The 2026 Edition of the Club Track & Field Championships took place on Sunday 13 September at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena in Kilmarnock — our own version of the Friendly Games, perhaps!
Once again, we were fortunate with the weather, and a fantastic turnout of athletes, parents, supporters, coaches and officials helped make it another successful and enjoyable event for the club.
Honouring Nikki Manson
A particular highlight was the presentation of Honorary Membership of GNAC to Nikki Manson, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to athletics.
The board of Giffnock North Athletics club proudly welcomes Nikki Manson as an Honorary Member in recognition of her exceptional achievements and contribution to athletics. As one of the clubs most accomplished athletes, Nikki has represented Giffnock North at the highest levels of competition, inspiring generations of athletes. In acknowledgment of her remarkable success and dedication to the sport, we confer this honorary membership with great pride and admiration.
Nikki is an accomplished Scottish and Great Britain internationalist and holds the Scottish Native Record in the Long Jump and the Indoor Record in the High Jump, as well as being a formidable Javelin thrower. Her achievements also include NCAA All-American status during her postgraduate studies at the University of Akron in the USA — an honour recognising athletes who achieve an exceptionally high standard at the US collegiate level.
Our Chairperson, Jon Vincent, presented Nikki with her certificate and spoke warmly of her remarkable career and continuing contribution to athletics. We were also delighted that multiple-medal-winning GB athlete Lee McConnell was able to present Nikki with a bouquet of flowers.
Everyone present was delighted to recognise Nikki’s enormous contribution to athletics, to GNAC, to athletics development through the Glasgow Athletics Association, and now through her coaching.
The presentation was a particularly memorable moment for our young athletes, many of whom were discovering Nikki’s achievements for the first time.
A Great Championship Spirit
Many athletes were competing in their first competition, alongside our more experienced competitors, and throughout the day there was a wonderful atmosphere of encouragement, camaraderie and mutual support.
The U12 Boys took this to another level in the Long Jump, enthusiastically cheering on every one of their teammates as they approached the runway. It was fantastic to see.
The organisers congratulate all our athletes for demonstrating this spirit across every age group, from the youngest competitors through to the seniors and Masters. Robert Thurlow’s photographs of the sprinters capture that atmosphere perfectly.
We had 190 athletes entered, although sadly a few were unable to compete. Competition was fierce across many events, with excellent performances and numerous PBs recorded.
Every athlete received a boot/spike bag. Those who were injured or otherwise unable to attend will receive theirs at training. We are grateful to our main sponsor, Sam Kynoch, and to our other generous donors. Additional support came from Michael at Migos, our kit supplier, who arranged the bags and generously covered the additional numbering. This excellent suggestion will help prevent bags being misplaced or allow lost bags to be reunited with their owners — so please remember to label your kit!
Officials and Volunteers
We would like to thank all the officials from outside the club whose expertise allows competitions at District and National level, as well as OGS, Track & Field and Cross Country events, to take place. Amparo has already acknowledged their contribution, but we believe our athletes should also become familiar with the names behind the competitions they enjoy.
Our thanks go to:
• The Photo Finish Team, led by Jason Pender
• The Start Team
• The Field Teams, led by Jan Gamage, Chief timekeeper _ Peter Ramsay, Track Referee – Diane Ramsay and Chief starters – David Hughes and Mike Belch.
• All our own GNAC officials, whose contribution was invaluable. We had 9 graded GNAC officials as well as 17 other graded officials from a variety of other clubs.
We need more club officials, so anyone interested in joining our growing team should speak to Amparo or Heather.
A special mention must go to Dudley Walker, our Announcer Supreme, who kept proceedings moving throughout the entire day. Superb as always.
And a final thanks to all our many coaches and parent helpers, including Gordon Johnston, who raked, measured, supported, supported, encourages and assisted all day.
Catering, Raffle and Club Kit
Our Catering Team — Sharon Freeland, Caroline Cameron and Lindsay Church — kept everyone supplied throughout the day, with additional treats including Kuli Johal’s excellent pakora and curried soup. Many thanks also to everyone who contributed home baking.
Abi Reid and Louise Baillie ran another excellent Raffle and Tombola, with an impressive collection of prizes secured from local businesses. There were also kit donations from Neil Gourley and Nikki Manson, which were particularly popular with the delighted winners. Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed.
Karen Brown and Barbara McKerracher once again demonstrated the value of the Club Kit and Spikes recycling stall. Donated items were quickly snapped up, showing just how worthwhile this initiative has become.
Results, Declarations and Support Teams
The highly efficient Results Team comprised Jenny Simpson and Holly Simpson, with technical support from Craig Ross, who has taken over from Graham Dunn.
Our Declaration Team was Lesley Campbell, Rebecca Heron, Ellis Yuill and Fiona Caldow.
At the gates were Glen Griffiths, Gillian Gallagher and Amy Gallagher, with valuable additional help from Eve Wilkinson, Cece Thomson-Elliot and ……….. Rhicard.
We were also fortunate to have outstanding photography from Allan Cameron, adding to a tremendous Cameron family effort. Caroline was on Catering, while injured Christopher worked on the gate and as Results Runner — although he would undoubtedly have preferred to have been competing alongside his sisters Eve and Kate!
Chaperones
Our age-group chaperones also provided excellent support.
The U12 Boys were supported by Tracey Murray, Fiona Reilly and Paul Tyler, with Ola Witas providing additional assistance. The U12 Girls were supported by Paul Tyler (Coach Paul) and Andy Wright.
For the U14 Girls, our chaperones were Lynne Hill, Mairead Fernandez-McCann and Julia McFetridge, while the U14 Boys were supported by Lee McConnell and Paul Prentice.
Although our more experienced athletes may not need this level of support, having chaperones in place is enormously helpful to athletes, parents and organisers alike.
Looking Ahead
As usual, there will be a debrief, and we welcome feedback on the format, including suggestions such as the inclusion of parent races.
The Club Championships have evolved considerably since Anne Stewart initiated them around 30 years ago. The first Championships were held as an evening event at the John Wright Centre in East Kilbride, at a time when there was no suitable local track. Sadly, it remains the case that there is still no local track suitable for competition.
For those considering taking part in future parent races, however, we would strongly recommend joining our Senior Section first! With both sprint and endurance opportunities available, there is always the option of training properly and competing next year — considerably reducing the risk of a torn hamstring!
Finally, our sincere thanks to the Ayrshire Athletics Arena and its very helpful staff, Amvale for providing First Aid, and, of course, to the Sun God for shining on our 2026 Championships.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who competed, volunteered, supported and contributed to making the day such a success.
Results will be posted as soon as possible.
Further photographs from Allan Cameron, with additional photographs from Ola Witas and Paul Tyler, will all be posted on the clubs Facebook.
Results