Good evening everybody. On behalf of Havering Mayesbrook Athletic Club, I would like to welcome you all to this presentation evening celebrating the winners of track and field awards for the 2007 season. The awards are being presented this evening by the Club’s President, Mark Bishop. Thank you for being with us again this evening Mark.

As ever, the winners have been selected by the respective team managers so please don’t shoot the messenger. Similarly, most of the words I’m using over the next few minutes have been supplied by team managers – I’m just the mouthpiece.

Just before we make the first presentation, I thought it would be nice to share with you a communication received by Tony Benton at the end of the track and field season from Tonbridge Athletic Club:

"I e-mailed last year commenting on how well your club did and how well your athletes conducted themselves at the NYAL meeting at Tonbridge. You just pipped us at the post last year and won the NYAL fixture. This year, we have been lucky enough to win two fixtures and we have qualified for the auxiliary final. Let me just say again that we are looking forward to the 2008 season as we will be up against such wonderful clubs and athletes as yourselves and it is only a matter of time before HMAC are challenging for a national final place. As a parent of athletes, I can honestly say that Havering Mayesbrook is one of the fairest, friendliest and honest clubs that we compete against. We wish you every success in the future."

Members of the Cub’s Committee asked me to share that with you as it is an unsolicited testament to the hard work of our team managers, our coaches, our officials and, not least, our young athletes.

In terms of the awards, we have a Track Award, a Field Award and a Team Member Award in each age group (male and female) selected by team managers for performances in competitions in which the Club has a team. In addition, there are four Best Performance Awards selected by the Club Committee. Finally, we have one other award being presented this evening for the second time.

We begin this evening with the older age groups working towards the youngest. So the first award is the Track award for male veteran and it goes to a Club stalwart who in his first year as a vet had a great season over 1500m. He was able to take advantage of the fact that  2007 was the first season for many a year that he remained injury free to record some impressive times and a vet PB of 4m 12sec. Having won the County title earlier in the year, he went on to win a bronze medal in the 1500m at the AAA Championships. MAT BLAND

The Field award for male veteran has been won this year by one of the Club’s long-serving senior men who, despite his age, keeps on achieving heights in the Pole Vault that athletes half his age would be proud to achieve. Consistently clearing 3.40m, he inevitably gained maximum points whilst always being on hand to give advice and encouragement to those competing. STUART TUFTON

The Track award for Senior Men goes to an athlete who had another terrific season over his favoured event, the 3000m steeplechase. Apart from competing in every league meeting, he successfully defended his County title and represented Essex at Inter-County events. He improved his PB on a number of occasions and also tackled the 800m, 400m Hurdles and triple jump when required. He fully deserves the award – ROB WARNER.

The Field award for Senior Men goes to an athlete who for a number of years has donned the Club vest and although it’s getting a bit tight now, he still manages to produce the goods. He was the highest points scorer for the Southern Men Division 3 team and showed a never say die spirit doing every event and more that the team manager asked of him. Congratulations to DARREN KEEVIL.

The Track award for Senior Women goes for the second successive year to an athlete who is one of the most reliable, versatile and consistent senior athletes in the Club. She continues to improve and ran her fastest ever career best times this summer at both sprints where she often had to take on A string duties and in her speciality sprint hurdles. She filled gaps in the long and high jumps when necessary and was usually first on the team manager’s sheet for the sprint relay team. As well as adding to her county medal tally, she was also a South of England finalist. CLAIRE BRENNAN.

The winner of the Senior Ladies Field award is another well-established athlete whose name is rarely missing from the senior throwing event results. Despite a quieter than usual year due to her university finals, she nevertheless piled up points with numerous victories in discus, hammer and shot and also threw the javelin when needed for the Southern Women’s League and UK Women’s League teams. She also represented Essex at Inter-Counties and the South of England in the Inter-Regional U23 match. MELANIE HARRISON.

The Senior Women’s Team Member award goes to a young lady who In her first year of senior competition, became a valuable team member. She was a regular for the Southern Women’s team at 400m, 200m and both relays and she proved her worth for the UK Women’s squad where she added triple jump points to boot. The winner is ROBYN DELIVETT. Sadly she cannot be here this evening but her award will be collected by her Mother, Gail.

The Track award for Junior Men goes to an athlete whose progress through the ranks from under-13 to junior over the past few years has been astonishing. Although he is winning this award for his exploits on the track (particularly over hurdles) he is actually a multi-eventer particularly successful in the long and triple jumps. Again, an athlete to be the first on the team sheet, the winner is ANTHONY WILLIAMS. Anthony is away at Loughborough University but his award will be collected by his Dad, Tony Williams.

The Team Member award for Junior Men goes to an athlete whose all round effort was an inspiration to others. The team manager recalls at the first meeting of the season where the team was short in a number of events and this young man ran the steeplechase immediately followed by a leg of the 4 x 400 relay. He has shown great enthusiasm and dedication and the team manager would like to thank all three juniors very much for their efforts. ROBERT JONES.

We come now to Junior Women and the team managers concerned , Denise and Paula would like to thank all the athletes who competed during the season and who helped the team get to the promotion match.

The Track Award for Junior Women goes to an athlete whose consistent performances throughout the season over the 100 and 400 hurdles gave her automatic team selection. With four 1^st place and one 2^nd place finish, she was provided valuable points for the team in both hurdle events – an exceptional performance. She competed in the English Schools Championships and turned out in the promotion match, despite injury. Another winner who cannot get away from Loughborough this evening but LISA SCHOFIELD's award will be collected by Mum, Sharon.

So to the Junior Women’s Field Award and despite carrying a back injury throughout the season, this determined athlete turned out for the Club at every meeting. She recorded three 1^st places and one 2^nd in the javelin event and also turned her hand to the discus to cover at short notice. She was awarded Athlete of the Match at the May meeting. EMMA CHRISTMAS.

The winner of the Team Member award for Junior Women proved to be a real team player covering a total of 18 events over four matches ranging from shot, discus, 200m, 400m and relay demonstrating her versatility. Her willingness to cover events at the last moment showed her commitment and team dedication making her an outstanding team member. LAUREN CLARK.

We have now reached the under-17 category and the team manager concerned who is standing down after three years in the job, has asked me to express on his behalf a huge thank you to all the coaches, officials and parents who have supported him in his role and, of course, a thank you to all the athletes. He found the selection of winners very difficult this year with athletes such as Bethan Siddons, Bradley Reece, Grant Twist, Simon Brown and Michael Donovan all missing out where, in other years, they would have taken an award.

So to the winners

The Track award in this under-17men's age group has been shared by two athletes who, between them, competed in every track event from 100m Hurdles to 1500m Steeplechase and both relays. A typical example of their commitment to the Club came at a meeting in Basingstoke where second place overall was vital to the Club staying in the Southern Premier Division. In their individual events, both finished second and they apologised to the team manager for not winning.  He was quick to tell them that they had nothing to apologise for – the important thing was that they had turned out for the Club. DANIEL WINTERS and JOHN WHITEHEAD.

The under-17 Men’s Team Member award goes to a young athlete who at the start of the season wasn’t sure he would make the team. Lacking in confidence, he set about making the two hurdles events his own and drove the team manager mad always wanting to do more events. He’s no longer that shy young man and can be very proud of what he achieved in 2007. KIERAN NELSON.

We come now to the Track award for under-17 girls and the award goes to a young lady who was a very tough opponent often competing in the 3000m and a couple of hours later winning the 1500m. A dream athlete for any team manager, always prepared to fill in and always prepared to get involved in both relays in addition to her middle distance events. ALEXANDRA BEARD.

The Field award in this age group goes to another fine young athlete who set a Club record in the Pole Vault in the first meeting and broke it again in the last meeting. She also set PBs in High Jump, Hurdles and Javelin. She has huge potential as a multi-eventer winning the County Pentathlon title late in the season. ANGELA JAMES.

The Team Member award is also shared this year and both winners regularly displayed dedication and commitment. The first young lady always competed in her main event – Discus – but was also happy to run the Hurdles event, the 800m and most of the other field events even offering to try the Hammer when there was a gap in that event. Never one to complain, she was a credit to the team. The other winner struggled with injury for the past two seasons but didn’t miss a meeting. She is a sprinter who threw the Hammer to fill in and showed that spirit in several other events just to pick-up points. When her injury prevented her doing too much, she helped out as an official when the Club was short. Both girls are very deserving winners – REBECCA LUCK and RACHEL KERR.

We have reached the under-15 age group and the boys’ Track award goes to a young man who earned the award by progressively improving his performances over the years. He has now reached a point where he is truly at the front of his event for the Club and in the leagues in which we compete. He is a very reliable competitor who will turn his hand to other events when asked. JAMIE BUCKLEY-STANTON.

The winner of the under-15 Field award competed at a high level in the Discus, Shot and Javelin events. He is a very competitive athlete who makes team selection that little bit easier. Totally reliable – always there when he says he will be – also very quick on the track – MICHAEL JONES

Now it’s the turn of the under-15 girls, beginning with the Track award and for reasons that will become obvious, I need to point out that this winner was selected by the other team managers and not by the under-15s team manager. This young athlete competed in every NYAL and EYAL meeting apart from when she was on duty for Havering in the London Youth Games. She performed consistently throughout the season in both the 800m and 1500m setting PBs in both events. She won silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 800m at Essex Champs, gold at 1500m in Essex Schools and was part of the Club’s gold medal winning 3 x  800m relay team at Essex Champs. REBECCA O’NEILL

The Field award in this age group goes to a young lady who had a superb season scoring maximum points at every meeting with her trusty Javelin. She also scored well in the Shot competitions. She was ever present except for representing Barking & Dagenham at the London Heathrow Youth Games. Her achievements were awesome - Gold medals at Essex Champs, Essex Schools, AAAs and English Schools. Nationally ranked 2^nd and holding Club record. KIKE ONIWINDE.

The Team Member award was the most difficult in this age group to decide upon and, again, it is going to be shared. The first winner was always willing to fill gaps in the team sheet to provide that extra point. Over the season she competed in Hurdles, 100, 200, 300, 800, Shot, High Jump and Relay achieving PBs in 800 and 75m Hurdles. A real team player and fantastic asset to any team manager. The other winner was one of the first names on the team sheet every week. She competed in all but one NYAL and EYAL match (she also represented her borough in the LHYG) and also competed in the Southern Women’s League. In both Discus and Shot, she performed to an excellent standard and was never out of the top two. She finished the season ranked 18^th in the U15 girls national rankings for Discus. JESSICA SEEKINGS and SAM HILL.

On now to the under-13 boys and the winner of the Track award. The award goes to a young man who competed in all the league meetings not only in his the sprints but also the hurdles where he achieved a grade 2. He also gained a grade 3 at 200m and took bronze medals in both 100m and 200m at Essex Champs. FRED MOKOSO.

The under-13 boys’ Field award is shared by two young men who  performed consistently well all season in both Shot and Discus. Both achieved grades with one moving into 2^nd place on the Club’s all-time list and the other 9^th – both for Discus. Both will be assets to the under-15 squad next season – DANNY WILSON and LUKE OVERTON.

The winner of the under-13 boys’ Team Member award is described as somebody who met the criteria for the award perfectly. He competed in all disciplines and was always volunteering to fill the gaps. He also demonstrated good sporting qualities and tended to look after those competing for the first time. TYLER BENNETT

So to the girls and the under-13 Track award and it goes to somebody who had a remarkable first season. She competed in every meeting at 75m, 100m, 150m and relay. She achieved grade 3 in both 75m and 100m. She is now 10^th on the Club all-time list for 75m. To add to all that, she is a terrific high jumper (winning Essex gold) and she has another year in the age group. SACHA MARTIN.

The Field award in this age group has been won by a young athlete who, at the start of the season, switched from middle distance to field events after trying discus and javelin. In competition she often won both competitions. She is 6^th on the Club’s all-time list for discus (grade 1) improving her pb by over 5m. She is 5^th on the all-time for shot and also achieved a Club record for javelin. In Essex Champs she won silver at Shot and Pentathlon. DEBORAH KNIGHT

The Team Member award goes to a young lady who competed in a variety of different events. She was always willing to put her name down where there were gaps and is a very promising all rounder. She also has another year in the age group so another name to watch out for is JESSICA FAZAKERLEY.

We now come to the four Best Performance award adjudicated by the Club Committee. These awards are for performances outside the normal Club competitions so the Committee was looking, for example, at Club records,  County representation, a Schools' vest, International honours, etc. 

The first of these Best Performance awards is for Males in the age groups under-20 up to and including veterans and the Committee decided that the award should go a young man who since he joined the Club two or three years ago, has done nothing but improve and win things on the national stage. His U20 achievements during the season were magnificent – Gold medals at Essex Champs, South of England Champs, South of England Inter Counties and Inter-Region (representing the South of England). In addition, he took gold in the senior boys competition at English Schools. For good measure, he took bronze at the AAA U20 Champs. He can be very proud of his achievements. Unfortunately, he cannot be here this evening but his award will be collected on his behalf by his coach, Sam Harrison. The winner is BONNE BUWEMBO.

And so to the winner of the Best Performance award for women in the age group under-20 to veteran. It goes to a young lady who was still only in her fourth season as a competitive athlete. She thrives on hard work and regular competition and is never afraid to take her chance against the best. She improved her PBs at all events from 400m to 3000m taking no less than 15 seconds from her best at 1500m. She was a fantastic runner up at 800m in the South of England Championships with yet another PB, placed third in the British Universities Championships and was only one place off a medal in the AAAs under-23 Championships. She was sixth ranked u23 nationally at 1500m and ranked in the top 25 seniors nationally at the same event. The award deservedly goes to HARRIET SCOTT.

The next Best Performance award is in the age group under-13 to under-17 inclusive and we start with the boys. This was a relatively easy decision to make such was the quality of this young athlete’s performances. He won gold in the under-15 Javelin competition at Essex Championships, South of England Championships and Essex Schools. He followed up by winning the silver medal in the English Schools Championships and was also 5^th in the AAA Championships. He had a tremendous season and is a very worthy winner. BRADLEY BURR.

So to the Best Performance award for girls in the age group under-13 to under-17 inclusive and this time, the decision was trickier. In any other year, it would almost certainly have gone to Kike who had that wonderful season we heard about including gold at English Schools. But there was another young lady who wanted to hold on to the trophy she won last year. Her season’s achievements were also awesome – gold in the U17 80m Hurdles at Essex Champs and Essex Schools. Gold at 300m Hurdles in the South of England Championships, English Schools and the AAA Championships. That wasn’t all. She took silver at the U20 South of England Championships at 400m Hurdles and was selected to represent Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics in Belgrade where she finished 4^th in her 400m Hurdles race. Finally, in the UK Schools Games Final representing the Eastern Region, she took silver at 300m Hurdles with a new PB and Club record. One of the Club’s finest young ambassadors – NICOLA HILL.

This is only the second time this award has been presented and a word of explanation is called for. When the Club was successful some three years ago in raising the funds for the refurbishment of the Hornchurch track, one of the organisations that supported the Club was the Cleanaway Havering Riverside Trust. This local charitable trust provided £50,000 towards the £280,000 that was needed and in recognition of that generosity, the Club agreed to have a special trophy awarded each year. At the time, we didn’t know what the trophy would be for but last season a very special performance by four young sprinters helped us to focus on how we could present the award each year. We decided therefore, that the Cleanaway Trophy will in future be presented each year for the best relay performance by a Club team during that calendar year.

Just a few weeks ago, a trio of senior ladies travelled up to Mansfield for the National Cross Country Relay Championships. Harriet Scott put the team into medal contention from the off to come home third on the first leg in the sixth fastest time of the day. Alexa Joel pulled the team up to second just behind Bedford and Faye Fullerton stormed round the 3km course to run the day’s fastest leg and bring the team home for the gold medal some 40 seconds ahead of the runners up. A tremendous team performance that would have helped to raise the Club’s profile on the national stage. Well done to HARRIET SCOTT, ALEXA JOEL and FAYE FULLERTON (who is not able to be here).

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