There were many positive aspects to the season, but one of the most significant could be the evolvement of Steve Shubotham into the team managers role. Having completed 2005 without the position been filled, Steve started this season sorting out the middle distance athletes, but ended up as an effective team manager. I hope he formally takes on the role for 2007, as it was no coincidence that the team’s points totals and spirit improved through the season the more Steve got involved.

The table below shows the points scored by event at each of the four fixtures.

The team's track athlete of the season was Tom Gayle who demonstrated both commitment and quality performances in the middle distance events. Tom was prepared to double up in three of the four meetings before finished his busy afternoons work with a 4x400 leg. After consistently finishing towards the front of his races all season, Tom was rewarded with an 800 and 1500 double A race victory in the final fixture of the season. The teams reliance on Tom can not be overstated as he is the only middle distance athlete in the club capable of competing successfully in the A events. Andy Prophett and Carl Shubotham battled hard all season, but 4^th places in B events were their best returns. Carl should continue to improve and had a consistent first full season in the league, whilst Andy’s form was short of his best as he struggled with fitness.

Junior international Alex Nelson provided the team with a boost competing in two of the fixtures, winning the A race 100m at Cardiff despite injury. With Alex in the team it is obvious that we can score well in the sprints. Martin Chomanicz returned after injury problems to perform well and Richard Porter was a welcome addition to the team. It was good to see a 4x100m relay team without Nelson take a fine 2^nd place at Crawley. The 400m was the clubs least successful event on the track, not surprising as we failed to field a 400m specialist all season and there is big gap here in the club.

The third and final athlete to register an A victory was from decathlete Roger Skedd in the 110m hurdles. Roger is clearly a key man in the team and he contributed a 53 point haul in the final fixture of the season. It is important that we use Roger in his best events, rather than to fill in gaps, as this will produce a greater points return. This was not the case at Liverpool and valuable points were lost. It is great to see Roger enjoying competing for the team with such commitment; he is disappointed when international commitments clash with league fixtures.

Fellow decathlete Sam Bishop scored highly at Liverpool and Kingston, with success in both throws and jumps. With James Dohnal and Robin Smith there is certainly strength in the multi-events, but there is a need to develop specialist field eventers to share the workload.

The 110m hurdles was the clubs most successful event of the season. Nick Gayle had top three finishes in the A races of the first three meetings, before winning the B event at Crawley, in a time quicker than Roger’s A race victory. Alistair Candlish had scored well in the B event all season, including a 2^nd place at Swansea. He then showed his versatility by taking 2^nd in the B 400m hurdles in the final match of the season. Chris Perry was a welcome signing for the 400m hurdles in an event that we had previously struggled in.

When Gavin Walters and Steve Bazell are on form the steeplechase provides a good points return. Gavin’s consistency was remarkable, with his three performances all within half a second of each other. Gavin’s commitment in filling in gaps in the field should also be applauded, but not what should be happening at this level. The 5000m was difficult to score points in, yet Pete Benyon and Damian Gallagher will have been pleased with their performances in some hot conditions not conducive to quick times. For a first year junior, Damian's performances show promise and he should be encouraged by his first season at the event.

Field event athlete of the season was Greg Nixon, scoring a total of 104 points with the shot and discus the club’s most successful field events. Here the club has a number of athletes that can produce high level performances, therefore guaranteeing at least high positions in the B events. This was the case in the shot where Greg had two firsts and two seconds in the B string with Sam Bishop, Martin Bartholemew and veteran Morris Fox all beating him to the A spot. A similar situation exists in the discus, where Martin and Morris have won B events, whilst Greg took a 2^nd place in the A event with a personal best at Crawley. Martin, an under 17 athlete, competed in just one fixture and is an exciting talent for the future. It was good to see Morris return from retirement for the final fixture and still launch the shot over 14m, but it remains to be seen whether his fragile body will allow a full comeback next season. The Javelin was another successful event, with Rob Eggleton having another consistent season. When Rob and Roger combined this became even more productive. The lack of a specialist hammer thrower is a weakness in the team and this is an area that needs to be developed.

The jumps did not provide the points that they could have done with the quality of athletes in the club. The long jump was the most successful of these, with Dave Mountford and Sam Bishop placing 3^rd A and 1^st B respectively at the opening fixture Liverpool. Chris Harvey also competed well and took a 3^rd place in the B event at Swansea, as well as competing in various other events throughout the season. Sam and Robin Smith showed what could be achieved in the high jump at Liverpool, but the rest of the season failed to deliver with non-specialists often having a go. The triple jump saw only one performance in the top four all season, from Chris Harvey in the B event at Swansea. The most frustrating event for the season was the pole vault, an event in which Stoke has both fine athletes and tradition. Roger Skedd produced a fine second place at Crawley, but this was overshadowed by the fact that of the eight potential performances there were just two each from Roger and steeplechaser Gavin Walters, two no heights and two not contested.

A total of twenty-seven athletes competed during the season. Eight athletes competed in all four fixtures (compared to just five athletes last year), six in three fixtures, seven competed twice, whilst seven turned out just the once. The table below shows the points scored by individual athletes (relays have been ignored) at each meeting. Whilst it may be crude to value an athletes performance by points (often an inferior performance scores more in the B event than the superior performance in the A event) it makes interesting reading.

Finally, I thought it would be interesting to pick a team based purely on the results achieved in the BAL this season. This is still short of what would be the club’s best team, but it would take some beating next season.