In Tampere, Finland, Erin Wallace was flying the flag in the World u20 Championships. Erin put in a magnificent two race shift in the 1500m. In Fridays heat she easily qualified for the final in third place in a time of 4.21.60. In a very tough final Erin ran a very good tactical race clocking 4.17.61 for 7th place. She was first Brit and third European. The race was won by Alemaz Samuel of Ethiopia in 4.09.67. 7th in the world a fantastic performance.
Interview with Erin after the race.
In London Neil Gourley accepted his first senior GB&NI vest at the inaugural Athletics World Cup. Neil, also competing in the 1500m, stormed the last 200m to take the bronze medal and 6 points for the team. The race initially slow and tactical, worked in favour of Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski as he took the win.
‘I came into this knowing that this was my first senior international event and I wanted a lot more,’ said Neil, who recorded 3.53.24, with the race won at 3.52.88.
‘Some people thought that it was unrealistic to win but I really was going in there to win it. That’s got to be your attitude every time. But I can’t really complain. It was one hell of an experience and I am just excited about having the opportunity to do it.
‘I thrive in this environment and if someone else is depending on me then I want it so much more. I hope I did my bit knowing the team was depending on me.’
Neil’s race (Polish commentary)
Back in Scotland it was the Masters and Combined Events Championships at Grangemouth.
Angela Kelly did the 100m & 200m double in the W55 category taking gold in both, in times of 15.16 & 33.07 respectively.
Colin Wylie was also in good form taking the bronze medal in the M45 400m, his time of 60.89, a new club record.
In the u17 Men’s Decathlon, Murray Fotheringham was in the wars. Despite injuring himself in the warm up and limping through the hurdles, he threw a pb in the Discus and still managed to complete the event. Murray accumulated 5886 points, a new club record , and took the Silver medal. The winner was Scott Brindly of North Ayrshire AC.
-
- Murray Fotheringham – Photo by Bobby Gavin
-
- Colin Wylie
-
- SM 4x100mGold &SW Silver
-
- U17W 4x300m Silver
-
- U15G 4x300m Silver
-
- U17M 4x400m Silver
-
- U17W 4x100m
All
As reported by Billy Glasgow “a great day was had by all, 8 medals and 2 new club records to boot. Well done to all those who competed.”
Medallists highlighted but good performances from all our athletes
U13 Girls 4 X 100m Final
1 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 58.09
1) #257 Josie Reilly 2) #258 Angelica Mayer
3) #259 Kate Seenan 4) #260 Emily Watson
7 Giffnock North AC ‘B’ 1:01.65
1) #261 Erin mcKay 2) #262 Natasha Tallen
3) #263 Eliza Turner 4) #264 Emma Gilmour
U13 Boys 4 X 100m Final
1 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 53.89
1) #225 Ryan Davie 2) #226 Daniel Martin
3) #227 Craig Shennan 4) #228 Josh Thielan-Mann
U17 Women’s 4 X 100m Final
2 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 50.94
1) #385 Carly Miller 2) #386 Rachel Callan
3) #387 Rosie McKay 4) #388 Katie Foss
U17 Men’s 4 X 100m Final
4 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 47.47
1) #357 Jake Vulcan 100 2) #358 Finlay Waugh
3) #359 Murray Fotheringham 100 4) #360 Nathan McNee 100
Sen Women’s 4 X 100m Final
2 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 50.46 New Club Record
1) #505 Erin Campbell 2) #506 Niamh Grahame
3) #507 Holly Shearer 4) #508 Rhea Campbell
Sen Men’s 4 X 100m Final
1 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 43.46 New Club Record
1) #441 Andy Moses 2) #442 Calum McWilliams
3) #443 Russel Lawson 4) #444 Kyle Mclean
U15 Girls 4 X 300m Final
2 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 3:06.60 F
1) #345 Isla Scott 2) #346 Brooke Moran
3) #347 Lauren Agnew 4) #348 348 MacConnell
U17 Women’s 4 X 300m Final
2 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 2:49.35
1) #417 Rachel Callan 300 2) #418 Eva Blues
3) #419 Orla Lang 4) #420 Katie Foss
U17 Men’s 4 X 400m Final
2 Giffnock North AC ‘A’ 4:00.71 M
1) #369 Murray Fotheringham 2) #370 Donald MacLean
3) #371 Nathan McNee 4) #372 Jake Vulcan
Following the initial announcement of the trip to the Gothenburg Youth Games in Sweden in 2019. The Standards required for each event are now available.
Please note, javelin, discus and hammer standards are set by the organisers and detailed on the pdf link.
We expect all athletes to compete in at least two events in Gothenburg and should achieve, or be close to standard in any two events on this list.
The standards should be achieved from 1 January 2018 and the last event to be taken into consideration will be the club championships on 23 September – so make sure you get your entry in on time!!
We will be expecting athletes to achieve (or be very close) to the published time/distance/height in two of the events listed. These may not necessarily be the events they would compete in at the games due to differences in specifications in Sweden.
U13 athletes – if you are unsure if you are eligible to attend (you must be in your second competitive year as an U13 this season), please check with your coach.
Again we would remind all athletes that achieving two standards is not a guarantee of selection and even if you don’t quite get both, we will be looking at commitment, attendance at training and turning out to compete for the club.
If you have any questions at all, please email Jackie Alexander.
The initial letter and the standards can now be found on the Gothenburg 2019 page which can also be access from the main website menu.
-
- Girls before the deluge
-
- With announcer Connor
-
- Waiting for the Relays
-
- Suzanne with A Team
-
- Boys B team Still smiling
Scottish Athletics U12 Super Teams competition in Perth.
Giffnock North AC took four teams from our U11 and U13 sections to a very wet Perth on 16 June 2018. The event was attended by nearly 350 athletes from clubs throughout Scotland with people traveling from as far as Peterhead and Stornoway to compete.
The weather was testing, with the showers of near biblical proportions, creating a track with several inches of water to slosh through at times. The rain combined with a stiff breeze created hypothermic conditions for the athletes, coaches and spectators alike. Only the salvation of a hot cup of tea and home baking, courtesy of Perth AC, kept many of us from perishing.
Giffnock took the opportunity to select some young promising athletes, many from the U11s, for the 75m, long jump, turbo javelin and relay format, to pit themselves against more established athletes that were fielded by our rivals.
Despite the youthful selection, all the teams fared well with GNAC girl’s teams placed 6th and 7th out of 49 and the boys 6th and 22nd out of 35 teams. The standout performances were Felix Chan, showing his form from the Glasgow schools championships to win his 75m heat in 11.07s (second fastest on the day) and the girls A team cruising to a comfortable win in their relay heat, in a time of 63.07s, and could have gone much faster in better conditions with more competition.
Well done all those that took part.
Apologies to Steve and athletes for the delay in posting this
It’s been busy at the club with news but it is also important to record the achievements of our U12s in Perth.
Another round of brilliant personal performances at the Men’s League today. Despite the limited number athletes and events in which we are able to compete, we were lying 5th with only the discus and relay to be scored. The finalised result will be forwarded as soon as they are available
We had a great day in the jumps. Not only did Sam Young PB in both the HJ (1.88) and TJ (11.88), he offered tremendous support to his team mate Calum Rogers (first outdoor competition this season) who added a remarkable 10cm to his PB at 1.70. Not to be outdone, Neil Hutchison jumped a Seasons Best with 5.69. Unfortunately Calum twisted his knee in the TJ. We all wish you a speedy recovery.
In the throws, Neil Hutchison was in great form throwing Seasons Best in both the SP and Javelin with 8.83 and 36.42 respectively. We are sure he would have been able to do the same in the discuss, but he had miss his final throw to take part in the relay.
Our runners also put on a good show. Andrew Robertson shaved his 800m PB down to 2.08:07 and Luke Nelson lopped over 10 secs of his PB, down to 2.21:39. In the 1500 Greg Turner ran a Seasons Best at 4:15.42 and Ethan Carolan put in a never say die performance to snatch 2nd place on the line in the B race in 4:21.86. Greg went on to run the 5000 to secure vital points for the team.
A change of clothing brought on another PB in the one lap race. Ditching his side split middle distance shorts for sprinters Lycra, Eoghan O’Donnell took his 400m PB down to 54.88. Lewis Mitchell was a true team performer, getting round his 400m despite feeling unwell.
And then the relays.
Our 4×100 team of Neil (who had just come off the discuss pit), Greg (who had just finished a 5000), Lewis (who was still feeling terrible) and Luke ( a self-confessed 10,000m runner) did a remarkable job in getting the baton round final time and position to be confirmed
Our 4×400 team (Eoghan, Ethan, Andrew and Sam) put in a remarkable performance to finish 4th.
While everyone did a great job , the backbone of the today’s team was U17 – Andrew Robertson, Luke Nelson, Ethan Carolan, Eogahn O’Donnell, Lewis Mitchell, Calum Rogers and Sam Young. I can’t praise their enthusiasm, team spririt and sheer gutsy performances highly enough. (Greg Turner and Neil Hutchison wish they were still U17!)
A word of thanks to our officials – Graham Dunn, Garry Paterson and Danny O’Donnell. Without your help and support it would not be possible to run these events. Graham Dunn, a proud Englishman, sacrificed watching the Panama World Cup match live today to be with us at Grangemouth today.
The attached picture shows todays squad and officials, minus Greg Turner (curled up in a corner somewhere after a 1500, 5000 and 4×100 in quick succession), Graham Dunn (racing away to watch the England game on Catch-up TV before anyone told him the result), Calum Rogers (already back home with his knee on ice) and Team Manager Gerry Duggan (behind the camera).
Well done all
Also, in a guest 800m race Neil Gourley was just edged into second place by Chris O’Hare, only 200th of second separating them.
News item from Jackie Alexander
Following a very successful team visit to Gothenburg in 2017, the coaches and adults have recovered sufficiently to start mentioning the ‘G’ word again!! (For those of you unfamiliar with the event, please see the links at the bottom of the page).
We have secured funding from the club to assist with costs and have decided to undertake a second visit to the games in 2019.
The 2019 games will be held 28,29 & 30 June and we would be proposing to use similar travelling arrangements to those from 2017. This means we would be away from Thursday 27 June to Monday 1 July.
The cost will be £600 per athlete and this includes all flights and transfers from Glasgow to Gothenburg, hotel accommodation (shared twin rooms) for 4 nights and meals from Thursday evening meal to Monday breakfast, event kit and event entry fees. Last time, parents set up a fundraising committee and managed to reduce the cost for each athlete by £150 so I would suggest this would be something to consider this time once the team is announced.
We will be circulating a set of standards for the various events which we would be expecting athletes to achieve (or be very close to) if they wish to be selected. The deadline for standards is the end of September 2018. There are plenty open graded meetings, national championships and of course, the club champs, to enter to achieve the necessary times and distances. We will be looking for athletes to achieve at least two event standards as they will have to compete in a minimum of two events when on the trip. Throws standards are the only ones set by the organisers.
Selection will not be guaranteed even if the standards have been reached, we will take into account attendance and commitment at training and we would also be looking for athletes who have competed for the club over the season.
I would be grateful if you could advise at this stage if your athlete would be interested in being considered for the trip. This is not a firm commitment nor is it a guarantee of a place but gives me an indication of the numbers we are looking at, to allow me to ensure we will have enough coaches and adult helpers willing to accompany the team. Please email me by Friday 13 July to express interest.
Please note we have a lower age restriction on athletes being considered – all athletes will have to be U15 or above next competitive season. This means that only U13 athletes who are second year U13s can be considered. If your athlete moved up from U11 at the start of the indoor competition season 17-18, they are too young to attend.
I’ve attached the website report from the last trip to give an idea of what we got up to and also the link to this year’s event. If you have any questions, please contact either Sara Lang or me and we’ll try to help.
Jackie Alexander
email addresses for Jackie and Sara:
jackie.alexander1@btinternet.com & sararusselllang@btinternet.com
Event info at –
http://www.vuspel.se/pdf/VUinbj18eng.pdf
Report from the 2017 trip
https://www.giffnocknorth.co.uk/gothenburg-trip-gets-the-thumbs-up/
Report by Croy Thomson
GIFFNOCK NORTH AC athletes enjoyed success last weekend, in three different countries.
In England, at the always deeply competitive Athletics England U20 and U23 Championships in Bedford, Erin Wallace claimed not only a fine 1500 metre silver in four minutes, 29.82 seconds, but puts her in a strong position for selection for the GB Team for the World Junior Championships in Finland next month. Also winning silver was U23 sprinter Jenna Wrisberg with a hard-fought 11.78 seconds effort in the 100 metres.
Coming home with well-won bronzes were long jumpers Alessandro Schenini (U20 7.25 metres) and Rachel Alexander (U23 5.89 metres).
In the mountains of Italy, hill runners Lynn McKenna and Rhona Mowat represented Scotland at the International Youth Cup, McKenna in particular hitting the heights with an excellent ninth place finish.
Much more locally, at the Brian Goodwin Memorial 10k hosted by Bellahouston Harriers, Luke Traynor continued recent excellent form by winning in a new course record 28 minutes 31 seconds. The performance makes Luke the third-fastest Scot all-time over the distance on the roads.
The U12 athletes’ success at the Greenock Invitational Competition on Sunday 3rd June was rewarded with a visit from Luke Traynor to the U11 Session at Eastwood on Tuesday night. The Girls Teams took 1st as pictured
2nd Team members were Katy Donnelly, Eve Greene, Madeleine MacKenzie & Hannah Sluman, 3rd Team was Leilani Spelman Ikedashi & Emilia Hickey Fugaccia along with Hannah Turnbull & Kirsty Adam as pictured .The boys were Joint 1st with Kilbarchan as pictured but without Logan Johnstone.
Our 8 year old Team also triumphed. [ Beatrice Nairne and Mara Phillips were the other Team members]
Luke kindly interrupted his 2nd training session of the day to present the medals and talk to the young athletes and answer some of their questions. Thanks again Luke . The athletes and parents really appreciated you taking the time to do this. A great reward for their efforts . We would like to underline our appreciation and thanks to Janice Hendrie and Gerry Gaffney and all at Inverclyde AC for organising and hosting this event for U12s.
Best wishes go to many of our athletes for this weekend’s endeavours . It’s getting hard to keep up with them all. We have Lynn McKenna and Rhona Mowat heading for Italy for the Mountain Running Championships. And our YDL Team heading to Scotstoun for Match 3 .
We have Erin Wallace , Adam Clayton, Alessandro Schenini Jenna Wrisberg and Rachel Alexander heading for Bedford for the AAA U23 &U20 Championships with important European Trial selections as part of these.
And we have 4 teams heading to Perth for the Super Teams
-
- Andrew Robertson XC
-
- Callum McWilliam New Years Sprint s
Report from Gerry Duggan
RESULTS for Mens League Match2, Aberdeen- **WE ARE ON THE WAY UP**
Fantastic result from Sunday despite one or two calls due to a very busy weekend, we finished a very creditable 4th overall and were only 1 point off finishing third(results still subject to scrutiny)
”Thanks to all for some brilliant performances and another magnificent team spirit on the day. In Match 1 we were 6th, Match 2 we were fourth. The momentum is with us, with a full squad to cover all the disciplines we will surely be contenders for Match 3 at Grangemouth on 24th of June. Look out for “call-up” papers coming out this week”
Once again well done to all who competed.
Gerry as Team Manager is rightly delighted with the efforts of our athletes in the Men’s league and looking forward to the next match.
We will need some team and some action photos . Well done to all the Athletes !
Alexander Young, Andrew Robertson, Calum McWilliam, David Lees, Donald MacLean, Eoghan O’Donnell, Ethan Carolan, Greg Turner, Kieran Killen, Lewis Mitchell, Neil Hutchison, Calum Rogers,
Scottish Athletics National Indoors Championships 2017January 28th 2017
(C)Bobby Gavin
To all our ERC Athletes, Parents,Coaches, Officials, Supporters
You may be aware that East Renfrewshire Council recently published proposals regarding future options for developing leisure and recreational facilities in the area. As one of the largest sports clubs in the area, we are keen to draw this consultation to the attention of our members and would encourage you to review and provide any feedback to the Council through the survey on their web page. We have provided a link below:
https://getinvolved.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/erc/eastwoodleisure/
Whilst none of the options set out in the current proposals make any specific reference to provision of athletics facilities, there is the option for you to provide additional feedback in the ‘Comments’ section.
The consultation period closes on 19 June.
We would encourage members of the club who are ERC Residents to discuss and participate in this important consultation. Track facilities are available to us in the area at both Eastwood and Williamwood [and outwith East Ren we also use Hutchesons’ School Track , Emirates Arena , Scotstoun , Tollcross and JWC in East Kilbride] but the lack of a competition standard track has often been highlighted by the club and at times difficult or insufficient Indoor Training access in the winter months to the Emirates Arena due to other demands . Our facilities sub group will be interested in any input to our Club submission to the consultation . Contact via coaches or Helen Nairne
In attendance at this year’s Festival were two of Giffnock’s Great Britain Internationals, Erin Wallace and Luke Traynor, many thanks to them for presenting prizes and giving encouragement to all the youngsters.
Primary School 1k Fun Runs
The winners in the 1k Fun Run were Katy Donnelly for Shawlands Primary in the girls, run and Calan Chong for Mearns Primary in the boys run.
To the Pond and & Beyond
In the 2.5k “To the Pond & Beyond” the Girls race was won by Hannah Ryding (St Ninians) in a time of 09.06 minutes. In second place, also from St Ninians, was Kate Paul in 10.03. Third place went to Miriam Gilbride (Mearns Castle) in 10.35.
The boy’s race was a much closer affair with Aaron McGillivray (St Ninians) finishing first in a time of 09.28, second was Matthew Donegan, (Lourdes Secondary) in 09.38. Third was Adam Chamberlain of Williamwood High School in 09.41.
Both boys and Girls team prizes went to St Ninians HS .
St NInians also won the £500 charity prize for the most finishers.
Girls Full Results
Boys Full Results
Giffnock North AC Rouken Glen 10k
To cool the runners off, the Rouken Glen 10k started in light rain, but fortunately didn’t last long.
First across the line was Iain Reid (V35) of Cambuslang Harriers, who is no stranger to this race, having won it three times now, his time 32.54. In second place was Jack Arnold (Sen) of Bellahouston Harriers in 33.18. Third was Andy Bonner (Sen) of Giffnock North AC in 34.58.
First lady to cross the line, for the second year in a row, was Ruth Fraser-Moodie of Springburn Harriers. Ruth finished in 25th place in a time of 39.10. Second was Skye Dick in 27th place, time 39.20. Third place went to Giffnock North athlete Jill Smylie in 39.29 in 30th place.
First over 50 man to finish was Ted Gourley (Giffnock North) in 13th place in a time of 37.52. First over 50 lady was Angel Carson (Bellahouston Harriers) who clocked a time of 46.44 .
In the under 20 category, Rhona Mowat was first lady to finish in 37th place in a time of 40.03. For the men Alastair McKenzie was first under 20 home in 45.29.
Congratulations to all finishers.
Many thanks to the Organising Committee, and all who officiated, marshalled, photographed and helped in any capacity. You all contributed to a very successful evening of racing for all ages and abilities. See you all next year.
More Photographs courtesy of Alan Stewart
Results can be found at https://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/1UG
Report and photographs to follow.
Report from Dudley Walker . All photos courtesy of Bobby Gavin
The rarely used Scotstoun Stadium held the second of two athletics events in a week on Friday 1st of June….following the Sprints Night on Wednesday it was the turn of the endurance athletes to stretch their legs and chase fast times!
The Middle Distance and Endurance athletes made the most of the warm weather,the superbly organised event and the wonderful spread of home baking to capture an enormous amount of PBs.
First up was Hannah Ryding making her debut over 3000m.She enjoyed the experience so well that she ran the second fastest time over that distance in Scotland this year in the under 15 age group…and 10th on the UK rankings.Ethan Carolan powered his way to a 9:18.16 personal best.
Also gaining PBs over the distance were Eva Chong,Lara Cassidy and Kieran Killen.
The 800s were well paced and pulled many of our athletes through to much improved times.The under 15 girls squad were all in fine form with all of them achieving either a SB or a PB.Abby Thomson,Zoe Flower,Ella McGregor,Kate Paul,Valencia Wright,Isla Scott all produced improved times with Nuala O’Donnell not far away with a season’s best.Most improved was Valencia on her GN debut with a 7 second PB…down to 2:18.99,
Not to be outdone the under 15 boys in the shape of Jacob,Harris,Reuben and Kian all came up trumps with quick times.Jacob getting ever closer to sub 2 with a time of 2:01.73.most improved was Kian McConville who reduced his 800m best by almost 10 seconds to 2:21.91.Eoghan O’Donnell improved to 2:8.44 with Lewis Mitchell getting close to a PB with a time of 2:11.55
Erin Wallace had her first outing this season over 800m and recorded 2:8.63 which takes her to 5th in the UK under 20 rankings.
Thanks to Dudley for the report
Well done to all the Middle Distance athletes and their coaches!More photos, videos and reports on GAA facebook and twitter feed.
This was the 1st GAA Outdoor Miler Meet of the season.
Entries have just opened for the 2nd one on 27th July.
Full Squad Of Giffnock U12s
Relay Team smiles from Leilani Spelman Ikedashi, Hannah Turnbull, Kirsty Adam & Emilia Hickey Fugaccia
And another smiling Team with Erin Mckay, Lucy Cree, Emily Williams & Cara Weir
A fantastic squad of our young athletes attended this Invitational Quad event hosted by Inverclyde AC at the Ravenscraig Stadium on Sunday the 3rd June. It was an excellent event from start to finish . As the main organiser Janice Hendrie noted ” it was Grassroots Athletics at its best”
Giffnock had a large contingent with 3 Boys Teams. 5 Girls Teams and a brilliant Team of 8 Year olds drawn form our Saturday RJT Session.
The sun was shining, the athletes shone and the Parents , Volunteers and Coaches were delighted with the efforts, performances and attitude of all our athletes. Outstanding! the teams sprinted over 75 m, did Long Jump and Turbo Javelin and then a 4x100m relay . Our team of 8 years olds did the same except for a 60m Sprint. It was a delight to watch , to participate in with all the Club Volunteers working together to make it a great event to be part of. Our very grateful thanks go to Janice Hendrie, Gerry and Jan Gaffney , Inverclyde AC volunteers and coaches and Janice’s troop of Young Leaders who were exceptional too. Thank you for a great day from all at Giffnock North. We are promising to look at hosting the next one.
Our Boys A Team drew with Kilbarchan for 1st Place
Our Girls A team was also first but just look at the Full results below to see the strength and depth over the day’s performances.
Max McHarg on the Podium
Nicole Proudfoot
The Murray to Max Exchange
Scottish Schools CE Report
by Craig Fotheringham
The Scottish Schools Combined Events Championships took place at Grangemouth on Saturday 2nd June 2018 with Max McHarg and Murray Fotheringham (both aged 14) ,our only first claim participants. Max and Murray were both Gold medallists last year at these Championships in the Under 14 (group D) and Under 15 (Group C) age categories but both were stepping up an age group this year – Max to Under 15 (Group C) where he remained one of the favourites and Murray to Under 17 (Group B) where he would have to do battle with some considerably older boys! Despite the forecast for cloud followed by heavy showers , the sun was splitting the sky at Grangemouth and the athletes had to seek shade whenever they were not competing.
Max started well with 2nd place in the Hurdles in a new PB of 12.33 seconds. His Long Jump is his weakest event and, slightly down on His PB , a leap of 4.80 Metres left him well behind the leaders down in 5th place overall. However, he then threw in 2 personal bests in the 200 Metres (23.71 seconds ) and 11.30 Metres in Shot Putt to win both events and jump into the overall lead. He tracked his closest rival in the final event before outsprinting him in the home straight for another event win in 2:15.16 and yet another PB. His overall score of 2820 gave him the Gold by a significant margin and the “Murray Cup” returned to Clarkston for another year after a brief 9 hour “holiday” in Grangemouth .
Murray meanwhile had started well with PB’s in both Shot Putt (9.64 Metres) and 100M Hurdles (15.51seconds), but still trailed significantly down in 9th place. His good events, however, were still to come and a huge 6 .82 Metres legal PB for second place in the Long Jump pushed him up to 4th place. A third place in the 200 metres with yet another PB in a time of 23.97 pushed him closer to the podium in terms of points but still 4th Overall. A blistering solo run in the 1500 meters saw him win the final event by over 20 seconds in a time of 4:30.27 which pushed him into Bronze medal position with a Giffnock Record Score of 3312 points.
Second Claim member Nicole Proudfoot was delighted to triumph in the Under 17 (Group B) Girls after a long injury lay off . She scored very consistently throughout the day and received great support from her coach John Birkett.
Also staged on Saturday, in an attempt to ease the congested program for next Friday and Saturday, were the Scottish Schools Hammer and Steeplechase events. Full Final results/times are not yet posted but 3 Giffnock girls attempted the steeplechase – a tortuous event! Jill Carswell and Helen Chong trailed behind Emma Chamberlain until the last lap where Emma’s valiant attempt faded with 400 to go and Helen and Gill both passed her with Helen winning the Bronze medal and an outside chance of a Scottish cap at SIAB next month.
History has a habit of repeating itself and in the Schools ”4 by 100” metre relays at Hutchie the day before , Max anchored his Hutchie Under 15 team to Gold whilst Murray ran last for his Glasgow Academy Over 17 Team bring them home in third place and a Bronze. In the 4 by 400 relay, Annabel Ballantyne and Eve Denholm running for Glasgow Academy brought home another Bronze. The next day at Grangemouth, in the midst of the Combined events competition, the Primary Schools relays took place. As this report is finalised I have not seen final results for either the Senior or Primary School relays but many Giffnock North athletes competed and may well have won medals or made the finals. I am aware Mearns Primary just missed the podium with a 4th place represented by Emily Watson, Eilidh Veitch, Tara Menon and Eilidh Hunter. Trying to keep track of Giffnock athletes when they are not wearing the Blue and Gold is almost impossible, so I am unable to provide a full commentary on the relays. Well done to all who competed and apologies for any omissions.
Grateful thanks to Craig for this report and photographs!! Welcome Development in Combined Events at the Club
Thursday 7th June 2018
All events still available, see details below:
PRIMARY SCHOOL FUN RUNS at 6.00pm and 6.15pm
TURN UP & RUN
SECONDARY SCHOOLRACES at 6.30pm & 6.45pm
Registration 5.15pm
Enter online only at https://www.entrycentral.com/TTPAB
Rouken Glen 10k at 7.30pm
Enter at https://www.entrycentral.com/Rouken-Glen-10k
Jenna Wrisberg
Rachel Callan in the Hurdles relay
Reuben Nairne
Photos Courtesy of Bobby Gavin
REPORT by Craig Fotheringham
There was a big turnout at the Glasgow Athletic Association Sprint Gala held at Scotstoun Stadium last night with roughly 2 dozen runners from Giffnock North. It was a nice evening for running but although the wind indicator believed there to be a generally insignificant headwind it was blustery enough to make PB’s a rarity.
Pride of place must go to Jenna Wrisberg who ran her first 100 Metres since a long injury layoff and won the elite Women’s race in 12.04 – fast enough to win a share of the prize pot! Whist Jenna was cashing in at the front, behind her the unfortunate Alyson Bell crashed to the ground 20 meters from the line and left a fair amount of skin on the track. She was smiling afterwards but our best wishes go out to her and we hope the damage is only superficial.
In the elite men’s race, Adam Clayton was 2nd in 11.05 and repeated the feat in the second round of 100’s later in the evening but in 11.07 this time.
In addition to Jenna’s victory there were heat wins for Jason Wu in 11.74 and Jake Vulcan in 13.21. Most could not improve in the second round of 100’s but Jason improved to 11.67 and Andy Moses from 11.84 to 11.72. Russell Lawson also shaved off another 0.05 seconds to win his second round heat in a PB of 11.81. Others to improve in the second round were Rachel Callan (13.75) and Jake Vulkan with a PB of 13.09. Runners to join the PB Club were Murray Fotheringham (12.04), Jacob Luc (12.51) and Emily Williams (15.69).
In between the two rounds of 100 Metres were the 300’s. There were PB’s for Matthew Forbes (37.44), Murray Fotheringham (37.72) and Ella McGregor (45.80) together with a Seasons Best for Freya Menzies of 41.82. Murray’s time also appears to be an Under 17 Club Record.
Whilst the track was in full swing, there were Long and High Jump competitions to keep the crowd occupied. As this report went to press, the results were noy yet finalises but there was some solid jumping from Lauren Agnew and a new PB for Reuben Nairne 6.41M.
The evening finale was a rarely seen end-to-end hurdle relay with Reuben and Murray teaming up with some good pals from the North to scoop the £100 prize.
A great evening was had by all and the cakes were magnificent. Many thanks to the organisers and the officials for making it all run so smoothly and well done to all that participated.
And many thanks to Craig for the full report . Link to Results below . More photos and reports on GAA facebook and Twitter
http://events.scottishathletics.org.uk/events/20322-17680-gaa-sprint-gala-1
Congratulations to Lynn McKenna and Rhona Mowat on their selection for Scotland for Hillrunning at the International Youth Cup in Italy next month . It was as a result of last weekends Ben Lomond races and Report on the exploits of all the Hill runners follows.
Report from Frank McKenna
Some excellent performances from young Giffnock athletes on a gloriously sunny day and a very demanding up and downhill course at the Ben Lomond junior hill races on Saturday 12th May.
First up was Calan Chong in the junior fun run. Unfortunately, there were no other entrants in this race, so Allie offered to accompany him round the course. Young Calan showed his mum a clean pair of heels and completed the 1.7 k course with 80 m climb in a very impressive time of 9 mins and 22 secs.
Next up was Eva Chong in the U15 girls race. Eva ran strongly in the 2.6 k course with 160 m of climb in 16 mins and 49 secs.
Finally, the combined U17 and U20 races with Lynn McKenna and Rhona Mowatt in the U20 category, Helen Chong in the U17 girls category and Christopher Watson -Sweeney in the U17 boys category. This was the qualification race for places in the Scottish age 16-17 team for the forthcoming WMRA Youth Cup to be held in Lanzada, Italy on the 16th of June.
This proved to be a very competitive race with the Giffnock athletes featuring prominently in the final placings. Lynn McKenna came second overall in the combined U20/17 race and secured the single automatic selection place for the Youth cup team, Rhona Mowat finished a strong third, Helen Chong, unfortunately lost a shoe during the race but still managed to come second in the U17 race just over a minute behind the winner. Christopher Watson – Sweeney also competed well in the U17 boys race against several older and experienced international runners.
Thanks to Frank McKenna for the photos and this Report on our Expanding Junior Hill running Team
Adam Clayton
Alessandro Schenini
Rachel Alexander
Congratulations to 3 of our athletes who have been included in teams for the Loughborough International this weekend.
Rachel Alexander (long jump) and Adam Clayton (200m) have been included in the Scotland team and Alessandro Schenini (long jump) has been given his first GB junior vest as part of the GB Juniors team.
This is the 60th Loughborough International and is contested between teams from Scotland, England, Wales, British Universities and GB Juniors. There are several guest athletes and there a number of established senior athletes competing such as Richard Kilty, Daryl Neita, Mark Dry, Allan Smith, Grant Plenderleith and Jemma Reekie to name a few.
For more info see loughboroughsport.com
Good luck to all three on Sunday .
Angelica Mayer, 100m U13 gold
Kosta del Kilmarnock – AKA West Districts Championships 12/13th May REPORT FROM Gerry Duggan & Sara Lang
Day1
Who would have thought the sun would have shone and it would have been dry?!
There were picnic rugs, deck chairs , sunburnt faces and 22 medals on display by the end of the day on Saturday.
13 gold medals, 6 silver and 3 bronze; each and every one fought for with determination and pride .
Its difficult to highlight any one performance or even all of them but suffice to say we had medals at every single age group and at almost every type of event. There were U13s who even got 2 medals ( Daniel Martin) . There were a plethora of Giffnock athletes competing against one another at times ..in particular the U20 M 100m final and 2 sets of High Jump were a Giffnock 1 and 2 ( U17 and Sen M).
Gold medals were won by;
Reuben Nairne 100m Hurdles
Daniel Martin 75m Hurdles and Shot Put
Nikolai Gajic 800m
Adam Clayton 100m
Jacob Luc 800m
Angelica Mayer 100m
Alyson Bell 100m
Nikki Manson Javelin
Alessandro Schenini Long Jump
Chris Mackay High Jump
Murray Fotheringham High Jump
Rachel Alexander Long Jump
Silver medals;
Orla Lang 800m
Catherine Palmer High Jump
Ryan Davie Long Jump
Ethan Dear High Jump
Sam Young High Jump
Rachel Callan Long Jump
Bronze Medals;
Kyle Maclean 100m
Matt Forbes 400m
Jennifer Dallas Shot Put
Day 2 – Who knew it could be sunny in Kilmarnock two days running?
The day started with hurdles. In the combined U17/u20/Senior Men combined final. Murray Fotheringham was the only u17 with a new pb of 59.98. Next was Freya Menzies winning the combined U20/Senior Woman final in 65.87, her first competition at this distance. And just to keep the hurdles medals rolling in, Rachel Callan just missed out on Gold by .04s in the U17 Womans 300mH, coming second with a time of 47.14, her second medal of the champs
The 200m was a busy event for Giffnock across all the age groups.
5 U13 girls competed – Angelica Mayer, Josie Reilly, Eilidh Veitch, Cartriona Bentley and Leah Rigley. Angelica, Josie, Catriona and Eilidh progressed to the semi finals. In the final Angelica was second (28.33) – an addition to her gold from the 100m yesterday – and Josie 7th (29.98) into a headwind off 9.2m/s! Brilliant performance all round. Ellis Nairne was the only U13 Boy and just missed the final finishing 9th fastest in the heats with 30.71s.
In the U15s Alyson Bell, Jenifer Torrance, Ella McGregor, Chloe Drummond and Rachel Morran all competed in girls event. Alyson made the final and tore up the track to win in 26.71. A double sprint gold. In the boys event, Jacob Luc and Michael Nolan competed. Unfortunately Michael was disqualified for running out of lane – windy day? – but Jacob won bronze in the final with 25.20s. A second medal for Jacob.
With no boys in the U17 200m, all focus was on the girls. Eve Denholm and Rachel Callan cruised through the heats before Eve secured gold in the final (26.84) and Rachel 7th (27.44). This was Rachel’s third final of the champs and the only one in which she didn’t medal. Well done both.
In the U20’s 200m Womans Final Holly Shearer secured Bronze (27.80) and in an exact repeat of the 100m result Adam Clayton won gold (22.32) and Kyle McLean Bronze (23.28).
Brilliant effort for all 200m competitors in such blustery conditions
The other track event on Day 2 was the 1500m. All age groups were run as straight finals. Kirsty Wylie was our only U13 girl finishing in a time of 5.45.80 and in the U13 Boys, Calan Chong (5.15.99) and James Wylie (5.54.36). Well done to our U13s. Our U15 girls made their mark through Zoe Flower securing a bronze (4.52.00) and Abbey Thomas (5.05.23) and Hannah Riding (5.08.81) not far behind in in 5th and 7th. The u17 Girls were next up. Jill Carswell (5.03.71) just missed out on bronze in 4th, with Francesca Davidson 5th and (5.04.54) and Helen Chong 8th (5.18.53). Nikolai Gajic just missed 800/1500m double gold coming 2nd in the u20 1500m in a tight battle all the way down the home straight (4.09.72). A close battle was expected in the U15 boys 1500m. Harris Paterson and Ross O’Brien were in a group of three that broke early from the pack. A great race saw Harris (4.24.74) winning silver and Ross (4.26.26) bronze. Reuben MacDonald, Hugh Shiels and Aaron McGilvery battled through to 6th, 9th and 10th places.
Giffnock had a great day in the field.
First to the throws. In the hammer U15 Imogen Maher (23.71m) just finished out of the medals with a consistent series of throws. Going one better, U17 Iris Williams was delighted to secure her first championship medal with a bronze, throwing 26.34m.
Our Javelin throwers didn’t want to miss the medal party and won a double gold. u13 Emily Watson won with 21.09m and U15 Jennifer Dallas won with 26.66m, her second medal of the champs. U13 Tara Menon also threw well with 9.57m. Jennifer rounded off her day with a 4rth place in the discuss with 20.73m.
In the jumps U17 Murray Fotheringham leapt his way to silver (6.86m) – his third medal of the champs – and Sam Young was 4rth (5.79) in the Long Jump. U13 Ellis Nairne was 1 place off a medal in the High Jump (1.26m).
So in total Giffnock North won 19 Golds, 11 silvers and 9 Bronze. Will done to all our medal winners and competitors.
Please please forgive us if there are errors or omissions in this report. It is produced by those who were officiating, coaching and/or parenting ( and sometimes all three!) and it’s so difficult to capture it all. Well done to all of you..not just the medal winners . There were many many pbs and lots of athletes who made finals all credit to them and their coaches.
Many thanks to Gerry and Sara for this report. We would echo their congratulations and also their request for budding journalists at out next club events & competitions!
Following some considerable difficulties and negotiations we have arranged the Club Champs for Sunday 23rd September . They will take place again at the Ayrshire Arena in Kilmarnock. Unfortunately, we were not able to secure our preferred date in Mid September due to the unavailability of Graded Officials who had conflicting duties at a range of other events locally and south of the border. We had also considered an earlier date but substantial clashes with other League matches and events ruled those options out. We realise that the weekend of 22/23rd is the September weekend but the only other options were to go to a later date when the the weather is even less likely to be favourable. Given the winter and spring we have endured we are in need of a chrystal ball regarding the weather. However , on the plus side Doleen Galbraith and Anne Stewart have been working hard to secure the club sufficient graded officials for our event to be licensed and consequently for results to be included in Power of Ten.
A sure fire way of avoiding the date difficulties in future would be if we can grow our own Officials to add to the solid and strong band we have already in Doleen Galbraith, Anne Stewart, Garry Paterson,Colin Saxby, Catriona Gourley, Carole Ford
If you think you could assist the club in this way please let us know
We need Technical Officials for Photo Finish etc as well as Track& Field Officials.
We would be really grateful if you could consider this and contact us . Who knows you could be at the next televised event. Please contact us if you could consider becoming an official. Its not a huge ask .There are courses taking place all the time.
We would like to express apologies to all our club members regarding the current situation in relation to club kit.
We realise, this is a massive inconvenience but for the time being, due to circumstances, outwith our control, we are limited in relation to our kit sales. Consequently, for a limited period, we will be ordering only essential items of kit – vests and hoodies.
This is a problem for the Club and not related at all to Migo Sports. If you have any queries it is crucial that you raise these with the club and not with Migo Sports. The problem is not an issue for Migo Sports who have continued to be really helpful to the Club.
As soon as we can arrange it, normal service will be resumed at Migo Sports. We can’t wait and neither can Michael at Migo Sports. In the interim you can purchase club vests and hoodies from Migo Sports.
If you have any additional queries, please raise with Lynda Scott at email address anthony.scott6@ntlworld.com or by mobile at 07756 927460.
Thanks Lynda
Freshly following the interest in the London Marathon and Mini Marathon here’s a new race option for you. Giffnock North is offering this opportunity for all secondary school pupils in East Ren and the South side of Glasgow to enjoy a run in Rouken Glen Park . On Thursday the 7th June 2018 ,we have our Giffnock Festival of Running with our popular 10k. This year we will be including our “Race to the Pond and Beyond.” as well as Primary Schools Fun Runs
The Race to the Pond and Beyond is a two and a half kilometre race in the Park and as it says round the pond.
This is a great chance for you to enter Teams from your school.
The Winning school – the one with the most finishers – will receive £500 for a Charity of the School’s choice .
You can raise your own sponsorship money on top of that as we know many schools have projects and charity challenges on the go at this time.
There will be prizes for the first 3 Individuals and first 3 Teams (4 to count) in the 2 Secondary Races. Everyone can enter .Race fee is £4.00. All welcome to join in.
GIRLS RACE at 6.30pm
BOYS RACE at 6.45pm
What do you need to do ? Get your entry in at the link below
Let us know of your current Charity challenges and we will can try and highlight them on our website too . We’re looking forward to a great night in the park.
We need you to identify the Sports Leaders, Sports Champions , Sports Ambassadors [it could be you] from your school and get them to spread the word.Could your school have the most finishers and win the main prize.
We need your entries in asap via Entry Central. www.entrycentral.com/TTPAB
More information from Dudley Walker email: dwalker_2000@hotmail.com & Mobile No 07954 406718
There will also be FUN RUNS for the Primary schools before the Race to the Pond . Details to follow.
A date for your diary – Sunday 23rd September 2018
The Club Track & Field Championships will be held at the Ayrshire Arena, Kilmarnock, KA1 3XF
Format will be the same as last year, open to all club members u11-Masters
All lot of organisation goes into this event, please make an effort to support it.
Online entry and more details will be available nearer the time.
Lynne Beattie on the right with Team mate Mel Coutts following their opening win against Grenada
No image of Alison as yet , one of her teammates in action
As well as Nikki Manson and David Smith representing Team Scotland in High Jump in the Gold Coast and Erin Wallace in the Mixed Relay Triathlon, we are also pleased to highlight the exploits of 2 other former Giffnock Athletes- namely Lynne Beattie in Beach Volleyball and – Alison Howie making yet another appearance in the Scottish women’s Hockey Team.
Both athletes trained under Dudley Walker in the Junior Endurance Squad, making their mark in medal winning XC Teams and on the Track.
Lynne, with her teammate, enjoyed a decisive win in their match today( along with a win for the Scottish Men’s Team too ) while Alison’s Team held Canada to a draw in their game today after a difficult match with New Zealand which sadly ended in defeat.
Well done to Lynne, an Olympian in the GB Volleyball Team at London 2012, and a previous guest and presenter at our Club 25th Anniversary Junior Awards Night.
Well done also to Alison for this current representative honour -one of many international selections she has gained in an illustrious career.
The Glasgow Pole Vault Grand Prix is an event which took place over 6 competitions throughout the indoor season at venues across the length and breadth of Scotland. These ranged from Aberdeen in the North to Pitreavie in the East and the Tollcross Vertical Jumps Centre and the Emirates Arena in the West. The competition is based on a league system where competitors are allocated handicaps before each meet. The handicap is calculated in relation to the difference between the National Record height of 5.65m and the athletes personal best. Therefore, the goal is for the athlete to continually improve on their personal best in order to be awarded the most points. This has led to intense competition over the season with over 30 athletes from 14 different clubs competing for top spot and bragging rights within the Scottish Pole Vault community, which includes dedicated pole vaulters as well as those involved in multi events.
The Trophy for the Glasgow Grand Prix Champion 2018 was awarded to Reuben Nairne of Giffnock North. Over the course of the Grand Prix, Reuben has improved from the 3.57m which saw him awarded the English U15 outdoor silver in August 2017 to an incredible 4.14m in only his first indoor season as an U17. This places him as the 7th best Scottish indoor U17 vaulter of all time and confidence is high as Reuben looks forward to the outdoor season; however he is looking forward to a well deserved break and has been currently attempting to eat his own body weight in Easter eggs!
Reuben Nairne
If the idea of running full pelt with a fibreglass pole in your hands to then launch yourself upside down and over a bar at a ridiculous height appeals to you then Glasgow Pole Vault School would be delighted to hear from you and maybe you could be the Grand Prix Champ in the future.
Thanks to GPVS and Helen Nairne for information, photos and report.
Photo courtesy of Bobby Gavin
Fresh from his exploits at the World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia, Luke Traynor wasted no time in getting back into domestic competition.
At the 56th Tom Scott Memorial Road Races, incorporating the West District and Scottish 10 mile Championships, Luke set a new course record of 47.59 seconds to take the title. He was 1.44 minutes ahead of second place runner Kenny Wilson of Moray Road Runners.
In the Round the Loch 6k event it was a Giffnock 1-2, with Andy Bonnar in first place in 20.36 and Andrew Clark second in 20.43. Ross O’Brien (21.05) was our third counter in 6th place, securing the team prize.
Congratulations from all at the club, an excellent days racing.
After two days of travel, Team Scotland finally arrived in Brisbane airport where it was somehow only 9am in the morning despite leaving at 9pm on Tuesday night from Glasgow. Although it was raining on arrival it was noticeably warmer than Scotland and within two minutes of leaving the airport I had already encountered my first (of many) Australian snakes. Upon arrival we quickly built our bikes and headed to the lagoon to begin the process of preparing for the games. I’ve felt so tired during an easy swim!! Little did I know that the full effect of jetlag would hit later on that day where I found myself falling asleep at 5pm.
Still easing my way into training, and waking up far too early (jet lag isn’t pretty), we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet Koala’s at breakfast with the Aboriginals (native Australians) performing a traditional dance. There were also snakes and baby alligators that were available to hold, although I opted for the Koala instead, for obvious reasons!
Since I’ve been here I’ve noticed that the Australian lifestyle is very different to home- even if the weather is familiar. Despite the sunny looking pictures there have been many torrential rain showers. Here I have seen people riding motorbikes with surfboards hanging off the back and beaches filled with surfers even though there are warning signs for sharks.
Life on camp is very chilled out, with everything being catered for and on site- physio, unlimited food, and even doctors and there are a few kangaroos which also stay in the resort.
With some Team Scotland athletes headed to the athletes village as early as the 25th of March, before others had even arrived, it definitely feels like the games are approaching fast and preparations for everyone seem to be going well!
Nikki Manson & David Smith On their way leaving Glasgow Airport
The Club is remarkably proud to have 2 athletes, David Smith and Nikki Manson at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in The Gold Coast.
It’s also quite remarkable that the 2 Athletes are both High Jumpers, both joined Giffnock at age 9,competing for the Club since then and both have been coached in High Jump by Ken Allan . So it’s safe to say that this has made history both for the club and for Scottish Athletics as a whole.
David Smith
Following a period of injury and lower performances, David moved coaches again in 2017 to work directly with Paul Harrison in Birmingham and work in partnership with Ken again.He has enjoyed a great period recently resulting in his Commonwealth Games honours. This, it should be noted, is David’s 2nd CG Selections as he also competed at Glasgow 2014.
Nikki Manson
Nikki, after graduating in Glasgow ,spent a year in the USA College System, gaining All American collegiate status on the way and setting substantial PBs before returning home in summer 2017 to rejoin her first High Jump Coach.
Both athletes hold the Scottish Indoor Native Record (David 2.26, Nikki 1.90) and Nikki’s 1.90 last month also set the Scottish Indoor National Record.
So it’s clearly an amazing moment for ‘Team Ken’ to see 2 long term squad athletes leaving for Gold Coast Australia 🇦🇺 to represent Team Scotland 🏴 at this years Commonwealth Games.
Nikki Manson and David Smith have been members of Ken’s High Jump Squad since they were young teenagers at Giffnock North AAC and they both still wear the vest today. As Ken states,
“They are a wonderful example of hard working , dedicated and high performing athletes, with impeccable standards of behaviour and perfect representation of themselves, their families, their Country and the squad itself. I am so pleased and proud of them and of what we have achieved together over the last 10 years or so.
Can’t wait to get over there and support them in person. 👍😃. ”
We wish Nikki and David all the best in Sunny Oz as they prepare for the Games . We’re sure they will continue to do themselves and their families proud. We recognise the substantial contribution that both families have made to supporting these athletes on their way to the top of their game, recognised in continuing further International selection and also the huge part coach Ken has played in this success.
We are looking forward to getting updates from Down Under as to how things are going with Nikki and David. They have more heights to soar at these Games.
More excitement for the club this weekend as we wish all the very best to Luke Traynor heading for Valencia to compete for GB at the World half Marathon Championships . All the best to Luke from all at Giffnock.
Harris Paterson, Ross O’Brien and Ethan Carolan with fellow Scottish U15 Boys XC Medallist Jacob Luc.
Emily Crusher
Zoe Flower
Charlotte McKenna
Abby Thomson
Kate Richardson
In featured photo we have Ethan Carolan, Harris Paterson and Ross O’Brien with fellow Scottish U15 Boys XC Medallist Jacob Luc. Jacob , was as Dudley points out,not able to do the schools event as he was racing at the SAIL Final in the Emirates wining in a PB and a very fast 800m time
Best wishes go to our 8 Athletes heading south for the Schools International XC
Congratulations to all who braved the Scottish Schools XC and worked hard to gain that selection
Zoe Flowers
Emily Crusher
Abby Thomson
Kate Richardson
Charlotte McKenna
Ethan Carolan
Ross O’Brien
Harris Paterson
Have a good time and a great Race from all at the Club.
Two of our U11 Girls Teams made it to the relay final – a great achievement in itself. In their heat the A girls were so fast that they broke the club record and the existing SAIL record but their efforts in the main competition must have been tiring as they were not able to match their fantastic time in the Relay Final, placing 2nd. Our A boys Team also qualified and were first past the post only to suffer the crushing disappointment of being disqualified for a lane infringement. Really bad luck for the boys after producing such an excellent effort to finish first, which we won’t forget and which showed real determination and resilience, especially in the way they coped with their disqualification.
In the main competition we had 2 Girls teams and our superb A team took the Gold medal with our Boys team taking a fantastic 2nd Place.
We want to highlight however the great efforts of the 32 ! the coaches and Team Managers salute you .A short report from two of the Girls follows . Thanks to Hannah and Maya
The SAIL : By Hannah Turnbull & Maya Johnson (U11s)
Today at the Emirates Arena lots of athletic clubs from all over Scotland came to compete in different events like: 4 x 200m relay, 600m, 60m, high jump, hurdles, long jump and lots more. Lots of people came out to support all the athletes and the atmosphere was amazing! Everyone was very supportive and enjoyed watching all the different events on offer. Hannah Sluman’s Dad Alan said “ I really enjoyed watching the Girls U17 800m race with Orla Lang winning it out of the park” Freya Scobie said she enjoyed competing against other teams. Alfie Bradley’s Mum said she enjoyed the boys high jump, and her most favourite was all the 200m relays. Hannah Turnbull’s Mum said she enjoyed supporting Giffnock North. Leilani’s Mum enjoyed the high jump. Maya’s mum said: “I enjoyed the superb sportsmanship from all the athletes. They are a credit to the club.
Maya said of her first SAIL competition : “ I loved doing the 200m relay, it was very exciting. We are very lucky to have all the coaches always helping us to do our best .”Everyone worked really hard and we are all proud to be part of Giffnock North.
Next it was the turn of the U13’s both the girls and boys A teams qualified for final and the boys B team also did well to qualify for the final. In the actual SAIL competition the girls had stiff competition in the form of Edinburgh, Ayr Seaforth and VP/Glasgow but they were confident they would finish within the top three and they did, finishing joint third with VP Glasgow behind the winners Ayr Seaforth and runners up Edinburgh. It was the same clubs in contention for the relay final although the finishing order this time was Edinburgh 1st, Ayr Seaforth 2nd and our girls A team finishing third albeit they ran half a second quicker when finishing fourth in the National relays.
The U13boys won the National relays but as they had one or two injuries nothing was guaranteed, nevertheless the A and B teams qualified for the final. We also had two U13 Boys in the actual SAIL so confidence was high and we were not to be disappointed the U13 boys A team performed very well and convincingly finished first in their age group competition. Unfortunately the weakened B team finished outside the medals albeit they had given their all. It was more or less the same in their relay final with the A team finishing first just ahead of Dundee Hawkhill and Airdrie who finished 3rd again the B team finished outside the medals.
Although the U15 girls didn’t make the SAIL final they were determined to do well in the relays and Iona Denholm, Ella McGregor, Niamh Smith & Alyson Bell ran extremely well and were rewarded with a Silver medal.
The U15 boys had two teams in the SAIL final and had high hopes of doing well, unfortunately a couple of members from of each of the teams had to pull out due to injury and so both teams more or less merged into the A to ensure the best result possible and their efforts paid off by finishing 3rd . The B team gave their best but unfortunately were outside the top three. Although both teams also made the relay final and gave it their best neither team managed to medal.
The under 17 women had two teams in the relays and both comfortably qualified for the final, job done. Next up it was the SAIL final itself, first up was Eve Denholm 3rd in the 60m with a PB. Orla Lang got an indoor PB winning the 800m, quickly followed by a gritty run by Sophie Inglis who finished 2nd in the 60mh but the girls were being matched all the way by the girls from Edinburgh. In the field events Emma Barbour did well finishing 2nd in the High Jump and Rachel Callan secured a PB of 4.98 finishing 2nd in long jump and then promptly won the 200m’s. After a fine run in the 200m relay Eva Blues ran a PB in the 300m finishing 3rd. Just two field events left and Iris Williams(shot) and Orla Lang (Triple jump) both did enough to ensure to ensure 1st place beating Edinburgh by one point.
After finishing 4th in the National relays the U17 Women’s A team were determined to make amends and ensure they picked up a medal in the SAIL final and they knew that our B team were equally determined as it was the A team got off to a great start and were never got winning their race with an improvement of over .5 of a second and although the B team gave their all they finished just out of the medals.
Despite a few injuries the U17 men made the final of the SAIL relays and although they gave it their best they finished just outside the medals. It was much the same in the actually SAIL match, although the lads managed to secure wins in the 800m by Eoghan O’Donnell , Long jump Murray Fotheringham and Sam Young in the High jump it took a real fighting sprint from all the lads including Adam Deverill & Ollie Maher to ensure they finished in the medals behind Edinburgh and Central.
A combination of brilliant individual performances, committed team spirit and sheer determination resulted in the U20 Men’s team securing gold and the U20 Women’s team bronze in the SAIL final.
The woman’s team of Amy Donaghy, Freya Menzies, Holly Shearer and Lauren Saxby got their just rewards for hard work across all the events, sharing joint third with Kilbarchan on 37 points. VP Glasgow were 2nd with 26 points and Falkirk first with 19 points. Stand out performer of the day was Lauren who not only set a PB in the shot putt and competed in three tough events, but showed real commitment to the team by hanging on to compete in the delayed hurdles event, even though she should have left earlier to start her job. Congratulations to Holly on securing her first national podium finish as a Giffnock athlete.
The men’s team of Scott Wylie, Chris MacKay, Ethan Dear, Kyle McLean and Calum Marney were in a dogfight with Dundee Hawkhill all afternoon. In the events Giffnock won, Dundee were second and in the events Giffnock didn’t win, Dundee did! It all came down to the final race of the day – the 400m. Giffnock had to finish no more than 2 place behind Dundee to secure gold. Dundee did cross the line first, but in a lactic-busting second lap, Kyle stormed through the field from last to third place and the gold was Giffnock’s. There were other magnificent performance across all the team: Ethan set a pb in the High Jump with 1.96; Chris MacKay equalled his personal best in the Long jump with 6.69 and Kyle equalled his 200m indoor personal best with 23.12.
This was the second gold of the day for the Men’s U20 team. Earlier in the day Chris MacKay, Amine Hifi, Scott Wylie and Kyle MacLean blew the rest of the field away in the 4x200m. Unfortunately we were unable to field an U20 Women’s team.
So ended another successful season for Giffnock North AC and the SAIL
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOGRAPHS
It was a busy weekend in the Emirates arena for those athletes competing in the FPSG U13, 15 & 20 Age Group Championships on the 10 & 11 March. As expected we had a good turnout in the younger age groups and it was great to see that the numbers were match by some quality performance performances. Having said that the U20’s were also well represented, particularly in the jumps with a 1st for Chris McKay & 2nd for Ethan Dear in the under 20 men’s high jump. Reuben Nairne won a bronze in the U20 Pole vault and Alessandro Schenini secured a bronze in the U20 men’s long jump. Megan Busby won a Silver in the U20 women’s long jump. Two of our sprinters Andy Moses and Scott Wylie finished 3rd & 4th respectively in the u20 men’s 60m’s, both with a time of 7.28.
In the U15 girls sprints Alyson Bell won both the 60m, in a new club record time of 7.82 and the 200m in a time of 25.74. The distance athletes also did well with Harris Paterson winning the u15boys 1500m in 4.31.22 and Zoe Flower finished second in the u15 girls 1500m in 5.04.27. Jacob Luc and Isla Scott both won a bronze medals in their respective 800m events
Alyson Bell winning the 60m. Photo by Bobby Gavin.
In the under 13’s age group Angelica Mayer was fast off the mark winning the 60m in a time of 8.26 and then she won a silver in the 200m with a time of 27.65. The boys were not to be outdone and Josh Thielen-Mann won bronze in the U13boys 200m and a gold in the u13 boy’s Shot and Ryan Davie continued his good form winning a bronze the U13 boy’s high jump.
It was great to see that all these medal winners were ably backed up by many others who also performed well but were just outside the medals. Nevertheless it’s only a matter of time before some others achieve podium status.
England Athletics u15/u17 Combined Events
While most were competing at the Emirates, Murray Fotheringham was our only representative down at the England Athletics U15 / U17 Combined Events Championships in Sheffield, where he finished a very creditable 5th in his first year as an under 17, breaking club records for the 1,000m (2.44.47), High Jump (1.98) and Heptathlon points total (4477pts). In the process Murray improved his pbs in the 60m, 60m H , High Jump , 1000m and Heptathlon score.
All Giffnock North AC performances (Word file)
Report by Billy Glasgow
We have athletes competing at the Emirates in the Scottish Indoor Age Group Championships on Saturday and Sunday
Good Luck to Murray Fotheringham who journeys South this afternoon to participate in this weekend’s English Athletics Combined Events Competition.
Great to see both him and our Club getting a mention on The English Athletics Website preview along with some of our hard working coaches. Full item as below.
Under 17 Men
With last year’s medallists all now under 20, 4th placed Theo Adesina (Club: Thurrock Harriers, Coach: Karl Sumun) has his chance to mount the podium; with a 1m87 High Jump, a 13+m shot put and a Long Jump PB well over 6 metres, plus a 60m sprint time of 7.29, he is indeed a strong all-rounder. However, also entered are last year’s Under 15 silver medallist and outdoor Octathlon champion Ben Hillman (Club: Cardiff AAC, Coach: Fran Baker/Helen James), and Murray Fotheringham (Club: Giffnock North AAC, Coach: Dudley Walker / Simon Dear / Brian Donaldson) who was one place behind Ben both indoors and out and has already gained the Scottish silver medal. U17 heptathlon Gold medal winner at the Emirates stadium last month Scott Brindley (Club: North Ayrshire Athletic Club) is also entered. A good High and Long Jumper who recently came 5th in the individual championships, Rory Howorth (Club: Team Bath Athletic Club, Coach: Julie Alexander) was in the top 10 last year and is also in the mix.
We have 9 of our athletes selected for Scotland West and running at the Inter-Districts XC Championships in Loughborough.
Under15 Girls
Francesca Davidson
Kate Richardson
U17 Women
Clare Wallace
Charlotte McKenna
Rhona Mowat
U15 Boys
Ethan Carolan
Harris Paterson
U17 Men
Ben Shaw
Callum Young
And also several of the Seniors from the club including John O’Donnell, Coach with U11s Andy Munro,Parent helper and Sheila Lewis, Coach are hreading to Barcelona to do the City Marathon there.
All the best to all! Who have we missed ?
-
- Francesca Daviodson & Kate Richardson
-
- Ethan Carolan & Harris Paterson
PRESS RELEASE FROM CROY THOMSON
GIFFNOCK NORTH AC’s LUKE TRAYNOR SELECTED FOR GB WORLD HALF MARATHON TEAM ON 24 MARCH – NEVER MIND VA-VA-VOOM, HERE COMES VA-VA-VALENCIA!
Luke winning the recent Manchester Half Marathon
A WORLD HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP Great Britain call-up to compete in Spain this month, victory in a major city half marathon, GB cross country vests, stellar appearances in Europe and the USA, the respect of his international peers … Glaswegian Luke Traynor ticks all those boxes, but like all top athletes, he’d like more.
“The 2020 Olympics would be the ultimate, but right now I’m totally delighted with being selected for the GB World Half Marathon champs team in Spain on the 24th of this month,” said the Giffnock North AC distance stand-out, from his altitude training camp in Mammoth Lakes, California. “Injuries and illness have come at bad times for me in the past – I was out for months with a broken foot at one point – but I’m now racking up consistent, high quality training blocks and some decent results so maybe my fortunes are changing.”
“The Valencia course is relatively flat, a touch downhill and a bit twisty maybe, but with the calibre of athletes on the start line it promises to be super-fast – and that’s where I want to be. One of my team-mates will be a Rio Olympian, after all, and from a Glasgow club at that – Tsegai Tewelde of Shettleston Harriers.”
Traynor is well used to top-class competition, his speed and tactical awareness honed by years on the mercilessly competitive US collegiate circuit. As we speak, he is preparing alongside top US athletes such as Daniel Tapia, a seasoned two-hour 12 minute international marathoner.
When Traynor says, “high quality” it might mean the near 8,000 feet elevation of the Mammoth Lakes training base, where he was invited by coach Andrew Kastor, husband of 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Deena Kastor. But more likely the southside Glasgow man is referencing his course-record win last October in Manchester in 64 minutes 10 seconds, or the even faster performance in Barcelona, where he blitzed home as second Brit in a breathtaking 61 minutes 55 seconds – well inside the mark for GB selection for the World Champs in Valencia.
Will the southside Glasgow man get the break and the recognition merited by his efforts, which have seen him crowned previously as a national Under 20 cross country champion and Scottish 10k track champion? A race a couple of years ago saw him edged into bronze medal place over the country only by a couple of guys who have gone on to make serious names for themselves: Rio Olympians Calum Hawkins and Andy Butchart. Maybe Traynor could be the third element in a Scottish long-distance triple whammy, and add even more power to the nation’s emergence as an athletic powerhouse.
“I’m self-funded at the moment, which isn’t ideal, but I reckon the best way to remedy that and attract a sponsor is to keep producing the goods. I’m quoted by Calum Hawkins, which is good of him because he’s already an Olympian, and I’ve actually run faster than him recently on his home roads in Kilbarchan … sorry, Calum!”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
LUKE TRAYNOR MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
GB Honours:
7th MARCH 2018 – Selected for GB World Half Marathon Team, Valencia, Spain 24.03.18
European Cross Country Championships, Hungary 2012: bronze team medal U20
European Cross Country Championships, France 2015: silver team medal U23
Recent Road Results
Manchester Half Marathon – winner in 64 minutes 10 seconds. Course Record.
Barcelona Half Marathon – 61 minutes 55 seconds. 3RD fastest Scot all time.
Holland 15k (Pfixx Solar Montferland Run) 43:44. 5th behind top African opposition.
Scottish Honours:
2017 Winner over 3k for Scotland at Manchester International track meet, defeating World Championship athletes.
2015 National CC Senior Championships, bronze behind Callum Hawkins and Andy Butchart.
2012 National U20 Cross Country Champion
2014 National 10k track champion
USA honours, representing University of Tulsa, Oklahoma:
• Arrived Tulsa August 2015. Regular opposition included multiple African athletes.
• Four-time All American
• USA Midwest Male Athlete of the Year 2016
• USA Midwest Cross Country Champion 2016
• Highest placed European athlete at NCAA XC championships 2016
PBs:
10k track: 29:10
5k track: 14:04
3k indoor: 8:14
Half Marathon: 61:55
Academic Career:
BSc in Environmental Management – Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow Scotland.
MA in Education – University of Tulsa, Oklahoma USA – qualifying summer ’17.
Luke Over XC in USA
Thansk to Croy and also to long term Coach Dudley Walker for this compilation of Luke’s Journey to a Senior GB Vest.And for the photos too. The entire Giffnock Athletics Club sends their best wishes to Luke in Valencia.
Alyson Bell
Under 15 Alyson Bell cruised through her 200m heat and semi-final in first place and followed that up with a 25.45 club record run in the final to take gold. Alyson, in blistering form, also came through the rounds of the 60m to win silver in another club record time of 7.89 seconds.
In the U20 men’s long jump Alessandro Schenini took gold, heading a Scots 1-2 with a jump of 7.07m, ahead of Henry Clarkson of Lasswade (7.05m)
Fellow under 20 Adam Clayton clocked 21.75 seconds in the 200m final to take silver. This was a club record and puts Adam seventh best on the all-time indoor list in that age-group.
Also flying the Giffnock flag were Reuben Nairne who was 8th in the under 17 Pole Vault and Nikolai Gajic who clocked 1.59.60 in his 800m heat.
Congratulations to all who made the trip down to Sheffield.
winning U13 Boys Team
Press interview following
Another smiling Team – Boys B team Bronze medalists
Following XC Success on Saturday, the Clubs sprint squads took to the track at the Connect Relays as part of the Muller Grand Prix at the Emirates and they did not disappoint
Report from Billy Glasgow
It was an exciting day at the Emirates Arena today for the seven 4x200m GNAC junior relay teams who qualified for their respective relay finals three weeks ago, particularly as the finals were part of the prestigious MULLER INDOOR GP IN GLASGOW
Up first were the U13Girls Angelica Mayer, Eilidh Veitch, Catriona Bentley & Josie Reilly (Leah Rigley) The girls got off to a great start and were always in contention. However, despite giving their all, they were just pipped for 3rd place behind VP/Glasgow, despite an improvement of over three seconds from their qualifying time, finishing in a time of 1.56.82.
The U13Boys were up next.We had two teams in this final with the A team of Finn Duncan Brooke, Euan Thomson, Frankie Bradley & Josh Thielan Mann and B team consisting of Scott McMillan, Elliot Baxter-Seabrook, Ben Hughes & Ryan Davie ( Daniel Martin & Josh McDowell). The A team took a demanding lead and won their race with a time of 1.56.04, less than a second off the current club record. Meanwhile the B team were not far behind them and they finished third just behind Inverclyde in a time of 2.01.82.Strength and depth in that squad.
The arena was buzzing as the excitement built, next up were the U15Girls Iona Denholm, Mary Rose Cairns, Niamh Smith & Ella McGregor( Olivia Dykes) At the end of the first lap it was pretty close and although the first two girls had done their utmost, by the second change, our girls were lying fourth. With Ella McGregor then giving chase, the VP/Glasgow B team dropped the baton.This seemed to also unsettle the Edinburgh AC Team, spurring Ella on. She took full advantage and managed to get back in contention in the back straight. As they raced on Ella edged in front of the Edinburgh AC athlete finishing a deserved third.It then transpired that the VP/Glasgow B team were disqualified ,our girls were promoted to second and were delighted to be going home with the Silver medals.
The U15Boys also had the advantage of two teams in the final, the A Team was made up of Jacob Luc(who was part of the winning U15Boys team at the National Cross country on the Saturday) , Max McHarg, Cameron McKerrow & Michael Foley & the B team consisted of Joshua Emanuelle, Gordon Wylie, Aiden Cunning & Ross Gourlay (Ben McCahill) The A team were justified favourites and quickly went into the lead, comfortably winning the race in a sub 1.46 time. The B team gave it their best but finished 5th despite their valiant efforts. Just as we were enjoying the success of the boys winning, it was announced that they had been disqualified – a disappointing shock for the athletes and the parents who cheered them on. However, is they are now looking forward to securing the Gold medal at the SAIL relays on the 17 March .
As our U17Men didn’t make the final, the last to run for Giffnock were the U17Women A team, consisting of Rachel Callan, Eve Denholm, Rosie McKay & Freya Cowan. It was a very close race from the start. With 4 clubs in contention at the first change, Eve Denholm managed to take the team into second place but there was still a long way to go. It was a hard and fast race and although the girls gave their best they just missed out on a third place to Dundee Hawkhill.
Thanks to Billy Glasgow for the report and Jackie Alexander, Coach and Team Manager ,U13Boys for the photos.
Grateful thanks also to our athletes who were part of the Kit carrying team at the Grand Priz
Freya Cowan, Rosie McKay and Rachel Callan straight from running in the Relays and Niamh McWilliams, Orla Lang, Donald MCLean, Abby Thomson, Jill Carswell, Iris Williams , Jennifer Dallas,Leila Hickey Fugaccia .
Reuben Nairn , Murray Fotheringham and Clark Marshall representing the GPVS [Glasgow Pole Vault School] on this occasion.
They did an outstanding job and nobly restrained their desires to get autographs etc from the elite athletes until the conclusion of the event.
U15Boys
U15 Girls
Report by Croy Thomson
FOUR TEAM golds, a team bronze and an individual bronze – an impressive haul and an occasion to treasure for Giffnock North’s junior cross country squads at the National Championships in Callendar Park, Falkirk.
In ideal sunny conditions, the Under 13 Girls struck the first blow with a superb team effort led home by Hannah Ryding in fourth. The U13 Boys didn’t fare so well with fifth but Reuben Macdonald ran a hard-fought 3.1k for fourth.
Next up over 4.1k were the U15 Girls, who defended their title in style. Kate Richardson was first home, ably backed by Francesca Davidson, Helen Chong, and Zoe Flower, with Abby Thomson and Jill Carswell in close attendance. Ethan Carolan spearheaded a golden U15 Boys’ performance, supported by Harris Paterson, Ross O’Brien and Jacob Luc.
Under 17s Charlotte McKenna, Clare Wallace and Rhona Mowat clinched the hat trick of girls’ titles over six hilly kilometres, before their male counterparts won a well-deserved bronze. Ben Shaw had to drop out with an ankle injury on an early downhill, but Calum Young stepped up and put his name on a great individual bronze – the club’s only individual honour of the day. Team-mates Jack Bell, Andrew Robertson and Kieran Killen packed well in for the medals.
The statisticians are still on the case, but we can safely say that this was one of the club’s most successful days on the country, and just reward for a hard winter’s work. Well done all the athletes who turned out and made themselves a full race richer. Thanks to all coaches, officials, tent wranglers, parents, pals and innocent bystanders who helped create another inspirational day.
And many thanks to Croy for filing his copy in between keeping an eye on a certain Six Nations match !We hope to add more photos soon
Advance Notice
More details very soon but we will be running our popular Holiday Athletics Camps for 2 weeks over the Spring break
Monday 2nd to Friday 6th April and Monday 9th to Friday 13th April at the Hutchesons’ School Track
Hours are from 10am to 1.00pm.
Young Coaches at the Camps
Learn from the Legends: Evening with Kim Collins & Churandy Martina
As part of the Muller Indoor Grand Prix weekend, the GAA is excited to announce that we are hosting an evening with Kim Collins and Churandy Martina!
Along with Glasgow Sport and British Athletics, we would like to invite members of the Glasgow Athletics community to come along to meet with Kim and Churandy, ask questions and learn about their sporting experiences from some of the best sprinters in the world.
Kim has a 9.93 100m personal best, was the 2003 IAAF 100m World Champion, and still running under 10s at 45 years old! Churandy has a 100m personal best of 9.91 and 200m of 19.81, he is the current European 200m Champion. Both athletes will be competing in Glasgow on Sunday.
The talk takes place on Friday evening, 23rd February, in the Emirates Arena (Level 5, Media Suite) starting at 18:30. We have limited spaces for this event so please email glasgowathleticsassociation@gmail.com for further information.
Looking for club kit?
We are holding a kit sale [Senior and Junior] on Monday 26th February from 7.00pm – 8.30pm at the GHA club house.
The sale will take place in the small bar at GHA, Braidholm Road, Giffnock, G46 6EB.
Includes:
Hoodies with new Phoenix logo
Bobble Hats
Morf scarves (similar to Buff)
There will also be a limited supply of shorts, crop tops, vests and second hand spikes.
If you ordered a hoodie at the January kit sale please come and collect your order at GHA.
BOYS A Team
-
- Rosie McKay with Girls C Team
-
- Niamh McWilliams with Boys B Team
-
- Freya Cowan with Girls A Team
-
- Rachel Callan with Girls B Team
-
- Helen Nairne with Boys C Team
Boys Winning team from 2013 image1.png
Winning girls team from 2013
Clare Stevenson added ,”It’s such a pleasure having all these young athletes participating today. It’s a great introduction to these events and hopefully sets them up to stick in at athletics”
Thanks Judith, [Mum to Murray Ross] for the report and also to her and Grace Greene for the old Photos sourced from mobile phones of previous podium places which they were able to produce on the day!
Many thanks to Scottish Athletics and all the officials and Announcer Connor Henderson who kept the youngsters going with am impromptu DJ set and much dancing during the inevitable long wait for the results.It takes so many to run this event including our own Doleen Galbraith yet again putting these youngsters under starters orders.
We can have no complaints about a small delay for the locals when considering the long journey of all the Teams from far afield , the Hebrides ,from North and South Uist & Eriskay to the Super Teams .Link to the full results below.
http://events.scottishathletics.org.uk/events/20078-17573-fpsg-scottishathletics-indoor-u12-superteams
Photographs courtesy of Stuart MacDonald
Emirates Arena, Glasgow
High jumper Nikki Manson’s season just gets better and better. Jumping as a guest, she claim the National Indoor Record and Native Record with the first 1.90m clearance of her career. This will put her equal second in the UK rankings alongside Morgan Lake, with Katarina Johnson-Thompson heading the list. Congratulations to Nikki and her coach Ken Allan.
Two other Giffnock athletes were also on good form at the University Championships. Jenna Wrisberg raced to Gold in the 60m with a Championship Best Performance of 7.55. In the women’s long jump Rachel Alexander consolidated her return to form taking Gold with a leap of 5.81 metres .
Photographs courtesy of Bobby Gavin
