CSSAL - Linwood - 6th August

Victoria Park athletes from U11 to Masters will be at Linwood to contest the 3rd and last match of the season.  We are currently lying in 1st place with the first two clubs gaining promotion to Division 2 next year.

Two minibuses will be leaving the car park at Scotstoun at 0930 hours on Sunday morning. 

If you would like to travel on the minibus, please ask Kenny or Gordon to add you to our list.  Places are still available.

Young Athletes League - Final

Victoria Park Boys finished in fifth place in the final of the Young Athletes League at Grangemouth on Sunday 30th July.

The winning team was Giffnock North with 541 points, 2nd was Shettleston Harriers with 504 points, 3rd was Kilbarchan with 499 points, 4th was City of Edinburgh with 416 points, 5th was Victoria Park with 296 points, 6th was Arbroath and District with 274 points, 7th was Pitreavie with 144 points and in 8th place, Aberdeen had 124 points.

There were many personal successes on the day with Liam Hill winning the U17 High Jump and breaking the league record with a height of 1.97m.  A large crowd from Victoria Park had gathered around the high jump area hoping to see the record being broken and a loud cheer was raised when Liam cleared the height on his third and last jump.

John Craig also had a great day.  He won the U15 100m in a time of 11.78s, the 200m in a time of 24.39s and won the Athlete Of The Match award which included a cheque for £25.  John also turned his hand to the discuss where he finished 4th with a distance of 23.26m.

Paul McFarlane had an excellent win in the U13 800m with a time of 2:25.89.  Paul had the stadium on the edge of their seats as he first of all took the lead with 300m to go, lost it with 200m to go and then took it decisively with 50m to go.

Other medallists included Gregor Innes who won the U17 400m hurdles in a time of 61.20s, Calum Innes who won the U17 100m hurdles in a time of 14.04s and was 2nd in the Long Jump with a distance of 6.20m, Jamie Sinclair who was 2nd in the U17 Pole Vault with a height of 3.20m and Michael Gray who was 3rd in the U15 800m with a time of 2:16.15.

The U13 boys were 3rd in the 4x100m with a time of 61.49s.  The component parts of the team included Grant McConnachie, Lewis Wilson, Adam Mills and Paul McFarlane.

The U15 boys were also 3rd in 4x100m relay with a time of 50.89s.  The team included John Craig, Jonathan Byrne Leitch, Jax Thoirs and Mathew Pollok.

Thanks to all of the boys who turned out and made every point a prisoner.

We'll try again next year.

Young Athletes League - Final

Victoria Park U13, U15 and U17 boys will be in action at Grangemouth on Sunday 30th July in the final of the Young Athletes League.

Two minibuses will be leaving the car park at Scotstoun at 0930 hours on Sunday morning. 

There will be plenty of space to accommodate everyone.  Parents are also welcome to travel.

Mens league

Victoria Park finished in 5th place in the 3rd match of the Mens League on 16th July at Grangemouth Stadium.

Liam McDermid was 2nd in the 100m in a time of 11.29s. David MacDonald was 8th B in a time of 12.68s.

Derek Watson Snr was 10th in the 200m in a time of 26.13s.

Derek Watson Snr was 5th in the 400m in a time of 55.59s. Charlie Murray was 4th B in a time of 56.92s.

Derek Watson Snr was 7th in the 800m with a time of 2:05.21.

Derek Watson Jnr was 1st in the 1500m with a time of 4:01.88.

Liam McDermid was 1st in the 400m Hurdles in a time of 56.48s. Charlie Murray was 1st B in a time of 62.85s.

Craig Shields was 3rd in the Triple Jump with a distance of 12.35m.

Mathew Harvey was 3rd in the High Jump with a height of 1.75m.

Gerry Farrell was 5th in the Shot with a throw of 10.34m. Derek Watson Snr was 7th B with a throw of 7.05m.

Gerry Farrell was 2nd in the Discus with a throw of 33.69m. Charlie Murray was 7th B with a throw of 15.32m.

Gerry Farrell was 4th in the Javelin with a throw of 34.96m. Mathew Harvie was 3rd B with a distance of 33.01m.

The officials representing the club and picking up points were John Innes, Hugh Stevenson and Jim Harvie.

Club Championships

The Club Championships will be held on Sunday 17th of September at Scotstoun Stadium.

The track has been booked from 12noon till 4pm.

Indoor League - John Innes Retires

Also at the Indoor League EGM, John Innes retired as Secretary of the League and they are currently looking for a replacement. 

If any member or parent of any member is interested in assisting with the admin of the Indoor League they should contact the Club Secretary in the first instance. 

Be assured that full training and support will be provided and that your services might ensure the future of the League.

John Innes continues in all of his other posts, including VPAAC Membership Secretary.

Indoor League - Final Cancelled

At the recent EGM of the Indoor League, it was decided that it was not feasible to rearrange the Final.  The event was cancelled because the roads were impassable back in February because of snow.

The meeting agreed that the only solution, was that the points gained by each Club, which had qualified for the Finals, be added up and the places in the final be decided on that basis.

Club Secretaries will be asked to requisition medals for their teams on this basis and John Innes will make arrangements for these to be delivered.

The following four teams finished the indoor season in medal winning positions.

Although disappointed that the final has been cancelled, it's a wonderful medal haul for the Club.  Congratulations to everyone that represented the Club in the above teams, a medal will be with you shortly.

Schools Track and Field International

Victoria Park had possibly the largest contingent of athletes representing the Scottish U17 team competing at Grangemouth on Saturday 15th July.

Four members of Victoria Park won medals while representing Scottish Schools against teams from England, Ireland and Wales.

Chris Bennett (pictured right) won the silver medal by throwing a new personal best at the hammer of 63.55m.

Courtney MacGuire (pictured left) won the bronze medal in the pole vault by clearing a height of 3.30m.

Calum and Gregor Innes picked up bronze medals for their performances in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays respectively.

Also representing their country in this match was Aisling and Abbey McGhee and Jamie Sinclair.

Well done to all of those who were selected.

Gothenburg Youth Games

A large group of Victoria Park athletes were representing Team Glasgow at the annual Youth Games in Gothenburg, Sweden from the 7th to the 9th of July.

Many new personal best performances were achieved by the group but the icing on the cake was the Bronze medal won by Abbey McGhee in an exciting Ladies U17 800m with a time of 2:13.76.  It was well worth staying in the stadium till nearly 9pm to see Abbey win the medal and achieve a new PB.

All of the athletes enjoyed the special atmosphere created by the surroundings within the famous Ulevi Stadium and rose to the occasion over 3 days of intense competition.

They also enjoyed the company of their team-mates and the beautiful sights of Gothemburg.

The trip was organised by Brian Donaldson of Glasgow Athletics for the third year in succession and was a wonderful experience for our young athletes.

The full results can be found at this link.

Death of Frank Beattie

We received the very sad news today that Frank Beattie died at Drumchapel Hospital on Saturday 8th of July.  He was 96 years of age and in very good health until he suffered a stroke in April of this year.

Frank was the last surviving founder member of the Club.  He was one of the group of athletes who formed Victoria Park Athletics Club on the 4th of April 1930.

Frank was in attendance at the Clubs 75th Anniversary dinner last year and thoroughly enjoyed his celebrity status.  He held court with all of those in attendance and gave us all an insight into the early years of the Club and the characters who made the club famous.

His late brother Sam was a life member of the Club and was the first Victoria Park athlete to wear a Great Britain vest.  Frank himself was a fine athlete and a mentor to many of the athletes who went on to make Victoria Park the success it was in the 50's and 60's.

After he finished competing as an athlete, he continued to help with the administration of the club and held many posts on the various committees including a period as Club Treasurer.

Even in retirement, he kept in touch and called the current Club Secretary on a couple of occasions just to share a funny story and recount an amusing tale from the past.

Frank will be sadly missed by everyone at the club who new him.

His funeral will take place at 3pm on Wednesday the 12th of July 2006 at Clydebank Crematorium.  All of his old friends and club-mates are invited to join his son Alan and daughter in law Christine for the service and afterwards at the West Park Hotel, Great Western Road, Clydebank.

Chris Bennett - From the Scottish Athletics web site.

AS PART OF THE Scottish Hammer Grand Prix initiative, five throwers gained some valuable high-class competition experience in Eastern Europe over the weekend.

Led by hammer guru Alan Bertram MBE, Chris Bennett (Victoria Park), Mark Dry (Elgin AAC), Laura Chalmers (Elgin AAC), Susan McKelvie (Edinburgh Southern) and Shirley Webb (City of Edinburgh) competed in Varazdin, Croatia on Saturday and Sombathley, Hungary on Sunday.

Under 17 Bennett grabbed a new PB of 63.26m with the 5kg implement in Croatia, whilst Dry (U20) sent the 6kg weight out to a new best of 59.70m in Hungary. Webb continued her return to form with a season’s best of 65.46 in Hungary.
 

Young Athletes League

Congratulations to the U13, U15 and U17 boys for reaching the final of the Young Athletes League at Grangemouth on Sunday 30th of July.

Teams Qualified:                                   
Shettleston                                       
Giffnock North                                
City of Edinburgh                           
Kilbarchan                                     
Pitreavie                                   
Victoria Park        

Joanna Ross - From the Scottish Athletics web site.

Joanna Ross (Victoria Park) set a new PB of 2:01.84 as she triumphed in the women’s 800m at the Memorial Léon Buyle meeting in Oordegem, Belgium on Saturday.

The 25-year-old is enjoying a fine season and is building nicely towards the AAAs in Manchester in less than a fortnight’s time.

Alison Rodger and Sara Whigham

Just to prove to the younger members of the Club that it is possible to win GB vests and get an education at the same time, Alison Rodger and Sara Whigham both graduated from Strathclyde University on 3rd July.  Both girls achieved BA with upper second class honours - Alison's was in Human Resource Management and Sociology, while Sara's was in Politics.

Congratulations Ladies.

Shine Awards

Kenny Gray has been working on a new project with his young athletes.

The Norwich Union shine:awards provide opportunities for children from the age of three and upwards to try athletics through fun physical challenges and rewards them for their efforts.  They promote an incentive to learn and to develop individual athletic skill through four different levels of activity.

Kenny has recorded all of his athletes current achievements including their personal best attempts and Awards won.

To check on any young athletes progress, you need only follow the link from the shine:awards page.  It is also accessible from the drop down menu under training.

The current awards gained are as follows:

Eve McAlpine:  Star:track Bronze Award

Davis Martin:  Star:track Gold Award, Skills Gold Award

Fraser Barbour:  Star:track Gold Award

Robbie Pollock:  Star:track Gold Award, Skills Gold Award

Ross Carpenter:  Star:track Gold Award, Skills Gold Award, Multiskills Gold Award

Alan Hamilton:  Star:track Green Award, Skills Yellow Award

Well done to all of the above, we'll be watching your progress on the shine:awards page with great interest.

The 3rd and last match of the Young Athletes League takes place on Sunday 2nd of July.  Places in the final are still up for grabs with Victoria Park in with a good chance of being represented.

Two minibuses will be leaving for Linwood from the car park at Scotstoun at 1015am.

Anyone who would like to travel in the minibuses should contact Kenny Gray by email. 

There are still places available.

SWAL Match 2 - Meadowbank - 25th June 2006

Twelve VP athletes were selected to compete for Team West at this match, and for the first time there was representation in all four age groups. The weather was blustery with a strong wind against in the home straight; nevertheless, all athletes competed well - even those who had been partying the night before! Congratulations to all who took part, especially the seniors who filled in the gaps in the field events.

Results of VP athletes:-

U-13:  Caitlin Welsh was 3rd in the B 200m in a time of 30.20s.  Sarah Gray (pictured right) was 1st in the B Long Jump with a distance of 4.05m.

Both girls were part of the winning 4x100m relay team.

U-15:  Christina Strachan (pictured left) was 3rd in the Shot Putt with a throw of 7.75m. 

U-17:  Rebecca Riches was 5th in the 100m with a time of 13.58s and 6th in the 200m in a time of 27.86s.

Gillian Galloway was 4th in the B 100m in a time of 14.21s and 5th in the B 200m  in a time of 27.67s.

Aisling McGhee was 2nd in the 300m in a time of 42.32s.

Rebecca Kay was 3rd in the B Shot Putt with a throw of 7.08m and 4th in the Discus with a throw of 21.04m.

Katie Riches (pictured below) was 3rd in the Long Jump with a distance of 4.82m, a new PB. 

Rebecca, Gillian and Aisling were part of the 4x100m relay team (4^th).

Sen:    Sara Whigham was 1st in the 100m in a time of 12.58s, 1st in the 200m in a time of 24.95s and 6th in the Long Jump with a distance of 4.45m.

Lisa Doyle was 1st B in the 200m with a time of 25.31s, 6th in the B Discus with a throw of 13.96m and 2nd B in the Triple Jump with a distance of 9.63m.

Joanna Ross was 1st in the 1500m in a time of 4.21.98.

Alison Rodger was 1st in the Shot Putt with a throw of 14.11m, 1st in the Discus with a throw of 42.35m, 7th in the Hammer with a throw of 27.27m and 2nd B in the Javelin with a throw of 23.48m.

Katie Riches was 6th in the Triple Jump with a distance of 9.65m.

Courtney MacGuire was 3rd in the Pole Vault with a height of 3.20m. 

Sara and Lisa were part of the 4x100m relay team (3^rd); Lisa, Joanna and Aisling were part of the winning 4x400m relay team.

Team West won the match by 50 points from ESH (subject to scrutiny!)

Match Report by Kate Whigham.  Thanks to John Innes and Christine Stoops for Officiating once again.

The full results can be found here.

If you would like to take part and run a mile for Sport Relief please complete the form below and return it, along with £2 entry fee, for RED SOCK etc to Sheila Atkinson.

Victoria Park athletes will be taking part at Scotstoun Stadium on Thursday 13th July, 6.30pm till 7.30pm.

Download this form in Microsoft Publisher format or ask Sheila for a form.

For more information about Sport Relief, follow this link. 

Chris took part in the second Hammer Grand Prix of the season at Tweedbank Sports Complex, Galashiels on Saturday 24th of June and threw a personal best distance of 59.27m.

Victoria Parks senior men were in action at Pitreavie on Sunday 25th of June.  There was a vast improvement since the first meeting at Wishaw where the men suffered from lack of numbers.

The team finished in fourth place overall with 363 points, behind Ayr Seaforth with 432 points, Giffnock with 408 points and Law with 369 points.

Liam McDermid returned to action pictured right and was 1st in the A 400 hurdles with a time of 56.8s, 3rd in the A 100m with a time of 11.4m and was 1st in the A 200m with a time of 22.4s.

Charlie Murray was 1st in the B 400 hurdles with a time of 62.3s and was 4th in the B 100m with a time of 13.1s.

Chris Watson was 2nd in the A 800m in a time of 1:57.4.

Derek Watson Snr was 4th in the B 800m in a time of 2:06.6 and was 5th in the B 400m race with a time of 55.5s.

Martin Hayes pictured left was 1st in the 3000m Steeplechase in a time of 10:26.7. 

Gerry Farrell was 2nd in the Hammer with a throw of 32.52m and 2nd in the Discus with a throw of 38.04m.

Martin Taylor also returned to action after a long lay off and was 1st in the Long Jump with a distance of 6.71m and 3rd in the Shot Putt with a throw of 12.1m.

Calum Innes was 2nd B in the Long Jump with a distance of 5.78m.

Gregor Innes was 5th in the A 400m with a time of 52.5s.

The 4x100m relay team of Gregor Innes, Liam McDermid, Calum Innes and Martin Taylor finished in 2nd place in a time of 45.6s.

Victoria Parks 4x400m relay team of Derek Watson Snr, Chris Watson, Calum Innes and Gregor Innes finished in 2nd place with a time of 3:35.5.

The current League positions are:

Thanks to Hugh Stevenson, Hugh Baillie and Sheila Baillie for officiating on behalf of the Club.

The next meeting of the mens league will be on Sunday 16th of July at Grangemouth.  Contact Hugh Stevenson if you are available for selection.

The full results can be found here.

Lewis Wilson

On Sunday 18th June, Lewis took part in the U13 boys 3x800m relay race at Scotstoun along with his team-mates Paul MacFarlane and Grant McConnachie.

Still fresh from that experience, Lewis took part in the annual St Gregory's 4K from Kelvindale to the Botanic Gardens to raise money for the local Church.

We're still waiting on an explanation from Lewis (pictured right with his race medal) regarding his arrest.

Four members of Victoria Park had an informal meeting with four members of City Of Glasgow at Scotstoun on Wednesday 21st June.

The nature of the discussions will be presented to the committee on Monday 26th of June, however if anyone has any concerns over the content of the meeting, Graham Smith, Gordon Innes, Ricky Miell and Abbey McGhee will happily answer any questions.

The age group championships were held at Scotstoun on Sunday the 18th of June. 

Victoria Park athletes had a very successful day with a handsome collection of medals to show for their efforts.

David Martin (pictured right) was 1st in the U20 200m final in a time of 22.43s and more importantly, first in the final of the 400m hurdles in a time of 55.41s.  An excellent performance in wet and windy conditions at Scotstoun.

Colin Severin was third in the final of the U20 100m with a time of 11.17s.

Alison Rodger was second in the U13 Discus with a throw of 42.65m and first in the Shot Put with a throw of 13.71m (Championship Best).

Thomas Campbell was third in the final of the U20 High Jump with a height of 1.85m, the same height as the second placed athlete, he had more success in the Pole Vault where he finished first with a height of 3.80m.

Martin Hayes (pictured left) was 1st in the U20 2000m Steeplechase in a time of 6:31.96.

Courtney MacGuire was second in the U20 Pole Vault with a height of 3.20m, again the same height as the winner of that event.

Chris Bennett was second in the U20 Hammer with a throw of 51.62m.

The U13 boys relay team narrowly missed out in a place in the final while finishing in an excellent time of 8:11.3s.

The U15 boys also missed out on the final by finishing third in their heat in a time of 7:04.6.

The U17 men finished in second place in the final of the 4x400m relay in a time of 3:34.82.  Excellent performances from all four of the team that included Lorn Menzies, Niall Murray, Calum Innes and Gregor Innes (pictured right).

The full results can be found here.

The new track at Linwood has now been lined and inspected and as a result it is now open for athletics.

The last four open graded events will now go ahead as planned on the following dates:

Wednesday 24th of June, Wednesday the 26th of July, Wednesday the 23rd of August and Wednesday the 13th of September.

Victoria Park was well represented in Team Glasgow on Sunday 11th June at the latest meeting of the National Junior League which is for under 21's.

The meeting, which was held at "Clairville", Middlesbrough finished with Team Glasgow in 2nd place with 513 points, just behind the winners Team Edinburgh with 558 points.

The athlete of the match awards were won by Victoria Park athletes.  Courtney MacGuire won the female award for achieving 3.40m in the Pole Vault and Thomas Campbell won the male award for a height of 1.95m in the High Jump.  Well done to both athletes.

Thomas also won the Pole Vault with a height of 3.70m.  Other winners included David Martin who was 1st in the 400m in a time of 51.4s.

David was also a member of the winning 4x100m relay team that included Calum Innes and the 4x400m relay team that included Gregor Innes.

Other notable performances included Aisling McGhee who was 2nd in the 400m in a time of 59.6s and was a member of the 4x400m relay team along with her sister Abbey McGhee and Moira Burton that finished 2nd in an identical time to the winners Team Edinburgh.

The full result can be found here.

The next meeting of the National Junior League will take place on Sunday 16th July at Carlisle and Brian Donaldson has sent the following message:

There are places available in the Team.  If you have, or know off,  athletes who wish to be considered for places in the Team I would ask that you let the athletes know that this is the case and letting them have a copy of the attached form.

In order that the Team be in with a chance of competing in the Promotion Match, we must win the last Division Match. It would be spectacular if Glasgow were to produce a full Team, with athletes only competing in the events they train for.

Because this match is in Carlisle we will be leaving Glasgow on the Sunday morning and will be happy to have Schools' Internationalists competing.

If you are interested in competing, complete this form and send it to Brian at:

Brian Donaldson
Athletics Coach and Development Officer
Sport and Recreation,
Cultural and Leisure Services,
Glasgow City Council,
20 Trongate,
Glasgow.
G1   5ES

e-mail: brian.donaldson@cls.glasgow.gov.uk
Tel:   +44 (0)141 287 4725
Fax:  +44 (0)141 287 3558

A4 Poster

Scotstoun Leisure Centre have agreed to display a new poster advertising the Club Web Site.  Copies can be downloaded here if your local school, Sports Centre or other suitable location is agreeable to it's display.

Copies can also be obtained from Gordon or Linda.

Previous versions of the news page are archived below.

  Visitors since March 2005.