Sunday 8th May saw the first ‘Lower Youth Development League’ match of the season, at Shobnall Athletics Track in Burton. AVEAC are in North East Midlands Division A and a group of 15 selected athletes from the under 13’s and 15’s competed against five other teams. Although numbers were low due to injuries and unavailability, spirits and performance levels were high with 3 season’s best and no fewer than 24 personal bests recorded.
This was the first time many of the athletes had entered the YDL and for our Under 13 boys highest scorer it was his competitive debut. Riley Jones made a fantastic start winning both the Shot Put and Javelin with throws of 7.16m and 16.76m retrospectively; he also raced in the 75m B race, coming 3rd with a time of 11:4.
Our only other Under 13 boys were Joe Moss and Corey Fisher who managed to both record a time of 20.9 in the 150m race, with Joe placing 3rd in the A sprint and Corey winning the B event. Joe also placed 3rd in the U13 75m in a time of 10:6. He finished his day placing 4th in the Long Jump with a distance of 3.52m while Corey finished 4th as well in the 800m in 2:54:7 and took maximum points winning the B Shot, throwing 5.55m.
The Under 13 girls numbers doubled the boys which meant we were able to enter our only relay team in the match. Madeleine Turner, Amelia Whittaker, Jamie-Lee Scott and Jasmine Shore put in a well-coordinated performance and were clear winners of the 4 x 100m race in a time of 60:3.
The girls provided excitement on the track and the field with their individual performances. Jasmine Shore was in fine form winning the A band Javelin getting over 20 metres for the first time with a throw of 20.44m. She also went on to finish 2nd in the 150m A sprint with a time of 21.9 and completed a busy afternoon placing 4th in the A Shot with a throw of 5.66m.
Madeline Turner ran a fantastic race in the 800m A band, placing 2nd in a very respectable time of 2:39:5. She also showed that she could jump and was joint first with two other athletes in the A group High Jump, clearing 1.10m.
Other fine performances by the rest of the Under 13 Girl’s Team included: Sienna Peel, 3rd in the 75m B sprint in a time of 11:4; Amelia Whittaker, 4th place in the Long Jump with a distance of 3.41m; Olivia Irvine, 3rd in the 70m Hurdles in 11:7 and 3rd as well in the B 150m in a time of 24 seconds dead; Jamie- Lee Scott, 2nd in the B 800m finishing in 2:47:7 and 2nd in the B Long Jump with a leap of 3m exactly.
A small group of 4 girls and 2 boys made up AVEAC’s under 15 team; Elliott Wood, Archie Bamford, Ellie Travis, Isabella Overy-Jones, Isla Hiscocks and Naiya Starbuck.
Elliott entered the YDL with only one previous Mini League competition under his belt and against some fierce, and more experienced competitors he worked hard to achieve 6th place in both the U15 100m A band and U15 A Long Jump, with a time of 15.1 in the sprint and a distance of 3.75m in the horizontal jump. Archie competed in the U15 800m A race and placed 4th with a time of 2:32:4.
Ellie Travis lined up in the 100m and 200m A races placing 5th and 6th with times of 14.2 in the 100m and 30.1 in the 200m; she also gained 6th position in the U15 A Long Jump registering 3.84m.
Naiya ran the U15 100 B race recording a time of 14.8 placing her 4th and gained a 5th in the B Long Jump with a distance of 3.65m.
Isla won the 75m Hurdles A race with a time of 15.00 and placed 5th in the 300m with a time of 48.7. She also won the non scoring 100m marginally beating her previous personal best with a 13:60 clocking.
Some of our girls also competed in other non scoring events. Unfortunately not all of the scores were recorded, on the official results, nevertheless these events deserve a special mention as our athletes gave one hundred per cent to achieve their places.
Many thanks goes to Sarah-Jane Whittaker for taking on the team manager role, providing time and support to both athletes and parents in the run up to the event and on the day. A big thank you is also due to parents who helped and supported the athletes.
The 2nd Lower YDL match is on 21st May and will be held at Moorways in Derby. We are hoping that the closer proximity of this venue will help encourage more athletes to get involved. The YDL is a fantastic event to attend and like the Mini League provides an excellent opportunity for younger athletes to experience competitive athletics in a more informal, friendly environment.
National Athletics League – Cardiff – Saturday 7th May
The Club’s Senior Decathlete, Scott Ram competed in the National Premier League on Saturday for Notts AC. It gave him the opportunity to hone his skills in a number of individual events prior to the English Combined Events Championship at the end of this month. In the Pole Vault he was just shy of his personal best clearing 3.30m. He also finished 4th in the 110m Hurdles in a time of 16.21 and completed a busy day running a personal best in the 400m Hurdles times at 57:57.
County Championships
This weekend will be one of the busiest in the AVEAC Athletics calendar with both the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire County Championships taking place at Moorways on Saturday and Sunday. All events and age groups from U13 to Masters will be catered for. There will also be a Quadkids competition for Under 11s. The full timetable of events can be uploaded here:
http://derbyshireathletics.org.uk/Timetable%20for%20issue%202022.xlsx
Good luck to all AVEAC athletes taking part in both championships.
Acknowledgements
Lower YDL Report – Becky Moss
Lower YDL Photos – David Lear, Burton AC
National League Report and County Championships Preview – Joe McColgan