Welcome to Banbury Harriers. We are One Team.
It does not matter what aspect of athletics you are interested in, We cater for all, from 8 upwards. You can train and compete in track and field, road running, cross country and sportshall. Click here to find us.
Latest club update (5 July 2020)
I hope you are keeping well and managing to keep fit during these testing times.
It is several weeks since our last update but we have be working with Cherwell District Council to provide them with the necessary risk assessments that they require to enable us to return to the track.
At present our best estimate is a return during the week commencing the 20th. July which ties in with NOA's summer break, which is a relevant factor given the tracks siting on land they own.
However, with the current government restrictions requiring continued social distancing and groups of no more than six, including the coach, there will clearly need to be significant changes to our normal club nights and these will be included in our risk assessments and advised to you as soon as possible.
It will not be possible to restart the Under 11 Tuesday sessions until September and further details will be provided in due course.
As regards track and field competitions there remains a desire to try and fit some in during August and early September and there is a group of people, including James, working to try and firm up some potential dates. We will keep you informed in this respect.
In the meantime look after yourselves, keep safe and remember that many aspects of fitness can be achieved individually using exercises and activities (including running and walking) during this unusual summer.
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Coronavius update (31 May 2020) - To all Athletes and Parents
INTRODUCTION
I hope that you are all keeping well in these extremely challenging times and I know that many of you have spent considerable time in helping others through this lockdown period.
I know that some of you have been working with your coaches on maintaining fitness and hopefully those who have not had any direct contact through the club will have seen the information available through our own and England Athletics websites.
Given that we are all volunteers and have had many other responsibilities it is regretted that we have not been able to keep in direct contact with all members on an individual basis.
However, with a little light becoming visible at the end of this tunnel I hope the following will give you an indication as to how we see the way forward which is, as I’m sure you all appreciate, totally dependent on ongoing government instructions.
MEMBERSHIP
As you will appreciate we are essentially a club where all memberships have expired, but relying on the premise that in line with UKA / EA guidelines all prior year memberships and athlete registrations have been continued until the end of June, but with an indication that this will not continue indefinitely.
As a club we have paid our new affiliation fee but, understandably in the current circumstances, we have yet to ask our members to renew/join for the current year from 1/4/2020.
However, as a member club we feel a degree of responsibility to the national organisation which will have difficulty in continuing without support from the clubs and ultimately the benefit of their members. Clearly, the proposed annual subscription/membership renewal proposed by the committee and ratified at the last AGM is inappropriate given the lack of available activity.
Our proposal therefore is that for the year 2020/21 we ask all current members (excluding the Under 11 group which pay a weekly fee on a termly basis) to renew for a one off membership retention fee of £25 of which £10 will be retained by the club and £15 will go to the national association to cover the services they provide for clubs. This will allow all athletes to retain their UKA registration number through until next year’s subscription renewal on 1/4/2021, when all being well we would anticipate returning to our normal membership renewal fees. Once able to recommence training we propose our normal weekly session fees but very dependent upon facilities available to us.
The above proposal would normally require ratification at an Extraordinary AGM but the in the absence of this the committee have agreed that this is a reasonable way forward.
Renewals will be sent out by email shortly, and there is a link to payment. This year sees the introduction of a “digital” UKA membership pack, so please make sure your email address and contact details is up to date on your athlete portal.
U11 training has a different termly pay structure, so this membership and renewal aspect does NOT apply, and will revert to simply termly payments when training resumes.
TRACK AND FIELD SEASON
Following the recent government announcement and details from England Athletics we have to realistically accept that there will be very limited, if any, track and field fixtures this season and most of the leagues have already been cancelled. There is a hope that some ‘Opens’ may be possible during September and we are currently working with Cherwell to ensure that the remaining alterations to the infield facilities at the track are completed, thus enabling our track to be used, if necessary.
TRACK USE / TRAINING FACILITIES
We are clearly in the hands of Cherwell here as they operate our track facility but there will clearly be no change before early July and even then it is currently unclear as to how mass participation events move forward. We have some initial thoughts as to how social distancing and training could be managed including a possible increase in number of night’s track/ weekend usage which could be used to assist. However, there is much to cover here including access to toilets etc. and I am sure there will further guidelines coming out in due course.
It is hoped that the U11 session on Tuesday evenings can recommence at the beginning of September but as I am sure you appreciate, there is much further to go before we can proceed with this.
We would not normally access indoor training facilities until after October half term and much as we would like to plan ahead this is just not possible in the current circumstances but we remain keen to offer athletes facilities as soon as we possibly can.
ROAD RUNNING/ CROSS COUNTRY
We are aware that the Oxford Mail Cross Country League have postponed their AGM and hence any decisions on next year seasons activities and fixtures.
We have received communication from some clubs and organisers of road running / distance events indicating that they are going ahead with taking entries etc. for events taking place in the early Autumn but, as with the London Marathon (rearranged for October), there must be considerable doubt at the moment as to whether these will take place.
2019/20 ANNUAL CLUB AWARDS
As you will be aware our Award ceremony was a late casualty of the lockdown and whilst all awards have been agreed and trophies etc. have been engraved there is little we can do to present these at the current time. However, we are considering whether to announce award winners in due course with presentations to follow as soon as possible
SUMMARY
Apart from individual coaches providing their athletes with personalised training programmes there really is little we can do as a club to support athletes personally although there is extensive information online to help members retain some degree of fitness.
If any club member has any specific questions regarding fitness or any other athletics related issues please feel free to contact your coach via Facebook or by email at secretary@banburyharriers.org with the name of your coach, and we’ll forward it on for direct reply.
Whilst there is obviously little we can offer to members at present I hope that you feel able to support the proposed way forward in relation to membership.
Please keep an eye on our website and Facebook for further details as the situation changes.
Doug Scott - Chairman - Banbury Harriers
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Coronavirus update (30 April 2020):
England Athletics have extended the suspension of athletics competition until at least 30 June 2020. All other activities e.g. training are currently suspended until at least 31 May. Both of these dates are under constant review and subject to change, depending on government advice. The full EA statement can be found at: https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/statement-suspension-of-competitions-extended-u20-u23-champs-postponed/
As a club, we are obviously keen to get back into action as soon as possible, but this can only be done when official guidance allows, and even then it it unlikely to be quite the same as we have been used to. The 2020 season has already been severely disrupted and at this stage we have no idea what training or competition will be possible, but we will do our best to provide as much as we can when restrictions have been eased.
You may have noticed that the annual club membership, due on 1 April, has been temporarily delayed, and we are considering a reduced membership fee when the situation becomes clearer.
In the meantime, we hope you are all keeping fit and healthy ... despite the restrictions there is much that can be done to stay in shape, even if it may not be as specific to your event as you would like. You could use your permitted daily outing for a long steady run, hill sprints, running drills or a bike ride. Or how about a skipping, press-ups, sit-ups, core strength exercise routine in your garden? There are lots more activities and ideas on the England Athletics website. Please remember to abide by the latest government advice at all times, and in particular, if exercising in public, be considerate of others and keep your distance!
Further updates will be posted here and on our Facebook page.
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BANBURY 15 - RESULTS & Photos
See Report in "latest News"
Results are now available on the Tempo Events website: https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16418&RId=657
There are 1,770 photos of the race available from: http://www.oxonraces.com/photos/2020-03-15-banbury The photos are free to download. However, if a photo is put somewhere public (including social media), please use thecredit "Photo by Barry Cornelius"
Next Events - tbc ....
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