February 20th is the new date for day 2 of the Junior Indoor Open Meeting. See full details here:

Hi East Wales athletes, parents and coaches
Unfortunately I have the disappointing news that all junior regional development programme sessions in Wales organised for 18th December, including the East Wales endurance training session at Bryn Mawr track, have been cancelled. This decision has been made due to the increased threat of Covid 19 moving into the Christmas period. It is felt that bringing large groups of individuals together from different clubs at a time where we could see a rise in Covid cases was not a sensible option, especially with some indoor activities planned on the day.
Thank you to all athletes and coaches who had already signed up for the training session. I am very sorry for the disappointment, I know I was really looking forward to the session and am very disappointed it is not now able to go ahead. We are looking to see if alternative dates can be arranged, but with a full fixture calendar of indoor races in January and cross country races in February and March still currently going ahead, I am not sure if a free date will be available.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Many thanks
Steve Mitchell(East Wales Welsh Athletics regional coordinator for endurance)

Currently we have a vacancy for an East Wales Endurance Officials Secretary

East Wales

VOLUNTEER ROLE PROFILE             East Wales Endurance Officials Secretary

Commitments

• Attend East Wales Regional Meetings (either in person or via video link) six times a year
• Represent East Wales Region at Welsh Athletics Endurance Officials Committee Meetings (either in person or via video link) six times a year

East Wales are seeking to appoint an Endurance Officials Secretary. The appointment is on a voluntary basis and the term of office is initially for one year, renewable at the East Wales Region Annual General Meeting; generally held in June each year.

The key responsibilities are set out below:

• Promote, East Wales officials’ education and personal development.
• Assist with maintaining a register of East Wales Officials, in conjunction with Welsh Athletics Officials Secretary.
• Liaise with Welsh Athletics in all matters relating to officials, including courses and the deployment of officials.
• Promote Officials’ Conferences.
• Update officials on all officiating developments.
• Assist with the implementation of the strategy for recruitment and development of new officials, and the retention of officials within East Wales.
• Nominate officials of the appropriate levels for regional events
• Assist with the appointment of officials, including Chief Officials, for all regional Championships and events promoted by East Wales, including joint promotions.
• Establish links and liaise with Clubs within the Region 
• Notify clubs of requirements for officials at regional events

If you are interested on taking on the East Endurance role, please contact

Chair: Joyce Tomala Chair@eastwalesathletics.co.uk & Secretary: Bethan Akanbi-Mortimer – east@welshathletics.org

What is a regional council?

Regional Councils play a key role in the Governance of Welsh Athletics. Every Region has a nominated person for each discipline group who will represent the views of the Region. The Regional Councils are also a place for clubs to discuss and share challenges and opportunities for future development.

Every Region supports a competition structure, including Regional and Inter-Regional Championships – events that play a key role in athlete development pathway across all age groups.

Full details on the Regional Councils can be found in the byelaws of Welsh Athletics.

Full details on the Officials committee can be found in the Welsh Athletics byelaws Terms of Reference: Byelaw 9.6.6.2

OUR VISION

TO BE THE NUMBER ONE SPORT FOR PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS WALES, UNDERPINNED BY A WORLD CLASS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME. WE WILL ACHIEVE THIS BY BEING A SECTOR LEADING ORGANISATION FOR GOVERNANCE, COLLABORATION, INNOVATION AND MODERNISATION.

This vision is underpinned by:

• A One-team approach – everyone working towards a common objective.
• Clarity of purpose – for everyone including regions, clubs, volunteers.
• Support our clubs to overcome the challenges they have highlighted.

WE HAVE DISTILLED DOWN THE FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSIONS INTO OUR 6 GOALS:

READ THE FULL STRATEGY DOCUMENT 

Our vision supports the overall Vision for Sport in Wales

Welsh Athletics is happy to announce the opening of the Welsh Athletics Service Award for 2021.

Service Award Nominations Now Open!

20/08/2021 00:00, In Blog /

Welsh Athletics is happy to announce the opening of the Welsh Athletics Service Award for 2021.

The Service Awards include; the Award of Meritorious Service, Award of Honour and the Athlete Achievement Award (see below). Further information please visit the awards section of the website:  https://www.welshathletics.org/en/page/welsh-athletics-awards

To nominate for the 2021 Service Awards, please use the following form: https://forms.gle/xWTZ44WWGrdbXog59

All nominations will be considered by the Welsh Athletics Service Awards Panel and nominations will be presented at the Welsh Athletics AGM at the end of October.

Note: The closing date for nominations will be Wednesday 22^nd September 2021.

The Service Awards include; the Award of Meritorious Service, Award of Honour and the Athlete Achievement Award 

Award of Meritorious Service

• This award is open to individuals for services to clubs, schools, regional or national level.
• This award is made in recognition for services to athletics over a minimum period of fifteen years of active service to our sport. All achievements relating to the individual should be fully documented in the citation for the award and the records  held by Welsh Athletics Ltd
• Individuals are only eligible to receive one Meritorious Award for services to athletics in Wales.

Award of Honour

• This award is open to individuals given in recognition of exceptional service to athletics in Wales.
• The award is made in recognition of a minimum of twenty-five years of active service to the sport at club, schools, regional and or national level.
• Individuals would normally have already received Meritorious Award but in exceptional cases, the award may be given for outstanding services to athletics in Wales.
• An individual may only receive an Award of Honour once but all achievements should be fully documented in the citation for the award and the records held by Welsh Athletics Ltd.

Athlete Achievement Award

This award is open to athletes who have competed for Welsh Athletics at a senior level who do not meet the criteria to be included in the Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame but have given outstanding service as an athlete to our sport. These include;

• Athletes who have competed in at least two major championships will apply to all athletics disciplines.
• Athletes who have won at least ten Senior Welsh Championships in any of the recognised athletics disciplines.
• Consideration may also be given to an outstanding contribution given by an athlete to the club, regional and national representation over an extended period of time.
• Selection for this award will not preclude an athlete from being considered for the Hall of Fame at a later date.

Well done to the eight athletes who have so far submitted your performances for the virtual 2km Battle of the Regions. Some very good performances.

There were 34 of you who entered from the East, so I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of you perform.
Remember you have until midnight on Sunday (21st February) to submit your performances.
When you provide information on your performance please take care to ensure you use your name (not your parents’ name) and you enter the correct age group before you submit your performance.
There have been a number of errors with both of these so far leading to the race organiser having to delete incorrect records and corrected records having to be submitted. Below is a final reminder on how to submit your performances:

To submit your results you need to do the following: 

You need to re-visit the page link you were supplied with to enter this event https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2021/GBR/v2kbotr/

When you click this link you will go to the page shown in the screenshot below. You will see top right of the screenshot below ‘ABOUT’ & ‘LOG IN/SIGN UP’

Click ‘LOG IN’ with the username and password you created or have used from previous entries on Open Track

When you have logged in you will see extra yellow buttons as with the screenshot below

Click on either option which you prefer

Then add your information, 

Best of luck to those of you still to do your performance and upload your result. Let’s show that East is the strongest region! Any questions please ask.
Kind regards

Steve Mitchell(East Wales Welsh Athletics regional coordinator for endurance)

• Sport Wales Be Active Wales Grants (Protect and Progress) can be found here: https://www.sport.wales/beactivewalesfund/

• Details of the Welsh Athletics Club Modernisation and Development Grant 2021 can be found here: https://www.welshathletics.org/en/blog/post/the-launch-of-the-2021-modernisation-and-development-fund

Many thanks to Darran Williams for his hard work in putting together these results.

Congratulations to all the winners, and to everyone who entered.

All Results

Category Winners

Medal Winners

Please ensure that you stay safe, and help to keep others safe by adhering to the latest Government Guidelines relating to exercising.

Sport, exercise and outdoor activity

Can I leave home to exercise?

Yes. Exercise is important for physical and mental health, and you can leave home as often as you like to exercise as long as you do so from home and alone or with members of your household or support bubble (and/or a carer).

What kind of exercise is permitted?

There are no legal limits on this, but in practice this is constrained by other restrictions at alert level 4, such as the closure of leisure centres, gyms and swimming pools. As one of the purposes of the restrictions is to reduce pressure on the Welsh NHS, we also ask people to avoid activities that involve a significant degree of risk (for example swimming or other exercise at sea, or in lakes, rivers or other waterways).

Are there any limits on how far I can run or cycle for exercise?

There are no limits on the distance you can travel during exercise, though the nearer you stay to your home, the better. You should exercise alone or with a member of your household or support bubble. Your exercise must start and finish from your home, or the home of the members of your support bubble.

Does taking a walk count as exercise?

Absolutely. All time spent outdoors is beneficial, as long as people avoid interacting with people they do not live with.

I use a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get about. If I want to go out, does this count as exercise?

Absolutely. All time spent outdoors is beneficial, as long as people avoid interacting with people they do not live with.

Can I drive somewhere to exercise?

Exercise should be undertaken locally – from home or as close as possible to the home.  In general this must not involve people driving to a location away from home for this purpose.  No journeys of any significant distance should be taken, for example, just in order to exercise in the countryside or at beauty spots. This is the law and not just guidance. Police can fine people who travel beyond their local area to beauty spots.

People with specific health or mobility issues may, however, need to travel from their home in order to be able to exercise.  For example, some wheelchair users may not be able to start to exercise immediately outside their homes for practical access reasons, and may need to drive to a suitable flat location, such as a park, for this purpose. In these circumstances the journey should be to the nearest convenient accessible location and no long journeys should be undertaken unless absolutely necessary.
The need to carry sports equipment isn’t regarded as a justification on its own for driving in these circumstances.

The need to carry sports equipment isn’t regarded as a justification on its own for driving in these circumstances.

Can I do other things while out for exercise?

Yes, as long as they are also permitted, and do not involve gathering with people from other households outside a permitted support bubble. Combining exercise with walking a dog or going to a shop to buy food, for example, is considered to be reasonable.

Leaving your home to exercise should not be used as an excuse to undertake other activity which is not permitted. The purpose of leaving home is to exercise. Going for a walk and then having a picnic or spending a prolonged period on a park bench, for example, is not considered to be exercise and is not intended to be a reasonable excuse.

https://gov.wales/alert-level-4-frequently-asked-questions#section-58322

Thank you for helping to keep us all safe.

The first training day since COVID took place in Parc Bryn Bach on Saturday 28th November and everyone who took part was delighted.

Liz Davies sent this message via Facebook
“A huge thank you to Steve, Deb, Dave, Luke and all the other East Wales coaches who made today happen. Great to see athletes across the region training together again”

Find the session notes from Coach Steve here: