Isle of Man Cross Country League 2019/20 – Round 4 – Isle of Man Championships

Posted on By Anthony Brand

The local cross country season reaches its climax on the afternoon of Sunday 19th January with the fourth and final round of the Law Trust sponsored Cross Country League. The event also doubles as the Isle of Man Cross Country Championships for 2020, with the winners of each age group adding their names to the list of many of the greats of Manx athletics over the years.

This year’s event is hosted by Western AC and will be held at QE2 High School in Peel. The courses for all ages from U13 upwards take the runners onto the adjacent farmland. The timetable is as follows:

The timetable is as follows:

12.45pm to 2pm Registration
2.00pm U9 boys – 1 small red lap – 850 metres
2.05pm U9 girls – 1 small red lap – 850 metres
2.10pm U11 boys – 2 small red laps – 1750 metres
2.20pm U11 girls – 2 small red laps – 1750 metres
2.30pm

U13 boys & girls & short course – 1 and a half small red laps then 1 large yellow lap – 2800 metres

The short course race is not part of the Championships but is a round of the league as usual.
2.40pm

U15 boys & girls, U17 women – 3 yellow laps – 4580 metres

U20, senior, veteran women – 4 yellow laps – 5920 metres
2.55pm

U17 men – 5 yellow laps – 7260 metres

U20, senior, veteran men – 6 yellow laps – 8600 metres

Here is the Timetable.

Here is a map of the course.

Strictly no dogs are allowed on any part of the course. Spectators are asked to keep the course clear during the races.

If you have already paid for the series and have your race number there is no need to attend the registration desk, just go to the start line five minutes before your race. Otherwise payment should be made at the desk where entry forms will be available – forms can also be downloaded from the website linked below. If you have lost your number and need a replacement there will be a separate desk at registration.

Ollie Lockley and Rachael Franklin were the senior champions in 2019, and the latter will certainly be the favourite to add another women’s title to her collection. Ollie will not be competing on Sunday which will leave Alan Corlett as the most likely contender for the senior men’s title.

We hope to see as many of you as possible.

David Griffiths
13 January 2020

Isle of Man Junior Open Pentathlon 2019

Posted on By Anthony Brand

On Saturday 7th September 2019, Isle of Man Athletics will be holding the Isle of Man Junior Open Pentathlon at the NSC in Douglas.

The competition is for the U13 and U15 age groups and will consist of 5 events over the course of the day – Hurdles, Shot Put, High Jump, Long Jump and 800m.

Here is the Timetable.
Here is the Entry Form

Competition starts at 10am however you must declare your intention to compete at least 30 minutes before the start of the competition.

Entries cost £7.50, close on 5th September2019 and should be sent to Kelly Hillier, 6 Close Cowley, Douglas IM2 2HX.

For further information please contact Kelly on 451898 or by email on k.milnes@hotmail.co.uk.

Isle of Man Track & Field Championships 2019 – Report & Results

Posted on By Anthony Brand

Over the weekend of Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August 2019 the Isle of Man Track & Field Championships, sponsored by SPAR, were held at the National Sports Centre. In the aftermath of the Island Games it was great to see so many senior athletes taking part alongside our very talented juniors.

The mild calm conditions on Saturday proved to be perfect for competition. The first events on the track were the hurdles, setting a high standard for the rest of the meeting to follow. The first island record of the day was set almost immediately by talented young athlete Regan Corrin (Manx Harriers) in the U13s boys 70m hurdles category in a time of 12.8 seconds.

The 100 metres followed the hurdles where many new personal bests were set, but the main race saw the seniors battle it out in what proved to be a stacked field. The race was won by Jack Lemaire (Western AC) in a very swift 10.9 seconds.

A feature of the weekend was an unofficial Octathlon contested by several of the island’s leading male sprinters, four events being contested on each day. This took the competitors well out of their comfort zones, particularly in the pole vault and 800 metres events on the second day.

Not to be outdone by the track athletes the field athletes literally had a field day, smashing records all over the place. In the senior men’s V45 category Peter Callin (W AC) set a new island record in the triple jump, and Louise Kneen (WAC) set a new record in the senior woman’s Hammer V40 category. In the U13 boys high jump Regan Corrin (MH) was at it again setting a new island record of 1m 63cm which equalled the highest jump for a boy of his age in the UK.

The medal presentations came thick and fast for many athletes, too many to mention individually, who all ran, jumped and threw superbly.

There was also a special presentation of the David Teece Trophy, which is awarded by the late David Teece’s family to an athlete who over the year has shown extraordinary commitment, improvement and desire to succeed within the sport of athletics. This year’s winner David Mullarkey (Manx Harriers), the recently-crowned Island Games 1500 metres champion, proved to be a very popular choice.

Sunday’s conditions were not quite as conducive for excellent times but it didn’t deter the athletes. There were lots of excellent performances on the day but only one island record set in the U15 boys 800m. This was one of the races of the day, pitting English Schools medalist Ben Sinclair (MH) against Ieuan Owen (WAC). During the race the lead changed hands a couple of times, but Ben just pushed ahead in the final 100m to win in a time of 2:02.5.

There was an excellent showcase for race walking on Sunday, with a high-quality field including international athletes Tom Partington and Erika Kelly who have both been selected to represent England in the Manchester International match next week. Both produced top performances to win their respective 3-kilometre races, with Hannah Hunter also performing extremely well.

The 800 metre races also saw the culmination of the Senior Men’s Octathalon. Over the two days the guys took part in the 100m, 400m, Shot Put, Discus, High Jump, Pole Vault, 400m hurdles and 800m which provided great entertainment. With the overall win still up for grabs Michael Haslett (MH) ran a strong 800m to take the overall victory from Daniel Stewart-Clague. Hopefully this event will become a regular feature in Championships.

There were other notable performances, including a 1.90 metre high jump clearance by first-year U17 athlete Jack Coates (Northern AC), and a similar clearance by senior Daniel Stewart Clague who finally joined the ‘1.90 club’ after many years of trying. Island Games debutante Megan Lockwood continued her excellent season with new personal best distances in both javelin and hammer.

Over the course of the two days nearly all the athletes in age groups from under-nine to u17 take part in a number of events to gain points for the Victor and Victrix Ludorum shields. This year’s competition was a good one with many athletes very close on points, but the eventual winners were,

U9 girls Issy Kennaugh (NAC)
U9 boys James Jelski (NAC)
U11 girls Abi Clayton (MH)
U11 boys Ollie Eyres (NAC)
U13 girls Lucy Ormsby (NAC)
U13 boys Regan Corrin (MH)
U15 girls Macy Hillier (MH)
U15 boys Ben Sinclair (MH)
U17 girls Aimee Christian (MH)
U17 boys Craig Martin (MH)

The final award of the day was presented by our sponsors, the SPAR Spirit of Sport award. This award is decided by many different factors and doesn’t always go to an athlete. This year’s winner proved to be possibly the most popular decision yet as the ovation he received was tremendous. The award went to John Whitlow.

John spends almost every day at the track and at one point or another has coached nearly every athlete on the island. Many of the athletes he’s currently coaching or has coached have gone on to achieve great success at Island Games, English Schools, and have reached national and international level. Not only that, John gives up even more of his time to officiate at every athletics event on the island. IOM Athletics would like to thank John for all his hard work, passion and commitment over so many years.

Finally, IOM Athletics would like to thank SPAR for their support, and Debbie and Dean from SPAR for medal presentations. Many thanks also go to the organising committee of Tonya, Kelly, Di, Petra and Simon for their continued hard work, all the officials and volunteers for giving up their precious time, but most of all the athletes for their excellence and the entertainment they provided.

Here are the full results:

Saturday Results
Sunday Results

Simon Sinclair/David Griffiths

SPARkling Future for Island Athletes

Posted on By Anthony Brand

Mannin Retail (SPAR) are delighted to announce that they will be sponsoring the Isle of Man Track and Field Championships 2019.

Proudly supporting the development of athletics across the Island, the Company will offer sponsorship to encourage more young people to participate in sport, and to consider a future within athletics.

Mannin Retail operate 17 SPAR stores across the Isle of Man and form part of Heron and Brearley Limited, a business rich in Island heritage, with its roots dating back to 1850.

Today, the Company operates as the island’s widest retail chain with SPAR community stores, forecourts, and in-store Post Offices.

Vic Van Den Heever, Managing Director for Mannin Retail said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be supporting the Isle of Man Track and Field Championships. SPAR have a national sponsorship programme with British Athletics and an international programme supporting the European Athletics Championships, so it seemed the perfect fit to support a programme that enhances sporting opportunities within our local area.”

“The Isle of Man Track and Field Championships will be held at the NSC Douglas on 3rd and 4th August 2019 and we are thrilled to be able to support an event that promotes active, healthy lifestyles to such a wide age range of children and young people across the island.”

Isle of Man Athletics supports 5 athletics club, working to provide an athletics framework for young people from the age of 7, and aiming to increase the amount of young people taking part in competitive sport.

Notes:

Mannin Retail are part of Heron and Brearley.

Heron and Brearley are one of the major employers on the Isle of Man and work across the retail and hospitality industry. To find out more, visit http://www.hb.im/

SPAR is an international symbol group that allows independent business owners to run their business under the well-recognised fascia of SPAR. To find out more, visit www.SPAR.co.uk