Track and Field 2019 - End of Season Report
- Created on Sunday, 22 September 2019 16:43
- Last Updated on Sunday, 22 September 2019 16:45
- Written by Sarah Dilworth
The Macclesfield Harriers Track and Field team had a very successful 2019 season. More than 145 athletes, from U11s to Masters, competed across the 3 T&F leagues in 12 fixtures. In addition, significant numbers of athletes competed in the Cheshire, Northern and National Championships.
In the Youth Development League (YDL), for U13 and U15 athletes, Macclesfield gained well deserved promotion to North West Division One for the first time in around 10 years. Â At the first match in April in an extremely cold Blackpool they turned in a creditable mid-table performance, but it was in the remaining 3 matches they came into their own with some excellent individual performances, holding off Bury to secure second in the league behind the Blackpool team and gain promotion by the smallest of margins.
In the Northern League, in the early season matches, the U17 and seniors looked like they would be hard pushed to retain their position in Division 3W, but a great turnout and excellent performances in the home fixture (1st placed team) and the final match (3rd place) was enough for the team to finish a creditable 4th place overall to remain in this division for next season. This was a real family affair with parents and children making up the strong team together with coaches turning the tables on athletes by competing, like coach and mum Anna Carey who together with daughter Liliana gained maximum points in the hammer throw event.  Invictus athlete Sacha Sloane and husband Simon, who met through Macclesfield Athletics Track, were another couple who contributed valuable points to the team score.
In the Cheshire league which covers all age groups from U11 to Seniors,  Macclesfield finished in second place overall, thanks in no small part to at least 5 families who had both parents and children competing in this league. Again there were excellent performances across the events with a number of Macclesfield Harriers, including Charlie Orphanides, Rebecca Dilworth, Fin Proffitt and Sophie Fletcher gaining the 'performance of the match' accolade. The U11s are scored separately in the Cheshire League and finished a very creditable 4th place overall.
In addition to the team events, a number of individuals have excelled at Regional Championship level, including Sam Danson who, in addition to representing Cheshire in the prestigious English Schools event, gained an excellent silver in the Long Jump at the North of England Championships with a leap of 6m 45cm. Fin Proffitt, also selected for English Schools, was a NoE medallist winning bronze in the 3000m in 9 min 19.66secs. Charlie Orphanides was another who performed excellently during the season ranking 5th in the UK in the U13 boys javelin with a throw of 38.06m to win the Cheshire Championships in a championship best performance. Hilary West, in spite of injury, returned from the European Masters Championships with a gold medal in the 4 x 400m relay. This year we had 5 athletes gain a AAA Grade 1 standard: Sam Danson, Fin Proffitt, Charlie Orphanides, Claudia Rodriguez and Will Roberts.
These fine performances by the athletes have been supported by our large team of volunteers including coaches, team managers, officials and many helpers - we thank you ALL! The challenge now of course is to build on this success and to do even better in 2020. We can only do this with your help and support, so if you are interested in coaching, officiating or competing in T&F athletics please contact Barbara Murray. In the meantime, good luck to all for the cross country, indoor sportshall and indoor T&F season.
Barbara Murray
Track and Field Manager
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Welcome to the Indoor Sportshall League for 2019/20
- Created on Friday, 20 September 2019 12:59
- Last Updated on Friday, 20 September 2019 15:30
- Written by Julian Brown
From Anne Farmer... '
I am coordinating teams to ensure that Macclesfield Harriers has full teams competing in this fabulous, fun & friendly competition. Which I still have fond memories of. As a club we will need to provide 4 officials/parent helpers for each event. I am happy to officiate but will need three helpers each competition. No experience necessary. It’s not for the whole time so you can watch your child compete.Â
Club Track & Field Awards 2019 Scoring System
- Created on Friday, 03 May 2019 21:00
- Last Updated on Monday, 13 May 2019 06:24
- Written by Sarah Dilworth
The events which will count in the awards are:
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Cheshire League (4 matches, all age groups)
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Youth Development League (4 matches, U13/15)
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Northern League (4 matches, U17-senior)
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Cheshire AAA Championships (U13-senior)
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For attendance, the athlete scores 3 points for each meeting attended.
The number of events to count for each age group are:
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Under 11: Â Â 4 meetings (ie Cheshire T&F league)
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U13 and U15:Â 7 meetings (Cheshire Championships plus 3 Cheshire League plus 3 Youth Development League)
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U17 up to Seniors/Masters: 7 meetings (Cheshire Championships plus 3 Cheshire Leagues plus 3 Northern League)
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For performance, at each meeting, the athlete's performance in his/her best event (ranked against all athletes, not just Macclesfield) will be used to get a score from 6 points for 1st place to 1 point for 6th place.
Attendance and performance scores will be added together to get an overall score for each athlete in each age group.
For U20/Senior/Masters age groups, the position will be ranked based on a single senior classification, but separate awards will be made.
The age group for Senior / Master will be defined as of the first qualifying T&F fixture of the season.
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Track & Field Awards 2019 Tickets
- Created on Wednesday, 11 September 2019 19:39
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 September 2019 19:39
- Written by Sarah Dilworth
We would love you to join us to celebrate our 2019 T&F season on Friday 20th Sept. Tickets are available at the clubhouse on Thursday 12th and Tuesday 17th Sept.
20th anniversary Open Meeting, Macclesfield Athletics Track
- Created on Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:32
- Last Updated on Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:35
- Written by Sarah Dilworth
Macclesfield Harriers have a long established history and so it seems incredible that we have only had a dedicated running track in the town for 20 years. Prior to this, the club would train and coach athletes from the ages of 9 upwards wherever it was possible, usually on the playing fields of local schools in the summer months. On dark and cold winter evenings we would run circuits around the Charter Way entrance to the then Ciba Geigy site (now Astra Zeneca) as it was flat, had no traffic in the evenings and also had street lighting!
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After much fundraising and campaigning for a purpose-built track we finally got what we so desperately needed in early 1999, with a track behind Macclesfield Leisure Centre. The Harriers held their inaugural fixture in June of that year as part of the official opening of the track by the Mayor of Macclesfield. It was very well attended and a just reward for all those volunteers who worked so incredibly hard to turn their aspirations into reality.
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Fast forward 20 years and the club has gone from strength to strength, producing Olympians, World and European champions. The track is now well used not just by Macclesfield Harriers & Athletics Club for club training nights and events such as the annual Macclesfield 5K and Half Marathon and hosting fixtures such as Cheshire Track & Field Championships, but by schools and for the benefit of all in the local community.
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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the track opening we held an Open Meeting on 13 April. Organising such events takes a huge amount of planning, organising everything from online entry to refreshments. Club stalwarts Barbara Murray and Bob Lynch worked tirelessly to recruit all the volunteers we needed from within the club and additional qualified track and field officials from other clubs across Cheshire.
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On a bright but chilly morning over 200 athletes arrived from all across Northern England to compete in the full range of events, from sprints to 3000m and from shot put to pole vault, and help us celebrate. We even had two athletes, Chris Bentley and Geoff Pettengell, who had competed at the track opening event 20 years ago. Despite the cold and the wind an enjoyable day was had by all with too many personal bests to list.
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The next phase of facility development will be an area for indoor athletics, which would be another incredibly valuable asset for Macclesfield, enabling quality athletics coaching to take place all year round, a long way from those cold winter evenings running around the streets of Hurdsfield.
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Simon Frith