The BRAT senior track and field team have been crowned champions of the Midlands
Athletics League for 2024, some 35 years since we last achieved that feat!
After a very encouraging 2023 in which we finished second in the top flight, we were
determined this season to go one better – but I don’t think anyone thought that we would
win all four matches.
After the disappointment of the May meeting at Nottingham being cancelled, the first
occasion that all division one clubs met was at Nuneaton for the ‘Technical’ Match in early
June. All the Midlands clubs from all six divisions meet up and compete over the 8 most
technically challenging events (pole vault, steeplechase, hammer etc..). You compete
against all six divisions and only at the end are points awarded against clubs from your
individual division. It if sounds complicated then that’s because it is! However, it’s great fun
and as a result of our efforts we picked up the full 3 points for division one.
Our first full meeting meant a journey all the way down to Yate near Bristol in mid July. With
very nearly a full squad we picked up another well-deserved victory to put us on top after
two meetings.
Link to more photo’s, courtesy of Toby Gosnall: Here
By the time we travelled over to Rugby in August the holiday season was well and truly
underway yet somehow we managed to get most places filled and were able to introduce a
number of under 17s into the team. Rugby compete in the national league and have
probably as many, if not more athletes on their books than BRAT do, and they are rarely
beaten at home. Through a series of fantastic performances both on the track and in the
field we managed to push them into second spot, and more importantly, push Gloucester
even further down the table meaning that going into the last match of the season we had a
fairly unassailable lead.
In what turned out to be a rather grey, damp and overcast day at Birmingham University we
knew that avoiding last place would see us crowned champions but the team wanted more
than that, we wanted to win not only on our own track but also to maintain our 100%
record throughout 2024. And win we did, finishing well ahead of Gloucester in second place.
Final league table –
1 – BRAT 21 points
2 – Gloucester 15 points
3 – Rugby 11.5 points
4 – Notts 11.5 points
5 – Cheltenham 7.5 points
6 – Yate 7 points
Although the photo isn’t ideal (the girls didn’t want to be seen with wet, bedraggled hair!)
we managed to take a quick snap at the finish line. As you will see, it’s not just the athletes,
there are a large number of officials and helpers featured – this was very much a team
effort and as the team manager I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in
whatever capacity this season, it is greatly appreciated.
Now is the time for celebration but the hard work starts all over again very soon – it’s
important to see this victory, and that of the juniors in the Heart of England, not as an end
point but as a beginning – we should always be looking to make the club bigger, better and
stronger, a club where athletes old and young want to come and compete.
Here’s to more success next season!
Nigel Clegg
BRAT Senior track & field team manager
