CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Track and Field finished for this year and now we look forward to the Cross Country season and our AGM.

Recently your committee has taken a decision regarding our Club HQ. We have given notice to Richmondshire District Council that we wish to terminate our lease of the Club. Why you may ask.

1. It was felt that our use of the building has been limited to about 20 sessions during the Winter.

2. The building requires expenditure to bring it up to an acceptable standard of decor, cleanliness and safety.

3. Although we have enjoyed a modest rent, and we have been rate free these concessions are reviewed annually and increases could be charged in the future.

4. It is felt that even if the building was brought up to standard the fact that so many of our members live a good distance from the HQ that very few people would find it convenient to us.

5. Apart from the uncertainty about future rent and rates the cost of maintaining the building is more than we can afford and there is always the possibility of unexpected problems.

6. As the Garden Village develops, parking near the HQ becomes more of a problem.

In view of these problems the Committee has made the decision to give notice that we intend to leave the HQ.

This action has two implications:-

A. The need for alternative indoor training facilities October - February which we have arranged at Le Cateau gymnasium.

B. As this arrangement will secure a reduction in expenditure in the future your committee is proposing a review of subscriptions which I trust you will support at the AGM.

The members who were most involved with the work to convert the building into our HQ many years ago have all indicated to me that they understand the position and feel it is in the Club’s interest that we move on. I refer to Billy Dodds, Shaun Purkiss and Jim Robinson to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

Might I add that Le Cateau gym will be a much improved facility compared with our HQ as you will see on October 1st. It is therefore essential that we respect the property and equipment and do nothing to jeopardise the future use of the gymnasium.

May I wish you all a good Cross Country season or good Winter training for next year.

I hope to see you at the AGM.

Bob Pocklington Chairman

TREASURER'S REPORT

The last six months have been financially a successful period, following the problems of last year. On the fundraising we have raised over £1500 with the Fun Run and Sunday Market collection. I would like to thank everyone who helped, in particular to Peter and Kath Robinson and Mike Brooks.

Bob Pocklington has explained why the Committee decided to relinquish our clubhouse, which will enable us to concentrate our financial resources in a more useful way.

I have completed a budget for next year, and with our intention to repeat the Fun Run and Sunday Market collection I am in a position to propose a reduction in subscriptions at our AGM.

Fund raising is of significant benefit to the Club and anyone, particularly those who find our current rate of subscriptions onerous, would be welcomed on the committee to help us in this activity.

I hope you are aware that we now have a website, which I hope is gradually improving in style and content. I am particularly short of pictures, action or otherwise to put alongside the reports that Mike Brooks works so hard to produce.

Please email any pictures and comments about the website to ian.hepworth@tiscali.co.uk

Ian Hepworth Treasurer

COACHING and OTHER MATTERS

After my absence for most of last summer it has been a pleasure to be able to focus on coaching this year. There has been a good turn-out of young athletes on training nights at the track but unfortunately this has not always been reflected in the numbers who competed for the club in the leagues. The coaching groups are working well and my thanks to all the coaches for their efforts. Faye Chilton and Paula Akers have done sterling work with a group of ten-year olds using a variety of new equipment demonstrating how much fun track and field athletes can be. This is an important area for the Club. Catch them young, teach them the right habits early and hopefully we will develop a good source of new recruits at under 13 level.

We have now added David and Sharon Powell to the list of Level 1 Coaches while their father Trevor has got himself re-licensed as a Level 2. This adds to our expertise in the area of multi-events and throws. More hurdle session have been done this summer and more effort has been put into coaching the jumps. We have had regular high jump and long/triple jump sessions and my thanks to seniors and parents for helping us with transporting the high jump equipment to and from the shed. There is now an increasing interest in the pole vault at the club and we hope to purchase two new poles this winter. Two athletes are already attending specialist training in this event at Darlington on Wednesday evenings and one of these has also attended a three day course.

I wrote a note on safety for the spring/summer newsletter and there has been increased awareness of this important area. As a routine we have been putting out a dozen traffic cones across the in field at the half way mark whenever throwing has been taking place to discourage athletes from straying into the top part of the field near the cage and the javelin run up. This has worked well and should be continued as a safety measure. This year the cage has been mostly out of action so nearly all the hammer and discus throwing has been done from the small cage on the top ground.

The building housing the changing rooms, showers and toilets at Leyburn Road Stadium has at last been demolished and a brand new one is rising in its place. A portakabin is in use as a temporary stand-in. The Quartermaster (QM) has brought in a new system to improve the security of the stadium site. We now have to collect the keys from the Guardroom at Paive Lines signing them out and back in. Good regular liaison has been maintained with the QM’s office.

I have completed UK Athletics clubs future 2 self assessment with help from Matthew Gillard the Regional Development contact from Leeds and now hold a clubs future manual which contains advice, ideas and examples of best practice by clubs across the UK. We are looking into grant aid for the club and shall be putting a first application in this autumn.

Graham Purvis Coaching Secretary

MEMBERSHIP

Looking back over the past three or four Newsletters, there are a few trends that stand out.

Firstly: our numbers have fallen slightly! We presently have 111 paid-up members - 93 competing broken-down by age and gender as 3 under 11 boys, 1 under 11 girl, 7 under 13 boys, 9 under 13 girls, 8 under 15 boys, 7 under 15 girls, 8 under 17 boys, 9 under 17 girls, 2 junior men, 3 junior ladies, 9 senior men, 6 senior ladies, 20 veteran men and 2 veteran ladies plus 10 Coaches/Officials and 8 Social members. In addition there are a handful of “members” who have competed this year, who RZH have paid Affiliations Fees for and who in turn have not paid their Membership Subs. Part of the reason for this fall in numbers may be last year’s increase in Subs and this is addressed elsewhere. Fluctuating numbers are not a new phenomenon but the drop-off in “Junior” membership, from 82 this time last year to 52 now, means that the Club may have difficulty in turning out full teams through the X-C season.

Secondly: out of 73 households we only have 39 e-addresses! I know there are more people “connected” but why do I/we have to go hunting? The cost in time and money of paper, printing, envelopes and stamps to produce and distribute this Newsletter is substantial - let’s do something about it!

Third and lastly: we still don’t have enough Seniors or parents of Juniors volunteering to help “run” the Club! There is an accompanying notice of the upcoming AGM and all Committee positions will be voted on. Last year we persuaded Bob to remain as Chairman and several positions were filled by default - this year, we already know we need a Secretary, Club Managers for both Boy’s X-C and T&F teams, a Social & Fund Raising Secretary, a Fixtures Secretary and a Publicity Secretary so please, think what you can do for the Club.

Mike Brooks Membership Secretary

NORTHERN WOMENS LEAGUE REPORT

Well another track season is over, it doesn’t seem many months since I was tapping away on my PC producing the exciting cross country report…actually it wasn’t as I was late doing that as well!!!

I have to say it was the strangest Northern Women’s League this year. On paper we have more female athletes actively competing now than the Club has ever seen. Leading up to the start of the season I was practising my speech, “sorry there isn’t a place for you on the team this week…” because certainly in the endurance side this should have been the case. Out of a total of 25 athletes who actually competed in the league events only seven athletes competed in all three.

I was hoping to produce a table, which showed individually how many points you all scored, however time is against me so it will not be published in this Newsletter, but I will pass out sometime before the end of this decade.

So how did we do?

League One at Clairville – great wasn’t it, you were not allowed on the track until 5 minutes before your event…we finished with 294 points in 4th place

League Two at Jarrow – this day was painful; I was side-lined and half the team (I am not exaggerating) did not even turn up…we finished with 243.5 points in last place. This being said, the athletes that were there ran, jumped and threw their little socks off!

League Three at Darlington – this day made up for the other two BIG style. The team spirit was back with vengeance and even I managed to limp through a couple of events (Mike from Scarborough said it was nice to see me out of retirement!?!) Everyone did as much as they physically could and it was touch and go whether that would be enough to keep us from relegation, so we scrambled together a 4 x 400m relay team with minutes to go and boy was it a team! I have to say it goes down in history as being the best ever finish to a league day; Louise, Andrea, Becky and Amy were amazing and came in a creditable 2nd in some excellent split times. It was not over though; we then had to wait for approximately 45 minutes to find out our fate…we pulled it off; we finished with 309 points in 4th position just enough to keep us in Division 3E.

So do I have a theory…?

Since joining the Northern Women’s League, Richmond and Zetland Harriers have always worn the number 6. However this year we were made to wear the number 5 and Scarborough got to wear number 6…where did Scarborough finish I hear you all say, they won the League!!! I rest my case.

Throughout the season there have been some exceptional performances, whether that is PB’s or simply trying a different event and surprising yourselves. I wish you all well in your winter seasons, whether it be indoor track events or the lovely muddy cross countries and hope to see you all at the presentation evening in November.

Thanks for your continued support.

Fiona Hughes Team Manager

SENIOR MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

I could start and finish this report with three headlines…

i) Division 4NE Champions

ii) Promotion

iii) Northern Knockout Plate Finalists

…but that would only give an overview. Behind the headlines, there is a backbone of athletes who are responsible for the results.

John Wild, our ever-present thrower: he not only wins the Club lots of points in the League and Plate but has worn his red and white vest with pride; success at the North East Veterans League, four gold medals in the Yorkshire Veterans Championships, travelled abroad to compete and can still run the opening leg of the 4 x 100m relay faster than most of his contemporaries.

Dan Brooks, Mr Versatile: from the pole-vault at 12 noon to the 4 x 400m relay after 5 pm, always eager to put himself out in search of more points for the Club.

Jon Orange ran well all season: over 5000m he ran a PB 15:16.something in the opening League match at Jarrow, taking some notable scalps, and he won a bronze medal at the North East Counties Championships at Darlington with a time of 32:56.6 in the 10,000m.

Eric Williams also managed to run the 5000m when he finally got clearance to compete for RZH as Salford Harriers, his first-claim Club, hadn’t a T&F team - travelling from Manchester to score valuable points in both League and Plate matches.

John Aspell and James Wardman shared the middle distances and both came away with very good results. James had an excellent season; running fast times in the BMC races in Stretford, training and racing with Ken Harker who has come home to his first Club - welcome back Ken.

Honourable mentions also go to Chris Peacock, for his athletics and for helping manage the team, plus Dave and Neil Armstrong, Kush, Matt Prosser, Aaron Shaw and Taff Rogers who all competed well. A welcome sight through the summer was David Powell: he has rekindled his athletic fires, has earned his first Coaches badge and, when he recovers from the 50,000 mile service on his knee, will be a great addition to any team.

Thanks also to Heather and Bill Atkinson for officiating all season and to Mike Brooks for timekeeping and for putting-on his spikes when he was needed - just a warm-up for gold medal winning performances in the 400m hurdles and steeplechase at the Yorkshire Vets.

I could go on and mention the whole Club but instead will just thank everyone for their support, wish you all a good winter both training and racing and ask you to stay in touch - go on, you ring Mike for a change!

Shaun Purkiss T&F Team Manager

JUNIOR/SENIOR/VETERAN MEN'S CROSS-COUNTRY PREVIEW 2002 - 03

Once again those cold winter months are approaching which means it’s time to dig out those cross-country spikes!

Last season saw us finish fourth overall in the NYSD League, our highest position for some years, and Acklam Grange School on 4th November 2001 was memorable for being our first-ever team win. Fourteen runners turned out for the second fixture of the season and were lead home by Ken Harker and James Wardman in 7th and 8th places respectively, followed by Dan Brooks 17th, Scott Wardman 25th, Ian Scott 32nd and Shaun Purkiss 36th. Although injury and illness, work commitments and family circumstances prevented us fielding the same strong team again, and the average age of the scoring six crept over 30, this was a season to remember.

This year, again, we will lose some of our talented “Juniors” to University for most of the League races; we wish James and Scott Wardman and Robin Carter success with their studies and look forward to seeing them at the County Championships and more. We hope there are enough talented “Seniors” available - with Ken Harker back fit, Jon Orange and John Aspell renewing last season’s rivalry, Dan Brooks starting working life from home, Shaun Purkiss back to racing form and with four youngish “Veterans”, Dave Cardus, Ian Scott, Chris Peacock and Tony Colmer all capable of making the cut, there may not be need for the over 50s gang to anchor the team.

Dates for the diary include…

13th October X-C Relays, Eastbourne School, Darlington

27th October League 1, Green Lane Primary School, Barnard Castle

10th November League 2, Windlestone Hall, near Newton Aycliffe

24th November League 3, Thirsk Racecourse

12th January League 4, Acklam Grange School, Middlesbrough

16th February League 5, Caedmon Community School, Whitby

2nd March League 6, English Martyrs School, Hartlepool

16th March League 7, Richmond School

…with the first race at all meetings at 1 pm.

Good luck in the coming season with your training and let’s all pull together for a solid team performance and surprise some of the bigger teams.

Jim Robinson X-C Team Manager

HARROGATE & DISTRICT SUMMER ROAD RACE LEAGUE 2002

The Road Race season has once again frustrated as our attempts at grabbing the silverware in the Harrogate Midweek League foundered on the persistent problem of being unable to prise our elusive elite from their fireside pipe and slippers!

It appears I was being overly-hopeful in the last Newsletter when I tried to cajole the “fleeter of foot brigade” out of exile with the threat of the starting pistol pointed at them. My hopes of being a non-counter in the team of ten was obviously a non-starter from the first race and, as each race unfolded, the invisible men of RZH made the task of closing the gap on Harrogate AC, the eventual winners of just about everything, an impossibility.

Having looked at the negatives and bemoaned the loss of a League title we could and should have challenged for, there were some shining examples of energy and commitment amongst our ranks, not only for their athletic ability but also for their good humour and astounding appetite.

Jon Orange and Eric Williams come high on the list of achievement in these categories, whilst Dave Cardus and Shaun Purkiss snapped terrier-like at their heels constantly to give the team a basis for hope in each Road Race category. Jim Robinson, Gary Bastow, Rachel Robinson, Mike Brooks and yours truly were consistent and persistent and as usual, embroiled in our own personal battles whilst looking closely over our shoulders at the closing pack which included Ian Hepworth and a host of improving combatants who must be thanked for their stalwart efforts in swelling the ranks and giving the Club respectability and credibility in this competitive League.

My thanks too, to the “occasionals”, some who dragged themselves away from other commitments and some who travelled distances beyond the call - Dan Brooks, Louise Jackson and Ian Scott to name but a few.

Moments to be remembered are many for all those who race in this League. My personal list will include holding-back the start time at the first race at Ilkley to allow Mike and Dan Brooks to compete (not Mike’s fault this time as the race start time had been tinkered with); having my ribs drilled by Miss Jackson’s elbow on the Hudswell course for daring to pass her on the inside and Jon Orange who helped with the catering at every course - where does he put it all?

For the athletes who performed so well under handicapped circumstances and for the armchair brigade’s enlightenment, the Club succeeded in climbing to second place in three categories. We won the Second Team Shield in the Open Team with 7186 points behind Harrogate AC with 7744 with Otley third on 6834; we were runners-up by almost 10 minutes in the Elite Team with a time of 432:23 behind the “old enemy” Otley and their leader “Invincible Ian” Fisher with 422:26 minutes and Harrogate AC third with 434:16 and again, we couldn’t wrest the Bill Atkinson Shield from Harrogate AC in the Veteran’s category, our 1715 points total was 167 points short although 151 ahead of Ripon RC in third place. The categories we really came unstuck on were the Ladies and, consequently, the Lady Veterans - but I have an idea formulating to counter that!

Next year my plan is simple. For all those people who used up their excuses this season I plan to bolster the Ladies team by the same people - they obviously enjoy dragging their heels, so they can race appropriately - in drag! Only kidding.

My thanks again to you all - but be warned, next season I’m swapping my starting pistol for something double-barrelled.

Here’s looking forward to the Winter season of frost, winds, hail and snow or something worse.

Tony Colmer Road Race Manager

ENTRY FORMS

Please consult your fixture list and check the entry form file regularly. Athletes/parents are responsible for the paperwork and payment for competitions (except for NYSD paperwork which is dealt with by the club). Your coach will be happy to advise if you are unsure about a particular event. Please fell free to add information about any other events to the collection.

KIT FOR SALE/WANTED

See sheet in the front of the entry form file, please add details of any second hand spikes etc (in good condition) which you wish to sell or would like to buy.

Faye Chilton Level 2 Coach