MIDLAND T&F REPORT - 3rd AUGUST 2008

 

Solihull & Small Heath completed an excellent season in the new Midland men’s and women’s track and field league wining the final match at Telford by 21 points.   In the previous three matches they had two further victories to win the 6 club division by a clear margin from Worcester & Stratford.

 

There has been a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the men’s team after a few years in the doldrums.  In 2005 Solihull did not enter a men’s team in the Midland league because of lack of support and did not compete in the first match of 2007 in division 6 but still finished 2^nd overall by the end of the season.

 

This year there is a much greater commitment from athletes with increased competition for places.  For the women, Hannah Wood could be relied upon to compete in five events, including relays, and often gained maximum points with either 400m or 400m hurdles being her main event.  Alix Pitcher has also regularly turned out in five events spread over track and field.

 

In the last match at Telford Kate Whiston had a fine victory in the discus with a personal best of 31.62 metres and also came 3^rd in the hammer with another p.b.  Maximum points were gained in the 3000m A & B races with wins by Rebecca Freeman and Helen Finch.  Lucy Flanner doubled up in the 800m and 1500m finishing 2^nd on both occasions. However on this day it was the men who provided most wins with a clean sweep in the sprints.  In the 100metres ‘A’ Peter Newell 11.3 seconds, ‘B’ Phil McDonald 11.5 seconds and running as a guest in this event Jonathan Price 11.4 seconds.  Same victories in the 200m with Richard Curl in the ‘A’ 22.8 seconds and in the ‘B’ Jonathan Price 23.4 seconds. Richard also won the 400 hurdles in 59.7 seconds with Damon Wong winning  the ‘B’ in 59.4 seconds.  Nick Lyster had two 2^nd  places in the 1500m and 800m with James Gibney having a 1^st place and a 2^nd  place in the ‘B’ events.  Richard Taylor was 2^nd in the javelin with 41.51 metres and Lewis Albutt won the ‘B’ with 40.03 metres.

 

The men’s top points scorer over the whole of the season has been Phil McDonld who always did either five or six events and was always willing to fill gaps where he could.  Today he had three individual wins including long jump ‘B’ with 6.08 metres.

 

 The meeting closed with the relays and Solihull men won the 4 x 100 in 45.3 seconds and by two seconds.  Next season in division 4 hopes are high that Solihull can again be battling for promotion.

---

 

 

 

YAL MEETING REPORT - 22nd JUNE 2008

 

On Sunday, Solihull & Small Heath AC played host to Stoke, Cheltenham and Rugby & Northampton athletic clubs in a Midlands Premier National Young Athletes League fixture. In a close-fought competition, Rugby & Northampton edged away to win with 403 points while Stoke just beat Solihull into second place by 2 points, finishing with 392 points.

Taking first place in their individual events were under 17 men, Gabriel Gennuso in the 100m, Ed Stiles in the 3000m and 3000m steeplechase, Damon Wong in the 400m hurdles and Lewis Albutt in the javelin. Under 15 boys was Morton Hart in the High Jump while in the under 13 boys, Ross James won the Shot Putt.

In the girls events Liz Parry won the u17 high jump, Michelle Turner the 1500m and Connie James the long jump. Adrienne Mullings won all three of her events in the under 13 75m, 100m and long jump with an AAA grade 1 performance in all 3 events. Sophia Georgiou won the shot putt.

The final meeting in this league is in 4 weeks time at Nottingham where every point will count as Solihull are just a few points clear of the relegation zone.

 

YAL MEETING REPORT - 18th MAY 2008

 

Solihull & Small Heaths young athletes travelled to Cannock at the weekend for the second match in the Young Athletes Midland Premier League.

This week they faced formidable opposition from Birchfield Harriers who won the league last year and also teams from Cannock & Staffs and Yate & District.

As predicted, Birchfield won the match with some ease, finishing 67 points ahead of second placed Cannock. Yate and Solihull battled it out for third place with Solihull taking third place by just one point.

Connie James jumped a National Standard 5.20m in the under 15 long jump to take 1st place while teammate Katie Stainton jumped 4.78 to take 1st place in the ‘B’ stream. Sadie Hambly won the 1500m, Danielle Georgio took 1st place in the ‘B’ high jump and Connie James 1st in the ‘B’ 75m hurdles.

Under 13, Adrienne Mullings, won the 75m with a Grade 1 performance of 10sec. In the under 17 girls, Beth Reuben finished 1st in the 100m while Talissa Free was 1st in the ‘B’ 80m hurdles.

The under 17 men had a good day with Tom Graves winning both the 1500m and 1500m steeplechase, Ed Styles won the 3000m, Lewis Allbutt was 1st in the javelin and Richard Taylor won the hammer and the ‘B’ javelin.

Under 15, Ryan Nimmons won the 800m with Wataru Yoshikawa winning the ‘B’ stream in the same event. Daniel Rebeiro was first past the line in the 1500m while Ross James won the ‘B’ long jump.

---

 

WARWICKSHIRE T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS REPORT - 10/11th MAY 2008

 

Athletes from Solihull & Small Heath Athletic Club took part in the 3 Counties Championships at Leicester over Saturday & Sunday. Clubs from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire all took part in a full range of events covering all age groups.

Under 15 Katie Stainton led the clubs medal table with silver in the 300m and long jump and a bronze in the 200m. Andrew Hughes won two medals, both silver in the under 13 javelin and 200m.

Several other club athletes came home with medals, in the senior women, Becky Freeman won gold in the 5000m while Lucy Flanner was 3rd in the 1500m. Peter Newell won bronze in the senior mens 100m.

Under 20 medals went to Charlotte Parry who took gold in the high jump, Jenny Musgrave won gold in the 5000m and Kate Whiston took silver in the discus. Golds in the under 17s went to Liz Parry in the high jump, Ed Styles in the 1500m Steeplechase and Tom Graves in the 800m while silver went to Richard Taylor in the javelin and Jamie Fitzpatrick in the high jump.

In the hotly contested under 15 category, Sadie Hambly won gold in the 800m while silvers went to Morton Hart in the 80m hurdles, Nick Wilson in the triple jump and Danielle Georgio in 100m. Molly Eales took bronze in the high jump and Connie James also won bronze in the long jump

Julian Kay picked up a 2nd place overall in the under 11 150m time trials.

YAL MEETING REPORT - 4th MAY 2008

 

In the first National Young Athletes League meeting on Sunday, Solihull & Small Heath AC played host to teams from Cardiff, Swansea and Mansfield in the first event since the opening of the new Tudor Grange Leisure Centre.

A close fought competition saw Solihull finish in third place, just a few points behind second placed Swansea and winners, Mansfield.

Under 13 Adrienne Mullings ran a blistering 150m and finished first in 19.3sec to gain a new club record and a grade 1 AAA standard. She also took 1st place in both the 75m and long jump. In the under 15 girls, Sadie Hambly won the 800m with a grade 1 performance of 2.20.9 and Connie James took first in the long jump while the relay team took the honours in the 4x100 relay.

In the under 17 girls, Liz Parry came first in both the high jump and triple jump while Emma Spragg won the long jump and 80m hurdles. Katie Jacks took first place in the 300m hurdles.

Morton Hart came first in the under 15 boys long jump while Jamie Evans won the under 17 shot putt. Lewis Albutt came first in the javelin and Ed Styles completed a double in both the 1500m and 1500m steeplechase.

The young athletes action continues in Cannock for round 2 in two weeks time while next weekend will see many of the club athletes in action at the Three Counties Championships at Leicester.

MIDLANDS LEAGUE REPORT - 3rd MAY 2008

The clubs senior teams competed in the Midlands League meeting at Leicester on Saturday.

The womens team had an excellent day finishing in first place overall with second placed Leicester 29 points behind them, while the mens team finished in sixth place.

For the ladies, Hannah Wood was first past the post in both the 200 & 400m races, Lucy Flanner won the 800m and Helen Finch first in the 3000m. Liz Parry won the high jump competition with a jump of 1.50m

JORDAN McGRATH SHINES IN WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
17 July 2007

In the World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic last weekend, Solihull & Small Heath’s Jordan McGrath was flying the flag for Great Britain along with Milton Keynes Chris Clarke in the mens 400m.

In the first round of the men’s 400m, Clarke and McGrath both qualified from their heats in a manner that will give them nothing but confidence for Thursday’s semi finals. McGrath produced a remarkably mature run from the outside lane. Despite early pressure from the early pacesetters to his inside, he kept his head to eventually claim the lead 50 metres out for a fine win in 48.25.
 
He said: “It felt good. In the first 200, I got caught by the Jamaican, but I just kept thinking to myself that I’m stronger than all the rest, if I keep my form I should reel them in and that is how it happened. Now, I’m just going to warm down, watch a couple of my mates race, go back (to the athletes’ village) and get a good meal inside me. It’s all about making that final.”
 
In the second round Clarke & McGrath both booked their places in Friday’s men’s 400m final with impressive semi-final performances.

As in the first round, McGrath ran another well-judged race to finish second in the first semi final in a new PB of 47.48, doing most of his hard work in the third 100m. “It felt fine. I’m so pleased I reached the final, it has been my season’s ambition.

“There will be no pressure in the final. I will just go out there and run for fun and when that happens, I normally run fast.” 
 
In the final McGrath put in an outstanding performance to finish 4th behind Clarke in the men’s 400m with a superb new personal best,
 
But the night belonged to 17 year-old Clarke, who justified his pre-race favourite tag by winning the 400m in 46.74 to take gold from James Kiriani of Greneda who clocked 46.96 and Russia's Vladimir Krasnov in 47.03.
 
McGrath was terribly unlucky to miss out on a medal after clocking an excellent 47.09, a massive 0.63 seconds inside his previous best coming into these championships. In the final, Clarke and Krasnov both rocketed clear in the opening stages and led the field by around 10 metres at the 200m mark.
 
Both tied up in the home straight, but Clarke never looked like relinquishing the lead, whilst Krasnov was fortunate to hang on to a medal position as McGrath bore down on him. Afterwards, Clarke said: "I feel pretty good. The first 200, I was chasing the leader, then I put in a little burst and I struggled through the rest, I was afraid someone was going to come past me. 
 
McGrath said: "I'm really pleased with the time, but not the position. Another five metres and I would have got him (Krasnov). I was thinking in the first 200m 'Have I gone off too slow or are they just crazy?' but I told myself just to keep running my race and they will come back."

SOLIHULL ATHLETES HEAD FOR ENGLISH SCHOOLS T&F CHAMPS
7 July 2007

A record number of nine athletes from Solihull & Small Heath Athletics Club are celebrating  
after being selected to compete in The English Schools’ Track and Field Championships at 
the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on 13th and 14th July. Representing the West Midlands 
are long jumper Connie James, 200 metre runner Lucy Blackman, middle- distance runners  
Claire Tarplee, Tom Graves and Nick Lyster, along with high jumpers Chris Berns and  
Charlotte Parry. Triple-jumpers Emma Spragg and Joe Curtis have been selected to  
represent Hereford & Worcester and Warwickshire respectively. 

Missing from this competition will be the Club’s Victor Ludorum winner of 2006, 400 metre  
runner Jordan McGrath. The former Lyndon School pupil will be representing his country in  
this event at the World Youth Championships in Ostrava in the Czech Republic from 11th-15th  
July. From here this talented athlete will continue his international career with a trip to  
Hengelo in the Netherlands as a member of the 400 metre relay squad in the European  
Under 20 Championships.

RUSSELL PAYNE - THANK YOU!
 7 July 2007

It is with sadness that the committee of SSHAC have accepted Russell’s resignation, and we would like to publicly thank him for his enormous contribution to the club over many years.

 He started, like most of us, just watching trackside when his daughter started training with Robert Pinton’s group, about 24 years ago, but soon got involved helping with coaching the group. He then joined the committee, holding many positions including President, Assistant Treasurer, Social Secretary and several periods as Chairman, and was presented with the Ken Dare trophy in 2002 in recognition of his commitment to SSHAC.

Even though he runs his own business and is active in other areas of the community, he has represented SSHAC in numerous ways over the years. In particular, since 2000 he has been the Norman Green representative for the “dry users” on the SMBC User Group, and a member of the SSHAC sub-committee formed in 2005 to negotiate with SMBC and Parkwood for better T&F facilities. These meetings have demanded an enormous amount of time, and his knowledge of business and athletics made a valuable contribution to the discussions.

Malcolm Payne commented at the recent AGM that when he took over as Chairman, he was very grateful that Russell was always available to offer sound advice, and it is that voice of reason and experience that we will miss at our committee meetings.

So, Solihull and Small Heath AC send warmest wishes to Russell and his family, and say a big thank you for all your support and dedication to the club over the years.

UK YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE - SOLIHULL 20.5.07
 22 May 2007

At the UK Young Athletes League Midland Premier meeting at Norman Green, Solihull and Small Heath AC came away with second place, just 9 points behind eventual winners, Cannock & Staffs. Solihull are now 4th in the league with 2 out of 5 meetings gone.

Athlete of the Match awards went to Adrienne Mullings in the Female Track award for her 150m and Charlotte Parry in the field for her High Jump.

A new club record was set by the under 17 womens 4x300m relay team of Katie Jacks, Anna Fawcett, Emily Bragg and Bev Cook with 3min 01.3sec.

Whilst every single team member played their part in gaining valuable points for the club, first places in the ‘A’ stream competition went to the following athletes:

Under 17 men: Ashley Lillis 400m. Under 15 Boys: Alex Hawkins 400m, Albert Onyeaka Discus & Shot Putt. Under 13 Boys: Nick Wilson 100m, 200m & Long Jump, Jonathon Onyeaka Shot Putt, Sean Dadgarian High Jump.

Under 17women: Lucy Blackman 100m & 200m, Kate Whiston Discus, Emma Spragg Long Jump, Liz Parry Triple Jump, Charlotte Parry High Jump. Under 15 Girls Jenny Ward 1500m, Danielle Georgio High Jump, Jade Perry Javelin. Under 13 Girls: Adrienne Mullings 75m & 150m, Katie Stainton 800m.

3 COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIPS
15 May 2007

The Warwickshire County Track & Field Championships were held in a wet and windy Leicester last weekend alongside the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Championships.

In spite of the poor conditions, athletes from Solihull & Small Heath Athletic Club put in a sterling performance and several came away with a podium position.

In the under 13’s, Adrienne Mullings took gold in the 200m while Katie Stainton took silver. Katie also took silver in the 800m and bronze in the long jump. In the boys competition, Nick Wilson won gold in the 200m, silver in the 100m and bronze in the high jump. Ross James took silver in the javelin.

The under 15 girls saw Connie James take gold in the long jump and 75m Hurdles and silver in the 200m while Jade Perry took gold in both the shot and javelin and a silver in the 75m hurdles. Danielle Georgiou got silver in the 100m and Jenni Ward took bronze in the 1500m while Ami Rutter took bronze in the high jump.

Kate Whiston won gold in the under 17 womens discus while Lucy Blackman won silver in the 200m and bronze in the 100m. Kerry Best won silver in the 80m hurdles and Anna Fawcett silver in the javelin. Katie Jacks won silver in the 300m hurdles.

In the under 20’s, Claire Tarplee finished first in the 800m womens event while in the mens eventsChris Berns came 1st in the high jump, Nick Lyster was 1st in the 800m and Joe Curtis 3rd in the triple jump.

Becky Freeman won gold in the Senior womens 5000m while Tim Payne took gold in the senior mens high jump.

SEASON STARTS IN STYLE FOR SOLIHULL
 8 May 2007

Solihull & Small Heath Athletic Club started their UK Young Athletics League season with a close win against host club Cheltenham.
 
The trip down the M5 proved worthwhile for Solihull who came away with maximum points beating Cheltenham by just 5 points. Royal Sutton Coldfield were 3rd and Tamworth AC 4th.
 
Under 15 athlete Beth Reuben came away with the Girls track Athlete of the Match award for a National Grade 1 performance of 12.6 secs in the 100m. Kate Whiston also gained a grade 1 in the under 17 Discus with a throw of 30.23.
 
In the under 13’s, Katie Stainton had a very good day with 2 National Grade 2’s in the 70m Hurdles and 800m and a grade 3 in the Long Jump. Nick Wilson achieved a grade 2 in the 200m and a grade 3 in the 100m while under 15 Albert Onyeaka achieved a grade 2 for Discus and grade 3 for shot. In the under 17 group, Lucy Blackman achieved 2 grade 2’s in the 100m and 200m while Charlotte Parry got a grade 2 in High Jump and grade 3 in Long Jump.

SOLIHULL ATHLETES HELP TO MAKE HISTORY
26 April 2007 

Athletes from Solihull & Small Heath Athletics Club played a major role in helping Birmingham’s Sportshall Teams become UK Champions in all four age-groups at the NIA on Sunday 22nd April. A win for all four teams from one area for the first time in the 24 year history of the competition!
 
The four Birmingham teams qualified as West Midland representatives for a place in the Finals, which saw competition between the best teams from every part of the UK including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This was the climax of the Sportshall Athletics season and former Olympic medallists Katharine Merry and Lynn Davies were on hand to encourage and acknowledge these young stars of the future.
 
 Solihull & Small Heath AC has every right to feel proud of Birmingham’s Under 15Girls UK Champions as most of the athletes were theirs! Emma Spragg finished as joint Runner-Up to Shelly Hazlewood (Rugby AC) who was the UK All-Rounder Winner.out of 81 athletes. Emma won bronze in Long Jump and Speedbounce and joined team-mates Rebecca Kay, Janeel Hayles (Birchfield) and Beth Reuben in a resounding gold in the 4x2 Lap Relay. Beth did incredibly well to win gold also in Vertical Jump and the 2 Lap Race. In the longer distance Katie Jacks and Hanifa Greenwood (Birchfield) took bronze in the 8 lap Paarlauf. Katie won silver in the Speedbounce providing Solihull supporters with the proud spectacle of 3 of their athletes on the medal podium, as Andrea Lewis-Jones took the gold in this event.
 
Birmingham’s Under 15 Boys UK Champions contained 2 Solihull athletes Lewis Albutt and Alex Currie who both contributed to the team’s success, collecting gold medals for the 4x2 Lap Relay. Birmingham’s Joe Scott (Halesowen AC) was third in the individual All-Rounder Competition out of 83 athletes.
 
Solihull’s Under13 girls made a great contribution to Birmingham’s win in this age-group, providing ten out of the team of twelve athletes. Hannah Behague won gold in the Speedbounce and joined Jade Perry, Sophie Spragg and Katie Mulholland (Birchfield) to take gold in the Obstacle Relay. Other medallists included bronze for Helena Singleton in Triple Jump who also took gold in the 4x1 Lap Relay with Connie James, Jade Perry and Elise Austin( Birchfield). Danielle Georgiou and Ami Rutter took silver and bronze in the High Jump and there was bronze for Sophie Spragg with Molly Eales a close fourth in the Vertical Jump. Katie Stainton and Charlotte Ray proved very strong in the 6 Lap Races winning silver and bronze in this event, then combining in the 8 Lap Paarlauf to win a bronze. Katie completed her hat-trick of medals with a bronze in the Speedbounce.
 
The Under 13 Boys with Solihull’s Oliver Buckle competing for Birmingham provided the most commanding win, beating second place Surrey by over 200 points. This team contained athletes from almost every Club taking part in the Birmingham Sportshall League, the majority coming from Birchfield Harriers.

SOLIHULL ATHLETES TRIUMPH
15 March 2007

Athletes from Solihull & Small Heath A C were rewarded for a very successful indoor season at
the Finals of the Birmingham Sportshall Athletics League at Stockland Green on Friday 9th March.

Competing against six Clubs including Birchfield Harriers, Tamworth , Royal Sutton Coldfield,
Halesowen and Sparkhill they were close Runners-Up to Birchfield in the Girls and Boys Under 11s
and Boys Under 13s and winners in the Under 13 Girls Competitions.

The Under 13 Girls Team of Connie James, Danielle Georgiou, Helena Singleton, Molly Eales,
 Charlotte Ray, Jade Perry, Hannah Behague, Ami Rutter, Katie Stainton and Sophie Spragg won gold
in every event on the Track and in the Field.

 Gold medal winners in the Under 11s included Ross James in Speedbounce, Grace Sellers in Vertical
Jump and Adrienne Mullings in the Long Jump, Triple Jump and Paarlauf, which she shared with Grace.

Oliver Buckle won gold in the Under 13 Boy’s 4 Lap Race.

The Girls dominated the under 15 competition with the team finishing 1st and all 6 club athletes finishing in the top 10 in the individual competition. Emma Spragg was 2nd, Katie Jacks 3rd, Beth Reuben 4th, Becky Kay 5th, Anna Fawcett 7th and Hayley Stretton 8th.

Emma won gold in the Long Jump, Beth in the Vertical Jump and 2 lap and Katie in the Speed Bounce. The team won the 4x2 relay.

The u15 boys team missed out on 1st place by just 5 points! Albert Onywaka won the Shot Put and the team won the 4x2 relay gold medals. Lewis Albutt was 2nd in the individual competition while Alex Currie was 4th and Richard Taylor 5th.

Claire Tarplee in NU European Trials & UK Championships
12 February 2007

Those watching the above indoor event from Sheffield on BBC would have seen our own Claire Tarplee running in a Solihull vest in the 1500m finals.
Claire came 7th with a new indoor personal best of 4:35.67taking 10 seconds of her previous PB.
Well done Claire!

SOLIHULL ATHLETES IN SPORTSHALL SUCCESS
12 February 2007

Athletes from Solihull were selected to be part of the Birmingham teams to contest the West Midlands Regional Sportshall Finals.
The winners from each of the u13 boys & girls and u15 boys & girls would go forward to the UK National Final at the NIA on April 22nd.
Up against teams from Staffordshire, Shropshire, Hereford & Worcester and Warwickshire the Birmingham teams competed well and achieved an amazing first place in all four groups.All the Birmingham teams will now be representing the West Midlands at the National Finals.
Congratulations to all the athletes who took part For full results Click Here

Greater Warwickshire Athletics Performance Squad
19 December 2006

Following the recent 'Searching for Stars' day at Nuneaton, 8 SSHAC athletes have been selected for the County Athletics Performance Squad 2006/7.
They are Hannah Morgan, Katie Stainton, Daniel Brown, Nick Wilson, Connie James, Oliver Buckle, Mortan Hart and Beth Reuben.
In addition, Andrea Lewis-Jones, Hannah Behague, Bradley & Talisa Free & Helena Singleton have been named as reserves.
Many congratulations to all our athletes!

CHRISTMAS TRAINING
19 December 2006

Norman Green will be operating on shorter hours over the Christmas period. Normal hours will not resume until Tuesday 2nd January. Check with your coaches when they will be back.
Sportshall training will re-commence on Thursday 4th January for u13 & u15 and on Monday 8th January for u11

'Day After Boxing Day' Fun Run
Wednesday 27th December - Norman Green
12 December 2006

This year, the annual christmas fun run will take place on the 27th December. It will be a new 2 lap course, entirley on footpaths with no main roads to cross.
 
Starting time is 11am at Norman Green Centre.
 
All proceeds will go to Marie Currie

Schools Inter-Counties Cross Country - Lilleshall  18th November 2006
20 November 2006

There were 17 club athletes selected for the West Midlands team for the above event. The under 12 girls team, which included Charlotte Ray, Hannah Morgan, Esther Routledge and Katie Stainton finished 1st and the under 14 girls team with Michelle Turner, Jenny Ward and Lucy Routledge also finished 1st. In the under 16 boys, Simon Cook was 1st runner home and in the under 16 girls Bev Cook also was 1st over the finish line.
Many congratulations to all our athletes!
Details of races in the Solihull Schools, West Midlands and Intercounties cross country can be found on the
Solihull Schools XC website here.

Presentation Evening 2006
 12 November 2006

Over 130 club members, their family and guests attended the Club Presentation evening on November 11th. Under 21 GB International 400m sprinter, Martyn Rooney, was the special guest and presented the trophys to the winners

Mens Road Relay Team Qualify for National Road Relays
25 September 2006

The Solihull Senior Mens Road Relay team finished 30th (23rd A Team) in the Midland Counties Road Relays at Sutton Park on Saturday 23rd September and have qualified for the National Road Relays on 21st October.

Individual leg times were: Steve Lidgate-Taylor 19:48, Rene Vergo 20:30, Tim Price 20:20, Anthony Bird 20:30, Andrew Kaar 21:06 and Graham Lawrence 22:24 giving a total time of 2:04:38. Full results are on the Results page

ClaireTarplee Breaks 10 mins for 3000m in BMC Grand Prix at Cardiff
31 July 2006

Claire Tarplee set a new club record for 3000m, clocking 9mins 58.78secs and finishing 1st Junior Woman in the British Milers Club Grand Prix 'A' race at Cardiff on 29th July

She has been selected to compete in the Annual International Athletics Gala in Antwerp, Belgium on the 26th August, after achieving the qualifying standard of 4mins 29secs for 1500m at the English Schools Championships, where she set a Club Record of 4mins 26.7sect.

Congratulations Claire!

Outstanding Performances from Solihull Athletes at English Schools National T&F Championships
13 July 2006

The Club had some outstanding performances at the English Schools National T&F Championships at Gateshead on 7th & 8th July.

Mark Holt won bronze medal in the senior boys 110H & achieved a Club record of 14,70s which is a Schools National Standard & AAA grade 1.

Jordan Mcgrath won bronze in the inter boys 400m & in the semi final clocked 48.85s which is a AAA grade 1 & just outside his own Club record.

Claire Tarplee was 4th in th senior girls 1500m in a Club record of 4m 26.70s being a Schools National Standard by more than 9secs & AAA grade 1 National standard. She improved the junior women's club record by 4 secs & her own pb by 6secs. This also beats the senior record.

Joe Curtis was 4th in the senior boys triple jump with 14.03m which is a AAA grade 1 standard.

Emma Spragg was 10th in the junior girls long jump with 4.97m.

Chis Berns was 8th in the inter boys high jump with 1.87m.

Huge congratulations to all our athletes in this highly competitive National Championships. It is a commendable achievement to be even selected & the Club can be proud of their performances.

Nick Cook wins Volunteer Award
7 July 2006

Nick Cook has been awarded Solihull Sports Council's Young Volunteer of the year award and will be presented with it on Monday 10th July at the ice-rink at 7.30pm.

Nick has assisted with coaching the younger athletes at this Club for the past 3 years. He has taken Level 1 & Children in Athletics coaching courses and plays a very active part in the Sportshall and track sessions held every Monday evening, where we regularly have over 70 athletes attending.

He helps as an Official at the Warwickshire Sportshall League on 6 Friday evenings . He is the Solihull Under 11 Boys Team Manager for the Birmingham Sportshall League on an additional 6 Fridays. He has undertaken this reliably for the past 2 years, spending these 2 Fridays each month from October to April assisting in the organisation of the Sportshall League Competitions.

Nick’s enthusiasm and competent coaching ability have made a considerable contribution to the success of the young teams at our Club. He makes athletics enjoyable, provides a great role model for the athletes, is a valuable member of our coaching team and thoroughly deserves the award of Young Volunteer of the Year.

(taken from nomination letter written by Lynne Moody)

Solihull Athletes break League records in Midland Mens League Div 6
28 June 2006

On the clubs return to the Midland Mens League, athletes from Solihull & Small Heath have broken two of the divisional records in the first two meetings of the season. In round 1 it was in the High Jump by T. Payne of Solihull & Small Heath with 2.00 metres, while in the second round it was the 4 x 100 relay team, with 44.2 seconds, breaking the previous record held by Warley from way back in 1977 of 44.7.

Full detailed results from both of the clubs opening matches are now available from the Results page.

More Club Records Broken!!
26 June 2006

Emma Spragg broke the Club Record for U15 Girls 75m Hurdles, with a time of 11.8, while Richard Taylor threw the Hammer 39.23 to claim a new record in U15 Boys .

These records were broken at the UKA Young Athletics League, Premier Division meeting at Solihull on 25th June, where Solihull came 2nd to Stoke and ahead of Tamworth & Carmarthen.

Full results are now available from Results page

Three New Club Records
 20 June 2006

Three new club records were set on the 18th June..... Clare Tarplee set a new record for the Junior Womens 1500m with a time of 4min 33.77sec, Morton Hart set a new record in the U13 Boys Long Jump with a jump of 4.92m and Bradley Free set a new record for U13 Boys Javelin by throwing 24.29m

Well done to all the athletes!

Monday Athletics Sessions
22 May 2006

The session at Norman Green 6.30-8.00 on Monday 22nd May was cancelled due to the track being waterlogged. Next week (29th May) is a Bank Holiday so the next session will be on 5th June.

---

Warwicks & Leics County Championships
Leamington - 14/15 May 2006
18 May 2006

Congratulations to all the athletes who took part from Solihull & Small Heath at the Championships.

Full results are now available here.

Photos of competing athletes were also taken by fotoccompli and are available to purchase. Check out here to see the photos and details of how to place an order.

2 NEW CLUB RECORDS
11 May 2006

Last weekend 2 new club records were set (subject to confirmation).

At Nuneaton, the under 20 4x100m relay record was broken by J. Price, M Holt, J Curtis & P McDonald with a time of 45.1sec, while at Alexandra Stadium the senior womens hammer record was broken by Julie Stainton with a throw of 25.02m.

Congratulations to all the athletes!

---

SOLIHULL ATHLETES TAKE NATIONAL HONOURS
23 Apr 2006 

Athletes from Solihull & Small Heath Athletics Club played a major role in helping Birmingham’s
Sportshall Team become UK Champions in the Boys Under 15 age-group and Runners-Up in the Under13 Girls and Under 13 Boys age-groups at the NIA on Sunday 9th April.
All four Birmingham teams qualified as West Midland representatives for a place in the Finals, which saw competition between the best teams from every part of the UK including Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. This was the climax of the Sportshall Athletics season and Commonwealth gold medallist Kelly Sotherton a former UK Sportshall winner, was on hand to encourage and acknowledge these young stars of the future.
 
Birmingham’s Under 15 UK Champions contained 3 Solihull athletes Sam Reuben , Dan Masud and Ashley Lillis who all contributed to the team’s success. Sam collected a gold medal for the 4x2 Lap Relay, which the team won convincingly.
 
Solihull’s under 13 girls made a great contribution to Birmingham’s results in this age-group with Andrea Lewis-Jones winning gold in the Speedbounce and joining Jade Perry, Ami Rutter and Talisa Free to take gold in the Obstacle Relay. Other medallists included silver for Helena Singleton in Triple Jump and bronze for Talisa Free in Vertical Jump who both also took bronze in the 4x1 Lap Relay with Jade Perry and Sophie Taylor (Tamworth) . Lucy Routledge and Katharine Gough also scored valuable points which put Birmingham as Runners-up to Essex.
 
The Under 13 Boys with Solihull’s Robert Watson, Dylan Orumwense and Albert Onyeaka competing for Birmingham finished very close to the Isle of Wight who retained the trophy. Silver medals in the 4x1 Lap Relay were taken by our three boys with Robbie adding a bronze from the Obstacle Relay .
 
Victory for the Under 15 Girls went once again to Surrey who have only lost once in the past 7 years. Birmingham finished third, with Solihull providing 4 out of the 7 team members. An individual silver medal went to Rebecca Kay in the 2 Lap Race to which she added a well-earned gold for a stunning performance with Hayley Stretton, Emma Spragg & Kimeal Moncrieffe (Birchfield) in the 4x2 Lap Relay. Emma Spragg had a very good day, coming 3rd out of 85 athletes in the UK All-Rounder Competition.  

Club AGM
Solihull Council representative to attend
23 Apr 2006

The AGM of SSHAC will be held at Norman Green Sports Centre, in the cafe, at 8pm on Thursday 18th May.

Nick Garnett, Head of Leisure (Physical Activity and Sport) from SMBC will be attending to address the club members about the redevelopment of Tudor Grange and Norman Green Sports Centres. Please try to attend and show the Council how much we care about our club!

IMPORTANT: UK Young Athletic League Meeting -
Sunday April 30th
18 Apr 2006

The above meeting, scheduled to take place at Grantham has been moved to BOSTON due to the track at Grantham being unavailable.

The coach will now be leaving Norman Green at 8.15am and should return at about 7.30 - 8.00pm. Seats are limited so, if you've been selected for this meeting then you must confirm to your team manager by the 23rd April, or as soon as you are aware of your selection, that you require a seat. As there are only 49 seats on the coach, it is unlikely that there will be room for any spectators unless they are officiating.

Nick Lyster Gains International Selection
 27 Mar 2006

The English Schools National Cross Country Championships were held at Mansfield in spring-like conditions. Nick Lyster ran in the inter boys age group which was over a 3 lap course totalling 6km, with the field consisting of the best 350 runners of this age in the country competing to represent England. The first 8 finishers are selected.

He had an excellent start being in the leading group of 10 athletes after 400m. He retained his position for the first lap but slipped a couple of positions on the second. On the 3rd lap he dug deep into his reserves to move up to 8th with 600m to go. He made an all out effort in the last few hundred metres to finish in an outstanding 7th place and guarantee selection to compete in the Home Countries International at Stowe School, Bucks next weekend. Well done Nick.

Solihull & Small were well represented in most of the other races at Mansfield representing West Midlands County. In the Junior Boys Chris Pickering was 143rd [4th for W.Mids}. Junior Girls Jenni Ward 124th [5th W Mids] Bev Cook 134th [6th W Mids] Inter Girls Jenny Musgrave 43rd [2nd W Mids] Senior Girls Claire Tarplee 64th [3rd for W Mids].

Warwickshire County AA Track & Field Championships
19 Mar 2006
Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 May 2006
Edmondscote Stadium, Leamington Spa

Entry forms are now available for the Warwickshire County AA and Leicestershire & Rutland AA County Championships. There are events for all age groups - u11, u13, u15, u17, u20, seniors and vets. We would like to get a good turnout of Solihull athletes for this event so download more details here and and entry form here.

Closing date is April 19th so don't delay!

Birmingham Sportshall League
14 Mar 2006

A very successful season for the club saw the teams come away with a host of trophys and medals. To see who won what, click here.

West Midlands YA Cross Country League
7 Mar 2006

The final meeting of the season was held at Addersley Stadium, Wolverhampton on Sunday 5th March. Full results here.

Solihull finished 7th overall in the league table . The under 11 girls finished 4th overall while the under 13 girls finished 3rd. Lucy Routledge finished 5th and Michelle Turner finished 7th in the seasons tables. The under 15 girls came 5th overall and the under 17 girls finished at 2nd overall for the season with Jenny Musgrave achieving 2nd overall and Claire Tarplee 3rd overall.

In the boys competition, Mathew Plant finished 7th overall helping the under 15 boys to a 6th place while the under 13 boys finished the season in 16th place and the under 17 boys in 8th place.

Well done to all the Solihull athletes who took part in this competition throughout the winter!

 
English National Cross-country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday 25th February
7 Mar 2006

Senior Mens race 12km starting at3pm
Results:-
355th Tim Price 48:28
473rd Steve Howes 50:26
828th Aaron Lincoln 56:24
There were 1288 finishers

West Midlands YA Cross Country League
16 Dec 2005

After the 2nd meeting, held at Rodbaston College on Sunday 11th December Solihull & SH are currently 8th overall in the league table.
The Under 11 Girls are 4th, U13 Girls 3rd, U15 Girls are 5th while the Under 17 Women are 2nd with Jenny Musgrave finishing 4th just ahead of Claire Tarplee in 5th.
The Under 13 Boys are 16th, U15 Boys 8th and the U17 Men also 8th.
Full results are available from the 'Results' section.
 

Birmingham Sportshall League
16 Dec 2005  

The half-way point has been reached in the Birmingham Sportshall League and the results are available on the Leagues website at http://www.members.aol.com/bhamshall/
Going into January, The Under 11 Girls are joint 1st with Birchfield and Tamworth, The Under 11 Boys and Under 13 Girls are both 1st and the Under 13 Boys are 3rd.
In the Under 15 section, the girls team are 1st with Emma Spragg leading the Individual table, while the boys team is 2nd with Ashley Lillis in 6th place in the individual table.
The next meeting is on Friday 13th January.

 

 
Boxing Day Run
16 Dec 2005

This year, the Boxing Day Run will be on Tuesday 27th December.
Starting at 11.00am from Norman Green.The main run is 3.25 miles but there is a shorter run for the under 15s & less energetic of 2.25 miles.
Entrance fee is contribution to Marie Curie.Mike Mitchell is looking for volunteers to marshall the course which is all on paths or pavement.
Contact Mike on 01564 200401 for anymore information.

Young Athletics Cross Country League gets off to a Great Start!
20 Oct 2005

The West Midlands Young Athletics Cross Country league got of to a superb start at Pype Hayes Park on Sunday 16th October.
The under 13 girls came home in the top 3 places. Lucy Routledge was 1st, followed by Michelle Turner in 2nd place and Sadie Hambley in 3rd.
Full results can be found on the 'Results' page.
 

Sportshall season starts in Birmingham
08 Oct 2005 

The Solihull team had an excellent start to the Birmingham Sportshall League season on Friday 7th October at Stockland Green.
The athletes came 1st in many of the events and provided a sound foundation to match last seasons outstanding performances.
A link to the results is now on the 'Results' page.
Well done to all the athletes competing.
 

Midland Road Relay Championships @ Sutton Park 24th & 25th Sept
29 Sep 2005

Superb performance by the under 13 girls to finish 2nd in the Midlands & receive the Silver medals.Our athletes with times for each individual leg of 2.4 miles were Sadie Hambly 15m 58s Jenni Ward 15m48s & Lucy Routledge 15m38s.
Under 15 girls 15th:-Bev Cook 16.00 Caroline Wood 17.50 A Finch 17.35
Under 17 girls 4th:- Claire Tarplee 15.15 Jenny Musgrave 14.53 Sarah O'Connor 15.56.
Under 13 boys 6th Dan Ribeiro14.49 Jordan Turner 16.02 Chris Pickering 14.29.
Under 15 boys 12th James Gibney 14.37 Andrew Sharp14.48 Mat Plant 14.09.
Under 17 boys 6th Toby Spencer 14.13 Nick Lyster 12.51 Anthony Bird 12.46.