A beautiful sunny day, hardly cross country weather, greeted us as we pulled into the car park at Aldershot Farnham and District. A statue of Wellington overlooked the training field which seemed quite appropriate for what was to follow.

As numerous athletes and coaches from a huge variety of clubs across the South of England drove into the car park Mick Woods and his able assistant Kate Haynes appeared from laying out the course with coloured cones.

Mick was straight into greeting athletes and coaches alike and soon called all the “new observers” into a huddle. Without hesitation he embarked on a brief, but detailed, explanation of what he was hoping to achieve from the sessions and how he structured the various phases throughout the year.

An action group has been set-up to address the need to compensate for the declining number of officials available to officiate at events around Oxfordshire. The proposal to implement such a system has now advanced to the point where we need to recruit personnel to become members of the chip timing management system.

This does not involve any training with regard to going on any courses. What will be required is a team who are prepared to commit to managing and delivering the chip timing system to each of the events as required on a rota basis. The more people we recruit the less onerous the task for members of the team particularly if we can recruit 8 individuals - this should hopefully allow the members of the team 3 weeks off in every 4 ultimately.

The tasks will involve:

All

Here is a list of roles covered by the Committee of the Oxfordshire AA. We as usual hope to fill all of these for the next year. Our AGM is to be held on Monday 12th October 2009 at 7.30 pm at Exeter Hall, Kidlington. It would be appreciated if you could discuss these roles at club and try to send someone to the AGM to help discuss how all roles will be filled.

Can you please inform all your members and friends of the following -

-
Calling all friends of Abingdon Marathon – an urgent appeal for more marshals
The Race Director Gary Richards has just learned that the police are not able to be present after all, and so the marathon will not have their physical support. However, they are happy for the race to go ahead.
Consequently it has become extremely important to get as many marshals as possible to ensure the safety of the runners. This is crucial, especially in town.
Responses to the earlier appeal were good, so Gary is hopeful that more people will come forward.
If you’re racing, get your family and friends to volunteer.
If you’re a member of a running club ….
If you want a marathon in Oxfordshire ….

Meet in the Car Park Horspath Road Track

Commencing Sunday 13th September - Meet 8.45am for 9.00am start. Finish 11.00am

Sessions will be held on all Sundays where there are no fixture clashes i.e. Oxford Mail League and County Champs. Sessions will still be held when Sportshall competitions are planned.

This winter the sessions are open to ALL Oxfordshire Athletes and Coaches.

To enable Oxfordshire Cross Country and Middle Distance Athletes to develop and challenge at Regional and National events we plan to set up a training squad similar to the successful group at Aldershot Farnham and District. In early October a number of Coaches will visit AFD and watch their squad in session. It is then planned to create a similar squad in Oxfordshire over the following months.

Dear Club/County Secretary

Regarding the level 2 Officials course being held at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham on Saturday 26 September, we can now confirm that the Health & Safety course will start at 10.00 am and the cost will be £10. There will also be a basic Photo Finish course for endorsement at 12.00 – cost £15.

The Field, Track, Timekeeping and Starter/Marksman disciplines are also being held.

I’ve attached the Licence Application Form to be completed and forwarded to the following address:

England Athletics
PO Box 99
Bude
EX23 3AL

Details of the course and a link to the form are also on the website on the following link:

http://www.englandathletics.org/events.asp?itemid=1616&itemTitle=Level+2+Officials+Course&section=31

Good afternoon All

Some of you may be aware that I have recently been appointed as the new England Athletics National Coach Mentor for Youth Development.

Over the past 18 months I have worked for England Athletics in the South East and more recently in the counties of Berks, Bucks and Oxon. Over this time I have worked with a great group of people who have made a significant difference to the sport of athletics in the local area.
Moving forwards I know that there are some exciting developments taking place within each of the three counties driven by the right people to make them a success.
I hope to still bump into many of you in my new role working specifically around Youth Development.

England Athletics is delighted to announce a Triple Jump Coaching Masterclass featuring coaches Peter Stanley, (coach to Jonathan Edwards), John Crotty (National Coach Mentor for England Athletics), Jonathan Edwards (World Record holder), Brazilian triple jumper Jadel Gregorio (World Championship Silver Medallist 2007), Nelson Evora (Olympic Champion 2008, World Champion 2007) and Ben Williams (World Youth Champion 2009).

The Masterclass will take place on Monday 31 August at the Gateshead Hilton, (0.5 miles from Gateshead International Stadium) from 10am to 12 noon. This is scheduled to take place immediately prior to the Aviva British Grand Prix.

Nominations for the Oxfordshire Sports Awards 2009 are now open. They launched on Monday with BBC Oxford and we are now accepting entries for our twelve award categories.
The awards evening is taking place at the Kassam Stadium , Oxford on 13th November.
The closing date for entries is Midnight Sunday 27th September - less than 6 weeks away, so we need to let as many people as possible know and encourage people to nominate Oxfordshire's sporting stars, coaches, clubs, teams and unsung heroes of 2009.

There are photos from last year's awards ceremony and 2008 winners on the website www.oxfordshiresport.org/Awards2009 along with the entry form details.

To support Dame Kelly Homes' charity we are launching a club for runners of all ages and abilities. We want people up and down the country to get their kit on and get running to raise much needed funds for a cause close to Kelly's heart: inspiring young people. Having seen first hand the difference that sporting role models can make to young people, Kelly is passionate about her charity supporting disadvantaged young people to find and believe in their own talents by using positive high achievers from the world of sport as role models and mentors.