Final Sportshall Match

It's the last sportshall on the 18th February, and we would like to see lots of you there.

Please meet at 1 o'clock in the sportshall at Queens Park Leisure Centre, Chesterfield.

Letter are being handed out at training.

Amber Valley retain Mini-League Cross Country title for 3rd year running.

The 3rd and final Derbyshire mini-league cross country fixture of the season was held on Saturday 10th February organised by Amber Valley at Rutland Sports Park.

The heavy snow falls of the previous day had fortunately turned to slush after a period of rain but it was a cold and wet day for the runners who braved the conditions.

Full results are available from the Derbyshire website but the highlights for Amber Valley were Jenny Lockwood (U11 girls), Emily Allsop (U13 girls), Michael Bosworth's fine individual wins on the day (Michael also won the U13 boys overall title) and Hannah Blount for winning the overall U11 girls league title.

Amber Valley won the overall League trophy for the 3rd successive year making it 5 wins out of the 6 years in which the mini-league cross country events have been held.

Mini League Cross Country

The third and final fixture in this league for young athletes is on 10th February at the Rutland Sports Park, Ilkeston. The weathermen are forecasting significant snowfall over the next few days but there are no plans to cancel this fixture unless it makes the running surface dangerous, or the roads make it difficult for competitors to get there. Check this website and the Derbyshire Athletics site for last minute changes.

Races start at 11am with the U11's followed by U13's, then U15's. Presentations of individual medals and the overall team trophy will be made as soon after the last race as possible. AVAC look likely to have several medal winners and to retain the overall trophy so stay around to be part of the team celebrations.

Further information is available from training over the next fortnight and on the club notice boards. This is the last main chance for young runners to run cross country this winter so have a go! Open to all club members. Please note that runners have to be at least 9 years old on the day (insurance requirement).

Derbyshire Schools Cross Country

Held this year at Moorways (3rd Feb) the 'County Schools' is chance for club runners to mix it with talented runners selected via school district trials. As such it makes for interesting and sometimes unpredictable outcomes. The reward for success is the chance to compete in the prestigious English Schools Cross Country Finals, this year to be held in Leeds on 24th March, where thousands of runners from across the country battle it out across three age groups - Junior, Inter and Senior.

Keeping her winning form going in this competition was Tamara Armoush who had a comfortable victory in the Inter Girls, having won the two previous years as a Junior. Olivia Pell finished 4th.

The Junior Girls saw Emily Allsop having an excellent run to finish 3rd with Leanne Cartledge not far behind in 5th.

In the Senior age groups Rob Love came home in 2nd place whilst Leila Armoush finished in 4th in the girls race.

Final team selections have still to be made and those athletes mentioned above must wait to see if they've done enough to be part of the Derbyshire Schools team for Leeds.

The Year 7 races give the youngest athletes chance to experience the event but without the pressure of needing to qualify for a follow-on event. Jessica Turner had a nip and tuck race but in the end had to settle for 2nd place, with Rosie Blount finishing in 4th. The improving Andrew Fenwick finished in 3rd place with David Narborough in 8th in the boys race.

DERBYSHIRE GET 3 OUT OF THE 4 SQUADS TO THE ALL UK FINALS IN APRIL AT THE NIA IN BIRMINGHAM

BOTH 15's INDIVIDUAL WINNERS WERE AMBER VALLEY AC ATHLETES: EMMA KOMOCKI & JORDAN MARTIN

Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham was the stage for the 2007 Regional Finals, with Counties from Lincs, Notts, Northants and Derbyshire contending for the East Midlands title and progressing to the National Finals in Birmingham.

It was an extremely successful day for Derbyshire with three age groups crowned East Midlands Champions and qualifying for the UK National Final.

It was no easy ride and the competition was very stiff indeed. Watching the competition unfold before our eyes it was impossible to predict the winners and the delight and relief was evident as we were declared the winners.

A count of 50 medals for Derbyshire was very pleasing and a great credit to our teams. The unfortunate age group not to qualify was the U13 Boys who collectively won more medals than our winning age groups (strange but true).

Added to our team success was the individual all round athletes (U15's) as Emma Komocki retained the crown she won last year winning 146 points out of a possible 150. Claudia Rogers claimed bronze just 1 point behind 2nd place.

The U15 Boys crown went to Derbyshire's Jordan Martin in a very close contest which saw Derbyshire athletes Daniel Burdett and Tom Kitchen claim equal 2nd just 1 point behind Jordan.

U13 Boy Michael Bosworth won a hat-trick of Golds as did U13G Suzie Palmer.

The full results should be available soon from the official Sportshall web site.

Finally, Derbyshire would like to thank all the athletes, supportive parents, Nigel Smith, Chloe Smith, Trevor Jolly and Don Spencer (officials), Judy Payling, Alastair Cook, Ben Mourbey (Team Managers) for supporting your County and helping Derbyshire be successful. 4/2/04

Well Done Derbyshire!

Annual General Meeting, Monday 26th February 2007

The 2007 AGM will be held at the Golf Clubhouse, West End Drive, Ilkeston, at 8pm.

The Annual General Meeting of Amber Valley Athletic Club will be held for the following purposes:

• To receive the Annual Report and Accounts for the year February 2006 to January 2007.

• To elect the Officers.

All are welcome, come and hear short reports on how the club has been doing over the past year and thoughts for the future.

North of England Cross Country Championships - Heaton Park, Manchester Saturday 27th January.

Heaton Park in Manchester was the venue for the 2007 North of England Cross Country Championships and Amber Valley athletes were out in force again. It was a dry and relatively mild day but the ground conditions were very difficult after a lot of recent rain with large stretches of the undulating course extremely muddy. It was a day of mixed fortunes for Amber Valley with many excellent performances but also a few disappointments. Its a sign of how far the Club has progressed that we always have hopes of team and individual medals at this level but it was not to be this time.

In the U13 girls 3km event Emily Allsop and Jess Turner in their first taste of such a big event finished 56th and 90th respectively out of a total of 189 finishers.

In the U15 girls 4km race we had high hopes of an individual medal from Tamara Armoush but she wisely withdrew in the early stages feeling unwell. Lets hope Tamara can get fully fit for the Inter Counties and National champs later in the season. Our remaining U15 girls (Alex Turner(36th), Leanne Cartledge (83rd), Lori Marshall (89th), Cassie Blount (97th) and Jess Riley (153rd)) all had very respectable runs finishing 12th as a team.

In the U17 women we were represented by Olivia Pell who had a particularly strong run and Leila Armoush finishing 56th and 97th.

In the senior women Jess Marriot and Jo Clamp were 37th and 72nd out of 274 finishers.

In the U13 boys event we had hopes of a team medal but in the early stages of the race Ross Kusic lost a shoe in the mud. He showed real grit and finished the 3km race without it but clearly lost ground. Despite a very strong run from Alex Nix finishing 14th (the highest Amber Valley individual) the team finished in overall 7th place. Michael Bosworth was the 2nd Amber Valley runner back in what for him was a below par 59th position but our lads at the younger end of this age group (Andrew Fenwick (85th), David Narborough (103rd) and Jerome Richards(140th)) gained valuable experience. This is particularly true of Jerome who at just turned 11 has two more years in this age group. Aiden Smith still recovering from injury finished 86th.

Chris Dawe, Dean Bower, Rory Dickenson and Jack Elliot made up our U15 team with respectable performances (71st, 97th, 104th and 154th respectively).

Rob Love was our sole rep in the U17 men's race and he had a strong run over the 6km course to finish 26th.

In the grueling senior men's 11.45km course we had eight Amber Valley runners. By the time this race started the already boggy ground was well churned up and with almost 700 men running 3 laps the conditions got strength sappingly worse (yes, its Jim writing this with feeling - I was there!). Steve Bonnington was first home in 89th place followed by Gary Bostock (177th). Jamie Marvin, Matt Burton, Darren Oakes, Jim Feeney , Andy Marriot and Trevor Jolly followed in 223rd, 313th, 317th, 393rd, 441st and 548th place). Overall we were the 25th out of 53 complete teams (first 6 to count). Despite the mud Trevor did not disappoint and treated us all to his special sprint finish!

All in all an enjoyable occasion with lots of good team spirit. The younger members of the Club in particular were in good voice to give the senior men plenty of well needed encouragement.

Open Meetings Coming Up

Athletes - are you itching to get back into track and field action?

The dates and venues of early-season openers are arriving. Take a look at a few of the more local Opens taking place soon, below. Most involve events for U11's through to Seniors. Open to all members - you do not have to be selected.

Entry forms are on the host club's website and details on AVAC's trackside noticeboard.

• 25th March Scunthorpe AC's Winter Warm-Up, Quibell Park, Scunthorpe

• 1st April Notts AC's Spring Spruce at Harvey Hadden Stadium, Nottingham

• 1st April Rotherham Harriers and AC Open at Herringthorpe Stadium, Rotherham

• 17th April Derby AC's Open Graded meeting at Moorways, Derby. 6pm onwards

• 21st April Sheffield Festival at Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield (please note that this is on the same day as the first Derbyshire Mini League match at Moorways and all athletes in U15 and below must give priority to the Mini League)

• 21st April Derbyshire Mini League, Moorways, Derby. Open to all U11 - U15's with some selected athletes for match scoring.

Mini League Cross Country

The third and final fixture in this league for young athletes is on 10th February. Please note the change of venue from Charles Hill playing fields, Loscoe to the Rutland Sports Park, Ilkeston. This is due to heavy waterlogging at the original venue.

Races start at 11am with the U11's followed by U13's, then U15's. Presentations of individual medals and the overall team trophy will be made as soon after the last race as possible. AVAC look likely to have several medal winners and to retain the overall trophy so stay around to be part of the team celebrations.

Further information is available from training over the next fortnight and on the club notice boards. This is the last main chance for young runners to run cross country this winter so have a go! Open to all club members. Please note that runners have to be at least 9 years old on the day (insurance requirement).

All runners, parents and team managers are strongly advised to check this website and the County website for any last minute changes due to the weather.

Congratulations to Alex Turner on her first international selection.

Alex (aged 15) has been selected for the Celtic Cup indoor match in Cardiff between England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland on 3rd February as part of the England U20 squad. In 2006 as an U15 Alex was AAA indoor and outdoor champion as well as English Schools champion.

Last weekend on her U17 debut Alex won the North of England indoor championships with the UK's fastest indoor 800m time so far this year for any U17 or U20 female athlete.

The Celtic Cup match marks Alex's debut at international level and she becomes the 3rd young Amber Valley athlete to gain international selection.

Fifth Sportshall Match Report.

Well done to everyone who took part in the fifth sportshall match, including a special well done to Jodie Wills who has set a new record for the Vertical High Jump.

There's only one match left, in the competition and where lying bottom ; we are winning only one age group which is the U11 girls.

After this match the team was selected to represent Derbyshire, at the Regional Finals at Grantham on Sunday 4th February.

The athletes were selected from their performances in the first five Sportshall League matches.

I'm happy to say 11 Amber Valley Athletes have been chosen:

U13 girls and U13 Boys

Jessica Turner, Michael Bosworth, Rosie Blount Rory Chambers, Emily Butlin, Kelly-Jay Payling

U15 Girls and U15 Boys

Abbie Langley Jordan Martin, Charlotte Noonan, Emma Komocki, Claudia Rogers

Well done to all of you and Good Luck.

Gold for Alex

Alexandra Turner was AVAC's star performer at this weekends North of England Indoor Championships at the EIS, Sheffield.

Competing as an U17 for the first time, she took the 800m title in an exciting and closely fought 4 lap race. She adds this to the 800m that she won a year ago at the same venue as an U15. Alex stuck to her pre-race tactics of letting second-placer Leigh Lennon take the pace for almost the entire race before firing all cylinders at the final bend to overtake Lennon with 30m to go.

Her time of 2m 15.46 was only half a second outside the existing Championship Best Performance. She now turns her attention to the English Championships in a months time.

Important info - transport details for NoE Cross Country Champs.

For those runners traveling to Manchester by coach for this Saturdays NoE Cross Country Champs in Manchester please note that the bus will leave Belper Sports Centre at 8:00 AM so please aim to be there a few minutes before 8:00.

Cost will be £5 per person (£15 max per family).

North Midlands Cross Country League - 4th and final fixture Wollaton Park, Nottingham 13th January 2007.

Congratulations to Tamara Armoush for retaining her U15 girls North Mids title with her 3rd win of the series. Tamara's strength on the hill leading to Wollaton Hall was the deciding factor as she shook off determined competition to win by a decisive margin to maintain her unbeaten record in this league series (she missed one race due to illness). The team title was taken by Mansfield but Alex Turner joined Tamara in the individual honours with the overall 2nd place trophy.

A strong showing by our U13 boys lead by Alex Nix (2nd) and Michael Bosworth (3rd) saw Amber Valley take the team title for the 3rd consecutive year. Michael Bosworth also won a well deserved individual 3rd place.

In the U17 mens event Rob Love finished 3rd but was second placed individual over the league series. A good solid season so far.

Jess Turner in the U13 girls event had her best run of the season so far finishing in 2nd place with a very strong downhill finish.

So, overall Amber Valley had one team and one individual championship title with a total of 4 athletes getting individual trophies. Not a bad haul for a competitive league like this. Full results are available on the North Mids website www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk .

The cross country season is now moving to the exciting 'major events' phase of the season with the North of England Champs in 2 weeks time in Manchester, followed by the Inter Counties event in February and the National Cross Country Championships in Sunderland on 10th March.

5th Sportshall Competition

Just a reminder that the 5th sportshall competition takes place this Sunday the 21st of January,  letters are being handed out at training with more info.

You can just turn up at 1pm at Queens Park Leisure Centre Chesterfield.

Support your club and have lots of fun.

Northern Gold for David

Last weekend saw the start of the Indoor track and field season with the joint England Athletics (formerly AAA's) and North of England Combined Events Championships held at the EIS, Sheffield.

AVAC's combined events specialist David Feeney had his first outing as a Senior, competing in the 2-day Heptathlon. He won the North of England title with 4659 points. Overall in the Senior competition he finished 12th out of 28 starters, illustrating the huge step-up from the Junior ranks, but encouragingly all finishers above him were between 2 and 5 years older than him which bodes well for future competitions.

Plenty of medals for Amber Valley at the Derbyshire Cross Country Championships.

The annual Derbyshire Cross Country Championships were held on Saturday 6th January at Sutton-in-Ashfield in conjunction with the Notts championships. A total of 43 Amber Valley runners entered this years championships which was more than any other Derbyshire Club. Whilst the day started dry the rain soon came making what is always a muddy course very difficult for the runners.

Full results are available on the DCAA website (www.dcaa.org.uk) but the highlights were the superb individual victories by Rob Love in the U17 mens 6km event and Tamara Armoush in the U15 girls 4km race. Rob and Tamara both dominated their respective races from the outset and won by significant margins.

In the U13 girls 3km race Jess Turner in her first year in this age group had an excellent run to finish in 2nd place closely supported by Emily Allsop and Rosie Blount in 4th and 5th position to take the team gold ahead of the girls from Buxton. Must also mention Jenny Lockwood who finished in 8th position to gain county selection despite only turning 11 towards the end of last year.

In the U13 boys event Alex Nix took the silver medal finishing just 2 seconds behind Chesterfields James Selvey closely followed by Michael Bosworth (3rd) and Ross Kusik (5th) to win the team gold.

Amber Valley pretty well dominated the U15 girls event by winning the team gold and also having a full second team to take the team silver medals, as well as Tamara's superb individual win.

It was good to see 5 Amber Valley runners lining up in the U15 boys event. They were up against very strong competition but came away with well deserved team silver medals.

As well as featuring strongly in the younger age groups Amber Valley also won team gold in both the Senior Ladies and Senior Men's events with Jess Marriott and Jo Clamp having the best individual performances at 4th and 5th respectively in the Senior Ladies race.

Nike Running Assessment and Shoe Trial

The 'Nike' van will be coming to the training session on Tuesday 9th January. It's your chance to have your running gait assessed on a treadmill to ensure that you buy and wear the correct running shoes. The van also carries Nikes latest running shoes and some styles of spikes and athletes are free to try on, and run in them. No obligation and no sales. We expect demand to be high for the gait assessment, and priority will be given to those middle distance / road runners who have not been tested before.

Assessments and shoe trials will take place at the track.

North Midlands Cross Country

The fourth and final fixture in this series is on Saturday 13th Jan at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. Last chance to take part in this popular and competitive league, and the final team and individual awards are up for grabs across all age groups.

Unless we hear otherwise we assume that the event is run from the car park and facilities situated at Margaret Glen Bott School (off Sutton Passeys Crescent) not the main park entrance. Race start times are likely to be as per previous races (first races 1pm). The final trophy presentations usually take place at the school after the final race of the day. Check www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk for up-to-date info.

Volunteering Opportunities

Do you have a few spare hours and would like to help out in athletics? Maybe you need volunteer hours for community schemes or college courses? Make your CV or UCAS form stand out from others!

Amber Valley Borough Councils Sports Development Unit is holding a series of Sportshall Athletics competitions for children in school years 3 and 4 (7 to 9 year olds) for a 3 week period starting 22nd January. The venues include Belper Leisure Centre, Alfreton Leisure Centre and Charles Hill Sports Complex, Loscoe, and volunteers would need to be available from around 4pm to 6pm. Volunteers will be helping to run and score events such as speed bounce, foam javelin, track races and standing long jump. No experience needed and it's enjoyable and rewarding.

For more info contact Julie Feeney here or see her at a training session.

Christmas and New Year training schedule

There will be no training at the Rutland Sports Park over the Christmas and New Year period as follows:

23rd, 26th 27th, 28th and 30th Dec

Training groups re-start on Tuesday 2nd Jan 07.

Happy Christmas and a successful 2007 to all AVAC members!

4th Sportshall Match

Sunday 10th December was match 4 in the Sportshall League and we had the best turnout so far.

The U11 girls, U11 boys and U13 girls were great, in fact when the younger age groups were called to their events all you could see was a mass of yellow!

A big Well Done to Michael Bosworth who broke the record for the 6 lap, but we are still very short on U13 boys, U15 girls and U15 boys - where are you all!

We have just 2 matches left 21st January and 18th February 2007, so come along support your club and have lots of fun.

Running Group Christmas runs at Shipley Park.

Anyone interested in working off the Xmas excesses or keeping some training up over the holiday period is welcome to join us at Shipley Park for a friendly run to suit all abilities.

Meet at the main car park near Heanor Gate at 11:00 on the following days:-

Christmas Eve (Sunday 24th)

Wednesday 27th

Saturday 30th

If it’s wet and boggy we will stick to the main paths/roads.

Derbyshire Mini - League Cross Country event. Saturday 16th December, Moorways.

After a late change of venue due to the poor state of Shipley Park the 2nd of this seasons Derbyshire mini-league cross country matches took place at Moorways courtesy of Derby AC who offered the venue at short notice. A total of 88 young runners took part with a few local schools once again boosting numbers and significantly adding to the event.

As with the first match, Amber Valley dominated many of the races but we are still struggling to get our U15 lads out for these events. Despite this minor setback Amber Valley have retained a healthy overall lead and are leading in 4 of the 6 age group events. Full results are available here to download  but special mention has to go to the following:-

Jenny Lockwood for winning the U11 race and Jerome Richards for 2nd in the U11 boys and 2nd overall.

In the U13 girls Jessica Turner had an excellent run to win the race and is in 2nd place overall only 1 point behind the leader. We also had Jess Thorpe and Rosie Blount finishing in 3rd and 4th positions.

In the U13 boys race Michael Bosworth was 2nd.

Amber Valley dominated the U15 girls event with Alex Turner winning on the day and currently in equal first place overall. Alex was well supported by Leanne Cartledge, Lori Marshall and Cassie Blount packing well in 3rd, 4th and 5th place.

Well done also to Nick Rowton as our sole U15 lad finishing in a very creditable 4th place.

Updated Fixture List

Check out the freshly updated fixture list here.

Latest edition of Trackline published.

The AVAC newsletter Trackline has now been published - you can download it here.

It is jam packed full of information about upcoming events, winter training and more.

Mini League Cross Country - Change of Venue

The venue for the second match in the Mini League series on Saturday 16th December has now been moved to the fields around Moorways Stadium, Derby. All other details (race start times, distances etc) remain the same.

All club runners in the U11, U13 and U15 age groups can take part, and all first team runners are expected to take part to be part of the team effort. Currently AVAC are leading in the team event, hoping to take the overall league trophy for another year.

Races start at 11am with the U11's, moving through the age groups. AVAC runners should meet team managers in the stadium area, £1 per athlete. Club vest or T-shirt must be worn.

Cross Country Reminders

Entries for this years County Championships, held on 6th January at Ashfield School, Kirkby-in-Ashfield close on Monday 11th December. If you've not done so already, get your entry in quickly. Download an entry form from www.dcaa.org.uk .

Also, we are collating entries for The North of England Cross Country Championships at Heaton Park, Manchester on 27th January. Entry deadline is Thursday 7th Dec to tell Jim / Julie Feeney that you want to enter.

Indoor Track and Field

This winters Indoor programme is now finalised and entry forms and dates are available for all major Championships.

All below have a closing date which should be observed. Age groups are as of the track and field summer season 2007.

North of England Championships

U15 / U17 / U20 20th and 21st January EIS, Sheffield Closing date 3.1.07

Senior Men / Women 28th January EIS, Sheffield Closing date 10.1.07

Combined Events

Snr / U20 13th and 14th January, EIS, Sheffield Closing date 15.12.06

U15 / U17 17th March, Sport City, Manchester Closing date 16.2.07

Entry forms from www.noeaa-athletics.org.uk

England Athletics (AAA's) Championships

U15 / U17 / U20 24th and 25th February NIA, B'ham Closing date 26.1.07 (entry standard required)

Senior Championships tbc

Combined Events

U15 / U17 17th March, Sport City, Manchester Closing date 16.2.07

Snr / U20 13th and 14th January EIS, Sheffield Closing date 15.12.06

Entry forms from www.englandathletics.org or from training

Next Sportshall Competition

The next Derbyshire Sportshall competition will be held this Sunday 10th December.

Letters are being given out at training, so come along and have fun and support your club.

North Midlands Cross Country - race no 3 Berry Hill , Mansfield 2nd December 2006.

The 3rd event in the 4 race North Midlands League cross country series took place on Saturday 2nd December at Mansfield's Berry Hill park. Conditions were good with bright early winter sun but with the usual boggy patches in the woodland sections of the generally firm course. There were some excellent individual performances but unavailability of a number of key runners meant overall team results were a little disappointing.

In the U13 boys race Michael Bosworth ran strongly to finish in 3rd place supported by David Narborough, Andrew Fenwick and Luke Turner who are all in the lower end of this age group. Despite a number of our regular scorers being unavailable due to other commitments the lads remain in equal 1st place overall on the same points total as Mansfield despite only finishing 3rd on the day. Lets hope for the last race in January we can get our strongest team out and ensure the U13 boys secure the victory which should comfortably be theirs.

In the U15 boys event, Chris Dawe and Andrew Shepherd were our first runners home in 15th and 16th place followed by Rory Dickenson and Dean Bowers.

In the U17 men's event our sole representative Rob Love finished 3rd and remains in overall 2nd place.

Good to see Steve Bonnington fit enough to run again to lead the seniors home with in 33rd place followed by Gary Bostock in 59th out of the 245 finishers. The senior men are in overall 6th place with the Amber Valley vets team in 8th.

Jessica's Turner and Thorpe were 8th and 17th in the U13 girls race followed by Kelly-Jay Paling with the girls in overall 4th place.

In the U15 girls we were without consistent winner Tamara Armoush due to illness but Alex Turner ran an excellent race to finish in 2nd place putting her at the top of the individual league points tally. Leanne Cartledge, Lori Marshall Jess Riley all ran well but without Tamara the girls could not hold off a very strong Mansfield team and have moved from joint 1st place to being 20 points behind in 2nd place.

Olivia Pell ran an excellent race to finish 3rd in the U17 women's event and is now in 2nd place overall. Leila Armoush was 12th.

Jo Clamp was our first senior woman to finish in 25th place and our ladies are in 6th place overall.

In the mixed U11 race Jerome Richards and Jenny Lockwood both finished in 3rd place.

Apologies to those Amber Valley runners not mentioned but as always, full results are available on the North Mids website www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk.

Derbyshire Mini League Cross Country, 18th November

Over 80 young runners took part in the first Derbyshire Mini League cross country fixture of the season. As the organising club we chose home soil for the first outing, with a deceptively challenging course snaking around the parkland at the Rutland Sports Park, Ilkeston. This year the competition has been widened to include school teams and the participation of three Erewash schools bolstered numbers and added depth and strength to the races.

In the first race of the day Amber Valleys Hannah Blount won the U11 girls 1K race in convincing fashion, and along with her two team-mates just have the team lead of St Thomas's school.

There was a fine tussle in the U11 boys between Derby's Brandon Calladine and AVAC's Jerome Richards. On this occasion it was the reverse of their last encounter at last weekends North Midlands League, with Brandon having the finishing strength over Jerome. One a piece for this talented duo. The U11 boys have to be content with 2nd team place after a fine showing by the lads from Derby

AVAC's U13 girls packed well to fill five of the top seven finishing places with the best performance coming from Emily Allsop finishing in 2nd place.

The combined U13 boys and U15 girls race saw an exciting race unfold, with Michael Bosworth looking particularly impressive as he ripped up the 3 lap course, with Aidan Smith and Andrew Fenwick running well to give the team the overall lead in this age grouping. Alexandra Turner couldn't match Chesterfields Emily Fishers pace over the final lap but came home in 2nd place nonetheless.

Disappointingly, we had no AVAC runners in the U15 boys race surpassing even last weeks poor show at the N.Mids League event when we only had 2 runners! Yes, we had illness and injuries but come on lads - we should do better for a home event like this.

Overall in the team event, AVAC look to have established an early lead.

Thank you to all those club members who set up the course, marshaled and team managed. This event could not have been staged without you contributions. The event was a resounding success and ran without a hitch. Also thanks go to the Rutland Sports Park staff who gave us the use of the grounds and foyer and were supportive in every way.

The next fixture is on Saturday 16th December at Shipley Park. Details will be on the website nearer the day, and available from training too.

Next sportshall competition.

The next sportshall competition takes place on the 26th November and it would be great to see a few more athletes there to support the Club.

Letters have been given out with more details at training - please make sure you try to hand them back in before the day.

Mini League Reminder

All young runners in the U11, U13 and U15 age groups are reminded that the first Derbyshire Mini League Cross Country fixture takes place on home soil at our training base on Saturday 18th November.

Open to any club member in these age groups, you just need a club T-shirt or vest and £1 entry. Races start at 11am (on the cricket field between the tennis centre and the Pavilion) and work through the age groups starting with the youngest first. Report to a club team manager at least half an hour before the start of your race.

Remember that there are individual medals for the top three in each age group after all 3 fixtures, and we need all cross country runners to turn out to help win the overall team trophy again this season.

North Midlands Cross Country match - Markeaton Park, Derby 11th November 2006.

Once again we were treated to bright and dry conditions for the 2nd North Midlands League cross country match at Markeaton Park. Amber Valley were well represented in most races with a total of 45 Amber Valley runners involved. It is not possible to cover everyone's performance so this report will cover the highlights and overall team positions. Full results are available on the N.Mids League website www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk.

The day started with the U13 boys and U15 girls combined race where Tamara Armoush once again took on the leading bunch of boys for most of the course finishing 1st U15 girl by a significant 31 second margin and keeping her place at the top of the individual rankings. Alex Turner finished in 3rd followed by our 3rd scorer Lori Marshall in 15th place. The girls scored the same number of points as Mansfield which is exactly what happened at the first match so it remains a head to head between these two teams both on a total of 34 points with 3rd placed Notts AC trailing with 86 points. Alex Nix was involved from the outset in a closely fought contest with Notts and Mansfield runners and the trio eventually shook Tamara off as they battled it out in an exciting sprint finish with only 1 second separating the 3 lads. Alex was 2nd followed by Michael Bosworth in 4th place and Aiden Smith in 7th.

Packing all 3 scoring runners in like this resulted in a clear points victory on the day and has moved the team up from 4th to 1st in overall league position 6 points clear of nearest rivals, Mansfield. Overall in this combined race Amber valley were represented by 14 runners which is very encouraging.

To use the photo gallery below, click on the arrows at the end to cycle through the 23 photos.

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Unfortunately our U15 boys team was missing a number of regular runners and we only had two lads in this event compared to 6 in the Mansfield relays last weekend. Rory Dickenson 23rd and Nick Rowton 28th but not surprisingly without more support in this highly competitive age group we do not feature in the team rankings.

In the U13 girls race, Jess Turner had a storming finish gaining 4 places in the last 80 metres to finish 8th followed by Emily Allsop (11th) and Jess Thorpe (15th). The girls were 2nd on the day in the team event behind Peterborough but are in 3rd place overall after 2 matches just behind Mansfield.

In the U17 men's event Rob Love was our only athlete but ran an excellent race finishing 2nd after a close battle with Derby and Chesterfield runners. Overall in the individual rankings for this age group Rob is in 2nd place.

In the U17 women Olivia Pell's 4th place finish puts her equal 3rd in the individual rankings. Leila Armoush finished in 12th place.

In the mixed U11's fun run we has a total of 6 Amber Valley youngsters competing with Jerome Richards the star performer by finishing in 1st place.

Our senior/vets ladies team are in 5th overall position with Jess Marriot being our first runner home in 12 position. Special mention to Wendy Ray who finished 30th but is currently in 2nd place in the individual W45 vet rankings.

In the senior/vet men's event which always attracts a large field (245 finishers on Saturday) Amber Valley were once again well represented with a total of 13 men competing. Kevin Straw was first AVAC runner in 45th position and currently our senior men are in 7th overall position out of 17 teams and the vets are 8th out of 14 teams. One of the great aspects of cross country racing in this league is no matter where you finish its always a highly competitive event - as witnessed by Trevor Jolly's dramatic sprint finish to protect his well earned 205th place token - nice technique Trev (see photo!).

 

Amber Valley U13 boys take bronze in the English Cross Country Relay Championships.

The annual English Cross Country Relay Championships held in Mansfield are always an early highlight of the cross country season and this year was no exception. In glorious autumn sunshine Amber Valley runners competed with the best in the country over the fast and furious course through picturesque Berry Hill park. Amber Valley had a total of 11 teams competing over various age groups including U13,15,17 boys/girls and senior women but the highlight was the superb performance of our U13 boys 'A' team who came away with a bronze medal.

Each team comprises 3 runners who complete one lap of the course before handing over to the next runner so it really is a team effort and with up to 70 teams in some races its a really exciting event. In the U13 boys 3x2km race Michael Bosworth was up against some of the fastest lads in the country but ran superbly and handed over to Aiden Smith in 3rd position recording the 4th fastest lap of the day for his age group (6mins 59 secs) . Aiden in his first year in the U13 age group had a real challenge to maintain this position but he hung on well to keep the team in medal contention handing over to Alex Nix in 4th place just a few seconds behind East Cheshire Harriers. Alex quickly closed in on the Cheshire last leg runner and was locked in a close battle for the bronze medal for almost the whole of his 2km lap. However, in the final stages leading to an uphill finish Alex's strength won the day and the Amber Valley lads picked up well deserved bronze medals and were only about 6 seconds away from the silver. Alex's leg was the 8th fastest of the day (7 mins 04 secs). Having narrowly missed out on medals by finishing 4th in the national Road Relay Championships 2 weeks ago it was great to see this talented group of lads on the medal rostrum. This is the 2nd consecutive year Amber Valley have won medals in this event and age group having won silver last year. Our U13 boys 'B' team of Ross Kusik, David Narborough and Andrew Fenwick finished in a highly creditable 21st.

In the U15 girls 3x2km event we had high hopes of a medal with the talented trio of Alex Turner, Leanne Cartledge and Tamara Armoush but this was not to be their day and the girls were disappointed to finish down in 12th place. Our other U15 girls team of Cassie Blount, Emily Cotteril and Lori Marshall finished in 58th position.

In the U13 girls event we also fielded two teams of girls mainly in the lower end of the age group with Emily Allsop, Jennie Lockwood and Jess Turner finishing 35th and Jess Thorpe, Kelly-Jay Paling and Rosie Blount in 55th place. Emily Allsop was our fastest runner in this age group recording a very respectable 8mins 17 secs for the 2km course.

In the U15 boys race our 'A' team of Andy Shepherd, Rory Dickenson and Chris Dawe finished 42nd out of 71 teams with our 'B' team of Jack Elliot, Dean Bower and Nick Rowton in 56th place. Andy was our fastest runner with 6 mins 51 secs but special mention is needed for Nick Rowton who has competed in this event for 3 consecutive years with this years time of 7 mins 24 secs representing a massive 50 second improvement on last year.

 In the U17 mens event Rob Love finished the 1st leg in 15th place with a very impressive time of 9mins 34 secs for the 3km course. Andrew Szarkowski better known as a 400m specialist used the event as useful endurance training clocking 11mins 21secs but unfortunately injuries to other athletes prevented a full team being available.

Leila Armoush was our sole U17 ladies runner with a very respectable 10mins 04 secs for the 2.5km lap.

Our senior ladies trio of Jess Marriot, Wendy Ray and Jo Clamp finished in a respectable 48th position out of 83 complete teams.

Full results available on www.race-results.co.uk

Updated Fixture List

You can now see the updated fixture list for AVAC by clicking the picture in the panel on the right or by clicking here.

If you need entry forms for any of the events you can either collect them from training or download them from the relevant website:

• the North of England Indoor track and field competitions are on www.noeaa-athletics.org.uk
• the England Athletics (i.e. AAA's) entry forms are on www.england-athletics.net
• Derbyshire County Championships Cross Country details are on www.dcaa.org.uk and entry forms can be downloaded here (word format) or here (PDF format).

 Annual Presentation Evening and Disco

Over 200 athletes, parents, families, coaches and officials were at the Royal Banqueting Suite, Ilkeston for the annual party to celebrate the clubs achievements over the past year, and particularly those of our athletes.

This year, as last, we were delighted to welcome Olympic athlete Ricky Soos and Commonwealth 1500m Gold Medalist Lisa Dobriskey to present the awards. A spontaneous round of applause greeted the video showing Lisa's wonderful victory in Melbourne in March and no doubt inspired many of young athletes present.

Club Chair Dave Turner gave a brief overview of the tremendous year that the club has had, which included the move to the Rutland Sports Park facilities, the highly successful amalgamation with Kirk Hallam AC in April, two English Schools medalists, two international representations, many regional medalists and a AAA's champion. He also paid tribute to club officials Paul English, Jane Rowton, Ruth and Richard Szarkowski for their dedicated and essential support over the track and field season, Jim and Julie Feeney for their team managing, administration and strategic leadership, and to Jane Rogers (treasurer), Judy Payling and Mike Rogers (recreation group coaching).

Athletes were then presented with various awards including Primary School Awards, Standards Grades and certificates, and trophies. Ellie Rogers presented Ricky and Lisa with a bouquet and gift voucher to thank them for their support of the evening, before the dancing got underway.

Achievement Awards (for best track and field performances) were given to:

U11 Jerome Richards and Ellie Rogers

U13 Michael Bosworth and Jessica Turner

U15 Michael Feeney and Alexandra Turner

U17 Andrew Szarkowski and Abby Wood

U20 David Feeney and Louise Feeney

U23 Steve Bonnington

Coaches Awards (for commitment, attitude and performance) were given to:

Megan Bruce, Ellie Wright, Charlotte Noonan, Rob Love, Sam Stone, Claudia Rogers, Emma Komocki, Olivia Pell, Nick Rowton, Leila Armoush and Tamara Armoush.

The David Dilks Memorial Trophy was awarded to Andy Marriott.

The athletes voted Alexandra Turner and Andrew Szarkowski as their Athletes of the Year.

National Young Athletes Road Relays

It was a case of 'so near and yet so far' for the 18 athletes who competed at Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield on Sunday Oct 22nd.

Having won the U13 boys and the U15 girls Northern titles a few weeks ago there were high but realistic chances of a medal at these annual National Championships. The same U13 trio of Alex Nix, Aidan Smith and Michael Bosworth hit the 3.8k route following paths through the park, in ideal conditions. Alex on the first leg thrilled AVAC supporters as he emerged through the parkland in 4th place. Aidan Smith had a gritty run on the second leg to hand over to Michael Bosworth in 5th place, but the leading medal contenders were too far ahead by then for Michael to make a big impression, coming home in an excellent (if not slightly disappointing) 4th place. Credit to Alex for recording the 6th fastest leg (out of over 150 runners) and well done to the young lads keeping the credibility earned after last years silver medal at the ECCA Relays.

High hopes then turned to the talented U15 girls trio. Again, Northern champions - what could they do on the national stage? Sadly all our worst races came at once. Alexandra Turner on the first leg got off to a bad start after some pushing and boxing-in at the start. She managed to make her way through the pack to cross the handover point in 11th place. What happened then still remains unclear. Perhaps a combination of unclear team number-calling by the take-over marshals, poor visibility of incoming runners and inadequate marshalling, Leanne Cartledge was left in the hand-over zone until almost all the other runners had left the pen, despite attempts to get on the course and start running. By then it was all over for the team, and Tamara Armoush could do nothing other than pick off several backmarkers. A formal complaint was lodged with officials but this will be one race the girls will want to forget (and learn from).

Elsewhere, the U13 girls team of Jessica Thorpe, Jennie Lockwood and Jessica Turner finished in 39th place out of 49 complete teams. Great experience for these youngsters and they still have further years in this age group. The U15 girls 'B' team of Lori Marshall, Cassie Blount and Jessica Riley finished in 49th place out of 57 complete teams, whilst the U15 boys team of Andy Shepherd, Chris Dawe and Nick Rowton had satisfying runs to finish 39th out of 56 teams.

By now the early drizzle had turned into a downpour but this didn't dampen the spirit of Rob Love competing as an incomplete team runner in the U17 mens race. Finishing strongly with the leading first leg runners, in third place, he eventually ended up recording the 14th fastest leg of the day and had certainly succeeded in setting out what he wanted to do - try out against some of the best in the country.

We were also unable to field a complete team in the U17 women's race but Olivia Pell and Leila Armoush gave of their best as always, finishing in 18th and 17th places on their legs, with considerable improvements in times compared to previous years on the same course.

Thoughts now turn to the very exciting ECCA Cross country Relays on 4th November at Berry Hill Park where reputations and pride can hopefully be restored.

Further photos of the day can be found on www.fotoccompli.com and full results on www.race-results.co.uk

 

2nd Sportshall Competition 29th October 2006.

Reminder to all U11, U13 and U15 athletes to attend the next Sportshall match at Queen’s Park Leisure Centre, Chesterfield. If you haven’t already returned your entry slips, please do so at training this week.

It would be great to improve on the 2nd place achieved during the last match but we need your attendance especially the U15 boys and U11 girls. So, let’s see as many of you as possible on Sunday 1.00pm.

 

Amber Valley athletes in first Cross Country race of the new season.

On a glorious and sunny autumn day at Shipley Park the cross country season kicked off with the first of the North Midlands League races covering all ages from U11's to seniors/vets on Saturday 14th October. The course challenging but scenic and basically was on the hill side adjacent to American Adventure. Although the ground was soft underfoot it had fortunately not yet transformed in to the quagmire normally associated with Shipley Park races when run later in the season.

The first event of the day was the combined U15 boys/U17 women's race. Andy Shepherd was the first Amber Valley runner home in the boys event finishing 11th followed by Chris Dawe (16th), Dean Bower (27th), Jack Elliot 32nd) and Nick Rowton (35th). The overall team placing was 5th. In the U17 Women's event the only Amber Valley runners were Olivia Pell finishing in a very respectable 4th place in her 1st season as U17 with Leila Armoush 17th putting the girls 5th overall just ahead of Derby.

The next event was the combined U15 girls and U13 boys event. The boys were without Michael Bosworth and Alex Nix but Aiden Smith had an excellent run finishing 4th followed by newcomer Ross Kusik (13th), Andrew Fenwick (16th), Luke Turner (20th) and Marcus McKenzie (25th). Overall the lads were in 4th place but there are few points separating the top 4 clubs so if we can get our strongest team out in the following races there is every chance of Amber Valley taking this age group League title.

In the U15 girls event, Tamara Armoush had an unchallenged win followed in 2nd place by Alex Turner enjoying the benefits of working on her endurance base. Leanne Cartledge turned her ankle on the difficult terrain and had to pull out leaving Lori Marshall as our 3rd scoring runner in 12th place followed by Cassie Blount (18th) and Jess Riley (30th). The girls are in joint 1st place with Mansfield but hopefully Leanne can recover quickly and they should be able to win this league.

In the U13 girls event Jessica Turner had an excellent run to finish 5th followed by Emily Alsop (7th) and Abby Siddal (28th). Given the number of young girls we have in the Club capable of performing well at this level we really ought to be getting more runners out and again we should be challenging for the League title but for now we will have to settle for 3rd place behind Peterborough and Mansfield. Come on girls - where are you all ?

It was good to see some U11's having a go in the fun run with Jenny Lockwood finishing as the 4th girl, followed by Ashleigh McKenzie (6th) and Suzanne Fletcher (7th). In the U11 boys race our first runner was Jason Fenwick (18th), Joel Paisley (19th) and James Blake (21st). Once again, as a Club with so many youngsters we really ought to be getting more U11's out to these events.

In the U17 men's event our only finishing runner was Rob Love who had a strong run to finish in 3rd place.

A sign of the changing times was the impressive number of yellow vests in the senior/vets races for both men and women. We had a total of 11 men and 4 women competing with our ladies currently in 5th position out of 17 teams with Jess Marriot finishing in a very respectable 10th position. The men are currently 10th out of 19 teams in a very competitive competition. It is very clear now that Amber Valley is now becoming established as a much more balanced Club with good representation across all age groups.

Full results are available on the North Mids League website www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk.

British Milers Club Training Camp in South Wales

Five of Amber Valley's brightest endurance prospects (Rob Love, Andy Shepherd, Olivia Pell, Tamara Armoush and Alex Turner) attended the British Milers Club young athletes academy training camp on 6-8th October at Ogmore -on-Sea in South Wales along with coaches Jim Feeney, Dave Turner and Amer Armoush.

These training camps are hugely beneficial and informative for young athletes but only for those who are fully committed to the sport and certainly not for the faint hearted ! each day started with a 25-30 minute dawn run before breakfast followed by 1 or 2 further intense training sessions the same day with lectures and workshops on a variety of topics. The setting and weather were superb with runs overlooking sea views on the South Wales coast together with beach runs (including an impromptu dip in the sea for some) and sand dune sessions. Ogmore is famed for having the largest sand dune in Europe know as the 'big dipper' which has the ability to turn legs to jelly for even the strongest runner!

A great weekend with lots of new friendships formed with around 140 top young athletes and their coaches from all over the UK. If you are an U15/17/20 endurance runner and fancy being part of the BMC then talk to Jim, Dave or Amer. Entry standards are posted on the notice board.

 

Presentation Evening and Disco - One Week to Go!

Not long left to get your tickets for the annual club Presentation Evening on Saturday 21st October at the Royal Regency Banqueting Suite, Ilkeston, 7.30 - 11.30pm.

Don't miss the chance to have you Standards Grades certificates and awards given to you by Commonwealth Gold Medalist Lisa Dobrisky, and Olympic semi-finalist Ricky Soos!

Tickets are on sale at all club training sessions - either at the desk in the tennis centre or by a nominated 'sales person' at the track. Entrance is by ticket only - sorry, no pay on the door!

Raffle prizes are also being requested - please bring to a training session or on the night itself. Raffle proceeds are going to a nominated charity.

Revised codes of conduct

As part of Amber Valley AC's ongoing commitment to providing a safe and positive environment for enjoying the sport of athletics we have produced the following codes of conduct for Athletes, Coaches, Parents, and also an equity statement for all involved in the Club.

Please take the time to read the codes relevant to you. The documents can also be found at their permanent home on the relevant pages of the website.

Equity statement - each person involved in AVAC should read this.

Code of conduct for athletes - aimed at athletes

Code of conduct for parents - aimed at parents and carers

Code of conduct for coaches - aimed at all volunteers that help out at AVAC.

 

 Cross Country Reminder

The first North Midlands League match comes to Shipley Park on Saturday 14th October. In it's 61st year, the league continues to be one of the best club leagues around, attracting clubs from far and wide for it's efficient organisation, friendly rivalry, interesting courses and standard of runner. There is a race for all ages from the U11's through the Vets, male and female, great for the experienced and novice runner alike.

Again AVAC is hopeful of doing well in certain age groups and picking up individual and team trophies over this 4-match series.

Details have been going out at training recently and there is info on the trackside noticeboard. Take a look at the league website too www.northmidsxcleague.co.uk

This weekends event is based from the cricket club within the park and access and car parking is via the American Adventure entrance not the Visitor Centre end of the park (access can be gained this way but the walk to the start area is probably further) Athletes should look for the purple club tent base where they can leave kit and report into team managers.

Remember to arrive at least 1 hour before your race to allow time to walk to the start area, warm up, check the course etc. All athletes must wear a club vest.

1st Sportshall Competition, 8th October 2006

A big well done to the twenty four athletes that turned up, in particular the U11 boys. Well done to Claudia she equaled the record for the 2lap, and there were lots of new PB's.

AVAC finished 2nd overall with 248 points, Derby won with 287 and Chesterfield came 3rd with 233 points.

But where were all our athletes? We had a very disappointing turn out, with no U15 boys and only 2 U13 boys, so come on lets see more of you there next time. MARK SUNDAY 29TH OCTOBER ON YOUR CALENDAR.

Well done once more to all the athletes that turned up

 

Double gold for Amber Valley!

Young Athletes North of England Road Relay Championships - Manchester, Sunday 1st October.

Amber Valleys U13,U15 and U17 endurance runners were in fine form at the North of England Young Athletes Road Relay Championships at Manchester's Sport City complex on Sunday 1st October winning an unprecedented two team gold medals against stiff opposition from top clubs from all over the north of England.

First event of the day was the U13 boys 3 x 3km event with runners doing a lap of the athletics track before leaving the stadium and continuing around the Sports City complex with the final 350m back on the track in front of a sizable crowd of spectators. First off for Amber Valley was Alex Nix in his first competitive road race for the Club but you would never have guessed. Alex had the confidence to challenge the leading group and finished his 3km leg in 2nd place with what proved to be the 4th fastest time of the whole race. Aiden Smith (another new-comer to this type of event), clearly inspired by Alex's run chased after the lead runner from City of Leeds AC and managed to close the gap slightly whilst hanging on to 2nd place. Michael Bosworth started out on his final leg for the team 7 seconds behind the leader from Leeds but used his strength and experience to good effect by gradually closing this gap until he burst into the stadium for the final 350m just ahead of the Leeds runner - and there was no way he was going to be overtaken! Michaels time of 9 mins 39 secs was the 3rd fastest of the race and very impressive for a 12 year old. We knew we had some real talent in this U13 boys squad but with Alex and Aiden being relatively untried we had not expected to win - an excellent team effort.

The next Amber Valley triumph was in the highly competitive U15 girls event. Alex Turner held her own in a very fast start with a high quality field on the first leg finishing in 6th place but with only a few seconds separating 2nd - 6th place. Leanne Cartledge in her first season in this age group kept her cool and ran superbly pulling up to 3rd place before handing over to Tamara Armoush. Tamara set off aggressively and was in 2nd place before leaving the stadium but the leading team from Sale Harriers had a lead of 35 seconds. Tamara's intention was clear as she left the stadium cheered on by her Amber Valley team mates - she was in hot pursuit! By 2Km Tamara had made contact with the Sale girl but the early work had taken its toll and Tamara had to fight hard for the last km but entered the stadium with a 5m lead. As with Michael Bosworth in the earlier race, once inside the stadium Tamara was determined to hang on to the lead and finished 2 seconds ahead of Sale to win Amber Valleys 2nd team gold of the day. Her time of 9 minutes 43 secs was the 4th fastest overall.

There were excellent Amber Valley team and individual performances in all of the other races and everyone involved had a day to remember. Full results are on the NoE website.

 Well done to everyone.