Site last updated: 11th May 2012
Latest News
Thumbs Up for the Olympic Stadium
Four of the clubs athletes got chance to compete on everyone's most sought after track - the Olympic Stadium, London.
The annual BUCS (British Universities and Colleges) Championships served this year as the test event for the real thing. Alex Turner, Jodie Wills, Michael Feeney and Chris Hooper were all fortunate to be part of their university teams and got to sample all that the worlds elite athletes will do in 3 months time - warming up on the warm up track, call-up procedures, racing on the track (which by all accounts feels fantastically fast) in front of several thousand people.
Alex Turner (representing Nottingham Trent University) faired the best by progressing through the heats of the women's 800m to the semi's where she ran her fastest time for 6 years recording 2m 11.98, just missing out on a qualifying place in the final.
Michael Feeney (representing Leeds Met Carnegie) ran a seasons best in the mens 100mHurdles narrowly missing out on a place in the semis. Jodie Wills (representing Nottingham Trent) finished fourth in her heat of the women's 200m which was not quite enough to take her through to the next round, and Chris Hooper (also NTU) contested the heats of the mens 800m.
A few days later Emily Heappey also had the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in the Olympic Stadium. She was part of the Midlands team competing in the UK School Games Finals, a further 'London Prepares' event, designed for athletes in the U17 age group. She ran a seasons best in the 300m hurdles, 48.34.
Club Records Fall Again
Cara Brown continued her assault on the U13 girl throws records. At the Trafford Open on Bank Holiday Monday she broke one of the few club records still standing from 2001. The U13 girls discus record had been a persistent feature back from the very early days of when the club started. Cara wiped that record by adding a further metre to the record, throwing 19m 69. At the same meeting she also added a couple more metres onto her own existing record in the javelin throwing 23m11.
Also in the U13 age group Omar Aikman broke the existing club U13
boys high jump record by 1 cm at the first Mini League match of the
season, taking the new record to 1.43m.
Congratulations to both.
The updated club records can be viewed HERE.
Saturday 12th May
Please note that there is no training on this day for any groups due to the County Championships event.
AVEAC Take the Lead in Mini League
The first track and field Mini League match of the season saw bumper athletes and spectators all keen to get competing in the first real outdoor local test of form. Close as expected between AVEAC and Chesterfield DAC with only 15 points separating the two clubs.
The U11 girls won their section helped by Madeleine Beebe who was 2nd in the 80m, Jessie Brown 1st in HJ, Lily Naylor 2nd HJ and Esme Moss 3rd in 600m. The U11 boys tied for first place with Chesterfield. Sam White took maximum points in LJ and 3rd in 600m, Fran Higton 2nd in 600m and 3rd in 150m, and Zak Fookes 2nd in 80m.
The U13 boys won their section with consistently high performances but it was Omar Aikman who produced the only win in the boys 800m and added a further centimetre to the club high jump record jumping 1.43m. The U13 girls finished 2nd with best performances coming from Caitlin Emerson (2nd shot) and Maddie Pointon (2nd LJ).
Chloe Gee scored well to help the U15 girls to their section win, with 1st in 200m and 2nd in both the 100m and 75mH. Niamh Emerson recorded a double win in the 800m and HJ with further 2nd place finishes from Steffi Luker-Edwards (800m) and Grace Teasdale (discus). The U15 boys were somewhat depleted in numbers and had Kasey Pearson to thank for maximum points in discus and 2nd place shot, with Tom Slack coming 2nd in 80mH and Alex Knibbs 3rd in LJ.
The next match in the league is on Saturday 9th June.
1st AVEAC 526.5, 2nd CDAC 509.5, 3rd Derby AC 368.5, 4th Buxton and Blackwell (composite team) 194.5, 5th Heanor RC 20.
Full results can be found on www.dcaa.org.uk.
Perfect Parlauf for Jethro
Jethro McGraw medalled for the third year in a row at the annual Aviva National Sportshall Finals at the NEC, Birmingham on 21st April.
The 800m specialist topped the podium at the flagship development event in the U15 boys 8 lap Parlauf, having done the same last season as an U13. This years running partner was sprinter Jordan Ofield from Chesterfield AC and together the combination of speed and endurance paid off, winning their heat and then having an agonising wait to see if the time was quicker than that run in the first heat.
Theirs was the only gold medal won by Derbyshire athletes. Jack Allen, in his last ever Sportshall competition, just missed out on a medal in the standing triple jump. Lying in bronze medal position throughout his hopes were dashed by an athlete jumping further with the very last jump of the competition, relegating him to 4th position.
Derbyshire's age group teams found the day hard going in general with a 6th place finish in the U15 boys team, and 11th for both the U13 girls and U15 girls, out of 12 teams.
AVEAC fielded 11 athletes in total including Tamsin McGraw, Cara Brown, Emily Coope, Maisy Allen, Maisie Knighton, Lydia Gilliver, Megan Bruce Molly Mee and Georgina Trace.
Try (Wet!) Athletics Evening
AVEAC was one of around 190 clubs up and down the country putting on a community event to mark 100 days to go until the opening of the London 2012 Olympics.
The invitation went out to local schools to come and 'Try Athletics' and for club members to bring their friends along to the clubs base at the Rutland Sports Park, Ilkeston. Unfortunately for everyone the rain that had fallen almost the entire day persisted into the evening, but despite the cold and wet the youngsters got to try their hand at long jump, shot putt, sprinting and running with enthusiasm and a large dose of Dunkirk spirit!
The club was fortunate to have as our guest athlete and Olympic hopeful Matt Roberts. Unfortunately conditions were too wet for Matt to give us a high jump demonstration but he joined in the warm up and chatted to athletes about his life in athletics and his dreams for London this summer.
Thank you to all the club coaches and helpers who organised the event and turned out in such awful conditions to help make the evening such a positive experience.
If you are interested in trying running, jumping and throwing you don't need to wait until the next Olympics! Newcomers (8 years min) are welcome at our club sessions on Saturdays and / or Tuesdays. Just turn up and join in. Or for more information email info@aveac.org.uk.
Competition Practice
Over 60 AVEAC athletes took the opportunity to get in some early season track and field practice at the clubs informal intra-club 'Warm Up' competition.
This mini competition version during our Saturday training session offered new and inexperienced athletes the chance to see what it's like in a competition, and gave older athletes the chance to see how they have over-wintered before the main league and championships period starts.
Thank you to all officials, coaches and parents who helped on the day.
Results can be downloaded here:
Give Athletics a Try!
With 100 days to go until the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games Amber Valley & Erewash AC are getting ready for the Olympic and Paralympic Games by giving local people the chance to get involved at a Try Athletics session.
Amber Valley & Erewash AC is an official England Athletics affiliated club and is hosting a Try Athletics session to give the community the chance to try Athletics. It is doing this as a partner in a nationwide campaign, being promoted by England Athletics, to help give more people the opportunity to get involved in Athletics during the Olympic and Paralympic year of 2012.
The Try Athletics session is taking place on 18th April 2012 starting at 7pm and going on until 8.30pm and is open to 8 - 15 year olds who are not club members. Complete beginners are welcome as are those who may have done some athletics at school.
The session is taking place at the clubs training base and track at the Rutland Sports Park, West End Drive, Ilkeston and is free of charge. No equipment or specialist clothing is required but participants should wear kit suitable for chilly spring evenings e.g. joggers, sweatshirt and trainers.
'Try Athletics' means just that! Experience running on a track, jumping into a long jump pit, throwing a javelin or the challenge of running over hurdles.
All this and more lead by qualified club coaches. We are also looking to strengthen our teams for league competition this summer so we will also be on the lookout for new running ,jumping and throwing talent.
Jack All-Rounder Champion in Derbyshire Sportshall Success
AVEACs Jack Allen was a surprise winner of the U15 boys All-Rounder crown at the Aviva East Midlands Regional Sportshall Athletics Finals at Grantham on 31st March. Contesting the 2 Lap sprint, shot and standing triple jump he topped the rankings out of the 26 lads on the day, scoring a magnificent 146 points out of a possible 150. Along with clubmate Jethro McGraw and four Derbyshire teammates from Chesterfield AC the U15 boys team were convincing winners over Nottinghamshire in second place, and they now go through to represent the East Midlands in the Aviva National Sportshall Finals on the 21st April.
To take the All-Rounder title Jack won the 2 Lap sprint in easy fashion, threw a personal best in the shot to finish third, and then hop, stepped and jumped over 8m to win the standing triple jump. Rounding off an excellent afternoon he took a further gold medal as the U15 boys 4 x 2 Lap relay cruised to victory.
Jethro McGraw finished in fourth place in the All-Rounder category with a particularly pleasing win in shot, throwing 11.54m in the final round to take the lead. Jethro combined with Chesterfields Jordan Ofield in the 8 Lap Parlauf using the 2:4:2 format to great effect to take a further gold.
The Derbyshire U15 girls team featuring AVEACs Molly Mee and Georgina Trace also won through to the National Finals. Molly, a veteran of so many Sportshall regional finals again came good in the 8 Lap Parlauf with Chesterfields Ella Barrett taking gold, and Georgina won the shot putt as she did last year then as an U13. She also picked up a further gold as part of the victorious U15 girls 4 x 2 Lap relay team.
Derbyshire's U13 girls team became the third team to make it through to the Finals despite some last minute changes to the team. Emily Coope picked up two individual gold medals in vertical jump and a wonderfully paced 4 Lap race. Tamsin McGraw also showed great tactical awareness by coming through strongly in the closing stages of the gruelling 6 Lap race. Maisie Knighton was another AVEAC medal winner taking gold in speed bounce. Lydia Gilliver and Maisy Allen were also part of the winning team.
Unfortunately a strong Nott's team prevented Derbyshire taking a clean sweep of victories as they narrowly beat the Derbyshire U13 boys team to first place. Six AVEAC boys made up half of the U13 boys team and whilst there were no individual gold medallists Scott Ram took silver in standing long jump, Lewis Walker took silver in vertical high jump, with bronzes for George Dave in standing long jump and William Collings in speed bounce. Scott, George and William also took team gold when winning the 4 x 1 relay.
....lots of updates and important info..please keep scrolling down!
Derbyshire County Championships 2012
Entry forms are now available for the joint Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Championships on 12th and 13th May. There is a full programme of events for age groups U13's through to Masters.
All AVEAC athletes are encouraged to enter. Entries must be made by the closing date of 23rd April as no late entries will be accepted (no entry on the day). Download an entry form HERE.
In addition, younger athletes have an event especially for themselves. A Quadkids event is again being incorporated within the main Championships and is open to any boy or girl currently in school Year 4 or 5. They do not have to be a member of an athletics club. County eligibility is by school (not club or place of birth). Those who attend a Nottinghamshire school compete on Saturday 14th May, and those who attend a Derbyshire school compete on the 15th May.
Each athlete does a 75m sprint, a 600m run, long jump and a howler javelin throw. Points are scored according to performance - the faster you run and the further you throw and jump the more points you get. Points for the four events are totalled giving an overall score. Medals for top 3 boy and girl in each county.
Closing date for entries 28th April and there is a maximum limit of entries so early entry is recommended. Download a Quadkids entry form HERE.
Training Cancelled
Please note that training is cancelled for Recreation and Foundation groups on Saturday 31st March due to the regional Sportshall athletics final, and also for these groups on Saturday 21st April due to Mini League (see below).
Mini League Match 1
Match 1 in this years track and field Derbyshire Mini League is on Saturday 21st April at Moorways Stadium, Derby. All club athletes in U11 (must be 9 years old on the day), U13 and U15 age groups should take part as the league is equally suitable for those of all abilities.
Info letter can be downloaded HERE. Entries should be made via this form (which is also being given out at training). Remember we need to know if you are competing.
Membership Renewals
All current members are reminded that annual membership renewals are due in April. The membership form can be Downloaded Here.
Forms should be completed and signed where marked and returned, along with payment, to a training session in April (please note forms brought before April 3rd cannot be processed). Athletes will also receive their personal Athlete 365 Member Pack.
Renewals must be made by April 30th after which time memberships will be considered lapsed. Please note that we will not be sending personal reminders via email or post and it is up to members / parents to get renewals in on time.
March Newsletter
Read on for important news about training, competition and much more. Download Here.
Congratulations to ...
Emily Heappey for being selected for the Midlands Team for the National UK School Games Finals.
The UK School Games is sponsored by Sainsbury's and is a multi-sport event for the elite young athletes of school age ( for athletics this is the U17 age group) in the run-up to the London Olympics. This years UKSG is on 6 - 9th May and Emily will have the honour and fantastic opportunity of competing in the 300m hurdles in the Olympic Stadium itself in front of what is expected to be a massive crowd! Good luck Emily.
Congratulations to David Feeney who has been awarded a bursary from Derbyshire Sports' 'Podium' scheme that helps support Derbyshire's emerging sports stars.
David has represented GB and Scotland in the decathlon and heptathlon, was part of the Sheffield Flames team that finished second in this years McCain Indoor City Challenge and is currently ranked 18th in the UK over Senior Men 60m hurdles.
Congratulations to Jethro McGraw who is finishes the indoor season second in the national rankings at U15 boys 800m.
AVEAC Mini League Cross Country Champions
The Cross Country Mini League trophy made its way back to Ilkeston for the first time in 4 years thanks to some consistently high performances from the clubs young endurance runners.
Competing in the final match at Tupton Hall School AVEACs only individual age group winner was Tamsin McGraw in the U13 girls section, with other medal places taken by Niamh Emerson in second and Emily Coope in third.
Omar Aikman and Dan Jones were also in the medals in the boys U13 age group taking silver and bronze respectively. There were also individual overall bronzes for U11's Sam White in the boys and Lucy Berwick and Esme Moss equal third in the girls.
Runners Up in Sportshall
AVEAC finished the Mini League Sportshall series as runners up behind a consistently dominant display of performance and attendance by Chesterfield DAC athletes who won every age group trophy.
However five AVEAC athletes were awarded Athlete of the Match mementos and T shirts going to William Collings, Maddison Pointon, Megan Bruce, Jack Allen and Jethro McGraw.
Updated Events Calendar
Click here to see the latest events and competitions which have been added to the Calendar. Where will you be competing this year?
Derbyshire Athletics Network Sessions for Coaches
The second sprints coaching session for coaches will be held at Moorways, Sunday 5th Feb 2012, 9.30am-12.30pm. The theme for the session will be the 'Start Phase'. In addition, Joe Walker (Derby AC) will be running a Throws session for all interested coaches.
DAN are hosting their first Jumps coaching session, aimed at coaches throughout the county at Mount St Marys, Spinkhill on Sunday 25th March 2012 between 10am-1pm. The session will be delivered by the following lead coaches, Jon Baker PV, Joe McColgan TJ/LJ and Colin Barnes HJ. All coaches with an interest in jumps are encouraged to attend and update and enhance their skills
Annual General Meeting
Notice is given of the forthcoming club AGM on Monday 20th February at the Golf Clubhouse (past the track on West End Drive, situated at the end of the cul-de-sac) at 8pm.
The purpose of the meeting is to receive the Annual Reports and Accounts for the past year, to elect Officers and adopt and amendments to the club Constitution. Any changes to the Constitution, nominations for Office and any other appropriate business must be received by the Secretary (Julie Feeney) in writing by 13th February.
All parents, coaches, officials and athletes over 16 are most welcome. Come along and hear how the club has been doing and it's plans for the future.
Important Changes to Training
Winter training in its present format will continue up to and including March. Summer training will see some new changes to training days and times.
The main change is that there will be no training for any groups on Wednesdays. Instead, ALL athletes will train on the track on Tuesdays. This means that those athletes in the Recreation Group and Foundation Group who usually train on Wednesdays will now train on Tuesdays.
Those athletes in the sprints and middle distance Event Groups who train on Tuesdays will not be affected as these groups will carry on as normal. Athletes in the hurdles Event Group who normally train on Tuesdays will now move to the clubs track session on Thursday. All other training days and sessions are unchanged.
We are making these changes to reduce the workload on coaches (who in some cases coach on four days a week), to reduce track hire costs, and to promote an enhanced club unity by having all coaches, athletes and parents together at one session a week.
Further details of exact times and how the Tuesdays will operate will be given out nearer the time. We are giving information now so that any necessary arrangements to busy midweek after school / after work schedules can be made.
This arrangement will be in operation from 3rd April through to September 29th.
Mini League Cross Country and Sportshall
The winter Derbyshire Mini League series is coming to a close with the final matches in both Sportshall and cross country coming soon.
On Sunday 12th Feb the sixth and final Sportshall match takes place at Queens Park Leisure Centre, Chesterfield. All athletes in U11, U13 and U15 age groups are still welcome to compete. Report to club team managers in the cafe area at 1pm. First events start at 1.30pm.
Presentations of the overall age group trophies will take place as soon after the last events as possible, and there will also be the presentation of the Athlete of the Match T-shirts and mementoes to 12 deserving athletes.
The third and final cross country fixture takes place at Tupton Hall School, Tupton, near Chesterfield on Saturday 18th February.
Please note that the first race (U11s) starts at 10a.m. (not the usual 11a.m.). All athletes in the U11, U13 and U15 age groups can take part. AVEAC is doing particularly well in this league so athletes are encouraged to compete and stay behind for individual and team trophy presentations.
County Sportshall Success
Fifteen U11 AVEAC athletes were part of the winning Derbyshire team who competed at the Aviva East Midlands 'Fun in Athletics' Sportshall Athletics Regional Final at Grantham.
(as with all small 'thumbnail' images on this site, just click on the picture so see a larger version)
The county team lifted the title for the second consecutive year as an inter-county event, adding to all the impressive wins year after year that the Amber Valley Borough squad had when the event had a wider entry remit.
AVEAC athletes who had particular success were William Collings (2nd= speed bounce, 3rd standing triple jump), Cole Pointon (1st balance test), Lily Naylor (1st Target throw), Caitlin Emerson (2nd chest push) and Claudia Johnson and Lucy Berwick combining to win the 6 lap parlauf. Well done to all athletes.
Record Breaker McGraw
AVEAC athletes came away with 4 medals from the Northern Indoor Track and Field Championships at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Jethro McGraw turned in the star performance of the weekend.
Competing on the indoor track for the first time ever he found the boards to his liking and took gold in the U15 boys 800m. Cruising comfortably through the heats he struck the front of the pack in the final in determined style and lead from gun to tape. With no one to push him on Jethro pushed himself against the clock over the four laps. The crowd and the announcer sensed that he was on course for a record attempt and he was loudly cheered on throughout, crossing the line in a new Championship Best Performance time of 2.01.75.
You can watch a video clip of the final by clicking here.
The time takes three seconds off his previous outdoor best for 800m
and took a second and a half off the previous record, held ironically by
another quality Derbyshire athlete, Matlock ACs Josh Moody.
AVEACs second gold medal came from Georgina Trace who won the U15 girls
shot putt with a best throw of 9.12m.
There were two further medals this time from two of the clubs longest serving athletes. On day 1 David Feeney took a silver in the Senior Mens 60m Hurdles, then on day 2 Alexandra Turner also won a silver in the Senior Women's 800m. Jess Turner made the final of the U20 women's 400m finishing in sixth place, her first race in this age group, and Emily Heappey finished fifth in the U17 women's 60m Hurdles final.
County Selections for Sportshall
Congratulations to the many AVEAC athletes who have been selected for the Derbyshire Sportshall Athletics teams from their performances at Mini League matches.
The U11s include several who make it into the county team for the first time and they compete at Grantham on 22nd January. William Collings, Sam White, Adam Berwick, Fergus Hernon, Cole Pointon, Joseph Johnson, Alex Price, Thomas Buda, Claudia Johnson, Lucy Berwick, Lily Naylor, Esme Moss, Sophie Meakin, Madeleine Beebe, Caitlin Emerson.
The U13 / U15 Derbyshire team compete at Grantham on 5th February and includes Jack Allen. Jethro McGraw, Georgina Trace, Molly Mee, George Dave, Scott Ram, Omar Aikman, Lewis Walker, Daniel Jones, Emily Coope, Maisie Knighton, Maddie Pointon, Niamh Emerson, Lydia Gilliver.
North Midlands League Cross Country, Saturday 14th January 2012.
We were treated to a glorious sunny but crisp winter day for the 4th and final event of the North Midlands League cross country series at Nottingham's Wollaton Park last Saturday. As the last event in the series the results would determine the overall team and individual places for the series.
The highlight for AVEAC was our U13 girls squad (Niamh Emmerson, Tamsin McGraw, Steffi Luker-Edwards and Emily Coope) who took first team place ahead of Newark and Mansfield. As a team, these girls have been very consistent over the whole series and all have featured in every one of the four races.
Having won the last two of these races, Niamh was not quite at her best with a 4th place which meant 2nd place overall rather than the win she had hoped for. However, as the driving force behind every team performance Niamh should be proud of her achievement overall. Strong runs from Steffi (14th), Tamsin (15th) and Emily (21st) gave the team the best points score of the day and secured overall victory.
AVEAC had a very strong turn out in the U13 boys race and were battling with Derby for the overall League trophy. However, despite some excellent running, the lads just missed out with Derby narrowly beating our boys in to 2nd place. Well done to Dan Jones (12th), Alex Knibbs (14th), Omar Aikman (17th), Christian Howett (19th), Scott Ram (26th) and Dexter Deville (29th).
In the U11 mixed event Sam White was 14th followed by Lucy Berwick (16th overall but 4th girl) and Adam Berwick (24th).
Other AVEAC runners included Jess Lockwood (9th U15 girls), David Narborough (22nd U17 Men)
Derbyshire Cross Country Championships, Saturday 7th January 2012 Markeaton Park.
A total of 17 Amber Valley & Erewash AC runners took part in the Derbyshire Cross Country Championships at Derby's Markeaton Park last Saturday. Although it was a mild and dry day, the recent heavy rain had guaranteed heavy conditions underfoot for much of the course with particularly muddy uphill sections.
AVEAC best performances were in the U13 girls event with 'in-form' Niamh Emerson storming to victory with Tamsin McGraw (3rd) closely followed by Steffi Luker-Edwards (4th). The AVEAC girls took a well deserved team gold.
In the U13 boys event AVEAC had a total of 5 runners with Dan Jones 6th), Alex Knibbs (7th) and Christian Howett (9th) taking the team silver medals followed by Dexter Deville (12th) and Scott Ram (15th).
Jethro McGraw had a very strong run finishing 2nd in the U15 boys race in his first year in this age group.
We had 3 the Lockwood sisters all competing with Jessica finishing in 9th place in the U15 girls race, Jennie 6th in the U17 Women's and Jose 3rd in the U20 Women's. Younger brother Jason finished 9th in the U11boys event which may well be a Club record for the number of siblings in one competition!
Sam White finished in a very creditable 7th place in the U11 boys race with Caitlin Emerson (6th) and Esme Moss (7th) in the U11 girls.
Congratulations to the 8 AVEAC runners who have gained selection for the Derbyshire team to compete in the televised Inter-County cross country championships to be held at Birmingham:-
Dan Jones, Alex Knibbs, Niamh Emerson, Tamsin McGraw, Steffi Luker-Edwards, Jethro McGraw, Jennie and Jose Lockwood.
Full results can be seen on the link below.
http://www.dcaa.org.uk/DCAA%20XC%20Champs%202012.pdf
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