CEO Blog: September 2024

On behalf of everyone at England Athletics, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all those hard-working volunteers in clubs, running groups and amongst competition providers for all that they have given to our sport during the summer months.

Competitions

It has been a wonderful summer of athletics and running, with some outstanding performances from English athletes on the biggest stage of all – in Paris at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, we have also witnessed some fantastic achievements from the emerging young stars in our sport at an international and national level, in events held in the UK and further afield.

On the domestic stage it has been an action-packed summer, with competitions such as the Loughborough, Windsor and Manchester Internationals taking place during May, July, and August alongside a new approach taken to England Athletics outdoor track and field championship delivery. July also saw another successful English Schools' championships; we had the School Games in Loughborough at the end of August; and the inaugural England Athletics relay championships took place for the first time, in partnership with Birchfield Harriers.

These competitions, alongside over 1,000 other licensed track and field meets sat alongside over 3,500 licensed off-track and multi terrain events during the calendar year, and the volume and quality of competition is something that we are hugely proud of as we look towards the beginning of the cross-country season.

None of this would be possible without the work of volunteers fulfilling various vital roles and responsibilities across the sport.

Engagement

During the coming months, we at England Athletics will be looking to engage with as many people from within our sport as possible, in a multitude of ways.

• We will be hosting our AGM in Birmingham on October 26. For those unable to make it in-person, we will be live streaming the meeting, to give all stakeholders the opportunity to follow proceedings and hear from those within the organisation.
• On 2 November, we will be at the National Cross Country Relays in Berry Hill Park, before hosting our Hall of Fame event that evening.
• A National Competition Conference will take place on December 14, one of several opportunities for people to discuss and input on the ongoing work around the age group change implementation.

Continuing to look ahead, England Athletics will maximise the ways in which it can proactively engage with the sport – a vital aspect of how we operate as we look to seek the views, elicit the expertise, and listen to the informed views of those people both taking part and making athletics happen.

Volunteers

I would also like to thank our nine regional councils across England for their tireless efforts in co-ordinating and delivering our regional volunteer award celebrations during September and October. These will culminate in the national awards being delivered as part the aforementioned Hall of Fame at the start of November.

Regional Council biennial elections also kick off as we move towards 2025. Full details of the vacant roles, the application process and the key qualities needed to fulfil these crucial roles will be publicised over the next two weeks.

Looking ahead

In early 2025, we will be in attendance at the British Masters Indoor track and field championships at Lee Valley, and host our own indoor championships in Sheffield, before getting out and about to the County Track and Field championships across the country in the spring.

Whilst there remain challenges in the sport, such as retaining and growing the number of athletes in track and field participation; transitioning more junior participants onto senior levels of competition (particularly in field events); broadening and deepening the pool of coaches, leaders, and technical officials in our sport; supporting off-track and multi terrain event directors; and maintaining a healthy stock of track and field facilities, there are many reasons to be positive about our sport as we move further towards 2025 and beyond.

Commonwealth Games 2026

One such reason was confirmed in recent days, and I’m sure that – like me – you were delighted to hear that the Commonwealth Games will return to the UK in 2026, with Glasgow set to host.

England Athletics will once again have the privilege of co-ordinating an inclusive and diverse athletics team to compete in these Games, and further details on the structure of the athletics competition, together with selection criteria and our management approach, will be relayed in the coming months.

The Commonwealth Games are hugely important for a number of reasons, including the development of current and future world class athletes, together with the opportunity to blood new team management and support staff at what is a revered competition.

Having been directly involved as CEO in the last three Games in Glasgow, Gold Coast, and Birmingham, I know how excited athletes will be at the prospect of representing England at these Games, and it is timely that this announcement has been made as we move into a period of Talent programme delivery through out Youth, Junior and Senior support activity across England. I can imagine that a large number of those athletes and their coaches will be looking to target Glasgow 2026 as very much a realistic ambition.

Thanks once again to everyone and we wish you all the very best of success and enjoyment in your athletics and running activity as we move into the autumn period and beyond.