Hurdling through the holiday
Hurdling through the holiday
Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 10/04/23–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
9 April 2023
–
As we anticipate the spring race schedule, feverishly checking the weather apps and training plans, we can take comfort that there’s a lot to look forward to that doesn’t involve privation and self sacrifice.
Think of the Coronation Games coming up on 7 May as the club’s fun sports day: entries are still open
–
TURNED OUT NICE AGAIN
That extraordinary jumping genius Joe Appiah (Joe Happy Hour to his YouTube followers) won gold in the 60m hurdles at at the World Masters Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun, Poland, last week. His time was 8.39. He also made the 60m final, running 7.49 s in the semi.
And Rob Laing and Joffah (second claim), had a very Good Friday at the seaside, running the Folkestone 10 miler, coming in 7th and 22nd place respectively.
On Saturday, Russelll Bentley, tempted down from the mountains to the Big Smoke for some sort of road running event, consoled himself at Dulwich parkrun by coming in first in 15.29.
KENT AC’S CORONATION GAMES – 7 MAY
Events to be contested are 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, The Gunpowder Mile, Hurdles, Relays, Javelin and Long Jump. Exciting news for more mature jump racers: there will also be Hurdle entries for W40-W59 and M50-M59 age groups.
There will be qualified track officials and timekeepers, so times will be official and recorded on powerof10 and elsewhere.
The entry portal is open here. Book your race soon as some events are already booked up.
There will be a fully licensed bar, a wood-fired pizza van and a coffee hut. It costs £5 to enter the first event and £2 per event thereafter.
All spectators are welcome; should be a great day for the club.
RUNNING WELL
We all know that recovery, fuelling and generally treating our bodies as miraculous temples is as important to an athlete’s wellbeing as the actual training, but still we believe that if we run our bodies into submission, those PBs will happen. They just won’t.
Learn more about the fun stuff during an evening of lectures, food, drinks and general high jinks, cunningly inserted between our two training nights for maximum recovery. You owe it to your temple to attend.
Running & Wellbeing Event: Performance, Power, Psychology and Pints
Wednesday 17th May 2023 19:15-21:15 at St. Dunstans Jubiliee Ground, Canadian Avenue, London SE6 4SW
An opportunity to learn, question, reflect and socialise.
There will be a bar and food.
Free ticketed event – please book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/running-wellbeing-event-performance-power-psychology-and-pints-tickets-590468165177
–
BECKENHAM & DULWICH RELAYS
SWIPE RIGHT FOR IMPORTANT DATES
Save the dates for the all-important National relays, Kent AC Open meet, a wellbeing event, SAL, Assembly League, parkruns, and the big 125 anniversary dinner:
15 April – National 6/12-Stage Relays, Sutton Coldfield
4 May – Assembly League Victoria Park
6 May – parkrun takeover (location TBC – please share ideas!)
7 May – Kent AC Open Meeting, Ladywell Arena
17 May – Wellbeing Event, St Dunstan’s
20 May – SAL, Hornchurch
1 June – Assembly League TBC
18 June – SAL, Mile End
6 July – Assembly League TBC
9 July – SAL, Stevenage
3 August – Assembly League Victoria Park
19 August – SAL, Thurrock
7 September – Assembly League BPP
16 September – 125th Anniversary Dinner
–
KENT AC IS 125
Save the date: 16 September 2023
Careful observers of our club badge will notice three dates:1898 was when our two founder clubs, Lewisham Hare and Hounds (1885) and West Kent Harriers (1887) merged to form Kent AC.
The club is therefore among the oldest athletics clubs in the country and one of the oldest sports clubs in the borough – certainly the one with the longest continuous association.
The club was first heard of in mid June of 1898, hence the focus on the SAL match on 18 June, but we will celebrate our 125th birthday more thoroughly on 16 September with an event at the track, runs and a dinner and dance to remember.
–
SHOW TRACK AND FIELD YOUR LOVE
Athletics needs more officials, and volunteering in this way is a wonderful way to give back to the club.
Courses take place on 1 April in Norman Park, and the following are available:
Level 1 Starter/Starters Assistant
Level 1 Track Judge
Level 1 Field Judge
This is a great opportunity to help get club events’ results on Power of 10. And it’s fun.
It’s a straightforward process that the club will pay for, with more detail here.
https://www.kentac.org.uk/membership/get-involved-volunteer/becoming-an-athletics-official/
Please contact Len Reilly for more info.
It would be great to see a few more people put their names down to help out!
–
KIT DONATIONS FOR JUNIORS
We still have more juniors who would be interested in receiving some kit. Please let Amelia know if you have any running kit (not only New Balance) that could be useful to the juniors.
This doesn’t have to be just Kent AC club kit, all running kit suitable for junior athletes is welcomed. Amelia will be setting up a junior kit swap shop at the open meet on 7 May.
–
WELFARE OFFICER VACANCY
The role would suit somebody with a children’s services background in education, health or social care though this is not essential. It is a great opportunity to make a difference and also looks good on your CV! Training in the role is offered by England Athletics and Neil will do a full handover/induction for my replacement. If you might interested or would like to find out more please let us know at .
–
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY VACANCY
We would love to find someone who is:
– Diligent with an attention to detail
– Proactive in dealing with queries
– Computer literate
– Familiar with online payment systems
– Able to attend regular meetings and/or submit reports
If this is you and you want to give a little back to the club, then please reach out to to find out more.
–
SWEEPSTAKE NUMBERS AVAILABLE
–
NIGHT OF THE 10,000M PB’S ENTRY NOW OPEN
–
EASYFUNDRAISING
Over 7,000 brands pay easyfundraising a commission when you start your shop through their platform, so you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying. These donations really help us out, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE! You can get started at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kentac
You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy
WIN A TRACK PASS
To be added to the rota simply email Jacqueline/Laurie at ( /
).
We only need each track attendee to volunteer a couple of times a year to spread the responsibility fairly.
T&Cs for the track pass draw:
All volunteers for the current month will be added into the hat for a draw each month.
The winner will win a free pass for the next calendar month.
Names will be automatically drawn from https://namepicker.net/ (or similar alternative)
The winner can either chose to:
use their free pass within a calendar year
allow their free pass to roll down to another volunteer
annual pass holders can nominate another club member if they cannot make use of the pass themselves
No refunds/discounts will be provided in place of the free monthly pass.
Volunteers will only be eligible to win a pass once every three months.
–
TRACK, TRACK, TRACK
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:15 – 20:45
Thursday 18:30 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30
Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.
NEW TIMES AHOY!
Thursday track nights will be extended from 1 April:
17:30-20:30pm to mirror Tuesday nights.
Please purchase your £5 junior monthly track pass in advance here. When purchasing the track pass can parents/guardians please enter the athlete’s name when completing the transaction
Please see a helpful FAQs guide here
Ladywell Arena now has new opening hours dedicated to the public. While during these times the Kent AC track pass is not valid, members can pay for an individual session.
Session times are:
Monday: 07:00 -15:00
Tuesday – Thursday: 1300 -1700
Friday: 07:00 – 15:00
Saturday – Sunday: 09:00-15:00
Price:
Adult resident: £2.70
Adult non resident: £3.00
Junior (U16): £1.30
The Kent AC track pass continues to be required for training on Tues/Thurs evenings and Sunday mornings.
Track staff have encouraged people to double check the opening hours before their training session, as they may occasionally be closed for school sport days and football friendlies. Hours can be checked at https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/london/lewisham/ladywell-arena. This will likely suit members who can’t make training sessions but would like to train in the morning/lunchtime/evening.
Pay as you go fees can either be paid via cash to the desk or using the Better app (note: staff are working to add the sessions to the app).
–
KEEP US UPDATED
–
–