Lighten up
96
Lighten up
<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 12/05/24<!–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
12 May 2024
One bright light that everyone shared, however, was the glorious May sunshine after the uniform grey, so it was shorts and sunblock all weekend, which started, for many of us, with a pleasantly sweaty parkrun.
The club loves to take over a local parkrun in a pleasantly non-competitive (but somehow also wanting to better that WAVA rating) way. We’ll be storming Catford in a few weeks but Saturday, 11 May was an unplanned Burgess Park social, and a chance for Kent AC’s youngest addition (congratulations, Gen) to enjoy the run-not-a-race:
Summer smiles
Talking of potential stars on track and field, our junior athletes are also lighting up the south east, read on for good news from the young ones.
Away from London smog and into the clean mountain air of North Wales, this weekend was a fantastically tough one for our ultra stars, Zuzana Nemeckova and James Bates, who took on the UTMB Snowdonia over truly brutal conditions. The weather was particularly challenging this weekend and the water ran out. With half the field dropping out before the end, there was absolutely no shame in our two superheroes recording a DNF on this occasion.
FLAMING JUNE
Entries are now live for our Summer track Open. Sign up here
We will also need volunteers for this event so to give a helping hand, click here.
HEY, MEN!
Men of Kent: could you be a club welfare officer?
The club has vacancies within the welfare team for male welfare officers.
England Athletics recommend that clubs should have both male and female volunteers for these important roles. Currently, only Sarah Maris-Shaw and Sarah Young are on the welfare team to take the lead in safeguarding children and adults at risk (although this, of course, is everyone’s responsibility), helping to develop policy and occasionally dealing with concerns.
Welfare officers also have an interest in promoting athletes’ wellbeing, such as encouraging an understanding of mental health issues.
The role would suit someone with a children’s services background, in education, health or social care, although this is not essential. It is a great chance to make a difference in the club, (and also looks good on the cv).
Training in the role is offered by England Athletics and there will be a full handover/induction provided.
If you might be interested or would like to find out more, please let us know at welfareoff@kentac.org.uk.
SAL- LY FORTH & JOIN IN
The first SAL of the year is this Saturday 18 May at Central Park Arena in Dartford.
Please sign up here if you’ve been on the fence: jump down on our side, we’d love to see you!
Travel
We’ll be taking the 10:07 train from Lewisham to Dartford. If you want to travel as a group, meet us by the piano at Lewisham station at 9:45am to get group travel tickets paid for by the club. If you cut it too close you’ll have to cover your own travel ticket. In classic Kent style we’ll be taking over the front coach on the train. You’re always welcome to make your own way to the venue as well.
We’re going to walk from Dartford train station to the track, which is one mile. If you’d prefer, there is the option to get a bus.
Please note if you’re driving there is no parking at the venue. All cars must use Acacia Car Park, DA1 1DJ. It’s then a 200m walk through the park to the track.
Venue Info
There will be snacks/sandwiches/cakes on sale (cash and card accepted), but we recommend bringing a packed lunch and plenty of water
Please remember to bring suncream, a hat, and a raincoat… just in case.
Further SAL dates:
Sat 15 June – Thurrock
Sun 14 July – St Albans
Sat 17 Aug – Ware
Jo Mott goes PB hunting
WOMEN’S XC CAPTAIN
After more than 3 years as the women’s XC captain and then as co-captain Sarah Crichton is stepping down. Sarah has been an invaluable leader both in the role as xc captain/co-captain and as a welcoming and very active member of the club. The amount Sarah does for the club, often behind the scenes, is immense so we can’t thank Sarah enough for all her time, effort and contributions.
The role of xc co-captain involves collaborating with the other captains to gather race interest, execute race communication, input race entries, arrange travel and race-day activities, write race reports and represent the xc captains at committee meetings (womens xc co-captains share a vote when a vote is required as the role is shared). We represent the membership to work on the season’s goals, and to build enthusiasm for races.
The committee will accept nominations for the position, and if there is more than one person interested, the committee will welcome statements for the position and then vote.
If you are interested in applying and/or have questions about the role, please email or text/WhatsApp Gen Blanch – +447828888031.
DULWICH AND BECKENHAM RELAYS
If you’re looking for some fun races to fill in the gap between spring road season and cross country, we have a couple of local events that are always well attended by Kent, with plenty of success.
On Wednesday 22nd May there are the Beckenham Relays – teams of 3 running around Beckenham Place Park. We will be entering multiple teams, there’s electronic timing and it’s well-organised and competitive.
On Wednesday 19th June, there are the Dulwich Relays in the equally familiar Dulwich Park – one lap each (just under one mile) As with Beckenham, we will have many teams entered, men’s and women’s and split by age category.
Both of them are friendly, social events, although taken seriously on the course, as ever.
Do sign up here if you’re interested, whatever your ability.
MASTERS RELAYS
Sign up is now open for the British Masters Road Relays at Mallory Park, Leicester –
the biggest Masters road event in the UK on Saturday 25 May 2024.
The Relays are billed as ‘the biggest masters road event’ so therefore we’d like to enter men’s and women’s teams in as many vets categories as possible (35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 and 75+) and we’d like to aim for as many medals as possible too!
The course is a traffic free 3 mile loop around a lake for each leg on tarmac, with licensed café on site and camping available. It is possible to get there on time via public or private transport on the day, and the club will contribute to transport costs, so please embrace the opportunity of travelling to and running at Mallory Park.
Further details are here and the all important sign up sheet is here.
If you have any questions, then contact Jules, Nicky or Lin.
KYAL
This week has been a results bonanza following success at Kent Youth Athletics League last weekend, and at the KCAA Kent Champs this weekend: well done Juniors
Please contact the club if your child has a taste for competing , either at Ladywell track, or at future fixtures for KYAL and SAL if they haven’t already signed up, please consider it. The earlier we know who’s coming, the easier it becomes for us to plan ahead and put together teams.
Kent AC made a strong showing at the first stage of Kent Youth Athletics League (KYAL) Division 2 at Norman Park, Bromley, and ended the event second position overall, which is a fantastic achievement (we have placed fourth for the past two years)!
Every individual who took part contributed to this success, particularly those who went beyond their comfort zones to compete in events that they may not have tried before to bring the points home.
A big thank you to all athletes, coaches and supporters for making the day such a success.
As well as the competing and winning of events, another evergreen challenge at KYAL is the coordination – making sure that athletes are at the right place, at the right time, and with the right bibs (K/KK/Number), particularly as the planned schedule can be subject to delays.
It is tricky for coaches to do their coaching work as well as coordinate athletes for all the events, so we may be asking for a bit more help from some volunteer parents and carers at the next event to make sure athletes are at the right place and at the right time.
Next match is Saturday 22 June at Medway Park, Gillingham – here is a link to sign up now (easy to get to by train if you don’t have a car)
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
A summary of dates for your diary
May
18 – Southern Athletics League – Dartford
18 – Night of 10,000m PBs – Highgate
22 – Beckenham Relays – BPP
25 – Masters Relays – Leicester
June
9 – Victoria Park 5k, 10k and half marathon
15 – Southern Athletics League – Thurrock
19 – Dulwich Relays – Dulwich Park
22 – KYAL – Medway
29 – Catford Parkrun Kent Takeover
29 – Regent’s Park 5k and 10k
July
14 – Southern Athletics League – St Albans
28 – KYAL – Norman Park
August
3 – 10k Sri Chimnoy Battersea Park (club champs)
10 – KYAL – Dartford
17 – Southern Athletics League – Ware
September
1 – Big Half (club champs)
October
13 – Petts Wood 10K
LUCKY NUMBERS
If interested, email David at treasurer@kentac.org.uk
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
TRACK, TRACK, TRACK
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:30
Thursday 18:00 – 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.
Track Pass – Juniors
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 has 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 here. 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
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
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