After more than a year of injury Jaz Cooke is showing great form. In the Winchester SAL on 19th August Jaz made her first competition outing in more than 12 months, coming away with an excellent 1.68m (4cm off PB).  

Coach James Hind adds “if you know Jaz she has extremely high expectations of herself, and she felt disappointed. I think this was a great result with everything she’s been through over the last 12 months. I’m incredibly proud of her resilience, never say die attitude and love for the event. Rehab and rest is not an easy thing for Jaz to maintain but she’s now learned the importance of it first hand”.

Let’s fast forward to the Bournemouth Open on 10th September and the Cooke clan were out in force to support Jaz in her second competition of 2023. Facing some strong competition and adverse weather, Jaz didn’t disappoint. Her competitive nature was in full effect, clearing all heights cleanly, up to and including 1.70m (2cm short of her PB). In true Jaz spirit she wanted a PB and following the 1.70m clearance elected to go for 1.73m. On first attempt, it was so close, the supporters all thought Jaz had gone clear as did Jaz, only for the bar to drop with the slightest of glances. The second attempt was driven more by sheer desire than technique. Jaz regained her composure and replicated her first attempt with another great jump that had the spectators wondering how the bar did not stay up – it was that close.

Great performance and well done!

Jaz was pleased to be jumping again and explained her journey back as a tough one, evidently filled with determination and grit; “After over a year of rehab and trial and error I finally got to jump this season. Thank you to my coach and high jump buddies for pulling me through a tough season.  Now for winter training and plenty more to come!” Jaz.

Now with winter training on the doorstep, the 2023-2024 season is looking very positive for Jaz. We wish her all the very best this winter and look forward to seeing more of this great talent.

In early June 2023 Darcie won the Dorset County Schools Championships with an impressive 1.65m.  Following this, high jump coach James Hind set about contacting her school to offer support to Darcie and her parents.  He adds, “there is some great talent within Dorset schools and as a club we should look to bring that talent to Bournemouth AC when we have the opportunity to do so”.

Darcie in action clearing 1.64m at Lee Valley

Darcie has since backed up this performance clearing the same height to win the English Schools Championships at Alexander Stadium in late June to confirm her u15 UK No.1 position.

On the Podium at English schools champs.

Darcie wasn’t finished there as she headed off the SEAA championships at Lee Valley in August and returned with gold and a PB of 1.68m, narrowly missing out on 1.70m.

On the podium at SEAA championships Lee Valley

To round off a quartet of competitions, next came the England Athletics Championships back at Alexander stadium at the end of August.  Facing some strong competition from athletes from England, Ireland and Scotland, all able to jump 1.60m+, Darcie was again able to take the gold on a cold day with a jump of 1.61m.  She had further good attempts at 1.66m.  Now Darcie is looking forward to concluding a successful year at the Bournemouth open on 10 September.

We look forward to seeing more great performances from Darcie – well done! 

Thanks to James Hind for providing this report.

_{Photo by www.nationalathleticsleague.org.uk}

On Saturday 15th July, the early morning coach departed Kings Park; loaded with enthusiastic athletes, keen to get stuck in and compete at the NAL in Yeovil. Others made their own way to the stadium at Pickett Lane.  Some athletes were nervous, others excited and some mindful of a niggle or recovering from injury. All of them contributed to making it a successful event and creating a great match day atmosphere.

Participating clubs for Round 2 of the National Athletics League Championship (Fixture B) included Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC, Belgrave Harriers, Bournemouth AC, Bristol & West AC, City of Liverpool, Herne Hill Harriers, Southampton AC and Yeovil Olympiads.

BAC finished 5th of 8 which is a superb result with the limited number of athletes we had on the day.  A massive thanks from Tim and Suzi to everyone that was there and pushed hard, enthusiastically in order to seek out those valuable points.

BAC Women

The women’s Team Captain, Suzi Shepherd extends a huge thank you to the six ladies that turned out despite the very iffy weather forecast – rain and winds!

Janet Dickinson was readily mistaken for superwoman as she flew in the Pole Vault (she already holds the age group record) as well as scoring in the Long Jump, Hammer, Shot Putt and Discus with her usual style and vigour.

Chloe Burrows was a brilliant addition to the team and it was great to have her competing, despite injury. She is recovering from a leg injury but still scored for the team in the Discus, Shot Putt, Javelin and both relays. Chloe’s rehab. is going well and although she still can’t run, she can jog pain free. That’s exactly what she did in the relays helping to secure valuable extra points.  Chloe said the team spirit was amazing, everyone was there to enjoy it despite the rain! One of the highlights was definitely Cam stepping in for 110m hurdles with a couple of lunges to warm up. Impressive!

Nikki Sandall was down for her usual event, the Pole Vault but her desire to win for the team took over and she did 800m, steeplechase and relay. What a legend!

Poppea Bramwell Reeks was simply fantastic covering all middle distant events, the 800m, 1500m, 3000m and all relays. Her class performance shone through as she won the 1500m and the 3k with a brilliant 800m PB to top it off and secure a 3rd place spot. An excellent result!

Helena Darragh did fabulously well in the 200m and 400m plus both relays. Such a great asset to the team.

Suzi grabbed more points by officiating for the hammer throws and wait for it…
                                   …yes she stepped up to complete in the 100m relay team – well done Suzi. She thinks this is a one off but we’ll see.

“Thank you to everyone. Tim was brilliant and so were all the officials as they really helped gain the needed points” Suzi


BAC Men

A last minute change which was made at the beginning of the day saw Andy Brown quickly stepping in to cover the B string Pole Vault to replace an athlete who hadn’t arrived. That secured a valuable 2nd place in the B string. Stewart Cotterill had a solid performance in the A string.

There were great performances from Joe Haywood in the men’s 100m and 200m. Kev Hodgson also featured in both sprints having suffered cramp in his 400m race. A solid run form Ben Arnold in the B-string 400m following him standing in to fill the B string 800m earlier in the day.

Josh Smith scored a respectable 4th place in the A string 800m before standing in to make sure the 1500m was covered.

Rob McTaggart ran well for 4th place in the men’s 5000m with Ollie James 2nd in the B string having convincingly won the men’s 3000m Steeplechase. Ben Collins was second in the B string chase, in what ended up being BAC’s highest scoring men’s event.

Cameron Hale scored well in the Shot (3rd in the A string) and Discus events alongside his favoured Javelin event.  Andy Brown also earned valuable points in the Javelin as well as coming second in the B String Hammer.  Simon Armstrong continued to support the club with a great 4th place in the Men’s Hammer and 3rd in the B string Shot.

A debut for recent signing to BAC, Aime Blaise Atchoukeu Mbithe came 3rd in the B string Discus throw.  Aime has previously represented Cameroon in the World Paralympic Championships and is a great new asset to the team. We welcome you!

Bradley Pickup made a welcome return to the team, just a week or so after he had run a marathon!  Bradley competed in the Long and Triple Jumps, winning the B string of the latter.  Ben Butcher was 3rd in the A string Triple Jump (13.61) and Joe Haywood 3rd in the B string Long Jump.

Results

Following Rounds 1 and 2 we are currently in 11th place in the table of 16 teams, having finished 7th and 5th (of 8) in the first two matches. Things are however, now extremely tight with four teams being on equal league points with us in positions 11-14 and the one in 15th with only one league point less. We cannot be complacent, nor we can be relegated out of the league (bottom two teams). We must have a superb, strong team out there for our home match on 5th August and ensure that we finish the season well and secure.

For full results click here

ThankS

A huge thank you to all the athletes, coaches, officials and supporters as your contribution makes BAC the fantastic club it is and shows the potential to achieve so much more.

A massive thanks to the team captains, Suzi Shepherd and Tim Hughes for their hard work and dedication in getting the teams out and as many events covered as possible. Thanks both Tim and Suzi for your contribution to this report!

The next NAL is a home match at Kings Park on Saturday 5th August.
Contact Tim or Suzi to express an interest in any event. There’s an opportunity for everyone to compete in track and field, even if it’s non-scoring event. Come and compete, try something new or simply support your team!

The South West Combined Events Championship was held on Saturday and Sunday 24 – 25th June in Yeovil. Athletes are selected to compete for their county and BAC were proud to see an excellent result for their athletes representing Dorset Schools.

BAC’s Seni Purnell and Jasmine Munden (U15) travelled to Yeovil on 25th June to compete in the pentathlon for Dorset schools. In the pentathlon there are five events, including the 800m, 75mH, HJ, LJ and Shot putt. Seni’s performance was so outstanding that she took the victory and won the whole event with 2934 points. Alongside Jasmine and Beatrice Hamblin (Poole AC), the team qualified for the National finals – well done girls!

Seni with her certificate for Athletics Achievement

Seni’s individual performances were excellent.  With an outstanding 800m in 2:25.49 to win the race by a convincing margin of over 11 seconds in front of 2nd place. Again another conclusive win in the 75H with a great time of 11.64.  Seni also won the LJ with a brilliant 4.94m and a PB! She put in another great performance in the HJ, clearing 1.35m and totting up more points. She also threw 8.99m in the shot putt and did not disappoint.

Seni said she was extremely chuffed to be part of such a great Dorset team, who really gave their all on the day and came away with a great result.
She said she is really looking forward to the National finals in Bedford in September. Hopefully the team can work on some of the events before September and try to push the results even further.

Brian Camp with Jasmin Munden, Seni Purnell & Beatrice Hamblin

Jasmine’s performance was also excellent with a 1st place spot in the 75mH in 13.91.
She also jumped 1.35m HJ and 4.23 in LJ to secure 3rd place and more valuable points. Jasmine ran 800m in 3:04.01 and an 8.30m spot putt to complete with a total PenU15W of 2054 points.

Seni also wanted to mention a massive, huge thank you to Brian camp. Brian works tirelessly in preparing the team for these challenges, spending numerous hours in many training sessions. Also on the day Brian really helped the girls overcome any challenges especially as it’s really tough competing in so many events in one day.

Thank you, Brian from all of us!!

The first round of National Athletics League (NAL) fixtures took place last Sunday 11th July at various locations across the Premiership, Championship and National One divisions.

The NAL is for Senior and U20 Men and Women and comprises three levels involving 37 clubs competing at three rounds of fixtures. BAC are in the Championship Division which has 16 clubs spread across A and B fixtures.

On Sunday morning, BAC made the journey to Basingstoke for Championship Division Fixture 1B to compete against 7 other clubs.

The weather was set to be a scorcher with highs of 26 degrees and it certainly felt like it. The day started off quite muggy with overcast skies until the sun burst through after lunch. By the afternoon, the field eventers were taking shelter under brollies with many others fleeing to the shaded stands. The water tap in the club house certainly took a hammering.

Fortunately, our athletes, officials and team captains did not fade away in the heat and great performances were achieved by all – this includes the new ladies team captain in both organising the team as well as competing. We are delighted to welcome Suzi Shepherd on board to manage the women’s side of the team. This is following Amy Spencer standing down after successfully and enthusiastically running that side of the team for a few years. Thank you Amy for your great effort. Tim Hughes will continue to run the men’s side of the team and has expressed that he has been looking forward to working with Suzi for a successful 2023.

One of the most notable performances came from Ryan Webb (Coach: James Hind) in his debut NAL for BAC. He broke a 40yr+ old club record and a Championship record in the high jump, clearing 2.12m.

This also means that he qualifies for the British Championships which are set to take place in Manchester on the weekend of 8th and 9th July.

This is his first full season back after two ankle procedures which meant he has been out of action for circa 2yrs. His performance is certainly a testament of his hard work, dedication and commitment to rehabilitation and consistent training. Such a great start to the season!

Coach, James Hind commented “The next 4 weeks is about preparing for the British champs, he has surpassed his target for this year of 2.10m and qualifying for the British champs so anything else is a bonus.” In Ryan’s own words “I was surprised it happened so early in the season”.

Ryan Webb HJ clearing 2.08m

Women’s Team
The fabulous and enthusiastic Suzi Shepherd would like to extend a huge thanks to her flock (she is a Shepherd after all), namely Kia Slade, Sophie Pike, Poppea Bramwell-Reeks, Harriet Slade, Maddie Smith, Nikki Sandall, Janet Dickinson, Becky Knapton and Joy Wright.

Thank you …..
Sophie Pike for doing a multitude of events with a smile on her face. She did LJ, TJ and 100m. Always good to have smiles and a great team spirit.

Sophie Long Jump

Harriet Slade as she made a big come back to the track after battling with injury showing she still has what it takes in the 1500m. It took great restraint to not run the steeple, her main event as she wanted to remain fit for the next match. Thanks for your willingness to run the 4×4 relay too.

Harriet 1500m

Poppea for running 1500m just for fun, as you do and looking as fresh as a daisy afterwards. She ran an excellent race, staying in contention with the lead runner to secure 2nd place in a great time of 4:37.01. Not bad for a fun run.

       Poppea chasing down the leader in 1500m last bend

Maddie for coming by train and entering all the jumps. She won TJ by a convincing margin, 11.52m.

Maddie, TJ winner!

Nikki for getting over the Pole Vault height she said she couldn’t do. The opening height had been increased to 2.20m and Nikki was determined to clear it and grab those valuable points, well done.

Evidence Nikki was well over in PV

Janet for storming the throws and supporting Suzi when she really needed her.

Janet throwing the javelin

Becky for doing a monster long run (3,000m) as well as the 1500m run in the heat and agreeing to do relay even though it didn’t happen.

Becky 1500m

Joy for overcoming her disappointment in picking up an Achilles injury but embracing the role of official photographer – unfortunately using her phone camera.

Kia who had a great 100mH race. She was happy with her performance and believed it would have been a PB and a 1st place spot. Unfortunately the electronic timing and photo finish stopped working and she was placed 2nd. Kia has appealed so this is being looked into and may be amended. Although Kia was disappointed in track judge’s decision, she will be back to show them next time!

Kia 100m in 12.6

Suzi is already looking ahead to the next NAL in Yeovil on 15 July “we need to get more girls out there so please invite your friends . I will do cakes I promise!” We’ve seen it in print so we’ll hold you to that Suzi!

Suzi & Janet stormed the throws by force!

Men’s Team

Moving onto the action from the men’s team.  It was a superb result by Ryan Webb breaking the BAC HJ Club Record on his debut for the club. Fantastic to see 400/800m runner, Ben Arnold back in the team and earning valuable points including an impressive 400m time of 52.76.  Same goes for Cameron Hale who has also made a comeback this year and scored well alongside the ever present Andy Brown.  Great to get valuable support from Simon Armstrong to help fill those shows events with mature skill.

Ben 400m top bend

Andy Brown

Great debut performances for BAC Conor Kearns (PV) and Josh Smith (800). These guys are great new assets to the team.
It was Conor’s first competition back and in his words “it was good fun.” He has his sights on the club record and will no doubt take it with his continuous improvement and consistent training.

Cameron well clear in PV

There were great PBs from the sprinter; Amir Ismail clocked both 100m and 200m PBs and Rob Woolgar’s ran PBs in 100m and 110mH to secure an excellent 2nd place spot against a strong field.
Rob said he was “very happy to come away with 2 PB’s. The 11 second barrier has been long overdue, and it feels good to be able to call myself a 10. runner! It was a great match and there was a strong team spirit even with a small team! Although the heat meant surviving the day, and conserving as much energy as possible”. Rob ran 100m in 10.91, PB. Well done Rob!

Rob storming the 100m, PB

Amir starts well in 200m

We saw strong runs in a vast heat for the 3000m guys, Tag (Rob McTaggart) and Henry Bramwell-Reeks. Great! Both excellent middle distant runners and a great asset to the team.

It was brilliant to see such brave and quality runs from Ben Collins and Theo Weaver in the 400mH – not their events but they stepped in and pulled in valuable points for the team.

Strong performances by Jamie Grose and David Clark in the 1500m race. Again no easy feat in the heat.

Great 2nd places in A and B strings of LJ for Rob Woolgar and Ben Butcher. Theo Weaver 2nd B, with an 11.86m TJ PB,.

The men’s captain, Tim Hughes said “I thought the team members that were there performed very well and it was great to see the enthusiasm to get those points. I’m disappointed with the result but that was due to a number of team members not being available to compete. It’s gutting that we missed out on 6th by only 3 points. We have to get stronger teams out and I think we should be able to.

We look to be heading to Yeovil with an even stronger team on the men’s side, so not so much need for athletes to step into extra events. Looking forward to a big result and climbing the table.”

Round 2 Saturday 15th July – Yeovil
Round 3 Saturday 5th August – Kings Park, Bournemouth

For full results click Opentrack or Po10

Thanks……

Thank you to the team captains, Suzi Shepherd and Tim Hughes for their huge effort and dedication in getting the best possible teams out to represent BAC – this is no easy task and a lot of work goes on in the lead up to each match.

Thanks to our fabulous umpires that give up their time to ensure these events run smoothly: Juliet Dobson, Jemma and Hazel Bates, Robin James and Dave Clark.

Thank you to every athlete and supporter for your hard efforts in the heat – well done to all!

Photo by www.lboro.ac.uk

Loughborough University were the proud hosts to the 65th anniversary of the Loughborough International Athletics (LIA) event on Sunday 21st May 2023. Brooke Ironside (Zak Kerin) was selected to compete and commented that she was “grateful and excited to be representing team England in the Long Jump.”

LIA is widely recognised as the curtain raiser to the outdoor season with an action-packed day of first-class athletics hosted at the Paula Radcliffe Stadium on campus.

Loughborough athletes competed against teams representing England, Wales, Scotland, GB & NI Under-20s and the National Athletics League. This year also saw the sport welcome Ukraine international Danylo Danylenko who clocked 47.47 in the 400m.

The day was filled with sun, smiles and celebrations for the England Athletics team as their athletes lit up the Paula Radcliffe Stadium in front of a mega crowd.

Hundreds filled the grassy banks to watch some of the best track and field athletes the nation has to offer.

England won overall with a team score of 202 points with Loughborough in second (154) and the NAL third (153). Brooke played her part in bumping up the points. She nailed her best long jump at the first attempt with 5.82m.

The club welcomed a great turnout with almost 500 athletes entered. Those in attendance enjoyed a fantastic atmosphere with some great performances.

Most would agree it was very windy and certainly not the warmest day we’ve had in March, with highs of around 8°C. The intermittent appearance of the sunshine in the afternoon added some cheer to faces but the athletes were less than impressed with the impact of the wind, especially the hurdlers and sprinters battling the force along the home straight. Despite this, they pushed through and produced some great performances.

Full results can be found here.

It was great to see so many Quad Kids and Junior athletes competing across a variety of track and field events and doing so well, it made us all proud.

There’s ore great photos of our athletes in action, including the Juniors, Seniors and our Masters (throwing the discus) are at the end of this report.

The athletes and officials had the benefit of digital timing and a photo finish as BAC hired Mark Delgado, a Level 4 photo finish judge. Mark is top class with experience officiating at a number of international competitions including the World Athletics Championships 2017 in London, the World Indoor Athletics Championships 2018 in Birmingham and the World champs in Oregon last summer.

Let’s not forget the excellent starters, Ben Kennard, Mark Purser and our very own Tim Hughes. Mark was the Chief Starter at Commonwealth Games last summer.

Mark Purser in action at the start of the 400m

Mark & Tim Starters

Many clubs, athletes and spectators commented on our professional setup in particular the digital timing and photo finish. People were keen to see this feature at future events and said it would definitely persuade them to return to King Park track meets.

On behalf of BAC, I would like to thank everyone involved in putting on a great event. Thanks for all the athletes, juniors through to masters and parents and friends supporting.

Also a big thank you to all the coaches involved in supporting the potential stars of the future.

And of course a massive thanks to the amazing organisers and officials who have supported us and continue to support these events. They braved the cold in woolly hats and may need to be bribed with more chocolate next time – we still don’t know where it all went, although we have our suspects.

Fabulous Time Keepers

All smiles from the brave time keepers at the finish

Issy the bell ringer & she seems to be enjoying it!

Claire Cooke doing a great job handing out numbers. Nice bobble hat!

The fabulous time keepers! Hands up if you ate all of the chocolate.

Well done everyone!! See more of the action below…

British Championships, 18-19 Feb ’23

The 2023 British Indoor Athletics Championships was the national indoor track & field competition for British athletes, held on 18 and 19 February 2023 at Arena Birmingham.

Athletes had to achieve the entry standard before the deadline of 5 February and both Brooke Ironside and Kia Slade secured their spot with Kia lining up for the 60m hurdles and Brooke in the 60m, 200m and Long Jump.

Kia Slade

Kia made her final appearance on the indoor scene this season and ran 60m Hurdles in her heat with a time of 8.71. This places Kia in 12th spot in the GB U23 rankings. Kia also runs the 100 and 200m and we look forward to seeing what she can do outdoors, especially when the weather improves.

Brooke ran 24.28 in the 200m heats to reach the semi-finals and is now ranked no. 4 in GB, U23.  She went on to almost match that time with a 24.50 semi-final. She came 2nd in her 60m heat in an impressive 7.56 and also made it to the semis. The long jump took place on the same day as the 200m and she came 6th in the final with a 5.96m jump. There’s plenty more to come from Brooke and we’re looking forward to seeing her in action during the outdoor season.

Brooke Ironside Long Jump

BUCS Championships – 24-26 Feb ’23

This year saw the 10th Anniversary of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Nationals. Returning to the city of Sheffield from the 24-26 February 2023, which provided the stage for the best showcase of student sport.  Athletes have to be selected to compete and must have achieved the entry standard.

It came as no surprise that Brooke Ironside was selected in the 60m and long jump. She ran 60m in 7.59 to reach the semis where she lowered her time to 7.54, showing she is definitely speeding up. Brooke excelled in the long jump, leaping beyond the 6m mark and securing 2nd place in the final with an indoor PB, 6.04m.  A great jump to end the indoor season on. It’s always good to go out on a high – or is it a long?

Timi Rotimi-Toviho was also selected to run the 60m and came 6th with a time of 7.48.  It’s Timi’s 2nd season as a senior and is already showing promise – we hope to see him sprinting at the National and Southern leagues this summer.

Oxford University v Cambridge University Varsity Field Events Relays (FEAR), Lee Valley, 11 Feb ’23

This annual event provides athletes with a chance to challenge themselves and compete in a unique match against Cambridge. FEAR is an indoor competition and was held on 11th February at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.  It aims to test the strength and depth of each university team.

In the field events, four competitors take part for each club in each of the four jumping and four throwing events. The best jumps or throws are added together for each team and the winning team is the one scoring the greatest height or length.

Bournemouth’s Madeleine Smith competed in the long jump. The Oxford University AC athlete jumped 4.92m and her team secured a spot on the podium with a 3rd place finish.

Lee Valley Athletic Stadium

WSEH Indoor Open, 5th March ’23

Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club (WSEH) held their final winter indoor open meeting on 5 March 2023. This was the last of three indoor open meetings for juniors and seniors.

The 60m sprint was an incredibly popular event with over 40 races across 2 x 60m rounds.  Joseph Haywood U23, the fastest BAC athlete of the match, finished his indoor season with an impressive 60m PB in 7.27 to win his heat. 

Ben Butcher U20 was close behind with an excellent performance, clocking a 7.37 PB in his second race to secure 1st place.

Adam Nicholass ran two very even paced races in 7.97 and 7.96.  Adam has many talents across a wide array of events and has been known to compete in most events on the track and field, ranging from sprints to middle distance and from jumps to throws. He’s even put himself out there for the steeple chase to pull in the points for BAC at Southern and National leagues.  Many other athletes are willing to do the same and this is what pulls us together as a team and makes us a great success.

It certainly has been a fantastic end to the indoor season with so many brilliant performances and PBs. We’re all looking forward to the outdoors and in particular the warmer weather!

Next report will be the Spring Open Meeting which was successfully hosted by our very own club at Kings Park last Sunday.

The 2023 Indoor Season welcomed a re-furbished track at Windsor (Thames Valley Athletics Centre) and Lee Valley as well as the return of the Welsh Indoor Open Series. This meant that more Indoor competitions were staged than before Covid/2020.

The most notable competitions where BAC athletes excelled:
Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow Indoor Open Graded Series – 8th Jan/ 5th Feb
London Indoor Games (Lee Valley) – 21st/22st Jan
Welsh Championships (Cardiff) – 28th/29th Jan
South of England Championships (Lee Valley) – 4th/5th Feb
British Championships (Birmingham) – 18th/19th Feb
UK Winter Long Throws Championships – 19th Feb

Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow Indoor Open Graded Series:
Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club are hosts to three indoor open meetings this season for both juniors and seniors. The final meeting is set to take place on 5 March.

Athletes were able to compete on the newly refurbished track, returning for the first time since 2019 due to Covid and an unfortunate lack of officials to stage the opens. It was undoubtedly the largest turnout at an Indoor Competition by Bournemouth and even more remarkably a host of numerous PBs.

Sprint Coach, Tim Hughes travelled to the event with the majority of his group to witness evidence of their hard work this winter – it certainly paid off with many PBs and SBs.

This was an exciting and likely nerve racking meeting for a few of our athletes as they were competing for the first time over the 60m at an indoor competition. Kia Slade made her debut for the season with an outstanding 60m PB to join the 7. sec Club.

Results from BAC athletes (highlighted best races):

60m
Round        Perf                   Name                      SB PB
1                 7.08                  Rob Woolgar           PB               SEN M  
1                 7.54                  Timi Rotimi-Toviho                      SEN M

Results from BAC athletes (highlighted best races):

60m
Round        Perf                   Name                      SB PB
1                 7.08                  Rob Woolgar           PB               SEN M  
1                 7.54                  Timi Rotimi-Toviho                   SEN M
1                 7.83                  Adam Nicholass      SB               SEN M           Timothy Hughes 
1                 7.57                  Amir Ismail                                 U20 M           Timothy Hughes
1                 7.65                  Dante Thompson     PB               U17 M 
1                 7.73                  Arief McKenna                           U20 M 
1                 8.02                  Kia Slade                 PB               U23 W           Dwayne Stoddart 
1                 8.31                  Tim Beaglehole       SB               V60 M           Timothy Hughes 
2                 7.05                  Rob Woolgar           PB               SEN M
2                 7.46                  Timi Rotimi-Toviho                    SEN M 
2                 7.63                  Amir Ismail                                 U20 M           Timothy Hughes 
2                 7.73                  Dante Thompson                         U17 M
2                 7.71                  Arief McKenna        PB               U20 M 
2                 7.82                  Adam Nicholass      SB               SEN M            Timothy Hughes 

2                 7.95                  Kia Slade                PB                 U23 W           Dwayne Stoddart 
2                 8.35                 Tim Beaglehole       SB                  V60 M           Timothy Hughes 
1                 7.83                  Adam Nicholass      SB               SEN M           Timothy Hughes 
1                 7.57                  Amir Ismail                                   U20 M           Timothy Hughes
1                 7.65                  Dante Thompson     PB               U17 M 
1                 7.73                  Arief McKenna                             U20 M 
1                 8.02                  Kia Slade                 PB               U23 W           Dwayne Stoddart 
1                 8.31                  Tim Beaglehole       SB                V60 M           Timothy Hughes 
2                 7.05                  Rob Woolgar           PB               SEN M
2                 7.46                  Timi Rotimi-Toviho                       SEN M 
2                 7.63                  Amir Ismail                                   U20 M           Timothy Hughes 
2                 7.73                  Dante Thompson                         U17 M
2                 7.71                  Arief McKenna        PB                U20 M 
2                 7.82                  Adam Nicholass      SB               SEN M            Timothy Hughes 

2                 7.95                  Kia Slade                PB                  U23 W          Dwayne Stoddart 
2                 8.35                 Tim Beaglehole       SB                   V60 M          Timothy Hughes 


Closing date for 5th March meeting is 26th Feb 2023.

London Indoor Games U20/Senior:
The London Indoor Games were held at Lee Valley across two days, 21-22 January. This is always an excellent open meeting, providing some excellent competition with a large number of entries. This year was no exception with almost 1000 competitors, including international athletes looking to better their previous performances.

Lee Valley, being a brand new track, prompted the new track rules which controversially banned the popular pyramid spikes and athletes had to find Christmas tree spikes to wear instead. However, most suppliers were out of stock so those with sharp pyramid spikes faced the track officials, who came armed with giant files, to file them down! Not the best warm up for the athletes but they were being cautious about their newly laid track. Needless to say, it didn’t faze our BAC competitors.

Excellent performances marked a positive start to the indoor season. Brooke Ironside returned to the track after a successful previous season. She showed her improving form and opened with a SB in the 60m and 200m and also won the long jump with an impressive 5.84, an indoor PB.

Brooke Long Jump

Adam Nicholass continued his massive 60m indoor tour, with a 7.90 in the 60m. Adam’s had an excellent season running his fastest time in 5 years at 7.82 and his last indoor race will be on Sunday the 5 March at Windsor and Eton. He’s intends to go one better and break into the 7.7 range –go on Adam!

Maddie Smith made a happy return to competition after injury with 11.21m in the triple jump and notably impressive performances with PBs across the board for BAC’s hurdlers, Kia Slade and Rob Woolgar.

Performances:
Event      Perf             Name                    SB/PB                               Coach
60m        7.60             Brooke Ironside      SB             U23        W      Zac Kerin
60m        7.90             Adam Nicholass                       SEN        M      Timothy Hughes
60m        7.19             Rob Woolgar                            SEN        M
200m     24.57            Brooke Ironside       SB            U23         W      Zac Kerin
60mH     8.80             Kia Slade                PB             U23         W      Dwayne Stoddart
60mH     8.23             Rob Woolgar          PB             SEN         M
LJ           5.84             Brooke Ironside      SB             U23         W      Zac Kerin
TJ         11.21             Madeleine Smith    SB             SEN         W

Welsh Championships:
The 2023 Welsh U13/U17 & U20 Indoor Championships took place over the first weekend in February at the National Athletics Centre in Cardiff. This event included the Senior & U15 Indoor Championships.

This event saw an increase of 52% in entries, and 32% in U13 participation. Over 400 athletes were set to compete across 95 events and it was great to see a few of our BAC athletes making the journey to Cardiff.

Joe Haywood and Sophie Bareham did not disappoint with Indoor PBs in the long jump. Sophie jumped 5.05m.

Sophie Bareham long jump

Joe ran 60m in 7.56, narrowly missing out on a medal with a 4th place finish, a great achievement amongst a tough field. However, Joe was a little disappointed with his indoor season, and felt it was “nothing spectacular but good to get competing after a disrupted outdoor season last year.” He’s now turning his focus to the outdoor season. He wants to do well at the Welsh Championships, and to PB in 100m and long jump whilst getting a good first season pole vaulting finally done! “My next event is actually finishing off my indoor season at Windsor in early March as I had to pull out their last open ill!”

Performances:
60m     7.56        Ben Butcher                     U20         M
LJ        6.33        Joseph Haywood   SB      U23         M            Timothy Hughes
LJ        5.05        Sophie Bareham    SB     SEN         W            Brian Camp


Other Notable Performances during the Indoor Season:

Joseph Haywood showed great form with a 60m PB – 7.36 at the Loughborough Open on 15th January.

Danielle Broom (coached by Paul Rees) took to the circle at UK Winter Long Throws Championships on 19th Feb and threw an excellent PB of 48.98m in discus. Soon we’ll be seeing Dani break that illusive 50m as she continues to improve and develop her skills and strength.

Tim Beaglehole had a busy indoor season, starting the year at the Lee Valley New Year’s Open on 2n January, running 60m in 8.36 and 200m in 29.10. He went on improving with 8.31, 60m at the Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Winter Indoor Series on 8th January. He also competed at Newham & Essex Beagles Indoor Sprint Series on 18th January where he topped the podium with an impressive win in the 60m in 8.25. He went on to improve yet again at the same series on 1st Feb with an SB of 8.20.d

Kevin Hodgson was back in action in the 200m at the Manchester Indoor Open meeting on 29th January with a winning time of 22.47. He went on to improve on that, less than a week after on 4th February at Run Jump Throw & Master GP in Sheffield with 22.42 where he also ran sub 50 for 400m.

Over in the USA:
After many years suffering injury, it was great to see Patrick Sylla back in action and competing so well. Patrick made his return at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville AR, USA on 13th January with a 7.35m long jump. The following week he jumped a much improved 7.07m at the TTU Red Raider Open, Lubbock on 20th January. He focussed on the triple jump at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque NM, USA on 4th February and the Jarvis Scott Open in Lubbock TX, USA on 11th February and jumped 14.97m and 15.23m respectively.

Adam Phillips also had a busy calendar over in the US and produced an indoor PB in Shot putt SP7.26K, 16.64m to claim 1st place spot at the Nebraska Graduate Classic in Lincoln NE on 16th January. At the same meeting he threw a huge 19.43m in WT15.88K.


South of England Championships:
BAC athletes returned to Lee Valley, this time for the SEAA Indoor U20/Senior Championships on 4-5th February 2023.

In contrast to most other championships, there are no public start lists released before the athletes arrive. Therefore, the athletes do not see who they are competing against until the warm up area, which can be interesting and for some a little nerve racking. Having a strong mind-set in this sport is paramount and each athlete needs to run their own race – obviously at the same time as everyone else is racing.

Rob Woolgar Long Jump

Here’s a summary highlighting some fantastic performances by BAC during the weekend.

60m
Brooke Ironside continued her season in improving form with 7.54secs in the semi-final and a 5th place finish in the 60m final in 7.58secs. This is Brooke’s first season as a senior and she was the youngest in the final, showing there’s definitely more to come!

Brooke commented “This indoors has been exciting as I have taken on the challenge of doing 60m, 200m and long jump at championships. As it’s my first year being an U23 it’s meant that at all competitions I compete as a senior which has been a good step up in the right direction.”

Brooke Ironside Lee Valley

Rob Woolgar Bournemouth’s class hurdler, tested his flat speed in the 60m and did well to make the semi-finals as he ran a swift 7.10.

200m
Brooke faced an early wake up on Day 2 as she returned for 3 rounds of 200m. She executed a smart race plan which took her through the rounds and into the final where she sealed an impressive 3rd place finish in a time of 24.51 – just outside the Senior SEAA indoor champs record of 24.25.

400m
Helena Darragh opened her season with an indoor PB in the 400m heats in 62.10secs.

60mH
Kia Slade showed great form, running another PB this season in a highly competitive women’s 60m hurdles line up. She ran 8.72 in the heats before improving on that with an excellent 8.71PB to take 5th place against multiple athletes who have competed for GB/internationally.

Kia has been pleased with her performance so far and competed at the British champs which will be covered in the next track report. Kia stated “I’m really happy with this indoor season, I’ve made some good advancements in a lot of aspects on the track and in the gym. Getting invited to British champs was a great highlight for me and was the one thing I’ve wanted to achieve in athletics. “Kia went on to explain “My season is done now and I’m just going to go back into some heavier training for the outdoor season. My main goal for the summer will be to qualify for the outdoor British champs.” She expressed her gratitude for her coach, stating “I’d like to add that Ben Arnold has been a great coach and has kept me going in the winter and pushed me to my PBs”

In the men’s hurdles, although 14 athletes were entered, only 7 arrived on the day, so it was straight to the final. Rob has been improving all season, with PB’s in both of his races at London Indoor Games the weekend before. However, based on PB’s, Rob was ranked 4th out of all the competitors in the race. His form showed, as he pulled out another great performance to win the 60mH in another PB of 8.14secs, knocking 0.21secs off his PB last season.

Rob Woolgar in action over 60mH

High Jump
James Glynn decided to test his winter training, by competing in the high jump. He jumped an excellent 1.90m to secure 3rd place. This was only 7cm short of his SB last season which a great start to 2023, showing there’s more to come.

Long Jump
Brooke had to balance the long jump with her 200m heat and narrowly missed the podium with 5.77m for 4th place. Still a great performance in her 3rd event of the champs!

Brooke at the ready on the 200m start line

Brooke went on to say ”so far I’m happy with how my season has gone but I am not done yet… I would like to thank my coach Zac for all his time, passion and knowledgeable coaching ability and Tim for all his time and support.” There’s more to come from Brooke and she also competed at the British Champs so watch this space.

Rob returned after his win in the 60mH to show his broad talent in the long jump. He only narrowly missed the cut for 3 extra jumps in 6.56m.
It was great to hear Rob explain that “the indoors was my most successful season to date! I switched events to Hurdles as my main event in 2019. This was a big move with no coach, and Covid/ the track relaying delaying progress.. But I’ve already achieved a lot more than I did as a Long Jumper, and I’m excited to keep bridging the gap. Thanks to my tripod, and always over analysing hurdles/ training videos, it has already got me this far!”

Rob on the podium

At the indoors to date, there have been some incredible performances all round by BAC athletes. This really provides a testimony into how hard they’ve worked all this winter, especially when there’s no indoor facility near Bournemouth!

Part two of the Indoors will be posted following the completion of the last few competitions with a spotlight on the British Championships!