CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2010
It has
been another successful year for the club, with some excellent performances
across the age groups, both on and off the track. Our teams have also had
another good year with many progressing well. The sporting reputation of the
club, in the town remains high, as yet again club representatives won a number
of categories at the Basingstoke annual sports awards in 2009.
Let me
summarize some of the highlights of the year.
•
Men’s British
Athletics League team just miss out on promotion to the highest league in the
UK, finishing third in Divison 1.
•
Senior
Women gain promotion to Division 2 Southern Women’s League.
•
Alder
Valley Boys become Plate Winners.
•
Veterans
Team League Winners again.
•
The club
gained five more international athletes.
•
23 Club
records were broken.
•
Darryl
Quinn received South East Official of the year award.
It has
been encouraging to see the progress made by some of the younger athletes this
year and it is good to see the junior section continuing to grow. We would love
to see more competing for the club in the various competitions arranged, as
this helps them improve and gives the coaches information to review their
progression. This strengthens the club for the future.
The international
appearances by some of our athletes raise the profile of the club. It is easy
to underestimate the time and dedication required to reach this level both by
the athletes and the many volunteers that support them. Particular thanks
should go to the coaches who put in large amounts of time to help them achieve
this level.
Away from
the track some excellent performance were recorded by the road running section,
both in the team and individual events. Having helped at one of the events this
year it was interesting to see the wide variety of ages taking part. Some keen
to improve their times and position, others just enjoying the run. There is a
good community spirit within this group and they continue to increase their
numbers.
The cross
country events have also been well attended with some notable performance both
at county and regional levels. It is a shame the snow affected some of the
county events.
As well
as looking after the interests of the athletes it is important that the club
has the best facilities possible. We have been working with the local council
over a number of years to get the track upgraded from a 6 to 8 lane track. This
year there has been a positive response from the council and we await a budget
review to determine the outcome. We would also like to include a stand at the
site to give some sheltered space but it looks like it will be down to the club
to raise the necessary finance for this. The track upgrade fund has increased
slowly, but we are always interested in new ideas and support for this venture.
The club
cannot function without the willing volunteers that support it. For the club to
continue to grow it will require more coaches/officials and vacant committee posts
filled. If you have an interest in the sport and want to get involved or just
want to support the club please let one of the committee members know.
On behalf
of the Committee and all members of the Club, I would like to thank the Team
Managers, Coaches, Officials, and all helpers who each made valuable contributions
to the successes of last year. I would like to say a particular thank you to
After my
first year as Chairman I would also like to give my personal thanks to all
Committee members who each give their time, expertise, and work extremely hard
to ensure the smooth running of the Club. It has been good getting to know you
all better this year.
Finally,
I would like to wish all members of the club and volunteers that support it, an
enjoyable and successful 2010.