Annual General Meeting and Awards Presentation 13th November 2004

Richmond and Zetland Harriers had their 2004 AGM and Presentation Evening on Saturday 13th at The BASA Club outside Bedale. The evening was very well attended with the promise of minimum business and maximum enjoyment - less talking and more Disco.

After the AGM and a fine buffet supper, the Presentations commenced. The criteria for awards was set by the Coaches many years ago and, outside of the three YAL trophies which are for the most points scored, all the awards are based on overall performance in the Leagues, the Yorkshire, Northern and Schools Championships, for contribution to the team. Senior awards are the responsibility of the Committee and are based on merit.

The YAL top point scorer for Under 13’s was Ruth Hill; she competed in all five YAL matches, scored 42 points for the Club and achieved two Grade 3 standards with 10.95 for 75m and 13.65 for 70m hurdles. The Under 15’s top point scorer was Jo Adams who also competed in all five YAL matches; Jo gained 53 points and, whilst she is known primarily for her middle distance running and achieved a Grade 4 standard with 5:25.3 for 1500m, she earned a Grade 3 standard for the discus with a throw of 24m80. Sean Osborn was the third YAL trophy winner, taking the award for the Under 17’s with a 36 point tally from all five matches despite pressure of examinations; Sean achieved a Grade 3 standard in the 100m with a time of 11.95 seconds and a Grade 4 in the 400m with 54.5.

The first of the Male awards, the Bob Woods Trophy for Junior (Under 20) male endurance, went to Edd Richards for his perseverance and success over the year: he competed for the Club in NYSD and Senior League competition, he journeyed to Wigan for the Junior Championships, to Stretford for a BMC Meeting and to Wakefield for an Open Meeting, he was rewarded with PBs of 26.2 for 200m, 55.5 for 400m, 2:08.0 for 800m, 4:19.6 for 1500m, 4:50.7 for the mile and earned the respect of his team mates. Douglas Roberts won the Trophy for Male X-C (all ages) for his efforts last winter; equal 2nd in the NYSD League, 3rd in the Yorkshires, 87th out of 283 (despite running with an injured heel) representing Yorkshire in the Inter-Counties, 17th in the Northerns and 29th in the National X-C Championships. Sean Osborn collected his second award of the evening when he deservedly won the Male Sprint Trophy. There was a new name added to list of Male Hurdles Trophy winners when Matt Prosser was added; his first season, competing at both 110m and 400m, unbeaten in the latter and with a lot more to come as his technique develops. The Male Throws award was shared by John Wild and Carl Outhwaite for the second consecutive year as both have been outstanding in their own patches: John set a new PB in the M50 discus and won his customary four gold medals for all the throws at the Yorkshire Veterans Championships whilst Carl moved up an age group into the Junior Men and, representing Gateshead in higher level competition, came 3rd in a European Clubs International. Shane Darby won the Male Jump(s) award for his Grade 3 long jump of 5m01 and Grade 4 high jump of 1m59 - he is an outstanding prospect as a sprinter/jumper and his Coaches believe there is a lot more to come. The B A R (best all round) Junior Male Trophy was shared by Chris Archer and Simon Robson, two relative newcomers whose performances improved almost every time they set foot on the track; neither of them shirked a request at the YAL, running everything from 400m to 3000m including the steeplechase, and Simon ended the year with four Grade 4 standards. Chris Andrade won the award for best all rounder last year and, despite moving up to Under 17’s and having reservations about his ability to compete, he competed in four out of five YAL matches and did enough this year to earn the Junior Male Runner-up Trophy. The award for the most improved Senior Male went to Scott Wardman, a third year student at Leeds Metropolitan University, training with a quality group under the watchful eye of Wilf Paish; this summer he trimmed his 800m PB to a very useful 1:57.05 and earned himself a place on the BMC rankings for 2004. followed-up his rewarded

The Female awards started with the Trophy for X-C all ages and there could only have been one winner - Fiona Hughes: 6th in the NYSD, 37th in the Yorkshires (and 5 minutes faster than the previous year), 80th in the Northerns and 179th in the Nationals! There were many “names in the hat” for the Female Sprint award but again there was a clear winner: Sophie Broadway has had a fantastic year, starting with two firsts and two PBs in her season’s opener at Middlesbrough, the first two of seventeen wins plus one second and four third places in all competition and finishing with PBs and Grade 2 standards of 12.7 for 100m and 26.7 for 200m. Similarly, there were several nominations for the Female Hurdles award including Alice Morrison, Katie Roberts and Jane Thornton but the winner was Ruth Hill: she improved with every race, culminating in a PB of 13.65 and a Grade 3 standard for 70m hurdles. Lindsey Johnson is a very talented all-round sportswoman and another newcomer to the Club; she has the brightest of futures (whichever sport she decides to pursue) and collected the Female Throw award for a javelin throw of 29m86, a Grade 2 performance which saw her make the pages of AW ranked 25th in the UK for Under 15 Girls and she also earned two Grade 3 awards, in the shot with 8m79 and the high jump with 1m48. The Female Jump award went to Alice Morrison for her 1m30 high jump, Grade 3 standard, and 3m52 long jump, Grade 4 standard - brilliant work for a youngster in her first T&F season - and under 14 seconds for the 70m hurdles, another Grade 4 standard. The B A R Junior Female was shared by Jo and Rosie Adams, two athletes who couldn’t be split: they both competed in all five YAL fixtures gaining 53 and 42 points respectively, ran A and B string on the track, were equally prepared to throw and jump (Pentathletes in the making if they could be persuaded to hurdle) and both were rewarded with Grades, Jo as detailed previously and Rosie earning a Grade 3 standard for a time of 2:33.2 in the 800m. The last of the Female awards, the runner-up in the Juniors, went to Jane Thornton, another who is prepared to turn her hand to most events - literally! Jane deserves a special mention because, after her run in the NYSD at Shildon where she fell at the first hurdle, she picked herself up to finish the race before going for to hospital for an X-Ray that showed a broken wrist and a chipped bone in her elbow. Although this “mishap” interrupted her season, she didn’t let it deter her, and she ended the season with a Grade 4 standard 2:43.0 for 800m at Cudworth.

There are a handful of awards without gender qualification, the first of which is the Starvis Trophy for the most improved Junior X-C runner. This year it was awarded to Rory Wadsworth, a first year Under 13 who competed in all six NYSD League races, was 37th at the Yorkshires and 99th at the Northerns. The Engravers Trophy is awarded to an athlete who best epitomises attitude and effort: Katie Roberts, never less than 100% in everything she is asked to do and this year has started to reap the rewards with some fine performances. The Road Running Plate, was retained by Jon Orange for two outstanding runs in the 2003 Abbey Dash 10K at Leeds, finishing 29th overall and 2nd M40 in 32:18 and in the 2004 London Marathon where he was “just out of the money”, finishing in 87th place overall in a time of 2:31:05 and 4th M40 by just 11 seconds. Mike Brooks won the Veteran’s Trophy with the shortest of nominations: having won the M55 class in the Abbey Dash, finished 2nd M50 in the NYSD X-C League and placed 23rd M55 in the 2004 London Marathon, he then won the M50 class in the Midweek Road Race League and finished 2nd in the Summer Fell Running Series, his nomination said “he just improves with age”. The Trophy for the RZH Athlete of the Year was won by Louise Jackson after another fine year: last winter she finished runner-up in NYSD X-C League, was 16th in the Yorkshires and 24th in the Northerns; this summer, she is top ranked on the track at 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m having set a PB and Club Record of 10:10.2 for the latter - a time which places her 23rd Under 23 Female in the BMC rankings for 2004 - she is 3rd on the javelin and 8th on the discus rankings and that’s saying nowt about her sprinting ability. The Chairman’s Trophy was awarded to Graham Purvis, an unsung Hero of the highest order: he became involved with the Club as the father of two fine athletes (both of whom still hold Club records) and continued as a Coach, successively took on the roles of Coaching Secretary and Development Officer and then last year was elected Hon Club Secretary; a man who has quietly and efficiently turned his hand to everything required. The last award was the newest award, in memory of Beccy Robinson, a talented athlete who was tragically taken from us earlier this year. The criteria for the Trophy was the best mentor or role model, athlete or parent, Official or Coach, one who always finds time for another - complementing Beccy and her life both in and out of athletics. Peter Robinson presented the Trophy to Fiona Hughes, her Coach and friend for many years.

There were 25 Harriers rewarded for their endeavour over the past 12 months and all their awards were hard earned. This doesn’t relegate any other Harrier but serves to emphasise the competitive spirit within the Club, part of the bedrock of Athletics.