A typical day at a league meeting will normally start at approximately 10.30am and will finish after the relays at approximately 5.30pm. The SAL meetings start at approximately 12pm ending with relays at 4.30pm. We all sit together and support each other. You must wear a club vest and will also find it useful to bring along the following:
Wet/Cold weather clothing
Packed Lunch
Picnic rug/table/chair
Pop up tent/gazebo/fishing umbrella/shelter
Tent pegs and mallet
Sun cream
Safety Pins – please bring but available if forgotten.
There is no charge to compete in the leagues and no individual entrance fee, but it is advisable to have some money as there are tea, coffee and snacks available at most venues.
There are ‘A’ and ‘B’ string competitors for each event and age group. ‘A’ string tends to be the athlete with the best PB in that event. ‘B’ string is the second. We can usually also enter ‘non-scorers’ to give all athletes the opportunity to compete and improve their “Personal Best”.
Don’t think “I’m not good enough for this”. These events are an excellent way to improve and every point gained helps TEAM BDAC and make the difference in our team league performance.
We also try to to car share for events away from Braintree. If you need a lift, please ask your team manager.
These are individual events, with winners able to call themselves County, Regional or National Champion. Winners receive a medal and are often selected to represent County, Regional or National teams at representative competitions.
There is an entry fee payable – usually of the order of £10-£20 which must be paid when you submit your entry.
Unless you are part of a relay team, you will usually need to find your own way to the meeting, but there might be others traveling to the championship, so please ask your team manager to put you in touch.
There usually aren’t entry standards for County Championships, but most Regional and National Championships require an entry standard.
Most athletes will compete in Essex, South of England and England Athletics championships. However, if you were born outside of Essex you can compete in your home County and home Regional Championships. Similarly, if you were born in a different country (UK or abroad), or if your parents were from a different country, you can choose to compete in that national championship.
For example, for someone living in Braintree but born in Harrogate of parents from the Republic of Ireland has the following options for competition:
Schools championships are decided by the county within which your school is located.
For example, for someone attending Tabor Academy would compete in the Braintree District and Essex County schools championships. Their cousin, living in Braintree but attending Milfield School would compete in the Mendip District and Somerset County schools championships.
Many clubs and specialist groups (such as the British Milers Club or the Bruce Longdon Coaching Foundation) put on ‘open’ competitions. These are individual events requiring an entry fee (typically £5-£15). The aim is usually to improve your PB or try a new event. At Trophy meetings, the winner will usually receive a trophy and/or a prize.
Some open meetings my host certain county championship events (often Steeple Chase, or races of 3,000m or longer). Some events (such as British Milers Club races) are graded by time, and the faster races may have pacemakers, or you may be able to run two or three times (typically at hurdles meetings).
From time-to-time, BDAC may stage an open meeting, or else organise a trip to a trophy meeting. Your team manager will let you know if this is happening.
Details of these events can usually be found at the Roster Athletics website, or at the website of your specialist club.
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