The challenge put to those who entered the Greater Manchester Sportshall County Championships was to beat last years grand total of 31 medals.


Did they rise to the challenge? 
Well, not only did they match last years total, the 39 athletes who competed got half as many again on top with a grand total of 47 medals! This is a lot different from Tom's first Sportshall County Championship in 2003 were the 4 athletes entered attained three medals in total.

There were some notable performances on the day, listing every medal won in this instance would lead for a very boring read. A full summary of all the medals and top 6 places is below.The highlights are
George and Rivi ending up with 4 Gold's each. George is unbeaten in 6 Lap, SB & SLJ this Sporthall Season and topped of his individual efforts with a relay Gold.
In his final Sportshall competition for Trafford AC Rivi was at is outstanding best and his 71cm Vertical Jump was the talk of the arena. I think it's now five years in a row that Rivi has come away from these Championships with 4 medals.
Josh was also in his final Sporthall and came away with 3 Golds and a Silver (Rivi had the Gold!)
At the other end of the scale Jamall was competing in his first County Championships. He too has ended the Sporthall season unbeaten in Standing Long Jump as well as 1 Lap, so 2 golds there, plus a silver from Speed bounce and a further gold from the relay.
The most successful girl on the day was Stephanie with golds from Vertical Jump, Standing Triple Jump and relay bronze.
As ever the u15 girls were their normal dominant selves and managed to supersede the clean sweep they achieved in the STJ in last years u13 competition by getting a 1, 2, 3, 4 in the Vertical Jump!
The relay teams in each age group all medaled - with wins for u11b, u13b, u15g & u15b; silver for u11g and bronze of u13g.

We expect that we'll yet again have a strong presence in the Greater Manchester Team for the u13 & u15 Regional finals. These will be held at Sportscity on Saturday 15th March. We'll inform those selected for the GM team once we are notified by the selectors.

These Championships have been held annually since 1883, and this was the 50th consecutive year that Trafford AC (formerly Stretford AC) have entered teams. 
This year they were held at Knowsley Safari Park (away from the animals!) on a day of very challenging weather conditions. 
The only 2 Trafford girls taking part were Danielle McMinn who finished 64th out of 222 runners in the U13 Girls race & Beth Donnelly who came an excellent 11th out of 95 in the U17 Womens event. It is a pity that we can't turn out more girls for these events.
The Under 13 Boys finished 11th out of 18 teams. They were led home by Jack Wilkinson in 19th place, followed by Raffi Quirke (56th), Xavier O'Hare (105th) & Drew Baker (108th). 161 runners completed the course.
The Under 15 Boys were 9th out of 21 teams. Their 4 scoring athletes were Jake Lonsdale (28th), Colin Daly (78th), Josh La Manna (98th) & Mikey Kingston (120th) in a field of 173 runners.
Trafford's U17 Men were our most successful team, finishing 6th out of 14 teams. Zak Miller had to run the last 2 miles of the race with only one shoe after the other one came off in the mud. In spite of this handicap he still managed to finish in 4th place. Close behind was Danny Lawton (10th) followed by Ryan Babcock (62nd) and Chris Brown (70th).
Most of these athletes will be competing in the Greater Manchester Schools Cross Country Championships at Bolton this coming weekend, followed by the National Championships at Nottingham next month.

The 6 Trafford AC u11 who represented Greater Manchester in the Sportshall u11 Fun in Athletics Regional final all played their part in what was a great afternoons competition.
Both the girls and the boys GM teams finished in 2nd place in what was a very close competition with the girls being only 3 points behind the winners and the lads 6 points.

Club Membership fees are now due. 
All who are school year 6 and above, who train and compete, need to be club members.
There have been two welcome changes to membership this time round.
Firstly u17's now pay the same as u13's & u15's - £25
Secondly, the free membership performance based incentive that senior athletes benefit from, has been extended to apply to both YDL lower League and Upper League performances.
This means that any athlete who achieves as Grade 1 performance in a YDL match, and attends at least 3 of the 4 matches gets free membership. 
We're also delighted to announce that this has been retrospectively applied to 2013 YDL performances and that Emily Nash, Jerell Marchan, Rivaldo Brown and William Aldred will all receive free membership this year. Well done!
Commenting about this change, Club Chairman, Alan Johnson, commented "for several years we have rewarded senior athletes who excel in the BAL and UKWAL with free membership in recognition of their achievements and commitment to Trafford AC teams. 
We are delighted to extend this to now include the junior athletes competing in the YDL. 
Trafford AC is committed to team athletics and hope that this scheme will help reward those who perform well and encourage others to do so too."

For details of how to pay, please see below. 
Renewing Members are requested to complete the Renewal Form, new members will need to complete the full Membership Form

1.  This year, for the first time, we are asking members, if possible, to renew online. Simply follow this link to our main website and complete the details.​ (NB Not available for new Members)​

2.  Alternatively you may pay by BACS ( Account Number 10007835 Sort Code 16-14-20 - please use your name as the reference )

3.  By post to the Membership Secretary, Trafford Athletic Club, Trafford Athletic Stadium, Longford Park, Ryebank Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy M21 9TA )

4.  Or in person on a club night.
 
A list of the membership fees is below. Please note that the age group you renew under is based on the age group that you will compete on the track in 2014. That is your age as at 31st August 2014 ( for Under 20’s it is at 31st December 2014)
 
Fees
Family Membership     £100
Over 16s                       £45
Under 17s                     £25 (School years 6 to 11)

 
Any member failing to renew their membership by 1st May 2014 will be subject to a surcharge of £20 for Over 16s and £10 for Under 17s.
 
Training fees remain the same for 2014 as follows ;
 
Members          £2
Non-members    £4
 
Athletes must show their membership card on training nights otherwise they will pay the non-members fee.

BACK in 2012 Dunn was sidekick to Peter Eriksson as the Canadian guided the British team to its most successful medal tally at the Paralympic Games in London – eleven gold, seven silver and eleven bronze. Fast forward two months to November 2012 and the 1986 Commonwealth Games 100m runner-up had the unenviable task of continuing the undoubted legacy left by the heroics of those Games.
Coming into the role was surprisingly tough, mainly due to the extra responsibility that is associated with being head coach. Dunn says: “I was really fortunate that I knew the athletes, the coaches and the set-up.” However, there are the not so obvious things such as the liaison with UK Sport, Sport England and the management meetings – things that Eriksson did so well. Dunn is confident of her abilities though and adds: “I think now that I’m leading the team, I don’t want it to fail, so that in itself is a completely different position to be in.”
Dunn’s baptism of fire came at the IPC World Championships in Lyon and many people may have raised an eyebrow at the selection of eight new debutants on the team, but the self-assured head coach passed her first test with flying colours. Six of the new faces came home with medals and Dunn describes the trip to the central France as her biggest achievement since coming to the helm.
She explained: “I think there was always going to be that expectation after London, so to do so well in Lyon after such a great 2012 was a big highlight of mine. This year was always going to be challenging, but I was really happy that the athletes and coaches picked up again and posted a strong tally of 29 medals (eleven gold, nine silver and nine bronze).”
Looking ahead to the next few years, the 49-year-old Dunn will have her eyes on next year’s IPC European Championships in Swansea and the 2015 IPC World Championships in Doha before the cycle comes to an exciting climax in Rio in 2016 with the Paralympic Games. With some high targets set for Brazil in three years’ time, the Mancunian is  well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
She says: “It’s the start of a new cycle. We understand that 2012 has finished and we’re now planning ahead to 2016 making sure we identify and support the right athletes and coaches going forward. I think that’s a challenge, making sure we do a good job of getting the right athletes and the target of 13 gold medals is a very high one. We need to find more athletes and those at the right level.”
One of the inevitable questions that Dunn faced upon swapping the assistant coach role for the top position centred on her sex and race, but a year on, she still reflects on the position in the same manner. She adds: “I went for the job and I didn’t really think about being black or being a female. I applied for the job because I felt I could do it. Looking back I suppose it was a breakthrough and if I can be a role model for other women and black females out there, then that’s really positive. It’s not something I think about on a day-to-day basis. My focus is on succeeding because, if I don’t, it doesn’t matter if I’m black or a female.”
One of the first appointments made by Dunn was Jenni Banks, who had coached Britain’s most successful Paralympian ever, 11-time gold medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. She believes that more opportunities are being made by British Athletics to get more women involved in the elite end of the sport.
“I think we’re doing really well in terms of getting more female coaches involved at the elite end. We’ve got the Female Legacy Programme and I attended the Women’s Coaching Conference and I believe that anything that supports and identifies women has got to be a positive for the sport,” said Dunn, who came into the Paralympic set-up in 2009.
Although it’s now 18 years since her last major competitive outing, Dunn remains one of the fastest sprinters this country has produced and is still ranked fifth on the UK all-time lists over 100m (11.15) and the 200m (22.69). While she doesn’t “actually remember running as it feels such a long time ago”, she can “identify and understand the feeling of what it’s like going into a race and whether it goes wrong or right.”
Dunn remains a charismatic, bubbly and approachable figure despite her steep rise up the ladder over the last 12 months. She adds: “I’m here to support the athletes. No athletes go on the world stage to fail, but sometimes it happens. You’ve got to understand that everyone goes out to do their best, but my job as head coach is to not only support the athletes when they’ve done well, but also to be there when it hasn’t gone well. It’s important to make sure they still feel valued and believe that they have the potential to succeed.”
Described recently by her partner as the “silent assassin”, Dunn explains that this   character reference came about “because I know what I want.” She continues: “I don’t think I’m bolshy or feel the need to stamp my feet, but I do all I can to make sure I achieve the end goal. I know what I want, I know what I need to get and where I need to be, so my job is to get the right people in the right place doing the right thing. I may only be 5ft 2in, but I think everyone respects me.”
Silent assassin aside, how would Dunn like to be perceived first and foremost by her family, and secondly by her athletes on the team? She replies: “My family would describe me as happy but also very competitive and I hope any athlete on the team would say I’m fair, supportive and tough when I need to be.”

(C) Athletics Weekly
This article originally appeared in Athletics Weekly. Our thanks to them for their permission to reproduce it.

The Trafford AC entries for this years Sportshall County Championships are as follows:-

u11b
Ayoola Dania (1 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1), Frankie Kennedy (1 Lap, Javelin, VJ ), Jacob Dwan (1 Lap, 3 Lap, Javelin, Relay-1), Jamall Walters (1 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-1), Joe Holt (3 Lap, SB, SLJ), Kelvin Samuel (3 Lap, SB, Javelin, Relay-2), Kingsley Nunes (1 Lap, 3 Lap, VJ, Relay-2), Oliver Chester (1 Lap, SB, SLJ), Sandy McGuinness (1 Lap, 3 Lap, Javelin, Relay-1), Tom Winter (1 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-2), Zac Gardner (1 Lap, 3 Lap, Javelin, Relay-2)

u11g
Elysia Richmond-Dervan (1 Lap, Javelin, SLJ), Isobel Miller (3 Lap, SB, Relay-1), Issi Boyle (1 Lap, Javelin, SLJ, Relay-1), Lateefa Hamilton (1 Lap, Javelin, SLJ), Laura Johnson (1 Lap, VJ, SLJ), Orli Edwards (3 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-1), Trezeguet Taylor (1 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1)

u13b
Armando Assis (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1), George Hurst (6 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-1), James Petrykowski (2 Lap, 4 Lap, STJ), Joe Kennedy (2 Lap, Shot, STJ, Relay-1), Joshua Grant (2 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-1)

u13g
Amy Tavner (4 Lap, SB), Aylin Ozkayali (4 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-2), Jameelah Ologundudu (6 Lap, SB, STJ, Relay-1), Jasmin Abel (4 Lap, SB, STJ), Kelechi Dunn (4 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-2), Layla Wiseman (2 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-2), Leila Gardner (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1), Molly Larkin (2 Lap, 4 Lap, Shot, Relay-1), Ngozi Dunn (4 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-2), Stephanie Austin (2 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-1)

u15b
Joseph Tang (6 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-1), Josh Pemberton (4 Lap, SLJ, STJ, Relay-1), Rivaldo Brown (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1), Sanchez Nguie (VJ, SLJ, STJ, Relay-1)

u15g
Allana Edwards (2 Lap, 6 Lap, SB), Emily Nash (4 Lap, Relay-1), Georgia Beaumont (2 Lap, SB, VJ), Imojene Blackburn-Stennett (4 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-1), Lili Boyle (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-1), Zalika Williams (2 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-1)

Date: Sunday 26th January 2014 - team to meet at the venue no later than 11:30 - first event noon. 
Note the timetable for this event is different from the League matches - I will email once it is confirmed.

Fee: £1.50 per individual event entered will be collected on the day.

Venue: Sportscity Indoor Stadium

Team Managers: Andrew Wood, Cecil Lauder, Anna Verges, Margaret Hayles

Spectator Facilities: There is seating available, but it usually tends not to be enough for all spectators, so you may wish to bring your own chairs. The cafe will be open for teas & coffees ect.

note - Trafford Vests must be worn for this event. Vests can be bought from reception on any training night.

The annual county cross country championships were held at Leigh Sports Village last Saturday.
The U13 Boys team finished 4th with Jack Wilkinson an excellent 5th place, Raffi Quirke 12th & Drew Baker 29th.
In the U13 Girls race, Danielle McMinn was 24th, Marnie Mannion 27th & Siobhan Conway 38th. The team finished 9th.
The Under 15 Boys team won bronze medals with Colin Daly 5th, Josh La Manna 11th, Joseph Tang 20th in his first cross country race for Trafford and Mikey Kingston 22nd.
Issy Hopwood finished 32nd in the U15 Girls race.
Best performance of the day went to Danny Lawton who won the U17 Mens race by over a minute. He was backed up by Chris Brown in 5th place and Ryan Babcock 10th. This meant that Trafford retained the team championship for the 3rd year in a row.
As a result, Danny, Chris, Colin & Jack have all been selected to represent Greater Manchester in the Inter Counties Championships in Birmingham in March.

Congratulations to Jamall, Sandy, Issi, Laura, Isobel and Orli from our u11's who have all been selected to represent Greater Manchester in the u11 Fun in Athletics Regional Final.
The event will take place at Sportscity on Sunday 19th January.

Selection for the u13 & u15 County teams will take place following the County Championships on Sunday 26th January.