Summer competitions

2024 Summer fixtures

We are a competitive athletic club and view athletic competitions as a priority for our athletes to both enjoy competing for the club in team-based events and to be a key part of their own development.

As a club in the summer season we compete in the National Athletics League, the Southern Athletics League, the Youth Development League (Upper and Lower) and the Alder Valley League, this collectively totalled almost 20 fixtures in 2024, and they provided key competition opportunities for our athletes.

The 2022 track & field summer season went really well for the club, see here and here and here.

The 2023 season went really well for the club, see here and here.

The 2024 season also went really well for the club. We finished 5th in the National League, 2nd in the Southern League, 3rd in the Youth Development League Upper and 2nd in the Youth Development League Lower. Please see here and here.

We also view athletic competitions as a great opportunity for our volunteers and parents to enjoy being part of the club and contributing to our performance at them. This could be as a qualified official, or as a parent helper (raking sand pits, collecting throwing equipment, etc). Being an official earns points for the team and being a parent helper is being part of the team! For more details, please see here.

There are a range of competitions for all standards and ages of athletes, from inter club team-based leagues and open meetings to county, regional and national championships.

We expect all our athletes to compete and we compete in competitions throughout the whole year. In the summer competition year, (1st April to 30th September), this is mainly track & field and we compete in the following inter club team-based leagues:

National Athletics League – where we are proud to be one of the top eight clubs in the country who compete in the Premiership Division.
Southern Athletics League – for seniors, under 20s and under 17s, where we are one of the sixteen clubs who compete in the top division.
Youth Development League Upper – for under 20s and under 17s – again, we compete in the top division in our region and it is an important part of their development into seniors.
Youth Development League Lower – for under 15s and under 13s – delivers a combination of individual development and being part of a team.
Alder Valley League – for under 13s, under 15s and under 17s, which provides an excellent opportunity for development of beginner athletes, by gaining experience of competing, having fun competing, trying to improve their personal bests and for being part of a team.

In addition to the above inter club team-based leagues, there are ‘open meetings’. These tend to be hosted by athletic clubs and area athletic bodies. Most open meetings are opportunities for athletes to compete as individuals to to gain experience of track & field competitions, try different events, record initial personal bests / try to improve personal bests, win medals and trophies. They are also a way of gaining entry standards for championships and other competitions. NB: most are open to athletes of any age and standard to enter, while others require qualification standards to be met before an entry will be accepted.

Many are held before the start of the season. We believe they present an excellent opportunity for athletes to prepare for the season ahead. There are then open meetings throughout the season, presenting further opportunities to gain experience, try different events, develop performance, reach qualifying standards, etc.

We also encourage our junior athletes to compete in other athletic competitions and potentially strive to reach championship level athletics as individuals, such as the County Championships and in the upper echelons of the sport, Regional Championships and National Championships.

In addition, there are English Schools competitions. Local, county and national championships are an opportunity for all our juniors (athletes in school years 7 to 13) to represent their school and then potentially their county by progressing through qualification rounds, regional events and national finals.

County Championships

These are open for anyone to enter and athletes enter the championship for the county they live in.
Medals are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places and they are a place where athletes are noticed for potential selection to represent the county in competitions such as the Inter Counties Championships.

South of England Championships

These are the regional championships and are split by age groups. There is a championships for under 13s/15s/under 17s and a championships for under 20s/seniors.
With qualifying standards, they are something for some athletes to target and strive for during the season.

England Athletics Championships

These are the national championships and are split by age groups. There are national championships for under 15s/under 17s, for under 20s/under 23s and for seniors.
With qualifying standards, they are something for some athletes to target and strive for during the season.

South of England Inter-Counties Championships

Another prestigious championships, with athletes selected represent their county.

English Schools competitions

In addition to competitions such as District School Athletics Leagues, Borough Championships and any locally organised inter-school competitions, the main schools competitions are:

English Schools Track & Field Cup – 1st round in May, regional finals in June, national finals in July.
District trials, which are a qualifying competition for County Schools Championships.
County Schools Championships – something for athletes to strive for and they are a place where athletes are noticed for potential selection to represent the county in competitions such as the Schools Inter-Counties Championships a week later.
ISA National Championships – which has a qualifying competition first.
English Schools National Championships – which are a major target for some athletes to strive for during the season).
This followed a week later by the SIAB Schools International, with English athletes selected to represent England from the nationals!

Combined Events (5 events in one day – e.g. hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, 800m)

For certain athletes, there are some great combined events competitions to target.

April: County Schools Combined Events Championships (qualifier for regional championships)
June: Regional Schools Combined Events Championships (qualifier for national championships)
Sept: English Schools Combined Event Finals
June: South of England Combined Events Championships. With qualifying standards, they are something for some athletes to target and strive for.
August: England Athletics National Combined Events Championships With qualifying standards, they are something for some athletes to target and strive for

Read Clemmie’s story here.

Read Lilianne’s story here.

Read Jess Hatch’s story here.

Read Rachel’s story here.

Read Luke’s story here.

Read Jodie’s story here.

Read about Michael here.

Read Otis’ story here.

Read Ava’s story here.