Last Thursday night saw local young athletes compete at a warm-up meeting hosted by GYDAC at the Wellesley Track in Gt Yarmouth. A cool evening saw 21 athletes from Waveney Valley AC compete across sprints, endurance and some limited field events in a packed schedule which run behind due to the large number of athletes in attendance.

Ten U11 Waveney girls and boys competed, with Brooke Oram setting a new PB and club record in the whizz ball with a throw of 23.7m to win the event, Joel Burgess set a new PB in the 600m with a time of 2.07.11 in a race he led from the start, but was beaten to 2^nd in the home straight, where Oscar Taylor pulled on the Waveney shirt for the first time

Eight U13 Waveney girls and boys competed, with a notable performance from Tai Elvin-Andrews running his first ‘mile’ in a time of 5.51.5 to finish 3^rd. Leo Joscelyne ran a strong 600m with a 3^rd place finish in 2.10.6 and Callum achieving a PB in the long jump. For the girls, Harriet Gooch made a PB in the shot put with 5.07m with Hannah Mayne and Mia both running well in the 75m and 150m – the former winning both.

Just three U15 Waveney girls competed, with Emily Archbold setting a PB in the Shot Put with a throw of 6.73m, closely followed by Lauren Oram with 6.36. Lauren was running strongly in the ‘mile’ before pulling out with a popped knee. Harriet Lyman ran a great 300m for the first time finishing with a time of 50.9 a great platform to build on for the coming season.

Jack Strachan, a coach with Waveney Valley AC, but competing for CoNAC won both the 150m and 300m recording 2 new PBs with times of 17.6 and 37.00.

Haughley Park, Stowmarket was the venue for the third fixture in the Suffolk Winter Cross County League. The conditions at Haughley Park proved to be ideal for cross-country running, with mild sunny weather and not too muddy underfoot to hinder runners, so some very fast times were recorded.

The date of this fixture had been changed twice, which affected Waveney Valley Athletics Club’s turnout for the event, as it clashed with other events, mainly a 10 mile road race, which several members had pre entered, before the change of date. So it was a small squad of 13 seniors and 2 juniors who travelled to Stowmarket.

Despite a smaller squad, there was some very fine performances, Dominic Oliver dominated the senior race from the start, and had a good lead at the end of the first lap of the 2-lap course. He finished over a minute ahead of the second placed runner with his swift time of 32:42.

Other notable performances, Martin Hewetson clocked 35:21 to take 8th place. Robert Cheverton was top in his age of V55+ finished in 23rd place overall in 37:18. It was good to see Chris Pimlott back to racing after over a month off with a foot injury; he put in a steady run in finishing in 94th place in 42:48. Stuart Smith’s run to the line, got the club’s team managers vote for the best sprint finish of the race, he was determined not to be beaten by the fast finishing runner from Felixstowe, and just managed to find the drive to keep ahead. The men’s A team finished in 9th place overall.

Rose Nicholson recorded her hat trick of victories in the senior ladies category, in crossing the line in 26th place overall and 2nd in the ladies race, with her time of 37:59. Elies Mann and Caren Elvin also ran well and recorded valuable points for the ladies team to secure them 3rd place in the league table. The combined ladies and men’s A team moved up to 6th place in the league, whilst the B team are 23rd.

In the junior race Waveney had only two runners owing to most of the juniors competing at sport hall events, but the club’s two middle distance runners Jamie Besford and Tai Elvin-Andrews both put in very creditable performances, with Jamie crossing the line in 19th place overall (8th U.13) with 14:16. Tai recorded his highest place over the 3 races in clinching 16th place (10th U.13) clocked 14:34.

The next race is on Sunday, which is hosted by Bungay Black Dog at a new venue Heveningham Hall.

Full senior results:

1st Dominic Oliver 32:42
8th Martin Hewetson 35:21
23rd Robert Cheverton 37:18
26th Rose Nicholson 37:59
36th Paul Sullivan 38:37
94th Chris Pimlott 42:48
98th Tim Earl 43:08
101st Bill Kingaby 43:19
150th Elies Mann 47:00
173rd Peter Andrews 48:58
190th Caren Elvin 50:53
225th Stuart Smith 56:35
253rd Andrew Brown 67:31

Young Waveney Valley Athletic Club athletes were among around 100 athletes aged between 8 and 15 who took part in the 23rd Norfolk Sportshall Championships at the UEA Sporkspark on Saturday. Events included the shot put, javelin, chest push, long, triple and vertical jumps, speedbounce, sprints and longer runs.

Waveney had over 20 athletes competing against other athletes from clubs over Norfolk. There were some great performances from the Waveney athletes, many of whom achieved PB’s, and qualified through the race heats for the finals. In addition, medals were won by:

Jake Block (U15), bronze – shot put
Harriet Gooch and Mia (U13s), bronze – speedbounce
Harriet Lyman (U13), bronze – 4 lap
Jamie Besford (U13), bronze – 4 lap
Brooke Oram (U11), silver – javelin
Leon Cousins (U13), silver – long jump
Dylan Davies (U13), silver – shot
Theo Hudson (U11), silver – chest push
Hannah Mayne (U13), gold – long jump, triple jump and vertical jump, silver – 2 lap

Following the Sportshall league and the championship, Hannah Mayne, Leon Cousins, Dylan Davies, Kieran Covill, Shamara Hammonds, Joel Burgess and Theo Hudson from Waveney Valley were confirmed as members of the Norfolk County team to compete in the Regional Sportshall competition in Hertfordshire in February, great recognition for their performances over the meetings.

Sunday then saw 2 of Waveney Valley’s youngsters compete in the Norfolk XC Championships. Competing in the U11 age group, but aged just 8 years old, Benjamin Cone and Grace Forster performed admirably against the older athletes with Grace finishing 7th out of 16 girls (but 15th out of 30 overall) with a time of 7.28 and Benjamin finishing 9th out of 14 boys (19th out of 30 overall) with a time of 7.36. The winning girl was Jessica Norkett of Thetford AC with a time of 7.04 and Finlay Spear of Bungay Black Dog for the boys in 6.34.

The previous Sunday saw Tai Elvin-Andrews competing in the Suffolk XC Championships at Ickworth Park who finished 25th out of 37 under 13 boys in a time of 14.11 – a great performance by an athlete new to XC. The winner from Ipswich Harriers was Matthew Snowden in a time of 11.52.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club had 23 members competing in the second fixture of the Suffolk Winter Cross Country League, which was hosted by Woodbridge Shufflers at Sutton.

The course at Sutton proved to be very deceptive, although mainly flat, runners had to tackle a mixed terrain consisting of farmland, sandy sections and muddy footpaths. The sandy sections proved to be particularly demanding, as the sand was very soft

Joe Skipper who as youngster competed for Waveney Valley on the track as well as at cross country, made a welcome return to the league, in putting in a very strong performance in coming in 2nd place overall in the speedy time of 31:43. Close on his heels was Dominic Oliver who clinched 1st place in the U.20”s in finishing in 4th place overall. Bill Kingaby is getting back to full fitness and put in a improved performance in clocking 40:10 for 85th place, which earned him 1st place in the V60 category.

In the ladies section Rose Nicholson continues to impress in taking 2nd spot in the ladies section and 1st in the senior ladies section in clocking 36:16 in 37th place overall. The Ladies A team of Rose, Catherine and Dawn once again finished in 2nd place to maintain their 2nd place in the league, just 15 points adrift of the leaders St. Edmund Pacers.

In the junior section, Tai Elvin-Andrews was the first home for the club, in finishing in 11th place in the under 13 section in clocking 16:04. Samuel Stephens making his debut in cross-country running was not far behind in 13th place in the same age group. Harriet Lyman was in good form in finishing in 5th place in the girls 13 section with her time of 16:35.

Would members please note that there is a change of date for the next fixture, the new date is Sunday 9th February at Haughley Park, Stowmarket.

Senior Results:

2nd Joe Skipper 31:43
4th Dominic Oliver 32:03
8th Martin Hewetson 33:12
37th Rose Nicholson 36:16
71st Catherine Ricketts 38:43
82nd Tim Earl 39:48
85th Bill Kingaby 40:10
125th David Mower 42:55
130th Dawn Carver 43:09
142nd Nigel Herrod 44:00
145th Tamsin Desborough 44:04
153rd Joe Mayne 44:33
154th Ann Millett 44:42
182nd Peter Andrews 47:19
185th Sarah Bradley 48:56
196th Caren Elvin 48:56
208th Laura Meen 51:02
210th Michaela Gooch 51:09
211th James Gooch 51:29
237th Andrew Brown 57:27

A long journey for Waveney Valley AC’s young athletes was made for Round 3 of the Norfolk Sportshall League, which took place on Saturday 30 November at Lynnsport in Kings Lynn. Waveney took a squad of 23 junior athletes to compete against other athletes from several City of Norwich AC (CoNAC) teams, Bungay Black Dog AC (BBD), a combined Ryson AC/W Norfolk AC team, Gt Yarmouth & District AC (GYDAC), Dereham and a combined Diss/Thetford team. Track and field events both took place in one sports hall making for a noisy afternoon of athletics.

 

The U11 boys team consisted of Joel Burgess, Benjamin Cone, Reuben Harvey, Finn Howes and Vaughan Beckham. The boys finished 3^rd out of the 8 teams with 309 points – another improvement over rounds 1 and 2. Joel finished 3^rd out of 13 in the 4 lap with a time of 54.2s, and the boys finished 3^rd in the Obstacle relay.

 

The U11 girls team included Abeni Beckham, Shamara Hammonds, Libby Mayall, Maisie Elvin-Andrews and Grace Forster who finished the day a fantastic 3rd out of 13 teams with 277 points, an improvement of 3 places over round 2. There were several notable performances with Shamara finishing 4^th of 22 athletes in the 2 lap with a time of 25.7, 5^th of 24 in the seated ball throw and Grace 4^th of 24 in the 4 lap with a time of 56.1s, and 3^rd out of 24 in the vertical jump. Shamara and Grace also finished 3^rd in the Paarlaaf and the girls team finished 3^rd of 11 in the obstacle relay.

 

The U13 boys team equalled round two’s 2^nd place, with another 2^nd place finish from 7 teams with 399 points – a further 12 point improvement over round 2. Tai Elvin-Andrews, Jamie Besford, Dylan Davies, Leon Cousins, Callum and Dylan Harvey formed the team. Leon performed well in both jumps – winning the triple jump with 6.30, and 2^nd in the long jump with 2.12m. Dylan Davies, victorious in the shot in rounds 1 and 2 was beaten into 2^nd this time around with a throw of 7.69m. Callum and Tai gained a 2^nd place finish in the paarlauf, with the boys gaining a 2^nd in the 4x 2 lap relay.

 

The U13 girls team again consisted of Hannah Mayne, Harriet Lyman, Harriet Gooch, Lily Collins and Mia and improved over round 2 with a 3^rd place of 7 teams with 387 points, just 5 points off the 2^nd placed team from CoNAC. Hannah again won the 2 lap (from 13) with a time of 23.7s, the long jump (from 13) with 2.08m, and the vertical jump (from 10). Harriet Lyman achieved a 3^rd place finish in the 6 lap with a time of 84.7s, and 4^th in the triple jump with 5.69m. The girls also gained a 2^nd place in the 4x 2 lap.

 

Two U15 boys competed for the club – Jake Block and Lewis Covill who built on their previous performances in round 2.

 

To round off the day and competition was the trophy presentation for the winners over the 3 rounds. Waveney’s U11 girls team just missed out on a trophy with an overall 4^th place finish, but both the U11 boys and the U13 girls collected trophies for their respective 3^rd place finish’s. The U13 boys were rewarded for their efforts by collecting 2^nd place trophies.

 

As an added bonus, 9 of the clubs athletes have now been selected for County training with Norfolk with a view to represent the County in the Regional Sportshall competition in Hertfordshire in February. From the U11s Joel Burgess, Shamara Hammonds and Theo Hudson were selected, from the U13s Dylan Davies, Hannah Mayne, Callum and Leon Cousins were selected and from the U15s Jake Block and Kieran Covill were selected.

 

The next Sportshall competition is the Norfolk Champs 11 January 2013 at the UEA Sportspark.

 

Round 2 of the Norfolk Sportshall League took place on Saturday 9 November 2013 at Taverham in Norwich with Waveney Valley Athletic Club taking a large squad of 32 junior athletes to compete against 228 other athletes from City of Norwich AC (CoNAC), Bungay Black Dog AC (BBD), Ryson AC/W Norfolk AC, Gt Yarmouth & District AC (GYDAC), Dereham and Hethersett High. Although a damp and drizzly day, the athletes were unaware, as all the events took place in the venues 2 large sports halls.

Waveney’s athletes competed in the U11 and U13 team categories for both girls and boys, with the U15’s competing individually. In both categories athletes compete in the 2 lap, 4 lap, standing long jump, vertical jump, speed bounce and relay, with the U11s also undertaking 2 lap hurdles, seated ball throw and 6 lap paarlauf and the U13s the 6 lap, standing triple jump, shot put, 8 lap paarlauf and 4x 2 lap relay.

The U11 boys team consisted of Theo Hudson, Joel Burgess, Benjamin Cone, Reuben Harvey, Finn Howes and Vaughan Beckham. The boys finished 4^th out of 11 team with 298 points – a huge improvement over round 1’s 7^th place finish with 234 points, and just 1 point from one of CoNACs teams in 3^rd place. Theo gained a 2^nd place (from 18) in the throw with 7m and 3^rd (from 17) in the 2 lap with a time of 27.5s. Benjamin achieved a 3^rd (from 14) in the speedbounce with 44 jumps, and Joel and Theo came 2nd in the paarlauf.

The U11 girls team included Maddie Archbold, Abeni Beckham, Brooke Oram, Shamara Hammonds, Libby Mayall and Maisie Elvin-Andrews who finished the day 6^th out of 13 teams, an improvement of a place and 10 points over round 1. Shamara was the star performer of the team in this meeting, winning the 2 lap (from 26 athletes) with a time of 26.1s and 4^th (from 24) in the 2 lap hurdles with a time of 29.2s.

The U13 boys team were the clubs team of the day with members of Tai Elvin-Andrews, Jamie Besford, Dylan Davies, Leon Cousins, Callum, Jake Hunter, Max Braddock, Harry Bernasconi and Ethan Lee. The boys achieved a fantastic 2^nd place finish of 8 teams with 387 points, much bettering round 1s 4^th place and 347 points. Dylan defended his round 1 shot put win with a throw of 7.5m (of 10). Leon came 3^rd (of 12) in the long jump with 2.0m and 3^rd in the shot put with 6.24m. Callum and Tai gained a 2^nd place in the paarlauf, and the 4x 2 lap relay team also gained a 2^nd place.

The U13 girls team again consisted of Hannah Mayne, Harriet Lyman, Harriet Gooch, Lily Collins and Mia and finished 4^th of 8 with 366 points, just 1 point off the 3^rd placed team from Ryston/W Norfolk. Hannah again excelled by winning both the 2 lap (from 14) with a time of 25.0s, the vertical jump (from 14) with 47cm, and a 2^nd place in the long jump with a leap of 2.01m. Harriet Gooch continued her good form in the speedbounce with a 3^rd place (from 14) with 74 jumps. The girls also finished the 4x 2 lap relay in 3^rd place.

Waveney had seven U15s competing individually against 16 boys and 24 girls. With a very high standard of competition with all athletes competing in all events, Kieran Covill’s performances were notable finishing in 3^rd place overall with 136 points, but winning both the 2 lap and 4 lap races in times of 22.3s and 47.4s respectively and a 3^rd in the standing triple jump with 7.03m. Jake Block gained 108 points for a 9^th place and Lewis Covill gained 66 points. For the girls, Emily Archbold gained 91 points for a 12^th place finish which included a 4^th in the long jump, and 5^th in the vertical jump, Shannon Hall gained 69 points for a 15^th place with Lauren Oram and Georgia Fairs gaining 37 points and 20 points respectively.

The next Sportshall league meeting takes place on 30 November 2013 in Kings Lynn.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club members have travelled outside Suffolk and Norfolk for their most recent road races.
Ailsa MacDonald took part in the Nottingham Robin Hood Marathon on Sept 29, held in perfect conditions over a quick and relatively flat course. Entering into the spirit of the event she joined several other runners by wearing the famous characters costume.
Ailsa was on her race target time until the final 10 miles when, hampered by knee trouble she sustained a few days earlier, she slowed significantly and finished in a time of 4.17.39. Her next marathon will be the Coastal Trail race on Oct 26 when she hopes to run a faster time.
The 31st staging of the Windsor Half Marathon, also on Sept 29, had an entry of almost 4,000 athletes. Competing for Waveney Valley were David and Angela Mower. David finished in 936th place in a time of 1.51.46 and Angela 3,359th in 2.35.27. The race winner was former Kirkley schoolboy – and winner of the 1996 Lowestoft Scores Race – Kojo Kyereme, a member of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, who won in a time of 1.09.37.
Last Sunday, Mark Nussey and Paula Lambert took part in the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k, over a flat course in excellent weather conditions. From the 600-plus entrants Mark finished 57th (13th in his age group) in a time of 45:47 and Paula 181st (7th in age group) in 51:54.

A dozen members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club were part of an entry of more than 400 runners at the recent Great Yarmouth 10k.

A number of personal bests were recorded by club members and three, Lisa Knights, Pat Tuttle and Alan Richardson were amongst the race prize winners. Chris Pimlott finished 26th in a time of 39:01, Richard Aukland was 54th in an excellent pb time of 41:57, Bill Kingaby was 109th  in 45:05.

Lisa Knights and Ailsa MacDonald started the race alongside each other, and that was how they finished, both recording a personal best 45:34 in 115th and 116th places. Lisa also won second prize in her age group. Steve Gibbs was 124th in 46:03, Joe Mayne 149th in 47:55 and Nigel Herrod 151st in 48:12.

Alan Richardson, who won first prize in his age group, was placed 187th in 50:37. David Goosey achieved a pb of 53:39 finishing 246th and Pat Tuttle was 264th in 54:47, winning second prize in her age group. Stuart Smith was 313th in 58:15. There were 399 finishers.

All runners over 18 received a bottle of beer, sponsored by Adnams except, it appears, Bill Kingaby  who somehow failed to notice the huge stack of bottles in the race headquarters.

 

At last Saturdays Gorleston parkrun, Steve Gibbs finished 34th in a time of 22.28 and Maddie Archbold was 116th in 29:27, another personal best for her.

Wind and heavy rain made conditions very difficult for the thousands of runners who took part in the Perkins Great Eastern Run at Peterborough on Oct 13. Waveney Valley Athletic Club member Tracy Mayne joined the 5,200 entrants at the Embankment which quickly became a mudbath as the runners assembled at the start line.

Despite the weather Tracy knocked nine minutes off her previous time over the half marathon distance to finish in 2-41.36 and 3,708th place. On the same day, Alan Richardson took part in the Martlesham 10k, staged over a 4-lap course of the new village of Martlesham Heath. He put in a very strong performance to finish first in his age group with a time of 50:57, in 141st place from a total of 225 finishers.

A number of club members have featured at the Gorleston Cliffs 5k parkruns over recent weeks. On Sep 28 Jon Comyn recorded 20:47 and Alan Richardson 29:32. On Oct 5 Comyn ran a personal best 20:15 and on Oct 12 he crossed the finish line in 20:25. At last Saturdays race, Maddie Archbold recorded a personal best time of 29:39.

The first winter competition of the season took place on Saturday for Waveney Valley Athletic Clubs junior athletes. 20 of the Clubs juniors travelled to Taverham High School in Norwich to compete in Round 1 of the Norfolk Sportshall Athletics League, competing against teams from City of Norwich AC (CoNAC), Bungay Black Dog AC (BBD), Ryson AC/W Norfolk AC, Gt Yarmouth & District AC (GYDAC), Dereham and Hethersett High.

The Sportshall Athletics League provides an excellent opportunity for the athletes to continue to compete against other clubs throughout the winter, but in a more relaxed atmosphere to the summer league, with traditional outdoor events modified to be undertaken indoors. It also provides the Clubs young athletes an ideal shop window to be selected for the Norfolk County team, who won last years National final at the Birmingham NEC.

The athletes competed for the Club in the U11 and U13 categories for both girls and boys, with U15’s competing individually. In both categories athletes compete in the 2 lap, 4 lap, standing long jump, vertical jump, speed bounce and relay, with the U11s also undertaking 2 lap hurdles, seated ball throw and 6 lap paarlauf and the U13s the 6 lap, standing triple jump, shot put, 8 lap paarlauf and 4x 2 lap relay.

In the U11 boys team was Theo Hudson, Joel Burgess, Daniel Allen and Benjamin Cone who finished 7th out of 10 teams on the day with 234 points, just 20 behind 4th. An excellent performance taking into account they were 8/9 years competing often against athletes aged 10. Notable performances came from Joel Burgess who won 2 lap hurdles against 17 boys, and came 3rd in the 4 lap, and Theo Hudson, in his first outing for Waveney, who came 3rd out of 18 in the long jump.

The U11 girls team was Maddie Archbold, Grace Forster, Abeni Beckham, Brooke Oram and Maisie Elvin-Andrews who finished 7th from the 13 teams on the day with 213 points, and just 4 points behind 5th. As with the boys, a great performance as the Clubs athletes were younger than their fellow competitors. Notable performances were from Grace Forster who finished 6th out of 25 in the 4 lap and Maddie Archbold, another Waveney debutant finishing 5th out of 25 in the 2 lap hurdles. Grace and Abeni then combined in the paarlauf to come home 5th out of 12 – just 0.3 seconds from 3rd.

The U13 boys team consisted of Tai Elvin-Andrews, Jamie Besford, Dylan Davies, Leon Cousins and Callum. They achieved a 4th place finish on the day with 347 points, just 20 behind the 2nd placed team from CoNAC. Waveney cleaned up in the Shot Put with Dylan continuing his impressive summer form by winning with a throw of 6.90m. Leon came 2nd with 6.02m and also 3rd in the long jump with 2.04m, just 5cm short of the joint winners from CoNAC. Callum finished an impressive 2nd out of 11 in the 2 lap, with Jamie 3rd in the 6 lap.

The U13 girls team were team of the day, with Hannah Mayne, Harriet Lyman, Harriet Gooch, Lily Collins and Mia finishing 3rd with 372 points out of 9 teams, 28 points behind the 2nd placed team from CoNAC. Hannah was the athlete of the day winning both the long jump with a leap of 1.99, the vertical jump with 48 and finishing 2nd in the 2 lap. Harriet Gooch continued to impress in the speedbounce with 72 jumps. Hannah and Mia performed very well in the 8 lap paarlauf with a 2nd place finish, and despite some slick batons changes, the girls finished 5th in the relay.

Charlotte Gooch performed consistently as the Clubs only U15 competitor in this fixture, but with County places up for grabs, more are anticipated at the next fixture.

Seven members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club took part in the Ipswich Half Marathon in rather humid but otherwise perfect weather conditions.Over the hilly and challenging course, Pat Tuttle secured pride of place for Waveney Valley with a well-earned trophy winning first place in the FV55 age category. Over 1,000 runners were entered and Pat finished 589th in a time of 2.01:29. Mark Nussey was first to cross the finish line for the club in 245th place in 1.44:06 with Paula Lambert next in 422nd in 1.53:43.Alan Richardson was 560th in 2.00:32 and David Goosey recorded a very good time of 2.06:54, in 677th, in his first half marathon. Tracy Mayne was placed 977th in a time of 2.50:44. David Pimlott was forced to retire after just two miles when his lower calf tightened following a long downhill section of the course.

Waveney valley athletic club member Paula Lambert travelled to Newcastle to do the Great North Run half marathon. A very busy race and the weather was poor. Paula finished in a time of 1hr 53 mins. 38 secs Position overall out of 56,000 competitors 10,761. 1754 overall female. 151th in her age.