On behalf of everyone at England Athletics I would like to wish all those competing in this summer’s England Athletics outdoor track and field championship programme the very best of success and enjoyment. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working volunteer Technical Officials and Event Staff, without whom this event programme would not take place and to whom we are deeply grateful for their commitment, focus, and dedication. I would like to also thank our host venues, particularly Birmingham Alexander Stadium but also partners at the Manchester Athletics Arena.

Last week, some of the best young athletes from across the country travelled to Alexander Stadium, Birmingham to compete in the 2025 English School Track and Field Championships. To enable the athletes to perform at their best, each team has a handful of Team Managers available to support the athletes.

At the beginning of each month, the number of under 11s registered by clubs are monitored by England Athletics, and for every 30 x U11s registered, clubs receive a free place on our Coaching Assistant course. This scheme is in place to offer support and benefits to each club that chooses to register their under 11 athletes as a commitment to supporting clubs in need of more volunteers and coaches. To see the real impact of this initiative, we recently caught up with Ian Jennings, Quad Kids and multi-event coach at Aldershot Farnham & District. We explored how registering their under 11s has led to parents and older athletes stepping up into volunteering and leadership roles within their club.

This week, the five UK sports councils have announced their backing for the creation of a UK-wide approach to safe sport, creating the Safe Sport Report.

England Athletics notes the English Schools' Athletics Association’s (ESAA) decision to pause implementation of the new age groups effective from1 April 2026, pending a further review of the impact on schools’ athletics. ESAA have indicated that they intend to conduct this review during 2026.

funetics was created to help 4-11 year old children to learn, develop and practice running, jumping and throwing skills. We recently caught up with Ian McAlister, Junior Development Lead at East Durham Running Club, who took the initiative to bring this programme to East Durham.

England Athletics is launching an exciting new competition format to encourage more regular, age-appropriate opportunities for primary school aged children to compete in athletics - welcome to the funetics multi-challenge

England Athletics, as well as its official charity partner, the Personal Best Foundation, announces new partnership with Citroën as 73% of parents say their kids don’t get recommended levels of exercise.

Whilst it is not compulsory for under 11s to register to compete, England Athletics is offering support and benefits to each club who chooses to register under 11s. England Athletics is committed to helping clubs increase the number of volunteers available to support young athletes in getting involved with their club.  

Jo Pavey had an inspiring athletics career representing Team GB at five Olympic Games, from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016 and Team England at three Commonwealth Games, achieving two medals. Beyond her athletics prowess, she’s a dedicated mother of two and loves to get active with her family. We caught up with her at the National Running Show to find out more about getting active as a busy parent and her transition to coaching alongside her husband.