BRAT Juniors Represent Birmingham at the Regional Sportshall Final!
Following on from our attendance in the league matches over the last few months we were delighted to have 10 BRAT athletes selected to represent Team Birmingham at the regional final on Sunday 19th March. There was a fantastic atmosphere in North Solihull Sports Centre as 4 teams from across the wider West Midlands region came together in the regional final – Birmingham, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Shropshire and Warwickshire The day kicked off with the Under 11s events and BRAT representation came from Elliot Jones and Kai Macmillan in the Birmingham boys team. There was plenty of action in the track events, with some very close races including some new events that did not form part of the league meetings – well done Kai for tackling the Over/Under relay without any prior knowledge of what it involved! On the field events, there were jumps, throws and balancing all taking place.…
Good luck to BRAT juniors in upcoming national XC champs!
The junior cross-country league season was completed in February, but the biggest events of the XC season are yet to come. There were a number of county/regional races that took place over December and January, attracting the best athletes from Birmingham and the surrounding area. As a result of outstanding performances in these regional championships, we have had a number of athletes selected for the inter-counties XC championships and the English Schools XC championships. In both of these events, athletes will represent their county in a national level competition. Make no mistake about it, attaining county selection is a major achievements, so we’d like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection and give them a big “good luck” ahead of their upcoming races: Inter Counties XC Champs – Saturday March 11th – Prestwold Hall: U13G: Amira Emery U15B: Jack Price U15G: Alba Smith-Pena U17M: Dylan Teasdale, George Astbury, Morgan…
Club History
As a result of previous mergers by former athletics clubs in Birmingham and Black Country area, the club has over 100 years of athletics heritage. Here is a brief synopsis of our history:
Junior Cross-Country Season Summary
For the second year in a row we have finished 5th overall team out of 21 teams in total, so a lot to feel positive about. We went into the last race in fourth position but narrowly lost that position. Looking back over the previous few years we have finished: 21/22 – 5th 19/20 – 12th 18/19 – 15th 17/18 – 19th It’s pleasing to see that we have consolidated our improvement from last season. During the XC series we had 63, 58 ,57, 51 and 56 athletes competing across the five races. So there has been a massive improvement in the number of athletes that are turning out to compete which has made the difference. We can’t emphasise enough the importance that you all make to the overall team position so you all contribute to the success of the club if you win or finish further down the field! …
BRAT Club Fundraising
BRAT club raises money for Birmingham Childrens Hospital
Warley Woods – Junior XC
The third fixture of the league was held at Warley Woods on a hilly course and again the club produced some great performances. Although we had 57 athletes finishing, we had a number of athletes unable to compete due to illness which affected a number of teams. The U11s bucked that trend with a superb 3rd place in the girls and 5th in the boys. The other teams in the top 10 were U17M 3rd, U13B 4th, U15G 7th and U13G 9th. Overall, we finished 6th on the day but with two teams very close in front. We still retain our 4th position overall after the third fixture so plenty of time to consolidate this over the final two fixtures. Thank you to the team managers, Jort for bringing the tent and the parents and not forgetting the athletes for doing all the hard work! Looking forward to seeing you…
BRAT AWARDS 26/11/2022
Saturday 26th November saw the return of a full blown BRAT Awards evening at Birmingham City Football Ground. It was great to be able to get everyone together again in person to celebrate the amazing performances across all agegroups and disciplines. The evening would not have been able to go ahead without the input from a number of people, but especially Julie Smith for organising it all, Gordon Ainsley for collating performances and Martin Ludford for sorting all the trophies. Awards got underway with the Junior Club Championships and AAA Awards, with the recipients detailed below:- Position Points U-11 Girls 3 Erin Colclough 47 2 Josephine Colclough 48 1 Anna Newman 50 U-11 Boys 3 Joseph Baker 41 2 Kai McMillan 47 1 Elliot Jones 49 U-13 Girls 3 Erin McDaid 62 2 Noor Bailey 68 1 Niamh O’Carroll 73 U-13 Boys 2= Oliver Knight 68 2= Dominic Moynihan 68…
BRAT Awards – 26th November – Get your tickets now!
Right, here it is, the biggest social event of the year. It’s been a few years since we had an in-person presentation evening where all the club gets to celebrate, but we are back! This event is an opportunity for our athletes to spend time with their teammates and friends as we come together as a club to celebrate our successes over the past year. There will be a host of awards to be given out, along with baking competitions, quizzes, music and more. Who should attend Everyone! We would like as many of you to attend as possible, regardless of whether you are new to the club or you have been with us for years. Regardless of which group and which sessions you do, please come along. It’s rare for us to have an event that encompasses all our groups. Event Details Date: Saturday 26th November Time: 6:30pm Venue:…
Another strong XC performance for the BRAT Junior Team!
Another excellent turn out with 59 BRATs competing on the fast grassland course at Newbold Revel. After our excellent 4th place at the first match at Walsall, we again finished 4th on the day which consolidated our overall position in the league. The standout performance on the day was Nya 5th in U11 Girls, and she has two more years in this age group, a massive improvement by Josh finishing 6th in U13 Boys and Jack 9th U15 Boys and Amira 10th in U13 Girls. But remember this is a team effort and all the athletes contribute to the overall score! If you finish 50th you score 151 points, so it all adds to the performance of the club. it was great seeing so many athletes out enjoying themselves and especially the support of the parents and team managers! The next match in the league is at Warley Woods on…
New Club Record for 10 Miles at Portsmouth
The Club record for 10 Miles was previously set by Brian McEvoy in April 1990 at Wolverhampton. He ran 49:46 and his record has stood for over 32 years, until last week (16th October) in Portsmouth, when Charlie Davis ran 49:18 to smash Brian’s performance by nearly 30 seconds! Charlie finished 9th in the race and was ‘very satisfied’ with the run, not even knowing he had broken the Club record. The 10 Miles is seldom raced in today’s road calendar which now tends to focus more on the half-marathon distance but the longevity of Brian’s record stood as a testament to his sheer hard work and determination. When Brian, who is still a club member, found out about his record finally been broken, he reflected that ‘the record would be broken one day.’ Congratulations to Charlie on a brilliant performance! Check out the club rankings HERE
Women’s Cross Country
Cross Country season is fast approaching, and the cross country team are looking for athletes to take part, it’s a great opportunity to meet people from across the club too.
BRAT Field Fest
Due to losing the track to redevelopment and subsequently Covid striking, BRAT last held a licenced athletics open event on June 26th 2013, so the Field Fest on 11th September was quite a momentous occasion for the club. 65 athletes (including 41 BRATs) from 17 different clubs took part in the 12 field events which were laid on, resulting in 107 entries overall on the day. Athletes had travelled from as far afield as Aberdare, Windsor and Trafford to take part! The U11’s took part in a triathlon which comprised of Long Jump, Howler and Speedbounce (and medals), while the U13’s – U20’s could do up to three events which consisted of Long Jump, High Jump, Javelin, Discus, Hammer and Shot. Although the day started with a deep set autumnal mist, the weather held and it was a pleasant temperature. The coffee van was early and the ice-cream van got…