Happy Birthday from Thursday 27 February to Wednesday 4 March – Joanna Blair, Jacob Clement, Tia Daley, James Davis, Fiona Groom, Anthony Jackson, Paul Lewis, Andrew Magnall, Sienna Oakley-Medwinter, David Parker, Lily Parris, Aimee Porter, Stephen Potter, Milo Rynehart, Alana Samji and Dian Taylor
RECENT NEW MEMBER – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to FRANCISCO GUERRERO
EUROPEAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Congratulations to the following Shaftesbury athletes who have been selected for the GB&NI team, the championships take place at Apeldoorn, Netherlands on 6-9 March.
JOHN OTUGADE (60m), EMILY NEWNHAM U23 (4x400m Relay), LINA NIELSEN (4x400m Relay), SCOTT LINCOLN (Shot)
NEW CLUB RECORD – Congratulations to EMILY NEWNHAM who broke her 400m Under 23 time of (52.16i) at the UK Championships at Birmingham on 23 February. EMILY’S previous record was (52.32i) set in Sheffield on 25 January.
NEW CLUB RECORDS – Currently there are no Women Masters 45-49 Indoor 60m and 200m Club Records, following Saturday’s meeting at Lee Valley, the 2 times recorded will now become Club Records.
Congratulations to CLAIRE SPURWAY V45 who ran a 60m time of (8.45i) 22 February and 200m time of (27.90i) 23 February at the British Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley.
NEW CLUB RECORD – Congratulations to SEAN SUTHERLAND V50 who broke his own Masters Men 50-54 Indoor 200m Club Record, with a time of (25.51i) at the British Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley on 22 February. His previous Indoor record was (25.71i) at Lee Valley on 21 January 2023.
ATHLETICS WEEKLY 1969 TO 1987 – RICHARD SAMUEL wishes to dispose of his collection of Athletics Weekly’s, which ranges from mid 1969 to mid 1987. Most years are complete but there are a few gaps. Mostly the condition is good but a few are a bit dog eared. RICHARD suggests a donation to club funds by anyone interested and they would have be collected.
Anyone interested please contact RICHARD by email at Richard.samuel1@btinternet.com
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS SUBSCRIPTIONS – Our new Club year started on 1 October 2024. The current SBH annual subscription is £85 (following the recent 2024 SBH AGM) and the current England Athletics annual registration from 1 April 2024 is £19. The current total is £104 and should be paid NOW to; ACCOUNT NAME: SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS, BANK: HSBC, ACCOUNT NUMBER: 41308378, SORT CODE: 400426 – Please advise GEOFF MORPHITIS by email (geoffrey.morphitis@capeandd.com) when payment has been made.
RESULTS
Just to clarify, that the results I publish can be different to those that are shown on the Power of 10. The differences relate to seasons and personal best performances. For example in the recent EYAL results, an athlete in the 200m ran (24.1), and on his profile his season’s best was shown as (23.88) indoors. As the 200m indoors and outdoors are totally different type of events, I had shown the (24.1) as a season’s best. Regarding Master athletes any personal best performances relate to their current age-groups, as Club Records for Masters age-groups are in 5 year periods.
NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Parliament Hill on 22 February.
Parliament Hill is regarded as the spiritual home of English cross-country running and the history of the English ‘National’ dates back to 1876. World Athletics recognised this a few years ago by awarding the venue one of its coveted Heritage plaques and the 10 races on Saturday were preceded by a celebration of the achievement with long-time English Cross Country Association secretary IAN BYETT and current secretary EAMONN MARTIN among those in attendance.
Under 13 Boys (3000m) – BEN KASPAR 12th (12.35), DENNYS PASCAL 25th (12.59), HARRISON HENDERSON 76th (13.41), LEWIS WARD 120th (14.07) the winner was Zakariya Rush of Solihull & Small Heath (12.08) 318 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Preston Harriers (105 points), 2nd Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (136), 3rd Herne Hill Harriers (162), 5th SBH (233) 30 teams finished
Under 13 Girls (3000m) – GRACE ROONEY 104th (15.22), SIENNA DARCY 157th (16.12), LUCIA CASALENUOVO 185th (16.29), ABIGAIL ROSS 217th (17.16) the winner was Mia McGoldrick of Settle Harriers (12.57) 275 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Liverpool Harriers (90 points), 2nd South London Harriers (153), 3rd Bracknell (176), 22nd SBH (663) 26 teams finished
Under 15 Boys (4000m) – CALEB HILTON 35th (16.12), JESSE ABRAHAMS 52nd (16.28), EDWARD PASCAL 185th (18.00), SAM CLEMENTS 235th (18.36), OMAR MIAH 250th (18.52), SAM DARCY 269th (19.25) the winner was Jake Ireland of Macclesfiel Harriers (14.45) 343 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Cambridge & Coleridge (92 points), 2nd Herne Hill Harriers (97), 3rd Dacorum (128), 16th SBH (507) 34 teams finished
Under 15 Girls (4000m) – AIMEE PORTER 57th (19.27) the winner was Gabrielle Pinder of New Marske Harriers (16.19) 306 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Aldershot, Farnham & District (61 points), 2nd Chelmsford (121), 3rd Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (154) 30 teams finished
Under 17 Men (6000m) – ARTHUR PHILLIPS 102nd (25.30), JOHN-MICHAEL DIRACLES 124th (25.50), MATTHEW MAY 185th (26.47), THOMAS CADWALLADER 301st (32.08) the winner was Alex Lennon of Sutton & District (22.09) 319 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Sutton & District (77 points), 2nd City of Norwich (146), 3rd Exeter Harriers (160), 22nd SBH (712 )27 teams finished
Under 17 Women (5000m) – POSIE SHAW 57th (23.19), DINA SILVERMAN 139th (25.43) the winner was Lucy Wilkinson of Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (19.48) 199 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (63 points), 2nd Eastbourne Rovers (107), 3rd Salford Harriers (164) 14 teams finished
Under 20 Men (10000m) – SAMUEL GREENSTEIN 29th (36.33), MAX WINFIELD 33rd (37.21), GIANLEO STUBBS 49th (38.15), TOMMY NARVAEZ-WHITE 82nd (39.56), ADAM O’GORMAN 100th (41.08), JACOB CLEMENT 136th (43.33), JAI DARYANANI 167th (47.36) the winner was Matthew Pickering of Aldershot, Farnham & District (34.36) 191 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Tonbridge (91 points), 2nd Aldershot, Farnham & District (115), 3rd Chelmsford (119), 4th SBH (193 ) 10 teams finished
Under 20 Women (6000k) – No SBH runners, the winner was Isabel Holt of Blackburn Harriers (25.12) 121 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Blackheath & Bromley Harriers (37 points), 2nd Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (86), 3rd Epsom & Ewell Harriers (90) 13 teams finished
Senior Men (12000m) – JEREMY DEMPSEY 7th (45.05), JAMIE DEE 9th (45.12), DYLAN EVANS 11th (45.25), LIAM DEE 29th (46.28), THOMAS BUTLER 30th (46.34), JUDE BELL 113th (49.58), MATTHEW GRANT V35 213th (52.40), GARY PELOSI V40 364th (55.09), OLIVER GREENSTEIN 529th (58.14), TREVOR CUMMINS V40 698th (60.47), DANIEL NICHOLS V40 760th (61.54), ROBERT RIGBY V60 806th (62.32), MARK COTTLE V35 1022nd (66.11), JONNY SHAW V50 1124th (67.57), DAVID GREENSTEIN V60 1321st (71.13) the winner was Richard Slade of Chiltern Harriers (43.52) 1781 runners finished
Team Result 6 To Count – 1st Bristol & West (115 points), 2nd SBH (199), 3rd Highgate Harriers (228) 112 teams finished
Team Result 9 To Count – 1st Bristol & West (243 points), 2nd Highgate Harriers (527), 3rd Tonbridge (610), 6th SBH (1305) 59 teams finished
Senior Women (8000m) – No SBH runners, the winner was Jessica Gibbon of City of Reading (29.19) 830 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Leeds City (89 points), 2nd Aldershot, Farnham & District (93), 3rd Thames, Hare & Hounds (161) 82 teams finished
THESE ARE THE SBH WINTER POINTS FINAL FIRST THREE POSITIONS FOR AGE-GROUPS UNDER 13 AND ABOVE, FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FIXTURE AT PARLIAMENT HILL ON 22 FEBRUARY
Athletes shown in ‘RED’, their points total have been adjusted, based on their best 5 results.
Men – Under 13 Boys 1st BEN KASPAR (39 points), 2nd DENNYS PASCAL (38), 3rd HARRISON HENDERSON (28), Under 15 Boys 1st CALEB HILTON (40), 2nd EDWARD PASCAL (36), 3rd SAM CLEMENTS (29), Under 17 Men 1st ARTHUR PHILLIPS (39), 2nd EUAN PHILLIPS (35), 3rd AIDEN MCAVOY (31), Under 20 Men 1st ADAM O’GORMAN (20), 2nd TOMMY NARVAEZ-WHITE (19), 3rd JAI DARYANANI (16), Senior Men 1st THOMAS BUTLER (59), 2nd FINN MACCARTHY (50), 3rd JAMIE DEE (34), Masters Men 40-49 1st JOEL PHILLIPS V45 (35), 2nd DANIEL NICHOLS V40 (29), 3rd GARY PELOSI V40 (24), Masters Men 50-59 1st JONNY SHAW V50 (40), 2nd BARRY HAWS V50 (27), 3rd TIM UNDERHILL V55 (23), Masters Men 60-69 1st PHILIP CUNNINGHAM V60 (36), 2nd ROBERT RIGBY V60 (32), 3rd DAVID GREENSTEIN V60 (29)
Women – Under 13 Girls 1st GRACE ROONEY (31 points), 2nd SIENNA DARCY (29), 3rd ABIGAIL ROSS (19), Under 15 Girls 1st AMBER JACKSON (31), 2nd OLIVIA ABBOTT (21), 3rd AIMEE PORTER (16), Under 17 Women 1st PHOEBE KEMP and POSIE SHAW (16), 3rd DINA SILVERMAN and EDIIE WOODINGS (7), Senior Women 1st NICOLA PAYNE (31), 2nd ELANA DIMMER (23), 3rd EMILIA ECONOMU (20)
Link to full list of Men and Women points total following the Victoria Park Sports Medicine Metropolitan League fixture at Trent Park on 8 February – Mens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25 Womens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25
UK INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Birmingham on 22-23 February
60m – SM H1 TEDDY WILSON U20 2nd (6.74i), H3 JOHN OTUGADE 2nd (6.72i), H4 KRISHAWN AIKEN 5th (6.94i) in Semi-Final 1 TEDDY finished 4th (6.73i), in Semi-Final 2 JOHN finished 3rd (6.68i), in the Final JOHN won the Silver Medal (6.64i)
60m – SW H4 RENEE REGIS U23 2nd (7.45i) in Semi-Final 1 RENEE finished 4th (SB 7.41i) taking .01 of a second off her 29 January time, and is ranked UK No.9 U23 in 2025, in the Final RENEE finished 6th (7.42i)
200m – SM H1 PHOENIX LYON 4th (22.07i), H2 CAI CRAWFORD U23 2nd (21.55i), H4 KRISHAWN AIKEN 1st (SB 21.55i) taking .19 of a second off his 18 January time, in Semi-Final 1 CAI finished 3rd (21.70i), in Semi-Final 2 KRISHAWN finished 2nd (SB 21.25i) taking .30 of a second off his H4 time, and is ranked UK No.9 in 2025, in the Final KRISHAWN won the Bronze Medal (21.37i)
400m – SW H1 EMILY NEWNHAM U23 2nd (53.18i), H4 LINA NIELSEN 1st (53.08i) in Semi-Final 1 LINA finished 1st (52.19i), EMILY finished 2nd (52.46i) in the Final LINA won the Silver Medal (PB 51.77i) taking .16 of a second off her 25 January time, and is ranked UK No.2 in 2025, EMILY finished 4th (PB 52.16i) taking .09 of a second off her 2 February time, and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2025, and a new Club Record
60m Hurdles – SM H3 CRAIG MONCUR U23 4th (8.45i)
60m Hurdles – SW H2 JESSICA HUNTER 2nd (SB 8.37i) taking .13 of a second off her 2 February time, in the Final JESSICA finished 4th (SB 8.29i) taking .08 of a second off her H2 time, and is ranked UK No.5 in 2025
High Jump – SM Straight Final KIMANI JACK U23 won the Silver Medal (2.15mi), AKIN COWARD 9th (2.03mi)
Triple Jump – SW Straight Final REESE ROBINSON U23 5th (SB 12.42mi) adding 3cm to her 16 February jump, and is ranked UK No.5 U23 in 2025
Shot 7.26kg – SM Straight Final SCOTT LINCOLN (HCA) won the Gold Medal (SB 20.86mi) adding 30cm to his 30 January put, and is ranked UK No.1 in 2025
BRITISH MASTERS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Lee Valley on 22-23 February
60m – W45 Straight Final CLAIRE SPURWAY V45 (SCVAC) won the Silver Medal (SB 8.45i) and is ranked UK No.5 V45 in 2025, a new Club Record
60m – W50 H2 DELPHINE DIERS V50 4th (PB 9.52i) a new Club Record
200m – M50 H2 SEAN SUTHERLAND V50 (SCVAC) won the Silver Medal (PB 25.51i) taking .20 of a second off his 2023 time, and is ranked UK No.5 V45 in 2025, a new Club Record
200m – M55 H2 JOHNSON OGUNNIYI V55 (SCVAC) 4th (PB 26.52i) taking .08 of a second off his 18 January time, and is ranked UK No.7 V55 in 2025
200m – W45 Straight Final CLAIRE SPURWAY V45 (SCVAC) won the Gold Medal (27.90i) and is ranked UK No.3 V45 in 2025, a new Club Record
400m – W45 Straight Final CLAIRE SPURWAY V45 (SCVAC) won the Bronze Medal (1:08.02i) and is ranked UK No.3 V45 in 2025
800m – W55 H2 LISA WEBB V55 (VAC) won the Bronze Medal (2:50.80i)
60m Hurdles – M50-54 Straight Final GARY SMITH V50 (EMAC 2nd Claim) won the Gold Medal (9.17i)
High Jump – M35-50 Straight Final SEAN SUTHERLAND V50 (SCVAC) won the Bronze Medal (SB 1.50mi) adding 5cm to his 16 February height
Long Jump – W60 Straight Final ROSALIND ZEFFERTT V60 (VAC) 4th (SB 3.52mi) and is ranked UK No.3 V60 in 2025
Long Jump – M40-50 Straight Final GARY SMITH V50 (EMAC 2nd Claim) (NM)
Pole Vault – W60 Straight Final ROSALIND ZEFFERTT V60 (VAC) won the Gold Medal (2.30mi)
Shot Put 6kg – M50-54 Straight Final JOHNSON OGUNNIYI V55 (SCVAC) 10th (9.55mi)
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Spokane, Washington, USA on 21-22 February
Pole Vault – SM GLEN QUAYLE (Long Beach State University) 3rd (4.70mi)
PHILADELPHIA METRO – Took place at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on 21 February
60m Hurdles – SW 1 LILY PARRIS U23 (Princeton University 2nd Claim) 2nd (SB 8.66i) taking .06 of a second off her 31 January time
LEE VALLEY MIDDLE DISTANCE OPEN MEETING – Took place at Lee Valley on 19 February
800m – SX 5 SIENNA DARCY U13 2nd (2:33.25i), 7 SAM DARCY U17 2nd (SB 2:22.22i) taking 5.80 seconds off his 1 January time, 17 DINA SILVERMAN U20 5th (SB 2:20.83i) taking 3.93 seconds off her 2 February time, 18 MYA MAIRS-INGRAM U20 4th (2:11.59i), 22 JACOB CLEMENT U20 5th (2:01.92i)
NEWHAM & ESSEX BEAGLES INDOOR 60m SERIES – Took place at Newham on 19 February
60m – SM A1 ZANSON PLUMMER 6th (6.98i), B2 ZANSON finished 1st (6.94i)
PARKRUN – Can you make sure that you are registered as ‘Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’, as the link I use to select all results only shows SBH athletes. If anyone is also officiating can you please contact me and advise me where and when.
PARKRUNS MILESTONE VESTS – You can purchase these from 50 to 500, this is the link – https://shop.parkrun.com/collections/milestone-run-walk-vests
PARKRUNS IN THE UK – Last Saturday at parkruns in the UK, there were…
1,206 events – 233,600 walkers, joggers, runners and volunteers – 10132 first timers – 23,253 PBs
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Aldenham on 22 February
PAUL LEWIS V50 11th (24.21) this was his 247th Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Jersey on 22 February
CLIFF GOLDING V70 111th (26.31) this was his 183rd Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at North Yorkshire Water Park on 22 February
KAYLA MICHEL U23 71st (26.10) this was her 52nd Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oak Hill on 22 February
STUART SINGER V60 45th (24.00) this was his 458th Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Panshanger on 22 February
RUSSELL DEVITT V75 187th (59.08) this was his 336th Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Oaklands Park on 22 February
ROBBIE LIGHTOWLER 10th (24.14) this was his 13th Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Rickmansworth on 22 February
DANIYAL JANMOHAMED U11 26th (20.09) this was his 29th Parkrun, LILY JANMOHAMED U11 45th (PB 21.08) this was her 31st Parkrun, BRADLEY SINGER V35 112th (23.51) this was his 311th Parkrun
PARKRUN 5K – Took place at St Albans on 22 February
DAVID BROOKS U23 10th (22.08) this was his 16th Parkrun
UPCOMING FIXTURES FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, WHICH COVERS THE PERIOD THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL – The SBH 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card can be found on the SBH website, in which you can Access/Print a copy for future reference. Also the majority of fixtures Information can be found on the SBH Website under the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ section.
NORTH WEST LONDON LEAGUE – The fifth fixture of five takes place on Saturday 1 March at Brent Country Park, Hanwell, West London (SatNav W7 3BP).
Timetable – First race starts at 12.00
Note: You do not have to be pre-entered, just turn up and run. Will our athletes please see TY HOLDEN who will give you a race number
ESSEX AND EASTERN COUNTIES INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, Edmonton (Satnav N9 0AR) on Saturday 1 March and Sunday 2 March. Age-group U13 up to Senior.
Entries Closed
EUROPEAN SENIOR INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place in Apeldorn, Netherlands from Thursday 6 March to Sunday 9 March.
UK CAU INTER COUNTIES CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 8 March at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough.
Note: You you will selected by your respective County Team Manager
ENGLAND ATHLETICS U15 AND U17 COMBINED EVENTS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place at the English Institute of Sport, Coleridge Road, Sheffield (Satnav S9 5DA) on Saturday 8 March and Sunday 9 March.
Please use this link to enable you to enter – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=25846
Entries Closing Date Friday 28 February
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee
HERTFORDSHIRE, MIDDLESEX AND KENT INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place at Lee Valley on Saturday 15 March and Sunday 16 March, for all age-groups excluding U13s.
Link to Hertfordshire online entries – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=25979
Entries Closing Date Monday 3 March
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee
Link to Middlesex entries online – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/registration?id=26132
Entries Closing Date Friday 28 February
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee
ENGLISH SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 15 March at West Sussex.
Note: You you will selected by your respective County Team Manager
WORLD MASTERS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place in Alachua, Florida, USA from Saturday 15 March to Friday 21 March.
Entries Closed
WORLD SENIOR INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place in Glasgow from Friday 21 March to Sunday 23 March
Note: You will be selected following the UK trials
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS THROWSFEST 1 – Takes place on Sunday 23 March at the StoneX Stadium, Greenlands Lane, Hendon (Satnav NW4 1RL).
Entry fee for SBH members is £6 for their first event, and £9 for subsequent events. Entry fee for non SBH members is £12 for each event.
Events are Hammer starts at 10.20am, Discus and Shot starts at 13.40am and Javelin starts at 17.00am.
Link to the online entries on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/sbh-throwsfest-1/
Entries Closing Date Thursday 20 March, No Entries On The Day
Note: Events may be full before the Closing Date, Therefore Please Enter As Soon As Possible
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS THROWSFEST 2 – Takes place on Saturday 29 March at the StoneX Stadium, Greenlands Lane, Hendon (Satnav NW4 1RL).
Entry fee for SBH members is £6 for their first event, and £9 for subsequent events. Entry fee for non SBH members is £12 for each event.
Events are Hammer starts at 10.20am, Discus and Shot starts at 13.40am and Javelin starts at 17.00am.
Link to the online entries on Opentrack – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/sbh-throwsfest-2/
Entries Closing Date Wednesday 26 March, No Entries On The Day
Note: Events may be full before the Closing Date, Therefore Please Enter As Soon As Possible
SOUTHERN MEN’S 12 STAGE AND WOMENS 6 STAGE ROAD RELAYS WHICH INCLUDE THE 15/U17 5K AND U13 3K ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Sunday 30 March at Milton Keynes.Bucks (MK14 6BN)/strong>
Start times – 11.00am U15/U17 5K, 12.00pm Men 6 Stages of 4.8K and 6 Stages of 7.2K, Women 4 Stages of 4.8K and 2 Stages of 7.2K
Entries Closing Date Monday 17 March
Note: You will have to be pre-entered by your respective Team Manager
LEE VALLEY MINITHON INDOOR FIXTURES – Is for School years 3 to 7, in which you compete in 3 events from the following – 60m, 200m, 600, 60m Hurdles, High Jump (Year 6 and 7 only), Long Jump, Shot Put and Javelin (Year 6 and 7 only).
The final fixture is on Saturday 22 March.
Link to information guide on the Minithon – Information Guide For Lee Valley Minithon
To enter please use this link – https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/athletics-centre/kids-activities#%20
Note: You will have to enter yourself and pay the appropriate entry fee
A LOOK AHEAD TO THE SUMMER – The summer fixtures have now been finalised and published, this being the case these are the Fixtures/Venues for the various leagues that Shaftesbury compete in. I anticipate issuing the Fixture card towards the end of March.
Eastern Young Athletes League for U13, U15 and U17 age-groups – Sunday 13 April at Cambridge, Sunday 18 May at Watford, Sunday 15 June at Stevenage, Sunday 27 July at StoneX Stadium, the EYAL Finals take place on 7 September, venue to be confirmed.
Middlesex Young Athletes League for U11, U13, U15 and U17 age-groups – Saturday 3 May at Perivale, Sunday 2 June at Finsbury Park, Sunday 15 June at Stevenage, Saturday 28 June at Harrow, Sunday 20 July at Parliament Hill.
UK Youth Development League for U17 and U20 age-groups – Sunday 27 April at Bromley, Sunday 25 May at Eton, Sunday 6 July at StoneX Stadium, the National Finals take place on 7 September, venue to be confirmed.
National Athletics League for U20 and Senior age-groups (Under 17s can compete as rule 42) – Saturday 31 May at Eton, Saturday 5 July at Derby, Saturday 16 August at Birmingham.
This summer Shaftesbury will be promoting 5 fixtures at StoneX Stadium, the following dates and details are still provisional, and will be finalised within the next 4/6 weeks.
Saturday 21 June SBH Track and Field Open Meeting, Sunday 13 July SBH Jumps Open Meeting, Saturday 9 August SBH Showcase Open Meeting, Monday 25 August SBH Club Championships and Open Meeting, Sunday 13 September SBH Autumn Throwsfest.
These are the main 4 major fixtures – 17-20 July European U23 Championships at Bergen, Norway, 2-3 August UK Championships at Birmingham, 7-10 August European U20 Championships at Tampere, Finland, 13-21 July World Championships at Tokyo, Japan.
MICHAEL JOHNSON: “THE ATHLETES ARE AMAZING BUT THEY NEED A PLATFORM” – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.
As the inaugural staging of Grand Slam Track approaches, MICHAEL JOHNSON talks about why he thinks it can bring about the kind of change that athletics needs to be able to grow. The national stadium in Kingston holds some significant memories for MICHAEL JOHNSON. It was during his time at Baylor College that the man who would go on to become a multiple Olympic and world champion sprinter got his first taste of Jamaica. Travelling to race at the renowned venue was, in fact, the first time he’d ever left America. “I ran down there twice in college [in relay events], in 1989 and 1990,” he recalls. “It was eye-opening. I’d never seen that level of young talent.” It’s the famous ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships or “Champs” that packs this particular arena to the rafters on an annual basis but, just five days after this year’s edition takes place, JOHNSON’S latest vision for the sport will start to become a reality on the very same track that will have played host to the Caribbean’s rising stars. There will be some rather more established names on show for the first of the four meetings – others will follow in Miami, Philadelphia and then LA – that form the inaugural staging of Grand Slam Track, the project being driven by the former 200m and 400m world record-holder which is promising to bring change to the sport.
In case you haven’t been following the story, Grand Slam Track is planning to do things a bit differently. Here’s the concept. A total of 48 athletes, or “Racers”, have already been signed up and are contracted to compete in one of six event groups in each of the four “Slams”. At each Slam, every Racer will have to take part in two different disciplines – for example, US star SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE will race over the 400m hurdles and the 400m flat, while her fellow American COLE HOCKER will take on not just his more familiar 1500m distance but also the 800m.
On top of that, those 48 Racers will come up against 48 “Challengers”, whose identities will be different from Slam to Slam, with the first prize for coming out on top being $100,000. It’s all designed to create a professional, and more lucrative, league that sits at the top of the sport, places the focus on rivalries rather than times and draws more attention. The biggest challenge, according to JOHNSON: “Was always going to be getting athletes to commit to competing against their primary rivals four times.” With those 48 Racers secured – including Olympic and world champions (36 of them won medals in Paris last summer) – that box has been very much ticked. After all the planning, now “execution mode” has been engaged as the spring approaches. It hasn’t all been plain sailing to reach this point, mind you. “You’re giving the athletes what they’ve always wanted, but you’re also asking them to change and so you expect that that’s going to be a little bit challenging for people,” says JOHNSON. “You’re going to always have some resistance but, by and large, the athletes are down with it.”
Would he have felt that way during his own competitive days if he had been approached to take part? “It would not have been difficult at all for me,” he adds. “I wanted this. I always understood how other professional sports work because, when I was competing as a sprinter, my best friends were NFL players and I saw how their sport worked versus my sport. I’ve always been a big Formula One fan and I saw how that sport worked versus our sport. I would have understood the trade-off. “And then I loved competing in the big championships. If you gave me an opportunity to compete against the best, that’s what I wanted to do. All of my records came when there were high stakes and I ran my best when I was competing against the best, so that’s what I wanted. For most of these athletes, I think that’s what they want as well. “That’s one of the things they cite – ‘I want the races to mean something. I want to compete against my rivals and that’s what’s going to bring out the best in me’.” Much has been written and spoken about Grand Slam Track before a single step has even been run and it could be argued that it’s already making an impact. Has it been a coincidence, for example, that the Diamond League prize pot for the year ahead has recently increased?
Those sums still pale in comparison to the earning power of some other sports, though, so how does JOHNSON see athletics being able to keep up when the choices available to the watching – and participating public – continue to grow? “At the grassroots level, certainly here in the US, there are significant participation numbers,” he says. “It’s the number one participation sport for girls in the US, and I think it’s number two for boys behind American football so that’s definitely a strength. We also have a very good college system. “Our biggest problem has always been that the sport has never had an actual league that sits at the top. So we would compare track to the NBA or the NFL or European league football – but that’s not the comparison. The comparison should be European league football, NFL, NBA, Formula One. Those are all leagues. We don’t have a league. We just call our sport the sport. We need a league that is exclusive for the best of the best athletes.” He adds: “Nobody talks about combat sports as the thing. It’s UFC. That’s the leader. We have never had that in athletics. We have the Olympics, which is not ours. It doesn’t belong to us as a sport. We have our World Championships, but it is not an exclusive league that takes place every year that is for the best of the best athletes. “That was one of the things that, when I first started this, I felt like the sport needed in order for it to continue to thrive. Grand Slam Track is that league.”
It was towards the end of last year that JOHNSON claimed: “I think I can save track”. He has the utmost confidence in the athletes being able to deliver their part of the bargain and excel. His job, he says, is to provide the means for those stories to be told on a grand scale, and to an audience that wants to keep coming back for more. The Paris Olympics and the performances that took place there were just about the perfect advert for athletics, so how much potential does the 57-year-old think the sport has? “We talk about that all the time and I think the issue is, because of the lack of anything else, we have been looking for years now for the next generational talent that’s going to help draw more attention back to the sport. I think that’s the wrong way to think about it because, if you think about it, at every Olympics the athletes are amazing. It’s not the lack of talent. “We keep looking to the athletes to help grow the sport, to get the sport over the top or ‘save’ the sport but there hasn’t been a single Olympic Games or World Championships over the last several years that wasn’t like: ‘Damn, this is amazing’.
“So it’s not the athletes. It is the lack of a structure to take those athletes and put them in a product that you can deliver to fans, that gets them excited every year, multiple times a year, with high stakes and a platform that showcases these personalities. “From my perspective, the talent has always been there, but this is the greatest collection of dynamic personalities I’ve seen in the sport in quite some time, and they’re doing an amazing job themselves of connecting with their fans, putting themselves out there, bringing the fans into their world, training, the struggles and all of the drama that it takes to be a professional track athlete. But what they’re lacking is a platform that boosts that and that’s what we’re trying to be as Grand Slam Track.” The level of ambition and aspiration is extremely high, but that doesn’t mean that all forms of realism have been parked at the door. JOHNSON isn’t about to claim all of athletics’ ills will have been cured by the end of June and his idea of what success would like come the end of year one is not only different from what you might expect, but also indicative of the fact that he and the investors who have put up $30 million are in this for the long run.
“The fact that we have signed these 48 Racers, now putting them on the track and letting them race… that’ll be a success,” he says. “What we want is to then put out a good product that is entertaining and presents the sport in a way that draws fans in and engages them in a new way. “And then, of course, the metric that I’m going to be looking at constantly is growth – in the numbers of fans that are coming into the stadium and watching, growth of our television audience over the season and growth of our engagement, whether it be social media or otherwise. “This is a start-up. I’ve been involved with many start-ups and you have to be realistic about what you can expect in year one. You have to be focused on growth, and you have to be structured in a way where you can grow. That’s how we’re structured.
“This is where a lot of fans and people in the sport are concerned [about the project]. They are welcoming of Grand Slam Track, but concerned about whether it can last, so they’ll apply methodology that makes sense to them, like: ‘You’ve got to have a full stadium in year one or you’re going to fail’. You don’t have to have a full stadium in year one. You have to keep growing over time. “Or they’ll say: ‘You’ve got to have all of the athletes and if you don’t have this one athlete who is the most popular, you’re going to fail’. No, you don’t have to have that one athlete. You have to have a lot of the really good athletes. “We know what’s possible, and we know what’s realistic, so I feel good about our chances to succeed based on our goals for year one. And then we’ll quickly get ready for year two.”
Whether that second year brings with it expansion into other parts of the world – there have been discussions with a number of cities – remains to be seen. The same goes for whether or not some of the big-name athletes who have been conspicuous by their absence, such as Noah Lyles and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, can be persuaded to come on board in future. JOHNSON’S vision, however, remains clear. “It has always been, from my perspective, [about] Grand Slam Track being able to immediately make change based on what we’re doing,” he says. “We’re changing the way that athletes compete, the way that fans are able to consume the product and enjoy track at the professional level.
“It has always been my opinion that that is going to spur on other change that the sport has needed for quite some time and that World Athletics has stated multiple times that they want to see. “Given that I think we’re just getting started, I think we’ll see more change in the sport in a positive direction. Someone had to start that. I think that Grand Slam Track can be that impetus for that change and we’re certainly going to try by leading with our examples and with our league. I’m hopeful it will spur on more change.”
ENGLAND ATHLETICS THROWS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER – Just received the January issue from NICK RIDGEON of England Athletics – England athletics January 2025 Throws Community Newsletter
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS NEW INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT– Many thanks to SEAN SUTHERLAND who undertook a review on the best way forward, following this a decision was made to set up a new account, and SEAN has now set that account up.
To follow our newInstagram account, from your own account, by searching for ‘shaftesbury_barnet’ or by clicking https://www.instagram.com/shaftesbury_barnet/
To Members and Parents, if you wish for any photographs to be posted on Instagram, please email them to sbh.instagram@outlook.com If you can at the same time give details on when and where the photographs was taken, plus any other comments.
Please feel free to post photographs of any special occasion, for example, your wedding day, an addition to the family.
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ON INSTAGRAM – Since the account was setup, there has been an amazing amount of Videos and Photographs contributed with many comments. There are 7 posts this week.
The first photograph was taken at the National Championships at Parliament Hill on 22 February, featuring our Under 13 Boys team who finished in an excellent 5th place, from left to right BEN KASPAR, LEWIS WARD, HARRISON HENDERSON and DENNYS PASCAL
The second photograph was also taken at the National Championships, featuring our Senior Men’s team who whose amazing race saw them winning the Silver Medals, from left to right THOMAS BUTLER, JAMIE DEE, JUDE BELL, SIMON KEENE, LIAM DEE, JEREMY DEMPSEY and DYLAN EVANS
The third photograph was taken at the UK Indoor Championships at Birmingham on 22-23 February, in an outstanding 60m Men’s Final JOHN OTUGADE finished in 2nd place (6.64i), qualifying for the European Indoor Championships
The fourth photograph was also taken at the UK Indoor Championships, in which KRISHAWN AIKEN won the Senior Men’s 200m Bronze Medal in a time of (21.37i)
The fifth photograph was also taken at the UK Indoor Championships, in which KIMANI JACK U23 who has had a consistent season, and won Senior Men’s High Jump Silver Medal with a jump of (2.03mi)
The sixth video was taken at the UK Indoor Championships, in which LINA NIELSEN set a personal best (51.77i) winning the Silver Medal in the 400m. The video was taken following her race, in which she opens up about her new MS Without Barriers campaign, in a bid to assist others on their diagnosis journey after the athlete was diagnosed at 17. LINA will be going into the House of Commons to voice her drive for people with MS. LINA said “I’ll be much more nervous for that than I am for these races.”
Finally a photograph of JEREMY DEMPSEY ploughing through the mud of Parliament Hill, going on to finish in 7th place in the Senior race in the National Cross Country Championships. With the team taking the Silver Medals, absolutely outstanding performance.
THE FOLLOWING IS CLUB INFORMATION ON VARIOUS TOPICS
SBH 2025 SUMMER FIXTURE CARD – The SBH 2025 Summer Fixture Card will be issued in Mid March 2025. You can see all dates/venues for all leagues SBH participate in, and other major fixtures. These can be found folowing ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ above, and is titles ‘A look ahead to the Summer’.
Information on each fixture will be published in the SBH Weekly Newsletter as and when available, this is the link to the current and previous SBH Weekly Newsletters – https://sbharriers.co.uk/news/
SBH 2024-2025 CROSS COUNTRY POINTS RACES – Take place throughout the season, the final winners hve now been determined.
Link to the final Men and Women’s points tables, following the National Championships at Parliament Hill on 22 February –Mens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25 Womens Cross Country Points Tables 2024-2025 Final Issue 22-02-25
SBH 2024-2025 CROSS COUNTRY CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP RACES – Take place throughout the season, the final winners hve now been determined.
Link to the final Men and Women’s Club Championship winners, following the 25 January Southern Championships – SBH Cross Country Club Championship Winners 2024-2025 Updated 25-01-25
STONEX STADIUM MEMBERSHIP – To use the StoneX Stadium facilities for training, SBH members are required to pay a fee. You can register as a member (which is free) which then entitles you to a discount. This is the link to the form to apply for membership – SBH StoneX Membership 2024-2025 The entrance fee on the membership form, cover the period 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025.
GEORGE HARRISON MBE MEMORIAL DOCUMENT – The document has been put together with contributors from LISA WEBB, MARTIN ROCHFORD, NADEEM SHAIKH, RACHEL FELTON, LIAM and JAMIE DEE, JAMES LOVELL, EMILIA ECONOMU, ALAN WELLER, KAREN HARRISON, TIM UNDERHILL, GLEN WATTS, JOANNA WINFIELD, SHAUN CLIFFORD and EUAN MACKENZIE – Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Memorial To George Harrison From Friends And Members 20 April 2023
If you wish to contribute your own memories and/or photographs of GEORGE, please email them to me, either within the email or as a separate attached word document.
CODES OF CONDUCT – SBH have now adopted the UK Athletics (UKA) and the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAF) Codes of Conduct which set out national standards of conduct for all clubs, coaches, officials, volunteers and athletes in the sport. The purpose of the codes are to clarify what behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable, the standards of practice expected and the basis for challenging and improving practice. The Codes are similar to our previous Codes of Conduct which were part of the previous ClubMark scheme. All club member and anyone undertaking a relevant role must agree to abide by the codes of conduct. The Codes of Conduct have now been put onto our Website, please read these to understand the commitments you are making by being a member of SBH.
Link to the Code of Conduct document – Codes Of Conduct Booklet 2021 (1)
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OF INTEREST CAN BE FOUND ON THE SBH WEBSITE BY USING THIS LINK – http://sbharriers.co.uk/
Section ‘About Us’, includes Annual Reports, Best Performance Trophy Awards, Individual And Relay Best Performances By Year, Club Records and SBH All-Time Top 10 T&F Performances.
Section ‘Team Managers And Competitions’, shows details of Track & Field, Cross Country and Road Relays Team Managers.
Section ‘Future Information/Results’, includes Information On Each Fixture, Summer & Winter Fixture Cards, Winter X/C Points Tables and Winter Club Championships Winners.
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS NEW CLUB KIT – They are now available to purchase from our club kit supplier, Supreme Sports – click on the link for the full range – https://www.supreme-sports.co.uk/webshop/schools-and-clubs/shaftesbury-barnet-harriers/
By opening the link, you will be on the front page, which displays the men’s items. Click on SBH LADIES for the women’s items, or click on SBH KIDS for the young athletes’ items.
CLUB HOODIES– With well over eight hundred hoodies already in circulation, this is your opportunity to join the club. The bright red hoody is made to order and has your name embroidered on the front along with the club badge and has the Club name on the back. We now have 2 styles, the original pull over style at £37 + P&P or the new one with a full zip at £40 + P&P.
Here is the link to the Supreme Sports website which if you click on it, will take YOU to the new Club Hoody and allow you to then view the full range of Club kit online – https://www.supreme-sports.co.uk/webshop/schools-and-clubs/shaftesbury-barnet-harriers/
ACCESS TO SBH CLUBHOUSE – The new Keyholders to the outside door are TY HOLDEN, CLYDE GORDON, NEVILLE THOMPSON, GREG THOMPSON, COLIN GODFREY and YAMILLE ALDAMA who all use the Clubhouse outside of normal stadium opening hours. GEOFF MORPHITIS and DAVE BEDFORD will also have a key. All other key fob holders can continue to gain access to the clubhouse via the (New) West Stand Entrance and the Trackside Door to the Clubhouse.
Link to note and details for further information – SBH Club House Door 20-01-23
PHOTOGRAPH’S – From time to time we have photographs of our members taken at meetings or presentations which we would like to use both on the website or incorporated within our report to our local newspaper. Can you please let me know if you do NOT want your photograph to be published. Also, I would appreciate if you could send me any photographs, which I can then publish on the website and newsletter.
FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.
CAN YOU HELP PLEASE – I would welcome any contributions From Yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents, also past warm weather training/holidays (No Club 24 please). Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.
CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF SHAFTESBURY INFORMATION – Currently I notify members (by email) using “MailChimp”. The reason I changed, was in November 2017 “Gmail” put a limit of 100 addresses that users could send to in a 24-hour period, and currently I send to approximately 850 members each issue.
On seeking technical advice “MailChimp” was recommended as the best way for SBH to go forward. There is one thing you should be aware off is that when you receive an email from me, the footer at the bottom has 4 options, of which one is “Unsubscribe Me From List”. Could I ask you not to select this as if you do you will be automatically removed from my distribution list.
SBH MIDWEEK POLE VAULT CLUB AT STONEX STADIUM – The current arrangements until further notice are that Pole Vault training is on Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 18.30pm to 21.00pm. Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk in advance and let him know if you are planning to attend.
SBH HIGH JUMPS GROUP AT STONEX STADIUM – High Jump training takes place on Monday’s from 19.00pm to 21.00pm. These sessions will be run by our High Jump Coach GRANT BROWN. There will be a charge of £10 per session.
Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk in advance and let him know if you are planning to attend
SBH TRAINING AND COACHING – Please see the 2024-2025 Winter Fixture Card, which gives details of Training and Coaching – A SBH Winter 2024-2025 Fixture Card Front Sheet Issued 02-09-24
POLE VAULTERS REQUIRED FOR 2025 – To all athletes young & old – are you aware of the SBH Pole Vault sessions held at StoneX Stadium on Monday & Wednesday evenings from 18.30pm. We have room to coach more of you, why not come along and watch a session and the get involved – give it a try NOW.
Please contact the session administrator CLYDE GORDON at clydeg67@hotmail.co.uk for more details.
STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT STONEX STADIUM – Check with your Coach for details of training times.
SBH PRIVACY STATEMENT – In becoming a member, SBH will collect certain information about you. Can you please read the attached ‘Privacy Statement’ which contains Information on General Data Protection Regulations – SBH Privacy Statement Final April 2018
STONEX STADIUM – Main Switchboard telephone number is 020 3675 7250.
STONEX STADIUM AWARDED TRACKMARK STANDARD – Congratulations on achieving the UK Athletics Quality Assurance Standards for StoneX Stadium. This is the letter from UK Athletics and certificate showing all area that achieved compliance – StoneX Stadium Award Letter 09.11.21StoneX Stadium Certificate
ALAN WELLER – SBH NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND WEBSITE MANAGER
