The first of four Midland League fixtures was played out in Yate on the Sunday 8th May in glorious sunshine and windy conditions. Despite the early start there was a good turnout for the coach and the journey down passed quickly. Team spirit was excellent everyone keen to compete in this early season fixture. We were however missing many key athletes and it was very evident that the majority of athletes were from the U17 and U20 age groups.
Leading performances were by :-
Dave Sheldon with an 800m (1:57.5) and 1500m (4:06.4) double, Morris Fox in the shot (14.03), Ishmael Anderson in the B shot (9.71 PB) and Kate Holt in the 3K (9:56.7).
Perhaps the most excited athlete of the day was Chloe Burns who celebrated in fine style after finishing 2nd in the 100m hurdles in 15.0 seconds, a PB and English schools qualifying time.
The final team positions were:-
1st Bristol & West/Yate 407; 2nd Birchfield; 395; 3rd Cannock & Stafford 326; 4th Wolves & Bilston; 5th Rugby & Northampton 246; 6th City of Stoke 223.
The result reflects the deficiencies in our team and leaves us with a mountain to climb if we are going to retain our position in Division 1. We can only hope that more athletes will make themselves available for the next three meetings, it will be a certainly be challenge but a challenge that we must take.
Alan Morris/Liam Tracey