As is customary at this time of the year, it's time to look back at what the kids have been up to on the track and field as well as having a look forward to what 2019 might bring.
Following tradition, we'll go in child order, so it's Dominic first. 2018 has been a year where there's been another club as he's now an athlete (as well as coaching) at Warrington AC following his move to the North West. He's done a lot of officiating again in 2018, including UKYDL fixtures for his new club as well as the usual stuff in the North East. He's also started his Level 4 qualification on the track and is having a dabble amongst the start team.
Meanwhile, on the track, there's only been a couple of performances this season and that was the Great North Run plus an outing in the Cheshire League. The highlight has to be his 3.77m long jump, which was actually a pb, beating his 2015 performance of 3.46m in Houghton's senior team. He does though maintain his bragging rights as the fastest Ellis over 200m with a 24.6 time in sunny Macclesfield.
So what will 2019 bring - well, he's going to have a crack at the Manchester Indoor series in the New Year and we'll see what happens when he has a go in the 400m and 300m.
The competition year for Philippa started in Sheffield with the Northern Indoor Championships in Sheffield. She got off to a great start with a time of 9.05 seconds in the 60m Hurdles heat. Now, it was a bit of a tense day as I was Clerk of Course that day and was setting the Hurdles, so the final was a bit nerve wracking and I couldn't focus on what our next hurdles move was until she'd raced. Philippa had a great race, coming 3rd with a new pb of 8.94 seconds. She also ran in the 60m in what was a busy day and she came 8th in the final but ran a great heat time of 8.07 seconds.
We then went North to Glasgow for the first of two trips to the Emirates Arena for Philippa this year. She competed in the 60m Hurdles and also the Shot Putt. She dominated the Hurdles heat and won in a time of 9.04 seconds, which was the fastest qualifying time. The final was a hurried affair as she had the Shot Putt to contend with and the pressure did her good as she threw a fantastic new pb of 11.60m (English Schools standard) to come 4th - now I didn't see the throw as I was too busy changing her spikes for the Hurdles final.
The final was a great race with Philippa putting in a superb
performance to win with a new pb of 8.84 seconds - it was a
hugely proud moment as she took to the podium to be crowned as
Scottish National Champion.
Next up was the North East Indoor Championships with Philippa competing in the Shot Putt & Long Jump on Field Day and the 60m Hurdles on Track Day.
Philippa had worked hard on her long jump, with the hard work paying off as she took a Silver medal with a new pb & her first over 5m jump of 5.09m, with another Silver medal to follow in the Shot Putt.
As we moved onto the Track Day, Philippa had a great win in the 60m Hurdles with a winning time of 8.93 seconds for her to become North East Champion.
Next up was her first foray into Indoor Combined Events that end with an 800m as we headed back to Glasgow for the Scottish Indoor CE Championships. It was another stressful day, but rewarding as she clocked up 3102 points to finish 5th. Combined Events is always a stressful day, especially with the high jump and I may have sworn badly on the video of her first jump.
The Combined Events continued with the North East Indoor Pentathlon Championships at Gateshead. It was another strong day for Philippa with an impressive 11.38m throw in the Shot Putt helping her onto a points score of 3314 to come 2nd in the overall competition and to win the North East title.
Indoor competition has always been a place where Philippa has excelled and we're looking forward to another winter of competition with the Northern Indoor Championships followed by the Scottish Indoor Nationals - there might be the English National Indoor Champs to look forward too as well.
The outdoor season started well, with Philippa achieving the English Schools standard for the 80m Hurdles in her first race over the distance at the Kieran Maxwell Memorial Open in Darlington with a time of 11.98 seconds - it was an amazing start.
The Spring Relay competition was also a highlight as the Gateshead Harriers girls enjoyed a win in the 4x100m and the 4x300m relay - the relay team where to play a major part in the season. Philippa has always enjoyed relays and as the photo shows, her move to Gateshead had put her in a much faster squad.
The move to Gateshead also saw Philippa competing in the UK Youth Development League for the first time and this helped with performances in her combined events, with her getting the English Schools qualification standard in Long Jump on a not so sunny day in Leeds
The North East Championships in May was another successful weekend with a win in the 80m Hurdles for Philippa and an unexpected Silver medal in the 100m, plus a pair of 4th place finishes in the Shot Putt & Discus.
The NEYDL was a happy hunting ground too, with the 4x100m relay team putting in a time that not only got them the Gateshead Harriers club record, it also put them the fastest in the country, if only for a few weeks !
The North East Grand Prix season saw Philippa's best 80m Hurdles performance, with a Grade 1 time of 11.66 seconds - she was the only girl in the race and thanks to Aaron Lillistone for pushing her to a great time as the U15 boys raced at the same time. Philippa would go on to win the
NEGP for U17W.
As we headed into June, Philippa won the 80m Hurdles at Durham Schools to
claim another Durham purple hoodie.
However, it wasn't all good news as she pulled up with an injury in the middle of a school relay event at Monkton and we thought that was her season over. Luckily, the injury wasn't as bad as we anticipated and with a little rest, she carried on competing as her aim was to represent Durham Schools in both the individual championships and the combined events championships.
Her first post-injury competition was the regional schools combined events and despite some tense times on the track (from Geoff & I), she won the competition with 3955 points in her first Heptathlon. That qualified her for the National Combined Events Championships in Bedford in September.
Next up was English Schools, with Philippa competing in the 80m Hurdles at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. The injury was still praying on her mind and she just didn't look right as she headed into her heat. She didn't have a great race, finishing 5th in her heat and just missing out on the semi-final. There was a lot to learn from that race and there's no doubt that she's taken a lot from it.
The Northern Championships was next on the agenda and it's fair to say that it was a stressful and rewarding weekend all round. As well as Philippa & Lexie competing, I was getting my Level 3 Field Officials assessment done, so it was quite a tense time. Philippa competed in the Long Jump and the 80m Hurdles, with the Long Jump being the first event on the Saturday morning. I did notice a couple of her jumps as I was officiating on the Hammer and Lexie did a great job of keeping me up to date on the distances and positions. Philippa came 2nd, her highest performance at the Northern's with a jump of 5.32m, only 3cm short of her pb. It was a great confidence boost and just what she needed for the hurdles the following day. The Sunday was a bit more relaxed as I'd passed my assessment and had finished my events before the hurdles final. The wind was really strong that day, so the times weren't quick, but Philippa won her heat and was settled for her place in the final. The final was possibly the longest 12 seconds of our lives, with Philippa leading the race for most of it but it was a really tight finish with the first three separated by only 0.07 of a second with Philippa finishing 3rd. Overall, a fantastic Championships for her and had you said in June that she'd come away with two medals, I'd have said you were daft ! This was where we knew that the learnings from English Schools had been taken on board.
Now the relays have had a couple of mentions already, but, thanks to the girls performances earlier in the season, they were selected to compete in the 4x100m relay at the Club Connect races which take place before the Diamond League in Birmingham. It was a fantastic achievement for Gateshead Harriers with several teams being selected to compete.
Sadly, for the U17 girls, it didn't end well following a disqualification for a false start and they were devastated - another learning experience for them and they did go onto win the 4x100m at the NE Relay Champs in September.
Despite the disappointment of the day, it was a great experience and gave the girls a taste of competing on a very very big stage, plus they got lots of photos
with their favourite athletes.
The season ended with a pair of Combined Events competitions - firstly the English Schools National Championships then the following weekend, the North East Pentathlon Championships.
The weekend in Bedford was a good one, with the highlight being Philippa clearing 1.47m in the high jump to give her a new pb and giving her some belief in what's always been her achilles heel event from the Heptathlon seven. There was also a 31.66m pb with the Javelin throw too and it was great for her to get a pair of pb's in a combined events competition (although Geoff may have a view !). The High Jump was the highlight though and a huge thank you to Emily for coaching her to new heights. Philippa got a score of 4119 points and she finished 18th in the competition.
The outdoor season ended with the NE Pentathlon Champs and it was another great day for Philippa with a win in the Open and NE competitions. The highlight this time was the 800m which Philippa lead from start to finish - yes, you are reading that right and she clocked a time of 2.36:76 which was just outside her pb
So, the indoor season has started well with some hurdles times that are faster than this time last year and Philippa has also reduced her 60m pb to 7.97 seconds. The New Year sees the competitions come thick and fast with the Northern Champs followed swiftly by the Scottish Champs and then the North Easterns and possibly the English Championships too.
We now move onto Lexie and it's fair to say that there's been a huge change in her performances this season and she's had a dabble at events that she's not done before.
Her competition year started in Sheffield with the Northern Championships which was a tricky day as I was in Glasgow with Philippa so it was a nervous day on what was happening hundreds of miles away. Lexie did throw well in the Shot Putt, with an agonising 4th place by just 1cm and beaten by her training mate Sophie who took the Bronze. It was a great learning experience, with a 7.66m pb for her which gave her the confidence that she needed for a higher level of competition.
Next up was the North East Indoor Championships, with Lexie competing again in the Shot Putt. Despite throwing 20cm short of her pb, she came out on top with a Gold medal. Again, this was a huge confidence builder for her and something that she would then build on.
We then headed North to Scotland for the Scottish National Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. This was certainly the biggest competition that Lexie had faced and the first time that she'd had the "athlete bed" when we'd stayed in the Premier Inn the night before the comp ! It was a tense competition with the medal positions for 2nd & 3rd changing quite a few times throughout the event. The end result was a great one with a new 7.94m pb and a 3rd place finish. The one thing I think is great about the Scottish competitions is the medal ceremony - a proper ceremony with music in the background as well as the usual podium but with a hearty Scottish announcer to fill you in on the athletes and their performances - it was a true lump in the throat job when she stepped onto that podium.
I've always been a fan of Sportshall and this year saw both Philippa and Lexie competing, with Lexie only doing Shot Putt. After the Tyne & Wear team winning in the regional heat, it was off to Manchester for the National Final. It was another breakthrough day with her second throw over 8m, with an 8.02m throw putting her in 12th position in a National competition, which was a great achievement, especially as she was still a first year U13 in Sportshall terms.
The season continued with a 2nd place in the Gateshead Open Medal meeting and then a win in the Spring Throws Fest with a new pb of 8.20m. There was also great performances in the UK Youth Development League with trips away to Sheffield, Middlesbrough and Liverpool across the Summer. It was a great experience to learn and compete with other developing young athletes from across the region.
Lexie put some great throws in, with her javelin pb hitting 18.99m in Sheffield, with this being bettered by almost a metre in the NE YDL at Whitley Bay in April.
The North East Championships was another pb day as Lexie hit 8.51m in the Shot Putt to come second to Lily Thompson. Lily & Lexie have had a cracking head to head year and the competition between them has driven them both on a lot this year and not just in the Shot as the girls have competed in the Javelin, Discus and Hammer too.
The competition between the girls continued at the Northern Championships in Liverpool in August, with Lily taking 3rd place and Lexie taking 4th with another pb of 8.59m. The following weekend, we journeyed to Warrington where Lexie won the Shot in what was a stressful competition (and day really) and we can partially blame Dominic for that !
Her final competitions of the season led to her going over 9m for the first time in the Shot with a throw of 9.31m - her furthest as an U13 athlete, at the Autumn Throws Fest event at Monkton. It was a bit of a historic night as Lexie also did her first Hammer competition that night and threw 20.90m - a superb first effort, which put her 13th in the Country. Lexie also represented the North East in the YDL fixture against West Yorkshire, coming 2nd in the competition. The U13 season ended up with her ranked 17th in the Country for Shot which assisted her a lot in securing a place in the Durham Institute of Sport.
Lexie also had a good year in the North East Grand Prix - a competition where the combined eventers generally have an advantage, but despite this, Lexie came 4th with some excellent throwing in the Shot and Javelin across the Summer.
All in all, Lexie has had a superb year and that's continued into her first few competitions as an U15 athlete with her 3k Shot pb already standing at 9.06m and there's plenty more to come.
As for next year, we're looking forward to the Northern Indoor Championships in February (which sadly clashes with the Scottish Indoor Champs) and another set of North East Champs and then both the UK & NE YDL's with Gateshead Harriers. There's also the first opportunity to compete in the Durham Schools competition and it'll be interesting to see which event she takes on - there's lots for her to learn and experience and knowing Lexie, she'll just take it all in her stride.
So, to conclude, we have to thank the coaches who've made it all happen this year - so a huge thank you goes to Geoff, Alex and Emily for helping the girls to develop.
Following tradition, we'll go in child order, so it's Dominic first. 2018 has been a year where there's been another club as he's now an athlete (as well as coaching) at Warrington AC following his move to the North West. He's done a lot of officiating again in 2018, including UKYDL fixtures for his new club as well as the usual stuff in the North East. He's also started his Level 4 qualification on the track and is having a dabble amongst the start team.
Meanwhile, on the track, there's only been a couple of performances this season and that was the Great North Run plus an outing in the Cheshire League. The highlight has to be his 3.77m long jump, which was actually a pb, beating his 2015 performance of 3.46m in Houghton's senior team. He does though maintain his bragging rights as the fastest Ellis over 200m with a 24.6 time in sunny Macclesfield.
We then went North to Glasgow for the first of two trips to the Emirates Arena for Philippa this year. She competed in the 60m Hurdles and also the Shot Putt. She dominated the Hurdles heat and won in a time of 9.04 seconds, which was the fastest qualifying time. The final was a hurried affair as she had the Shot Putt to contend with and the pressure did her good as she threw a fantastic new pb of 11.60m (English Schools standard) to come 4th - now I didn't see the throw as I was too busy changing her spikes for the Hurdles final.
The final was a great race with Philippa putting in a superb
performance to win with a new pb of 8.84 seconds - it was a
hugely proud moment as she took to the podium to be crowned as
Scottish National Champion.
Next up was the North East Indoor Championships with Philippa competing in the Shot Putt & Long Jump on Field Day and the 60m Hurdles on Track Day.
Philippa had worked hard on her long jump, with the hard work paying off as she took a Silver medal with a new pb & her first over 5m jump of 5.09m, with another Silver medal to follow in the Shot Putt.
As we moved onto the Track Day, Philippa had a great win in the 60m Hurdles with a winning time of 8.93 seconds for her to become North East Champion.
Next up was her first foray into Indoor Combined Events that end with an 800m as we headed back to Glasgow for the Scottish Indoor CE Championships. It was another stressful day, but rewarding as she clocked up 3102 points to finish 5th. Combined Events is always a stressful day, especially with the high jump and I may have sworn badly on the video of her first jump.
Indoor competition has always been a place where Philippa has excelled and we're looking forward to another winter of competition with the Northern Indoor Championships followed by the Scottish Indoor Nationals - there might be the English National Indoor Champs to look forward too as well.
The Spring Relay competition was also a highlight as the Gateshead Harriers girls enjoyed a win in the 4x100m and the 4x300m relay - the relay team where to play a major part in the season. Philippa has always enjoyed relays and as the photo shows, her move to Gateshead had put her in a much faster squad.
The NEYDL was a happy hunting ground too, with the 4x100m relay team putting in a time that not only got them the Gateshead Harriers club record, it also put them the fastest in the country, if only for a few weeks !
The North East Grand Prix season saw Philippa's best 80m Hurdles performance, with a Grade 1 time of 11.66 seconds - she was the only girl in the race and thanks to Aaron Lillistone for pushing her to a great time as the U15 boys raced at the same time. Philippa would go on to win the
NEGP for U17W.
As we headed into June, Philippa won the 80m Hurdles at Durham Schools to
claim another Durham purple hoodie.
Her first post-injury competition was the regional schools combined events and despite some tense times on the track (from Geoff & I), she won the competition with 3955 points in her first Heptathlon. That qualified her for the National Combined Events Championships in Bedford in September.
The Northern Championships was next on the agenda and it's fair to say that it was a stressful and rewarding weekend all round. As well as Philippa & Lexie competing, I was getting my Level 3 Field Officials assessment done, so it was quite a tense time. Philippa competed in the Long Jump and the 80m Hurdles, with the Long Jump being the first event on the Saturday morning. I did notice a couple of her jumps as I was officiating on the Hammer and Lexie did a great job of keeping me up to date on the distances and positions. Philippa came 2nd, her highest performance at the Northern's with a jump of 5.32m, only 3cm short of her pb. It was a great confidence boost and just what she needed for the hurdles the following day. The Sunday was a bit more relaxed as I'd passed my assessment and had finished my events before the hurdles final. The wind was really strong that day, so the times weren't quick, but Philippa won her heat and was settled for her place in the final. The final was possibly the longest 12 seconds of our lives, with Philippa leading the race for most of it but it was a really tight finish with the first three separated by only 0.07 of a second with Philippa finishing 3rd. Overall, a fantastic Championships for her and had you said in June that she'd come away with two medals, I'd have said you were daft ! This was where we knew that the learnings from English Schools had been taken on board.
Sadly, for the U17 girls, it didn't end well following a disqualification for a false start and they were devastated - another learning experience for them and they did go onto win the 4x100m at the NE Relay Champs in September.
Despite the disappointment of the day, it was a great experience and gave the girls a taste of competing on a very very big stage, plus they got lots of photos
with their favourite athletes.
The season ended with a pair of Combined Events competitions - firstly the English Schools National Championships then the following weekend, the North East Pentathlon Championships.
The weekend in Bedford was a good one, with the highlight being Philippa clearing 1.47m in the high jump to give her a new pb and giving her some belief in what's always been her achilles heel event from the Heptathlon seven. There was also a 31.66m pb with the Javelin throw too and it was great for her to get a pair of pb's in a combined events competition (although Geoff may have a view !). The High Jump was the highlight though and a huge thank you to Emily for coaching her to new heights. Philippa got a score of 4119 points and she finished 18th in the competition.
The outdoor season ended with the NE Pentathlon Champs and it was another great day for Philippa with a win in the Open and NE competitions. The highlight this time was the 800m which Philippa lead from start to finish - yes, you are reading that right and she clocked a time of 2.36:76 which was just outside her pb
So, the indoor season has started well with some hurdles times that are faster than this time last year and Philippa has also reduced her 60m pb to 7.97 seconds. The New Year sees the competitions come thick and fast with the Northern Champs followed swiftly by the Scottish Champs and then the North Easterns and possibly the English Championships too.
Her competition year started in Sheffield with the Northern Championships which was a tricky day as I was in Glasgow with Philippa so it was a nervous day on what was happening hundreds of miles away. Lexie did throw well in the Shot Putt, with an agonising 4th place by just 1cm and beaten by her training mate Sophie who took the Bronze. It was a great learning experience, with a 7.66m pb for her which gave her the confidence that she needed for a higher level of competition.
I've always been a fan of Sportshall and this year saw both Philippa and Lexie competing, with Lexie only doing Shot Putt. After the Tyne & Wear team winning in the regional heat, it was off to Manchester for the National Final. It was another breakthrough day with her second throw over 8m, with an 8.02m throw putting her in 12th position in a National competition, which was a great achievement, especially as she was still a first year U13 in Sportshall terms.
The North East Championships was another pb day as Lexie hit 8.51m in the Shot Putt to come second to Lily Thompson. Lily & Lexie have had a cracking head to head year and the competition between them has driven them both on a lot this year and not just in the Shot as the girls have competed in the Javelin, Discus and Hammer too.
The competition between the girls continued at the Northern Championships in Liverpool in August, with Lily taking 3rd place and Lexie taking 4th with another pb of 8.59m. The following weekend, we journeyed to Warrington where Lexie won the Shot in what was a stressful competition (and day really) and we can partially blame Dominic for that !
Her final competitions of the season led to her going over 9m for the first time in the Shot with a throw of 9.31m - her furthest as an U13 athlete, at the Autumn Throws Fest event at Monkton. It was a bit of a historic night as Lexie also did her first Hammer competition that night and threw 20.90m - a superb first effort, which put her 13th in the Country. Lexie also represented the North East in the YDL fixture against West Yorkshire, coming 2nd in the competition. The U13 season ended up with her ranked 17th in the Country for Shot which assisted her a lot in securing a place in the Durham Institute of Sport.
Lexie also had a good year in the North East Grand Prix - a competition where the combined eventers generally have an advantage, but despite this, Lexie came 4th with some excellent throwing in the Shot and Javelin across the Summer.
All in all, Lexie has had a superb year and that's continued into her first few competitions as an U15 athlete with her 3k Shot pb already standing at 9.06m and there's plenty more to come.
As for next year, we're looking forward to the Northern Indoor Championships in February (which sadly clashes with the Scottish Indoor Champs) and another set of North East Champs and then both the UK & NE YDL's with Gateshead Harriers. There's also the first opportunity to compete in the Durham Schools competition and it'll be interesting to see which event she takes on - there's lots for her to learn and experience and knowing Lexie, she'll just take it all in her stride.
So, to conclude, we have to thank the coaches who've made it all happen this year - so a huge thank you goes to Geoff, Alex and Emily for helping the girls to develop.
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