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.
At Welsh Athletics we have been working hard with Sport Wales, British Athletics, the other home country athletics federations and other partners to plan and try to keep the sport as active as possible during these unprecedented times.
As we know, the sport of athletics is diverse and we want to keep in touch with as many of you as possible. As a result, we are launching the ‘Ask Us’ series of regional webinars with the aim of trying to further connect the full athletics community of Wales.
The aim of the ‘Ask Us’ sessions is to be as open as possible and will be looking to provide some brief updates but, most importantly, to also engage with attendees and allow for questions and discussion. The webinars will feature James Williams (Interim CEO of Welsh Athletics) as well as all Heads of Department who will be available to both listen and answer questions as appropriate.
The feedback and questions will also help to provide more focused and relevant support for the sport in Wales.
The sessions will take place from on the following dates:
Welsh Athletics took the decision this week to furlough a number of staff members – the decision, which was approved by the Board, was based on the inability for those staff to undertake their roles in a meaningful way. The financial factors was also a strong consideration, and we continue to explore ways of reducing our expenditure to ensure the minimal amount of impact on the medium and long term finances of Welsh Athletics.
All staff members have been incredibly professional during this very difficult period, and I want to put on record my thanks to them all for their hard work during this period.
For info, these are the staff members being furloughed and who will be backfilling these roles in the short term;
Please note that Steve Jones will continue in his role as compliance officer.
Due to the way the roles are funded, we are not permitted to furlough any staff member in the performance department.
Finally, we continue to update the guidance to members, updated competition calendar and member FAQ’s on our website.
Please let us know of any challenges your club/members are having at this time. Welsh Athletics are keen to ensure that they support clubs in the most appropriate manner during the lockdown period.
It is with great sadness that we announced that Linda Cushing passed away on Tuesday 24th March at 18.59 at home. Lyn gave cancer a brave and strong fight.
The funeral is Monday 6th April at 11am. Unfortunately, only 10 family members will be attending.
Lyn’s Daughter Claire has asked that candles be lit at this time for “her Beautiful Mam”.
Claire has said “after all this madness has passed. The girls and I will be organising a Memorial and a celebration of her life. I will of course keep you all informed, as I know how many lives she touched and how loved she was.”
As Chair of East Wales, I echo the thoughts of Lyn’s club, Rhymney Valley, Lyn was passionate about our sport. She was inspiring, strong, caring, committed and supportive, to name just a few and wanted the best for everyone she came into contact with.
We are all absolutely devastated to have lost our amazing East Wales Track & Field Secretary, member of EWRAC and my own personal friend.
East Wales RAC send our condolences and love to Lyn’s family at this time.
Athletics shares the same goals as everyone else – protecting everyone from the Corona Virus and saving the NHS. Please be smart, do not train in groups, respect the health guidelines, look out for each other, stay physically active, stay well #SaveTheNHS #Coronavirus.
European 10,000m Cup and European Mountain Running Championships moved to 2021.
European Athletics U18 Championships scheduled for 16-19 July in Rieti, Italy, will now not take place in 2020 – any new date will be communicated in due course.
European Throwing Cup 2020, originally scheduled for 21-22 March in Portugal and earlier postponed, is now cancelled
Over 20 junior athletes from 8 different clubs at today’s East Wales endurance athletics regional program training day at Bryn Mawr School. Great to see the athletes really engaging and enjoying training together. Great sessions, ideas shared, and real development on show.
Fantastic attitude from all 31 junior athletes from six different clubs who attended the first East Wales endurance regional training day for the 2019-2020 season.
Great training session in the morning, where athletes worked together in various groups to really pull each other along.
The conditioning and athlete lifestyle workshops in the afternoon introduced athletes and coaches to different aspects which will allow them to further their athletic development.
A really productive day and a great start to what promises to be a very successful program at developing our talented athletes and their coaches in East Wales.
Congratulations to all the athletes selected for the Track & Field Inter Regional Champs which will be held in Aberdare on Sunday 4th August. If you haven’t done so already please order your vest from the Ruggerbug website and let them know that you will need it for this date. Please note: there will be no vests available to purchase on the day.
