cross-country racing season kicked off with the first of four North Midlands League races at Markeaton Park on Saturday 11th October. It started out as a dry and pleasant autumn day but we did have some light rain later on. Ground conditions were excellent - soft but firm.
Amber Valley were represented in most age groups although the numbers were disappointing compared with previous years. Despite this there were some very promising performances.
In the U11 'fun run' 9 year old Niamh Emerson was the first girl home winning her first U11 cross- country race with a considerable margin. Definitely one to watch out for. Jethrow McGraw had a battle all the way round finishing second in a closely fought contest. His younger sister, Tamsin, was 9th girl home. Well done as well to George Rains who finished 8th.
In the U13 boys 3.3km event Jerome Richards and Dominic Hare finished 15th and 17th. In the 3km girls event Kennedy O'Brian was the first Amber Valley runner home in 14th place followed by Robyn Allan (17th) and Jennie Lockwood (30th).
.JPG)
Emily Allsopp was 3rd in the U15 girls event followed by Jess Turner in 11th. Our strongest turnout was in the U15 boys with David Narborough having an excellent run to finish 11th followed by Michael Bosworth (14th), Andrew Fenwick (16th) and Aiden Smith (22nd).
In the U17Womens race Lori Marshal had a very strong race finishing 2nd followed by Emily Cotteril in 21st. Unfortunately Tamara Armoush was hot favourite for the overall League title was unable to run due to a heavy cold.
Wendy Ray and Jane Poole came 49th and 53rd in the senior women's race. Rob Love was our leading runner in the senior men's 10km race finishing in 29th place which is excellent considering Rob is still an U20. Rob was followed by Geoff Lowry (77), Martin Slyz (140th ), Trevor Jolly (208th) and Tony McGraw (209th) in his debut for the Club.
Use the links below to browse the rest of the News Archives: