ESAA TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday 7th July our 4 U17 BRATs boarded the coach with the rest of the West Midlands athletes and headed to Manchester for the 2022 English Schools’ Athletics Championships. They would stay for two nights as a team, supporting each other along the way. Our athletes all competed on Friday 8th, with Nathaniel also taking part in the 4 x 100m relay on the Saturday. At the Sport City Stadium Nathaniel was 1st up in Heat 1 of the 100m where he ran 11.74. Lily was next in the Long Jump where she came 12th with a jump of 5.12m. Bonheur was in the 300m Hurdles where she came 4th in Heat 2 in a PB time of 45.69 and also set a new BRAT Club record. She was 10th overall, just missing out on the finals by 0.27s. Over at Longford Park (as not all long throws could take…
Summerfield Smash 2022
A fast 5km race for those that care about their time (no matter what that time may be). A simple event with minimal fuss. Just run hard, get a PB and go home proud.
World Masters Championships
James Colclough has been competing in the World Masters Championships in Tampere, Finland this week, in the M40 400m. He started off with an easy win in the heat in 52.47s; third fastest of the heats. In the semifinal in pouring rain he came 2nd in an M40 club best time of 51.49s, again for 3rd overall in the semis. In the final, he came a magnificent 4th; again improving his M40 club best time to 50.99s, his personal fastest since his senior days in 2011 and only 0.7s off his absolute best in 2003! He also ran the first leg of the 4×100 where they finished 2nd, but were subsequently disqualified because the 3rd leg runner still had his hand on the baton as the 4th leg runner exited the box. Unfortunately the 4th leg runner started off far too early and had to stop to take the baton. The…
BRAT Juniors Win @ Heart of England League
The recent Heart of England competition at Stourport was a day of miracles. Firstly, the weekend began and was punctuated by torrential downpours. Alas, those competing on the Saturday at the Mason Trophy may have got pretty wet! Not only did we manage to escape the rain, but the sprinters also enjoyed a home straight tailwind, it NEVER happens. I imagine the back straight wasn’t quite so kind! After our absolute demolition of the opposition in the first match back in April, where we won by 350 points, I decided to shuffle the team around. We had a large number of athletes that hadn’t competed in the league before and quite a lot that hadn’t ever competed on the track before. Big pressure, well done guys. I was therefore a bit shocked and, I have to admit, a bit worried when some of the other teams arrived on coaches, unfurled…
Bikes for Refugees
Bike donations requested for Ukranian refugees.
Mason Trophy 18/06/2022
A record 11 BRATs were selected to compete for their Schools’ County at the Mason Trophy in Stoke on 18th June – 10 for the West Midlands and 1 for Warwickshire. They competed across all disciplines – sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps and throws which shows the diversity of the talent within the club. After the scorching temperatures of the previous week, the day was a tad on the cool and wet side, but this did not dampen the spirits of the youngsters who gave it their all. Bonheur Tshibola, Tywana Kuluziza and Nathaniel Walker had already hit the entry standard for the English Schools in their respective events which is a fantastic achievement. There were 2 BRAT podiums on the day – Jamie Callaghan was 2nd in the hammer with a PB of 44.69m and Bonheur Tshibola was 3rd in the 300m Hurdles with a PB of 46.36. Other results…
Triathlon BRAT Update
BRAT triathletes were back out racing again.
London Marathon Entry
We have one place available for a guarenteed London Marathon place.
Senior League
The return of competitive league athletics… Not since August 2019 have athletes from all over theMidlands region had a competitive league match to look forward to. Finally on22nd May teams from Cannock, Abingdon, Stoke, Telford, Coventry and of courseBRAT, met at the University of Warwick track for the first senior league matchof the 2022 season. Two years with no competition, then two matches in thespace of a fortnight. The second match taking place at Abingdon on Sunday 5June – I therefore thought it would be easier to do a round up of both matchesin a single post. The first thing to say is how wonderful and gratifying itis to see that our junior academy is working. The majority of our ‘new look’senior team is made up from athletes who have all come through our academy – inthe first meeting alone we had eight under 17 women and three under 17…
Warwickshire & Worcestershire Championships
The weekend of 14th / 15th May saw the County Championships take place, and BRAT were represented in both Warwickshire and Worcestershire. There was a full complement of events over the two days; both individual for the older athletes and Quadrathons for the U11’s. Warwickshire saw 4 male entries in the Quad, with Kai Macmillan winning Bronze (just 1 point off 2nd), Elliot Jones 4th, Zac Smith 5th and Sebastian Emery 9th. There were 5 girls, with Josephine Colclough winning Silver, Amber Stevens 4th, Hiba Bailey 9th, and Erin Colclough and Darcy McDaid joint 9th. There were no girls in Worcestershire, but there were 5 boys with Oliver Knight winning Gold, Tiernan Clark 9th, Joseph Baker 10th and Zckai Bibb 11th. Athlete of the weekend award goes to U17 Bonheur Tshibola who scooped 5 medals – 2 Golds in the 300m Hurdles and Shot, Silver in the 80m Hurdles and…
Cotswolds Hilly 100 2022
On the 15th May BRATs once again trekked out to the Cotswolds to take part in the 100 mile relay race.
English Schools’ Funding
The English Schools’ Athletic Association relies on sponsorship to enable them to host their events. These events are often the cornerstone of an athlete’s career, and an amazing experience for all who are selected to represent their county. Athletes such as Daley Thompson, Greg Rutherford and Jessica Ennis-Hill have all cited how pivotal ESAA was for them in their journey to success. Unfortunately ESAA have no sponsorship for 2022, and are asking for donations to allow them to put on the Track & Field Championships in 2022. For anyone who would like to donate, please find the Go Fund page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-2022-esaa?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer The link to the ESAA site itself is ESAA – English Schools’ Athletic Association where they have the following statement:- As many of you are aware, the ESAA is currently without any sponsors – everyone is suffering from the effects of Covid19 and finding financial help has become more and more…