Happy Birthday from this Thursday 14 May to Chiyenne Adrien, Malachi Amadi, Sabrina Bakare, Evan Campbell, Dave Bradley, Oliver Graham, Asha Horbacki, Barnie Malladaine, James Musa, Haaris Mwagaza, Arthur Phillips, Lily Rachel and Michail Stamatogiannis
SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS CORONAVIRUS STATEMENT, UPDATED 24 MARCH – The following is a joint statement by SBH and Saracens SBH Coronavirus Statement 24.03.20 Rev A
ENGLAND ATHLETICS DRAFT COMPETITION PROGRAMME – England Athletics have just published May 2020 version 9 of The Draft Competition Programme for the period w/e 19 July to w/e 27 September. This sets the structure for joint men/women meetings which SBH hopes to follow.
All the promotions listed below are subject to: –
1. Government lifting the present lockdown by 1 July so as to allow group gatherings
2. UKA issuing specific instructions to allow compliance with Government requirements
3. Obtaining a sufficient number of appropriately qualified officials from the participating clubs
4. Facility availability
5. Securing a suitable First Aid provision
6. Receipt of the appropriate licences from UKA
Saturday 25 July – LICC (1) – Allianz Park – all age groups
Sunday 26 July – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (1) – Allianz Park – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL)
Sunday 2 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (1) – Bedford – U20 / Senior
Saturday 8 August – LICC (2) – Allianz Park – all age groups
Sunday 9 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (2) – Venue TBA – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL)
Sunday 16 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (2) – Venue TBA – U20 / Senior
Saturday 22 August – LICC (3) – Allianz Park – all age groups
Sunday 23 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (3) – Bromley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL)
Saturday 5 September – U15/U17 Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA
Sunday 6 September – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (3) – Venue TBA – U20 / Senior
Saturday 12 September – U20/Senior Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA
Saturday 19 September – U15/U17 England Championships – Venue TBA
Saturday 26 September – U20/Senior England Championships – Venue TBA
The British Championships are due to be held in Manchester on 8/9 August, however, they have not yet been confirmed.
A MESSAGE FROM ENGLAND ATHLETICS CEO CHRIS JONES – Which I received on the 12 May. Link to the message which includes a video from CHRIS JONES – England Athletics Message From Chris Jones 12 May
MARLI JESSOP TRAINING DURING LOCKDOWN – MARLI along with her mother LISA have developed a superb way to train, and at the same time she is entertaining the neighbours. The Video shows that social distancing especially from cars can be achieved. In the meantime, it has helped MARLI with motivation knowing that there is still a chance of competing this year. Video (1)
BRADLEY SINGER RUNS FOR THE NHS – Hi Alan on Thursday 7 May I did a marathon around where I live in Hadley Wood. It was for the NHS and I did a video which is on YouTube. This is the link to It – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxTRttYdMU4
DAVE BEDFORD TESTED AT THE FINISH – GEOFF WILLIAMS sent me this video of DAVE easily winning the London Cross Country Championships, which was held at Parliament Hill Fields on 24 November 1973, although it was a close finish as his Labrador Snoopy almost beat him, with JULIAN GOATER finishing 2nd. Also featured at the end of the finish funnel is HAROLD ASHTON. There are a few Shaftesbury vests in the video, does anyone recognise anyone (possibly TONY PACKHAM). Link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf9T0ZagfKg&feature=youtu.be&t=23
MULLER ANNIVERSARY GAMES – Due to take place on the 4-5 July has been cancelled.
BMC BANISTER VIRTUAL MILE – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website.
PIERS COPELAND (4:02) and LILY COWARD (4:38) post the quickest mile times overall at the end of the three-day event
The early racing on the third and final day of British Milers’ Club Bannister Virtual Miles action was particularly impressive as Manx athlete RACHAEL FRANKLIN breezed down the Douglas seafront to record (4:45).
However, further drama awaited as HOLLIE PARKER, based in Louisiana, returned (4:43) for the second quickest mile.
Lilly Coward’s 4:38 from day two remained as the fastest female solo mile effort.
Multiple masters record-holder CLARE ELMS clocked (5:14), with the W55 athlete’s score of 103% easily topping the age-grading.
The men’s time trial had even more fireworks as GB cross country international ADAM HICKEY returned a swift (4:09) to challenge the overnight lead of 4:07.
Welsh Commonwealth Games athlete and sub-3:39 1500m man TOM MARSHALL moved into second with (4:06) in the early evening.
MARSHALL’S coach JAMES THIE sped to (4:29) for the fastest M40 time. Their fellow Welshman OSIAN PERRIN was out of the blocks early with (4:15), an under-20 lead.
DANNY RAY also ran (4:15) in the grounds next to Iffley Road.
However, in true ‘Bannister’ style the event was brought to a fitting finale when European under-23 silver medallist PIERS COPELAND, who ran 3:38 for 1500m indoors this winter, flew down the banks of the River Stour to return a stunning (4:02) which remained as the quickest mile at the end of the three days.
The event has now surpassed its £1609 target for the Turn2Us coronavirus appeal, with the fundraising page still open at justgiving.com/fundraising/british-milers.
Almost 1200 competitors took part and the BMC would like to express their gratitude to the running community for celebrating the 66th anniversary of Roger Bannister’s era-defining achievement in such tough times in a friendly yet competitive spirit in aid of charity.
Read more about the virtual event here.
A day one round-up can be found here, while a day two report is here.
Results can be found here.
SBH Results – JAKE SHELLEY 17th (4:17), TIM PARKIN V40 689th (5:41)
SCOTT LINCOLN IN IN VIRTUAL SHOT PUT REMATCH – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website.
Elite competition will again feature SOPHIE MCKINNA and SCOTT LINCOLN against top U20s LEWIS BYNG and SERENA VINCENT, with wider contest open to all
After losing by just a single centimetre in the inaugural Valhalla Virtual Shot Put Competition earlier this month, British champions SCOTT LINCOLN and SOPHIE MCKINNA will face top under-20 athletes LEWIS BYNG and SERENA VINCENT once more in a rematch on May 25. The free-to-enter event, which has been created by SCOTT’S coach PAUL WILSON, will again be open to throwers from around the world. The first event, which was held on May 3, when SCOTT should have been competing at a meet in Poland which was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, had over 210 entries from countries including New Zealand, Namibia, South Africa, Costa Rica, Sweden, USA, Ireland and the UK. In the elite competition, the team result featured the best throw by each athlete, plus a 1.5m handicap for the juniors. The junior team won with 37.69m to the seniors’ 37.68m.
The action was streamed live by Vinco Sport and Wilson is now seeking the support of a sponsor to allow the second event to be live streamed too. “Following on from the amazing success we had after the first Valhalla Virtual Shot Put Competition and the number of people who messaged me thanking me and asking if there would be another one, I decided to go ahead and create number two,” said WILSON. “Also, having spoken to the four athletes who did the live stream competition, they wanted a rematch straight away and enjoyed the format and the opportunity to compete. “For me, it was inspiring to see so many happy faces competing and the amount of effort a lot went to in creating their own special numbers, some created their own score cards and some drew their own circles. We had athletes aged from nine to in their 70s. “This also gives us a chance to raise even more money for our heroes in the NHS. Having now broken £1500, it would be great to raise over £2000.” The fundraising page for entrants wishing to donate to the NHS can be found at justgiving.com/fundraising/valhallavirtualshotcomp
READ MORE: GB juniors win virtual shot put contest “The main thing to remember is that the competition is fun and to keep people active with a competitive edge,” added WILSON. “Everyone was eager to see the results from across the world.” The event again has support from athletic equipment supplier Neuff, who have offered a discounted rate for people wanting to order their own shot put to use in the virtual competition. Before the first competition, however, Wilson was keen to stress that in this case, having an official implement is not required. “There are so many athletes who don’t have their own implements,” he said. “What I have suggested to these people is, just throw a tin of beans or, if you’re in a park, find a rock!” To enter the event on May 25, athletes should email their name, date of birth and country, plus PB and weight of shot if applicable, to valhallathrowsacademy@outlook.com. Although results will not be official to count towards rankings, all of the throws from the competition will be collated and spreadsheets with the results will be posted.
DEATH OF COACH STAN HARRY – The club is deeply saddened to learn of the death on Sunday 3 May of long-standing sprint coach STAN HARRY, aged 72, we have been told that Covid-19 was a factor in his death. SHEREEN CHARLES said the Stan was her former coach and the coach to many of our athletes who came from Ealing, Southall & Middlesex, and was a much-loved club member and a dedicated coach who had served the club since the late 1980s. Despite moving out of the area after his second marriage some 20 years ago, he continued to travel by public transport to Perivale athletics track three times a week to coach his squad, as well as supporting them in competition – most recently at the Middlesex Indoor Championships in March. He will be greatly missed. Sympathies are extended to his widow PAULA and to his wider family.
THE STORY OF COACHING – The following was written by TOM MCNAB, part 1 of 2.
Q When did athletics coaching begin?
A There is no precise date, but probably when the Ancient Olympic Games moved from being the province of amateurs to one of full-time professionals, supported and rewarded by Greek city-states, and that would be around the fifth century b.c.
Q So we have had about nine hundred years of coaching?
A Yes. At least until the final Olympics of 390a.d., but it’s likely that the circuit of Games around the Mediterranean lasted beyond the end of the Olympic Games, taking coaching with it.
Q So Greece had a highly-developed athletics culture?
A Yes. Probably the most sophisticated competitive set-up until the 1970s, with at their centre the Crown Games of the Olympic, Isthmian, Delphic and Nemean. Every Crown Games was dedicated to a god. In the case of the Olympics, it was Zeus. On the other hand, the Greeks didn’t have a recreational sports-structure in any way equivalent to what we have now.
Q The equivalent of the modern health club?
A Yes, but culturally much richer, much more diverse, in that the gymnasium was also a centre for poetry, debate and discussion. From there it was a fairly big step to professional, working-class athletes, supported by the city-state. That was a different world.
Q Their treatment of athletes was roughly like the old Communist system?
A Yes. To win at the Olympics meant that the victor received from his city a pension, cash, a house, or a statue in his honour. The word “athlete” comes from “athlos”, meaning competition or prize. So, though the Olympic Games themselves offered the athlete no money, they offered a fortune to him on return to his home. Remember too that the idea of competition for its own sake or personal bests meant nothing to the Greeks. The Olympic Games offered no second prizes.
Q So the coach was important?
A Yes.The paidotribes was an extremely important person. Indeed, one of them, Herodicas of Megara, was mentor to Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.
Q But surely the coaches themselves followed the medical theory of the day?
A Yes, but based on the Humours, it was pretty much useless to both the coaches and the doctors as a training, diagnostic or curative tool. But the coach was able to go well beyond the limitations of the Humours, and soon worked out for himself what produced speed, strength and endurance- the Greeks even created a rough form of periodization, the tetrad.
Q So the coach was in some ways ahead of the doctor?
A Yes. The coach didn’t cure the sick, but he created supermen. The doctor, although he didn’t know it, relied heavily on self-cure or on the placebo-effect. After all, the understanding of the true nature of disease was over fifteen hundred years away. So, the Greek doctor’s “cure” consisted mainly of purging, sweating, fasting and bleeding, plus a handful of herbal remedies.
Q But these methods were also used by the coach?
A Yes, but the coach added to that strength, endurance and speed-training, and this filtered back into the gymnasium, and spurred the development of health-related exercise. The Greeks initially saw sport as a means of creating warriors, but over the years they saw that, although it was essential to be fit, specialised athletics ability was no guarantee of success in battle.
Q The coaches didn’t know, in any scientific terms, how it worked, but simply used trial and error?
A Yes. The Greek coaches found out over time how to develop athletic qualities. And they even experimented with diet, attempting to find foods that would give their athletes bang for the buck.
Q But mainly vegetarian?
A Yes. The Greeks ate very little meat. But they developed all kinds of theories on what was best to eat, and even at one point debated on the value of eating fish that foraged at great depths.
Q Was this the first technical coaching?
A Yes, but this element of coaching was not to re-appear till the first decade of the twentieth century. Their technical training related to javelin, discus and long jump, events which only appeared in the Olympics in pentathlon. Alas, the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria meant that pretty much all record of what they did is lost to us. We have only the sculpture and the vases, one of which show the coach playing the pipes as the long jumper runs in to the take-off.
Q So the Greeks had advanced coaching substantially during the 776b.c. – 390a.d. period.
A Yes, and they had invented starting blocks and a starting gate! This was a very rich sports culture indeed.
Q And you are saying that there was around 1500 years before any such coaching again in athletics?
A Yes. This was the late 18th century in track and the late 19th century in field events. The athletics trainers of the 18th and 19th century worked exclusively with professional walkers and runners, and were essentially conditioners. Pedestrianism was a culture which grew rapidly in the mid-19th century with the growth of the railway system, as did rural sports like the Highland Games. But it was not until the last quarter of the 19th century, with the five and a half day week, the entry of the Olympics, and the rapid growth of university athletics in America that field event coaching really began to take off.
Q Why were the Americans first?
A Our amateur sport was, on the one hand, harrier-based and on the other rooted in our public schools and universities. The latter saw themselves as naturally superior and with no need for coaching, and the harrier world was non-technical.
Q These early trainers of pro runners-they followed similar methods to the Greeks?
A Yes, not because of any classical scholarship, but because medicine had changed little since Greek times. So it was a programme of purging, bleeding, fasting, sweating and emetics, similar to the training of animals. And remember the professional set-up was based on match-racing or major pedestrian carnivals, with the athlete very much like a professional boxer, going into hibernation between competitions. It was a Scot, Captain Barclay Allardice, who first outlined these methods back in 1813, but they essentially reflected earlier, 18th century methods.
Q When were these methods discarded?
A Most of them by the early years of the 20th century, even by the professionals, And they had no place in what was now a growing but essentially recreational amateur sport.
Q When were the first books on track and field coaching?
A The final decade of the 19th century, with a relatively modest book by the Irish-American Mike Murphy, the inventor of the crouch start. The Americans had brought a coach, the Scot John Graham, with them to the first Olympics of 1896. Graham wrote what was probably the next book on track and field coaching around 1905. In 1913, Mike Murphy wrote a definitive book, three years after F. A. M. Webster had written “Olympian Field events”. By that time, the Americans were employing professional coaches in their schools universities and clubs, often doubling up in other sports..
Q Where did Webster come from?
A The Army. Up till that point, coaches had been working-class “trainer”-types, concerned only with running and walking. Webster broke that mould. He was middle-class, from the public school system. In 1910, he formed The Field Events Club, and travelled round England putting on field-event displays. Webster was a remarkable man, pursuing a lonely path in a world of harriers, public schools and Oxbridge till his death in 1949.
Q But there were earlier books on running?
A Yes, in the early years of the19th century with Captain Barclay ,. Later works were mainly from ex-runners like W.G. George and Alf Shrubb, though Sam Mussabini published his first book in 1908.
Q Was there any coaching in Europe?
A Yes, in Scandinavia and Germany, both nations with strong gymnastic traditions. It is worth noting that most European teams had as early as the London 1908 Games secured support from their governments in travelling to London. In contrast, our government refused to have anything to do with the London Olympics.
Q But we did well in 1908.
A Yes, but without a single medal in a field event.
Q Were there any ongoing developments in Europe?
A Yes. In 1911, the Swedes, who had done badly in London, appointed a Swedish-American athletics coach Hjertberg to train their coaches in preparation for the 1912 Stockholm Games. After a year, they realised that this would have no impact upon 1912 performance and directed him towards practical coaching in the 1911-12 period. This meant basing their Olympic athletes in the Stockholm stadium for over three months prior to the Games.
Q Didn’t this breach amateur rules -their athletes would have to leave their work?
A Of course it did, but the rules were rather like having a maiden aunt who was constantly getting pregnant-they were always ignored to suit convenience. The Swedes did excellently in Stockholm.
Q And what happened to us in in 1912, in Stockholm?
A There our overall medal- count was only around a third of the 1908 Olympics total. So in 1913, as a response to our Stockholm failure, we created the Duke of Westminster’s Fund, aimed at raising £100, 000 to fund the preparation of future Olympic teams, using professional coaches in cycling athletics and swimming.
Q Did it raise that sum?
A No, just short of £10,000, but enough to fund the appointment of coaches in swimming, cycling and athletics. Our first National Coach was the Scots-Canadian Highland Games athlete W. R. Knox, (who had achieved 7.m20 in long jump and 14m.in shot) and who was to be supported by nine regional coaches. Alas, his position lasted only from March 1914 to April 1914, and Knox departed to seek gold in the Yukon.
Q And that was the end of the development of athletics coaching in this country in that period?
A Not quite. For Webster kept ploughing his lonely furrow, Oxbridge employed “trainers” like Alec Nelson, while Sam Mussabini worked with London A.C. But our school and university culture in no way matched that of the USA, even in those early days. The American system reflected a competitive culture, a nation of dedicated to self-improvement.
In contrast, ours reflected a complacent middle class which saw Britain as the creator of modern sport and they and their kind as being naturally superior to other nations, whatever the evidence to the contrary. Even back in 1895, when London A.C. had been whipped 11-0 by New York A.C. the penny had not dropped. For a brief moment, the 1913 Duke of Westminster’s programme, (which was very advanced for its time), looked like being a way out, but it vanished after the Great War.
Q Were coaches deployed by us at the Olympics in that post-war period?
A Yes, but only once. In 1924 McLernan (Liddell’s coach) and Sgt. Starkey, a Highland Games athlete, were employed as “trainers” to our Paris team. After that, there was nothing until 1952.
Q Where did Sam Mussabini fit in?
A Nowhere, really. You see, we had no school or club competitive structure in track and field, an essential if coaching is to develop as a profession. There was no interest in coaching amongst our harriers, and a track and field set-up heavily-based on handicap running-events was not fertile ground for the development of coaching.
Q How good was Mussabini?
A In his time, Mussabini was exceptional, and Webster expressed great admiration for him, even deploying him as his coach in a failed attempt to make the 1924 team in javelin. But Sam, though clearly an excellent man-manager, had nothing much to offer in any technical sense-indeed his ideas on cross-arm action and forward lean in sprinting appear to have been quite rightly ignored by Abrahams.
Q And Webster?
A It is difficult, at this distance, to estimate how good a coach he was, since he had very little material of quality with which to work. Dick Webster was an athlete of limited ability but he finished equal 6th in the 1936 Olympic vault with 4m. His father went on to coach him to vault 3m.80 in the 1948 Olympics, after Dick had spent six years in the Army.
HOW SIR ROGER BANISTER FOR AND RAN HIS SUB-FOUR-MINUTE MILE – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website
SIR ROGER BANNISTER’S iconic achievement 66 years ago is recalled by TIM BRENNAN and analysed by MATT LONG
Almost 2000 athletes will by now have paid their own tribute to the great man by lacing up their trainers to take part in the BMC’s Bannister Virtual Mile Time Trials which conclude today. In 2016, BMC chair TIM BRENNAN was fortunate enough to be part of ‘An Audience with SIR ROGER BANNISTER’. Four years later, it’s an evening in Reading that will live with him forever. Here he shares the late great man’s memories of that unforgettable day on May 6, 1954. On the day of the record attempt, SIR ROGER went into his hospital laboratory which had a grindstone. Back in the 1950s, spikes were fixed to the running shoe and the aim was to give a sharp finish. With attention to detail, SIR ROGER rubbed graphite into the spikes so that the cinders from the track would not stick to the shoe. His travel to Oxford was by train and at this stage he was still in doubt as to whether the attempt should go ahead as weather conditions were decidedly windy and the thought was that conserving energies for more favourable conditions could be the right choice.
His charismatic coach FRANZ STAMPFL was an exuberant character who implored him: “If you have a chance and don’t take it because of conditions you may never forgive yourself”. Eventually as he stared up from the changing room at the flag flying from the nearby church tower he felt that the wind was reducing and announced to his pacemakers that the attempt was on. The gun went and as they completed the first lap BANNISTER recalled feeling “so easy”, as he called “faster, faster” to CHRIS BRASHER who had the good sense to ignore him as they hit the quarter mile at 58 seconds. The pre-race target was sustained through the half mile at 1:58 before CHRIS CHATAWAY took up the running and hit the three-quarter mile mark in 3:01. Sensing the moment, with 260 yards to go BANNISTER strode out with the pain etched on his face as he forced himself through the remaining yards down the home straight feeling that the “tape was receding”. Once over the line, he had no idea if the attempt had been successful as he collapsed into the arms of his coach for what would be one of the sports’ most iconic and enduring images.
These were the days of pre-electronic timing and stopwatches had to be compared thus ensuring a wait ensued. The announcer, NORRIS MCWHIRTER, milked the moment as the anticipation in the Oxford air was tangible: “The result of event 10, the one mile.” … pause … “Is won by ROGER BANNISTER of Merton and Exeter colleges” … pause … “In a time which subject to ratification is” … pause … “A new track, British, Commonwealth, European and world record” … pause … “Of three…” The rest was lost in the noise and excitement of the crowd, but the important digit was known. At long last a mile had been won in three minutes-something.
When interviewed about the physiological underpinnings of his achievement, SIR ROGER would famously say: “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you’ve got”. Psychology aside, MATT LONG digs a little deeper into his training diaries: In terms of cumulative aerobic volume, in running three or four times a week, SIR ROGER averaged less than 30 miles per week in the winter phase of periodisation, regressing to just 15 miles per week during the competition phase of the macro-cycle, which seems staggering by today’s standards.
Bannister’s affiliation to the so-called ‘Paddington Lunchtime Club’ enabled him to fit training around his considerable commitments as a final year medical student at St Mary’s Hospital in London. This being said, the running contribution to his aerobic development was complemented by hiking and his strength endurance by mountain climbing. One of his favourite track sessions was 3 x 1.5 miles (at around 14:30 pace for 5km). Away from the track, AAA’s coach JIM ALFORD had been heavily influenced by the thinking of the great Swede, GOSTA HOLMER, and he signposted BANNISTER to the playing fields of Harrow School to effect fartlek based training in the winter months. Physiologist Dr HERBERT REINDEL laid the academic foundations for 1930s German coach Dr WOLDEMAR GERSCHLER to make developments in interval training. BANNISTER’S lynchpin session on the ash track near the Paddington hospital was 10 x 440 yards (effected with a rolling 440 yard jog recovery in approximately 2 minutes). Progressive overload was achieved not by increasing the number of repetitions, nor by reducing the recovery, but rather more simply by incrementally increasing the speed of the reps. Monthly progression through the winter towards the summer season would see his rep times get quicker by around one second, from 66 seconds in October to well below 60 seconds by May. BANNISTER’S approach was geared towards engendering race pace specificity and he regularly effected three-quarter mile time trials at Motspur Park in Surrey and is reputed to have beaten the unofficial world best for this distance, previously held by legendary Swede ARNE ANDERSSON.
Any decent coach will tell you that to look over your shoulder in a race is a cardinal sin of our sport. Those of you who ran in the BMC BANNISTER Virtual Time Trials had no need to do so for your nearest and indeed only rival would have been yourself. This being said, the Jamaican political activist MARCUS GARVEY once poignantly commented: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – so on this day of all days we are thus allowed more than a glance over the shoulder to those Iffley cinders, which burned 66 years ago today.
THE FOLLOWING SBH DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION CAN EITHER BE VIEWED, DOWNLOADED OR PRINTED
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Front Sheet – Summer 2020 Fixture Card Front Sheet Final Issue 12-02-20
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Fixtures, Updated 30-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 30-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures
Track and Field Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/track-field/team-managers/
Road Running Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/road-running/team-managers/
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OF INTEREST CAN BE FOUND ON THE SBH HOME PAGE BY USING THIS LINK, THEN SELECT THE LEFT OR RIGHT ARROW – http://sbharriers.co.uk/
Allianz Park Membership, which gives SBH members 10% discount on entry to the Allianz Park stadium – Membership details and Form can be either printed or downloaded
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Club Hoody, information on how to purchase one, please go to the bottom of this Newsletter
SBH MIDWEEK JUMPS CLUB AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended. POLE VAULTERS REQUIRED FOR 2020 – Currently Suspended. STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended.
CAN YOU HELP PLEASE – During the period when all competitions are suspended, I will do my upmost in keeping the Newsletter information and other content going.
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).
YOU CAN JOIN TY HOLDEN’S CIRCUIT SESSION ON ZOOM – TY will be holding a circuit session on Zoom, which is a conferencing platform, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6pm. If you wish to join, please email TY at dtyholden@yahoo.co.uk and he will email you an ID number for you to join in. Zoom can accommodate up to 100 users at a time.
WORLD ATHLETICS SUSPEND OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION PERIOD – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website,
World Athletics has announced that the qualification period for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been suspended until the start of December, ruling out any results which might be recorded from April 6 2020 to November 30 2020. During that period, performances will also not be considered for world rankings purposes. Results will continue to be recorded for statistical purposes, including for world records, World Athletics added.
The global governing body also confirmed that athletes who have already met the entry standard since the start of the qualification period in 2019 remain qualified and will be eligible for selection, together with other athletes who qualify within the new qualification period. Subject to the global situation returning to normal following the coronavirus pandemic, the qualification period will resume on December 1, 2020, and will run until May 31, 2021, for 50km race walk and marathon events and until June 29, 2021, for all other events. “I am grateful for the detailed work and feedback from our Athletes’ Commission and Council who believe suspending Olympic qualification during this period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions,” said World Athletics president SEB COE. Some rescheduled events are currently set to fall within the window of suspension, meaning that results recorded at races such as the Virgin Money London Marathon, which is now due to take place on October 4 rather than April 26, will not count for Olympic qualification purposes. There are still plans for the European Championships to take place in Paris in August too but should the event go ahead, performances achieved there would also not be considered as Olympic qualifying marks.
Britain’s DAI GREENE was among the athletes to give reaction to the news on social media, with the 2011 world 400m hurdles gold medallist describing it as an “excellent decision”. “Short term safety is more important than athletes having to make risky decisions to chase qualification marks later in the summer,” he added. “Takes a lot of pressure off during an already stressful time.” While Britain’s European indoor 3000m silver medallist CHRIS O’HARE wrote: “European athletes still have to hit standards to qualify for European champs. Potential situation – An athlete runs an Olympic standard in a European Championship or British Championship (both apparently still going ahead) but it doesn’t count?”
ENGLAND ATHLETICS CORONAVIRUS HELP FOR ATHLETES – Many thanks to TUNJI who as reported on the 19 March newsletter is the father of NIAH AKINTOKUN.
In these unprecedented times, I wanted to draw the club’s attention to some of the great resources available online. England Athletics is expanding its campaign to support Athletics and Running for everyone @home, with a focus on ‘Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here
There are many webinars, interviews and tips from top coaches and athletes on how to stay conditioned and focused.
In addition, there are some fantastic videos for 4-11yr olds on the Funetics webpage put together in conjunction with England Athletics. The videos demonstrate parents and children (aged 4-11) taking part in FUN activities based on fundamental core movement skills: running, jumping and throwing. Funetics is a programme that has been designed to reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2. At this time when our children are currently schooling at home, we hope that these video activities will support the need for education to continue at home. You can access the videos here TUNJI AKINTOKUN MBE – Non Executive Director, England Athletics
TRAINING VIDEOS PRODUCED BY JADE LALLY – JADE has recently produced two videos relating to the basic fundamentals for Discus, this is the link to JADE’S first video on How To Hold A Discus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA9jyS4Wung&t=6s the second video is on Discus Basics: Foot Placement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ahzDmrldk
PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended
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.
UPCOMING SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS FIXTURES AND OTHER FOR THE NEXT 4 WEEKS – Due to the Coronavirus situation, all fixtures until the end of April and part May have been cancelled. We have also been advised that the Lee Valley Athletic Centre fixtures have been cancelled until the End of May
All fixtures have been Cancelled until the Tuesday 30 June, this is the link to the SBH Fixture Card updated on the 30 April – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 30-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures
The following fixtures have now been Cancelled
World U20 Championships due to take place from Tuesday 7 July to Sunday 12 July
English Schools Championships due to take place on Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July
European U18 Championships due to take place from Thursday 16 July to Sunday 19 July
Olympic Games due to take place from Friday 31 July to Sunday 9 August
Virgin London Marathon and Mini Marathon due to take place on Sunday 26 April has been Postponed, and is rescheduled to take place on Sunday 4 October
UK Championships due to take place on Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June has been Postponed, and is rescheduled to take place on Saturday 8 August and Sunday 9 August
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 used. Also, I would appreciate if you could send me any photographs, which I can then publish on the website and newsletter.
CLUB EMBROIDERED RED HOODIES – Currently there are now over 750 Hoodies in circulation, this is the link giving details on how you can order your Club Hoody for £35, which includes having your name embroidered on the front Club Hoodies Updated 01-07-19
FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.
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 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
ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.
CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is closed for athletics until the 31 May.
ALAN