track and field

Results of Track & Field Championships

Results are now published from our Track & Field Championships. Navigate to the dedicated page or click this link…. http://tinyurl.com/o9phyq6

Inter-Area Challenge Match

Inter-Area Challenge Match, Solihull, 20th July 2014

Any member of Midland Masters AC who is interested in being selected for the Inter-Area match should go to our dedicated page at http://tinyurl.com/kd5mysp for all the details and a postal form to declare your interest.

Please contact Elaine Mee who will be selecting and looking after the team. Additional information can be found on the EAMA website http://tinyurl.com/n7lp5na and a Timetable will be available shortly.

Bookmark the EAMA site http://englandathleticmastersassociation.wordpress.com/

as well as the MMAC site https://midlandmasters.com/ subscribe to follow both sites to get the latest news.

Follow us on Faceboo0k https://www.facebook.com/groups/midlandmastersac/  and Twitter https://twitter.com/mmac1971  to get up to date notifications.

List of Entries T&F Championships

A list of entries for our Track & Field Championships on the 8th June at Nuneaton can now be found on the appropriate page at http://tinyurl.com/o9phyq6 

6 Days to go…..

Midland Masters T&F Championships 2014

The closing date for entering our Championships is strictly the 24th May 2014. Entries will be taken offline on the morning of the 25th. Please do not leave it late to enter online in case there are difficulties we cannot resolve in time. We definitely will NOT be accepting entries after this date.

NOTE: I have added an extra day to the original closing date published

Enter now at http://areg247.co.uk

All MMAC Members are already registered on AREG. Please DO NOT REGISTER AGAIN.

If you either do not know your login details or have forgotten them then please contact me immediately on mmac.sec@blueyonder.co.uk

Entry is open to all paid up MMAC members and members of other regional masters clubs.

Please collect competition numbers on the day.

10k Track Run – Member Poll

Please go to the “10k Track Run Poll” page or click http://tinyurl.com/moefdks to fill in our very important Poll.

We are already looking at our Championships Track programme for next year and were contemplating re-introducing a 10,000m. However, with a congested fixture list, this is not a simple task. Would we get support for this? Would athletes double up with the 5000m? Would it be a disaster for entering other events on the day? How can we get more members to enter a 10,000m track? This is becoming a rare event on the track, so why didn’t more members support it this year?

To help us answer at least a couple of these questions it would be a great help if members completed the Poll.

The Poll closes on the 1st October 2013

MMAC Inter-Area Team Announced

The MMAC Team to compete in the Inter-Area Indoor Challenge Match on the 7th April has been announced today. There are a few gaps to be filled. Please contact Irene Nicholls on irenenn@aol.com if you can help. All details can be found on this website at http://tinyurl.com/bl92y2p

Here you will find a timetable and the rules of the competition as well as a PDF of the MMAC team.

EAMA Inter-Area Indoor Challenge Match

Indoor Inter-Area Track & Field Challenge, Sunday 7th April 2013, Lee Valley Stadium, Enfield

The England Athletics Masters Association is holding an inaugural meeting between Masters Area Clubs and MMAC will, of course, wish to field the strongest team to cover all the events.

We have traditionally been very successful in the Outdoor challenge and, although at the time of publishing this item, we are not able to publish a definitive list of events it is obvious that we shall need sprinters, middle distance runners, throwers, jumpers and walkers.

If you would be willing to take part and interested in representing MMAC in a particular event we should be delighted to hear from you. As places are limited please provide up to date performance information so that we can choose the strongest possible squad.

Please send your information including your address, ‘phone number and email address to irenenn@aol.com or by post to:-
Indoor Challenge, Rainbow Cottage,15 Meadow Lane, Alvechurch, B48 &LH

EA Registration – MMAC Survey Results

The following is a report on the results of our survey carried out recently. It was not a scientific survey but I believe it conveys the views of most of our members.

Owing to the surprising announcement at the end of September by England Athletics about the increases in registration fees and a change in structure and the potential impact on MMAC, I quickly produced an online survey on our website seeking our member’s views. This survey ran for approximately 7 weeks and had a total of 147 participants.

The following questions were asked:-

1. Are you a member of a UKA Club? YES/NO
2. Are you a 1^st Claim Member to MMAC? YES/NO/YES track & field only
3. Are you happy to pay a registration fee to EA? YES/NO
4. Do you recognise the need to pay a registration fee? YES/NO/Please help us understand why you selected this answer
5. If you answered YES to question 4, what would the maximum amount be that you are prepared to pay? £7 to £10 /£10 to £15/ £15 to £20/ Other option
6. Do you agree to a two tier system? i.e. road runners pay less YES/NO
7. Are you satisfied with what you get from the registration scheme? YES/NO/Please help us understand why you selected this answer
8. What would you like to see EA provide out of this extra fee? To your Club/As an individual/Please help us understand why you selected this answer

The above questions were a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to the announcement and with hindsight would probably be either different or phrased differently. However, I felt it important to seek views immediately so that I could present the results at our November Committee meeting. Subsequently to the EA announcement, their own AGM was held where Clubs expressed strong views and as a result a series of Forums have been set up by EA.

Following are the results received to the questions giving both numbers and percentages.

Question 1 – Are you a member of a UKA Club?

136 answered YES (94%); 8 answered NO (6%) – there were 3 who skipped the question

Question 2 – Are you a 1^st Claim Member to MMAC

25 answered YES (17%); 113 answered YES (79%); 6 answered YES Track & Field Only (4%) – there were 3 who skipped the question.

Question 3 – Are you happy to pay a registration fee to EA?

97 answered YES (66%); 50 answered NO (34%) – No skips.

Question 4 – Do you recognise the need to pay a registration fee?

113 answered YES (77%); 34 answered NO (23%) – No skips and 108 comments.

Question 5 – If you answered YES to Question 4, what would the maximum amount be that you are prepared to pay?

52 answered £7 to £10 (44%); 19 answered £10 to £15 (16%); 16 answered £15 to £20 (14%)

31 answered ‘Other Option’ (26%) of which 68% wanted £5

Question 6 – Do you agree to a two tier system? i.e. road runners pay less.

144 answered NO (74%); 38 answered YES (26%) – there were 3 who skipped the question.

Question 7 – Are you satisfied with what you get from the registration scheme?

80 answered NO (56%); 64 answered YES (44%) – 3 skips and 104 comments.

Question 8 – What would you like to see EA provide out of this extra fee?

68 answered ‘To your Club’ (64%); 39 answered ‘As an individual’ (36%) – 40 skips and 113 comments.

General Observations

The overwhelming thing that stood out from the comments was the ignorance of members of either what EA is or does or where we as a Masters Club benefit. Even 1^st Claim status was not understood by all as a few ticked YES both for a UKA Club and MMAC, thus shifting the analysis slightly!

As we would expect, the majority of our members belong to a UKA Club (Q1) but the numbers claiming to be 1^st Claim members was too high at 17%, the actual figure being nearer 11% (Q2). The majority seem happy to pay a registration fee and do recognise the need (Q3 & Q4) however some did question what EA provides for the veteran/master athlete competing in only a few events per year. Others thought that a nominal fee was acceptable but not the large 4x increase. The majority 44% were prepared to pay between £7 and £10 (Q5) and as most members were against the two tier system (Q6) then an across the board registration fee of £10 seemed to be acceptable. It’s interesting that although members generally are happy for a registration scheme the majority are not satisfied with what they get from it (Q7), many not seeing any benefits particularly as veteran/master athletes. From the comments made this is mainly through a lack of understanding. Members wanted EA to provide more to the Clubs than individuals (Q8) but there was a range of comments from wanting more to be done for youngsters through to more for the older athletes.

Conclusions

More education for our members on what EA provides and why we have a registration scheme in the first place is required. I can reply to some of the concerns expressed on the survey to explain or allay their fears and misunderstandings.

This was not a scientific survey and only 22% (147) of the potential 652 members on email/internet actually took part. But it is a guide as to how our members feel. The bottom line is that most are happy to pay an increase up to double the current fees providing it is across the board i.e. road runners and track & field pay the same.

Tom Morris – 23rd November 2013

Perfect Christmas Present ….

Received in my Inbox this morning: –

Dear Secretary,

Re: Book titled My Brother Jeffrey’s Favourite Little Books featuring Who Ate All The Paella?  Stories from the World masters Athletics Champs 2005.

I’ve been down to my last 100 or so copies for a few years now, so have decided to try and safely dispose of them to the good homes of new Masters or those who missed out first time round.  The deal is £4.50 for one, £3.50 every other copy inc. p&p and for every copy sold I will re-imburse your association with £1 per copy for your help. Please note that any money is only going towards off-setting the original print costs (it wasn’t half as cheap then as now!)

All I need from prospective buyers is cheque payable to Kevin Archer, their contact details, any dedication they want in the book and confirmation of their association so you get re-imbursed.

My contact details are:-

Kevin Archer 3 Lower Saint Edmund Street Weymouth Dorset DT4 8AJ Tel: 01305 830096 evenings, 07453698759 day, email kevin_archer45@hotmail.com. That’s kevin (underscore) archer.

About the book.  An attempt at humour with the back drop of the World Masters Athletics Champs.  I got injured there so started writing stories about the characters and just added all the corny jokes that came to mind, but funnily enough not the one about the Chiropodist who only ever ate corn flakes for breakfast!  Characters from all the Associations appear in one guise or another, so your area is represented, including a true but funny piece on the birth and death of Antrim Harriers contributed by Terry Eakin.  The original press and peer reviews in the book are so good I could have written them myself!

So don’t miss out on possibly the best stocking filler since………(buy the book to reveal!)

Alex Rotas Photography

Photographic Exhibition

The Photographer, Alex Rotas, has an Exhibition of her photos that she took at the European VAA Track & Field Championships last August plus other action photos now showing at Aston University, Birmingham, (main building on the Aston Triangle, lower foyer),  from 1 Nov-January.

Please visit Alex’s website at http://www.alexrotasphotography.com