Track Update.

The Hills Were Alive ! Sunday morning saw the resumption of training for our young endurance athletes on the Welcombe Hills and what a joy it was for all concerned. Strictly observing both social distancing guidelines and a 5 to 1 ration of athletes to coaches, 45 of our younger athletes took part in 9 coached sessions. This coming Sunday the club's coaches have been able to put together 11 groups, which means 55 of our young athletes can take part. Despite these additional sessions, we are still over subscribed and there is a waiting list ! That is a measure of the level of enthusiasm being shown by our younger members. This week's newsletter is effectively a single issue one. It is about the efforts being made by both Paul Bearman and Paul Hawkins to get the club gradually functioning again in the manner to which we have become accustomed to. Sunday morning's sessions on the Welcombe Hills for 45 of our junior endurance athletes was an absolute joy. I suspect it was quite an organisational challenge for Paul Hawkins though. The article below by Paul Bearman, highlights the extent to which he has gone to try and get an agreement from the school to reopen the track for our use. Despite not being able to get a firm commitment from them, there is no doubt that his efforts have resulted in the matter moving up their list of priorities.. Watch this space. Best Wishes and take care. David Jones Track Update Paul Bearman Hello everyone. I hope you’re safe and well in these extraordinary times. I’m writing to update everyone regarding the planned SUAAC Track & Field training resumption programme. 4 weeks ago, in line with Government guidelines, England Athletics started a training resumption programme and as a club we are looking to restart training for Track & Field in the next few weeks on our normal days and times. EA guidelines includes: The safety and wellbeing of all athletes, runners, coaches and the wider community is at the heart of any guidance that England Athletics is distributing. We know that athletes, runners, coaches and athletics venues will be keen to resume athletics activity as soon as it is safe and appropriate for them to do so. England Athletics recognises that wish BUT at the same time wants to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of everyone in the athletics community, facility providers and the wider community is considered as the first priority. Using this information as our guide, I led the consultation with the junior Age Group Leaders for compiling a restart programme with a series of documents that relate specifically to the prime requirement of having a robust Risk Assessment in place. The RA has to meet England Athletics stringent guidelines which are formulated based on Government guidelines to try, as best we can, to not let the spread of Covid-19 occur due to the activities at the club, not just for the people associated with…