Harborough athletic club shortlisted for national awards

The awards on offer are for the Club of the Year and Community Project of the Year honours.

Officials from England Athletics who are the national governing body of the sport have narrowed down the entrants to just 2-3 clubs in each region across the country which are now open to a public vote enabling local communities to get involved in deciding the winners.

HAC made a last-minute decision to submit themselves for this year’s awards and very much driven by the club’s 10th anniversary after its formation in 1984.

Jill Roginski, Club Chair and International Masters athlete said “We just wanted to have a go and see if the club would be recognised for some of the marvellous things our members, coaches and committee members have been doing this last twelve months.

As it is our 40th anniversary in September we thought it was a great opportunity to celebrate the remarkable history of HAC. We are delighted beyond words to have been shortlisted for the awards”.

For the Club of the Year award, HAC had to show England Athletics how it encourages and welcomes new members, what its key achievements have been in the last 12 months and have met the seven standards the governing body has set for a well-run club.

HAC has achieved phenomenal growth in the year increasing from 257 to 318 members with the junior section growing fastest of all, now standing at over 120. The club has run a successful Couch to 5k programmes for those new to running and acquired its first commercial sponsors from Everest Lounge, Davis Optometrists, Three Swans and Barker Fleming to fund for coach qualifications and additional training sessions.

For the Community Project of the Year the club gave the example of supporting Market Harborough Church of England Primary School got involved in a week-long programme of activities where all 392 pupils were encouraged to participate in 60 minutes a day of physical education in sports and play during the National Sports Week in June.

Qualified and enthusiastic club coaches went into the school and put on training sessions covering running, jumping and throwing, ran a practice sports day, and then supported the school sports day itself, all inspiring more children to get involved in the sport. Throughout the year the club also helps schools in the district with the local cross-country league and running summer athletics camps.

Mel Brocklebank, club junior co-ordinator and coach said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to be invited to assist the school in National Sports Week and we were so pleased they decided to ask us. The children were excited and who knows, we may have inspired a future Olympic champion! It has been very rewarding to be shortlisted for this community award as a result”.

For this year’s awards, England Athletics have listed all the nominated clubs across the country, including HAC, on their website and are encouraging the public to take a look and vote for their favourites online. The website link is www.englandathletics.org/VolVote. The voting is open until midnight 11 August 2024.

Howard Crabtree, the club secretary said “We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed! It would be a great way to celebrate the club’s 40th with an award but there is a lot of competition out there. The public’s support for us might make all the difference, though whether or not we win what we really hope is this will generate more interest in the club and promote what we have to offer all age groups and abilities. Athletics is such a great sport for all.”