A message from Joyce regarding the Virtual Road Relay Championships:

Please remind athletes in your club that the Opentrack system for results automatically shuts down on Sunday 17th at 23:59.

The person who entered athletes is responsible for submitting the times unless they pass the username and password to the athletes in question for them to upload their own.

If any results have been submitted where the distance ran is short of the corrected stipulated distance (5KM) the result will not count towards any team score and may be shown as DNF.

A reminder that track runs are not permitted and all runs MUST be within Welsh Assembly Covid 19 restriction rules.

Again we remind all East Wales members to stay safe and ensure that you keep exercising within the latest welsh government guidelines.Joyce

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:

Nominations now open for the Welsh Athletics Awards for 2020. See: https://www.welshathletics.org/en/blog/post/live-the-2020-welsh-athletics-awards

Please note:  the timeline for nominations is extremely tight (with nominations closing onSunday 29^th November) so it doesn’t give you much time to get the word out and get nominations in!

Direct Link to the Nomination Form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=1-RDfO1nXUekdsPXx6hqNipqiQc4DehLqV9DjC_PviNUNFVLRDhPU1BSRkJIRVhTSDE2MVBaSVFCTC4u

EWRAC Chair Joyce Tomala has expressed condolences on behalf of the region following the death of JJ Williams.

“It is with great sadness that we hear of the passing of JJ Williams. 
The athletics community of East Wales would like to extend our sincerest condolences to his family; Wife Jane , sons James and Rhys and daughter Kathryn.”

Massive congratulations to Natasha Cockram who stopped the clock in 2:33.19 to claim a maiden title and prove her place as the top British marathoner on the day. This was particularly impressive as a mysterious ankle injury had affected her preparations for the marathon showpiece. Read the full story here:

https://www.welshathletics.org/en/blog/post/natasha-cockram-storms-to-a-maiden-british-title-in-london

East Wales Track & Field Officials Secretary 

East Wales are seeking to appoint a Track & Field Officials Secretary to continue the excellent work established by the late Linda Cushing. 

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 terms of reference are set out below.

If you are interested on taking on this role please contact Chair@eastwalesathletics.co.uk by Monday 24^th August 2020.  

Terms of Reference:
a) Attend East Wales Regional Meetings (either in person or via video link)
b) Represent East Wales Region at Welsh Athletics Track & Field Officials committee Meetings (either in person or via video link)
c) Promote, East Wales officials’ education and personal development.
d) Assist with maintaining a register of East Wales Officials, in conjunction with Welsh Athletics Officials Secretary.
e) Liaise with Welsh Athletics in all matters relating to officials, including courses and the deployment of officials.
f) Promote Officials’ Conferences.
g) Update officials on all officiating developments.
h) Assist with the implementation of the strategy for recruitment and development of new officials, and the retention of officials within East Wales.
i) Nominate officials of the appropriate levels for regional events
j) Assist with the appointment of officials, including Chief Officials, for all regional Championships and events promoted by East Wales, including joint promotions.
k) Establish links and liaise with Clubs within the Region 
l) Notify clubs of requirements for officials at regional events

Hi East Wales Endurance Athletes and Coaches
I hope you are all well and keeping safe. Thank you to all the coaches and clubs who have continued to provide training plans and suggestions for athletes during these difficult last few months. And well done to athletes for keeping training and remaining fit and healthy.
An update on the East Wales endurance programme. Normally myself and the support coaches would be deciding who to invite onto the East Wales endurance programme for next year (2020-2021). Those athletes who have actively engaged in the programme this year (2019-2020) would be re-invited. We would also look to see who else deserved to be invited. The programme is for athletes from school years 9 – 13 for the 2020-2021 school year. Therefore we would be looking at which athletes moving into year 9 this year would be invited onto the programme (there are a number of strong athletes in this school year who would be invited) and whether there are any older athletes who have significantly improved and would be deserving of an invite. We would also look at athletes invited last year but who did not engage in the programme, and decide if any of them were worthy of an invite again this year or not.
We would also normally be shortly releasing dates for both the regional training days and the hub training sessions for 2020-2021, with the first regional training day set for the end of September as we start to prepare for the cross country season.
However we are not currently sure what format will be possible with the East Wales endurance regional programme for next year. There are promising signs off lockdown easing, groups beginning to train together again (following social distance rules) and the potential of some sort of athletics competitions in Wales by mid to the end of August (though with significant differences to what athletics competitions have looked like previously). However it is still a very variable situation, and therefore can not clarify further details as of yet for the East Wales endurance regional programme. Therefore we will wait for further clarity before inviting athletes and coaches onto the programme. However, if you coach any athletes not on the programme last year who you believe should definitely be invited, or indeed work with any athletes invited onto the programme last year who are no longer engaging in athletics or no longer deserve an invite in your opinion, please let me know. Also, if there are any coaches who you believe deserve to be invited onto the programme, please let me know. We will take these opinions into consideration when invites are sent out, whenever that will be.
Finally, as always, if you have any questions about anything athletics related, please feel free to ask.
Cheers
Steve Mitchell(East Wales Welsh Athletics regional coordinator for endurance)

James Williams confirmed as CEO of Welsh Athletics

Welsh Athletics announce that James Williams has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive on a permanent basis. James had been in the role of interim CEO since January of this year, taking over from Matt Newman who moved to become the full-time CEO of Run 4 Wales.

All of us at East Wales Athletics offer our congratulations to James and wish him well in his role. We look forward to working with him.

Full story here>>https://www.welshathletics.org/en/blog/post/james-williams-confirmed-as-ceo