Biggleswade AC March 2004

The AGM - Tuesday 23rd March 2004

The AGM of the Club is to be held on 23rd March in the Purcell Room at the Weatherly Centre, Biggleswade at 8.00pm. The AGM is a very important event in the life of the club and provides the opportunity for members to make their own views known about how the club is being run, and to make suggestions for the future. It is also the time when the new committee is elected. Please put the date in your diaries and make every effort to attend. (Only paid up members over the age of 17 may vote at an AGM).

If you have any item of business that you would like added to the agenda of this meeting then please advise Stuart Galloway by 1st March at the latest. There will be no Agenda item of "Any Other Business" on the night.

If you wish to nominate any member to serve on the committee this must be made in writing with the agreement of the person concerned and supported by one other club member. Such nominations should also be sent to Stuart Galloway, by 9th March at the latest. Prior nominations in writing take precedence over nominations on the evening.

All existing members of the committee are willing to stand again and we already have a nomination for a new member. This indicates that we are a really vibrant club with a lot of keen people willing to help in a very positive way.

SANDY 10 - Sunday 4th April
As most of you are aware, our club organises this ever popular race. We already have over 50 people registered to run the event, so the race limit of 400 may well be reached this year. We would welcome as much support as possible from members and friends on the day. People have been very complementary about the organisation of the race in the past but we can only keep up this high standard with your help. Quite a few members have already pledged their support, for which we are very grateful. If you feel that you can help please advise Nigel Bush or Stuart Galloway. Remember, it is an unwritten club rule that members of the club do not run the event unless they can provide somebody to help out in their stead.

Schools Cross-Country Relays, Rowney Warren
Tuesday March 16th
The Club are again organising the Schools Cross-Country Relays at Rowney Warren on Tuesday March 16th, beginning at 4pm. It looks as if we might have another record turn-out for this Club organised event. It takes place in little over an hour (4.20 - 5.30pm) but is very hectic with close to 300 children taking part. All offers of help (marshalls, recorders, timekeepers etc) will be very gratefully received. Please let Ken, David or Stuart know if you may be available to help.

Appeal for results
Please forward results to David Brown, who compiles Club records and statists. David also does this job for the Bedfordshire County AAA to enable team selection. Without these results, the county may not send the best athlete for various county events, and you may miss out on county selection. David needs all Road and Track-and-Field results.

Club Membership - Annual Subscriptions
Annual subscriptions became due on 1st January 2004. Membership is still only Ł12 for seniors and Ł5 for juniors and Second Claim members. Don't forget that it is a Club Rule that you may not compete for the Club after 31st January if your subscription has not been renewed. Many thanks to those of you who have re-joined - we currently have 72 paid-up members, somewhat down on the 110 that we had at the end of 2003. Maybe summer time will attract some of the youngsters back - the new track certainly will!

The Tuesday Night Programme

All events start at 7pm unless stated, and are on a Tuesday. Meet inside the bar area of the Weatherley Centre. Any future ideas for programme activities should be passed to Gavin or one of the committee. We hope you will all find these events enjoyable, they are designed to improve your running and over-all fitness - all feedback is welcome.

   Mar   2   Hare and Tortoise racing on a 600m loop.
   Mar   9   Hill training (we may meet else where due to the light)
   Mar 16   Dells Lane / Holmecourt Ave (and Fartlek if required)
   Mar 23   Speed work with Steve (You know you love it!!!)
   Mar 30   Biggleswade Boundary
   Apr   6   Away day - running from Biggleswade to Sandy (return transport to be discussed)
   Apr 13   being rearranged

Leagues, Series, and Other Events

Windsor Winter Season
Enter on the day - see David Brown

Sun 7 Mar 60 M/60 M Hurdles, LJ, TJ, Shot

Southern Mens and Womens Leagues
All dates are Saturdays. Please note we have been given two home fixtures for each of the mens' and womens' matches. At Southend (Womens 24th April) we are co-hosts, it our responsibility to run and score our match. All assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Our main concern is the joint fixtures on May 22nd, where the womens and mens are on the same day. Assistance to judge/transport etc is required.

*Month*	Mens League		Womens League
Apr			24th	Southend (Home Fixture)
May	1st 22nd	Hemel Hempstead Thurrock (Joint Fixture)	22nd	Ilford (Joint Fixture)
Jun	26th	Luton (Home Fixture)	5th	?????
Jul	10th 31st	Walthamstow Stevenage (Home Fixture)	3rd	Kings Lynn
Aug	14th	?????	7th	Uxbridge
Sep			11th	Luton (Home Fixture)

Eastern Young Athletes League provisional dates
All dates are Sundays. Open to all club members between the ages of 11 and 17 on 31 Aug 2004

May 2nd Bedford (Home match - we will need plenty of helpers)
May 30th St Ives
June 20th Cambridge
July 25th St Ives again
Sep 12th Divisional finals

New Members

Welcome to the following athletes who have recently been elected members of the Club:

  Laura Gilbert - sister to Nick, Laura is a junior and lives in Potton
  George Humberstone - George is a junior and also lives in Potton
  Justin Best - Justin is a junior and comes from Shefford
  Joanne Goodyear - Joanne is a junior and lives in Biggleswade
  Sharron Best - Sharron is a senior and mum to five of our members; she lives in Shefford
Glad to have you on board folks, and best of luck with your running.

Coaching Sessions

6 Mar - Track and field Training session, Bedford Athletic Stadium at 9am
For juniors and seniors - Steve will be taking an endurance session and there will be groups for sprints, throws and jumps. See a coach for further details

New Athletic Track
and
PLANNED MOVE OF THE CLUB HEADQUARTERS

All still seems to be on target for the completion of the track by August or September this year. There has been a slight hold on obtaining planning permission because Beds CC has yet to provide a 25 year lease for the project. However, MBDC are confident that this is just a formality. We are continuing to advise the school and architects on the final layout of the facility. Six contractors will be invited to bid. The next meeting is to be held on Friday 26th March.

With the advent of the track being built at Sandy Upper School, the committee have decided that we should move the headquarters of the Club to that School - in Engayne Avenue, Sandy. It is vital that we have direct access to the new track and we are in the early phases of negotiating our usage of the facilities. The headteacher of the school, Marie Baker, has been very supportive of the club over the last year or so and we in turn wish to develop a much closer working relationship with the school, which has recently obtained Specialist Sports College Status.

Accordingly, we are planning to move to the new premises on Tuesday 13th April (just after Easter). A grass track will be marked out at the school while the new track is being laid so we will not miss out on any training/coaching sessions. Club nights will remain as Tuesdays and Thursdays and we will let you all know of the new details as to where we will meet etc. as soon as we have made final arrangements with the School.

Club Weekend Trip - 2004

The search is on to find a suitable overseas race for our club trip.
Possible candidates include:

La Transbaie (a 14km off road event in Northern France)

Brussels 20k

Middlekerke Belgium 10 and 21km

Marathon Du Cognac (if you like cognac at drink stations)

Lausanne Half marathon; Aletsch Half Marathon (Europe's highest half - http://www.bettmeralp.ch/e/gletscherlauf/; check it out - this looks good!)

Club Web Site

This may be undergoing a revamp - if you have any ideas then contact to Ken Prior (01767 260592) or Tim Huxtable (01462 629006).

Veteran Athletics

Are you a lady over 35 or a man over 40? Then you qualify as a "Veteran" or "Master" in athletics. This opens up a whole new world of competition because you can compete against athletes of your own age; especially pleasurable if you are getting bored with beating the younger runners! For example, the Eastern Veterans Athletic Club (EVAC) stage numerous competitions throughout the year for track and field, road and cross country. If you would like to know more about EVAC, see www.sparshott.btinternet.co.uk/evac or contact Nigel Bush.

NEWS FOR YOUNG ATHLETES

Sports Hall Challenge

We have again been challenged by Riverside and by Huntingdon AC to a junior Sports Hall Challenge at 10:00amon Sunday 21st March at Biggleswade Recreation Centre. We are the holders and we do NOT want to lose. This is open to ALL juniors.
Any helpers very welcome to this raucous event - contact Ken/David/Mark for information.

Indoor high jump sessions

The next session is on Friday March 19th, at 9pm in the small gym at Biggleswade Recreation Centre. All are welcome but please let Ken know if you would like to come.

Hurdles Clinic, Chelmsford
There is a Hurdles Clinic at the Chelmsford Indoor Arena with the Top coach in the UK, former UK athlete Lloyd Cowan, open to all U15/17/20 's with previous hurdling coaching. For more information contact David Brown, Biggleswade AC's Hurdles Coach.

Sun 14 Mar 11.30 - 14.00

BIGGLESWADE ATHLETIC CLUB

Newsletter : MARCH 2004

BIGGLESWADE ATHLETIC CLUB