As part of our ongoing support for coaches around the 1st of April age-group changes, we will once again be delivering a Hurdles Masterclass, led by Colin Jackson. This session continues the bi-annual hurdle workshops we have previously run and is intended to support both coach and athlete development.
Please note the following details for your diary:
– Date: 28/02/26
– Time: 12:00–15:30 (final timings to be shared closer to the time)
– Location: NIAC, Cardiff
– Theme: Brilliant basics (relevant to both development and performance-level athletes)
– Who can attend: All Welsh event group coaches. Please let me know which athletes you would see value in attending, we have a limit of 12-15 athletes.
– Session duration: 2 hoursKey focus areas include:
- Reinforcement of key technical principles
- The importance of core stability for hurdling
Proposed schedule:
- 12:00–13:00 – Coaches Q&A and knowledge sharing
- 13:30–15:30 – Practical session with athletes, followed by Q&A
- 15:45 – Close
Further details will follow in due course. In the meantime, please let me know your interest to attend.
Best regards,
Rhys Williams
Pathway Lead and National Talent Development Coordinator – Sprints
Address: Cardiff International Sports Campus, Leckwith, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ
Mobile: 07740 637660 Office: 02920644870
Email: rhys.williams@welshathletics.org
Website: www.welshathletics.org
Due to dwindling supplies of our purple vests we have had to source new ones. Following recommendations, we have identified a supplier and three possible designs.
Please let us know which is your preferred choice. The majority vote will be our East Wales Vest going forward.
Deadline to vote is end of February.
Follow the link below to the form to make your choice.
Hi everyone,
As part of our ongoing support for coaches around the 1st of April age-group changes, we will once again be delivering a Hurdles Masterclass led by Colin Jackson. This session continues the bi-annual hurdle workshops we have previously run and is intended to support both coach and athlete development.
Please note the following details for your diary:
- Date: 28/02/26
- Time: 12:00–15:30 (final timings to be shared closer to the time)
- Location: NIAC, Cardiff
- Theme: Brilliant basics (relevant to both development and performance-level athletes)
- Who can attend: All Welsh event group coaches. Please let me know which athletes you would see value in attending, we have a limit of 12-15 athletes.
- Session duration: 2 hours
Key focus areas include:
Reinforcement of key technical principles
The importance of core stability for hurdling
Proposed schedule:
12:00–13:00 – Coaches Q&A and knowledge sharing
13:30–15:30 – Practical session with athletes, followed by Q&A
15:45 – Close
Further details will follow in due course. In the meantime, please let me know your interest to attend.
Best regards,
Rhys Williams
Pathway Lead and National Talent Development Coordinator – Sprints
Address: Cardiff International Sports Campus, Leckwith, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ
Mobile: 07740 637660 Office: 02920644870
Email: rhys.williams@welshathletics.org
Website: www.welshathletics.org
Hi Welsh coaches
I hope you are all good
A reminder that for the disciplines of steeplechase and race walking, we have Regional Development Programmes (RDP). Information for upcoming training sessions and recommendations for upcoming races can be found on Spond groups. The links to join the relevant spond groups are below:
Race Walking:
https://spond.com/invite/KJBDP
There are sessions in North, South and West Wales
North Wales: Sarah Kearney and Tom Bosworth lead coaches
The next session is tonight (21st January) at 6pm at Menai.
South Wales: Martin Bell and Bethan Davies lead coaches
West Wales: Heather Warner and Carol Jones lead coaches
North Wales Steeple:
https://spond.com/invite/TKKQO
Ronan Kearney lead coach
South Wales Steeple:
https://spond.com/invite/CYSOP
Myself lead coach
Please feel free to pass this onto any athletes, coaches, groups and networks you are a part of for whom this maybe relevant.
There is also a mountain running RDP, information for this will be sent in a separate email later in a month or so
Many thanks
Steve
Presentation of Member Survey Results December 2025
An Overview of Key Findings and Insights
Introduction
This presentation highlights the key outcomes of our recent member survey. The goal: to gather insights on members’ experiences and expectations, so that we can better serve and connect with our clubs and athletes.
Survey Participation
- Total respondents: 18
Key Findings
Preference for meetings:
What topics should the council focus on for 2026?
| Engagement with clubs |
| How to increase participation levels and competitions for younger age groups. Getting Welsh athletics coaches to go around clubs and put on technical event sessions. |
| Not sure |
| Safety advice, participation, inter club competitions |
| Improving provision for younger athletes. More training courses to enable grassroots clubs to train coaches. How to get more clubs involved in local/club run races/events. Inclusion of smaller clubs like ours, Ystrad Mynach Running Club |
| Fairness & Inclusion in leagues |
| Junior development, collaboration across clubs to support East Wales training sessions, |
| Facilities for clubs to use in the area? |
| I would welcome of the views of what the council ‘sees’ could be of value through their ability to look across the region |
| Lack of competition |
| Track and field |
| Fund raising |
How do you think we may encourage more clubs/athletes to attend the meetings?
14 responses
| *Offer clubs the opportunity to give presentations regarding the development of their club *Be open to change and listen to new ideas and move away from the status quo of thinking. Willing to approach counter parts in England that put on a lot more for their athletes. *Split the meeting – track and off-track So that is more relevant. *Monthly newsletter summarising meetings *Getting a list of mail contact details for all South East clubs. I’m only aware of the meetings as I’m in the SE Wales Athletics group on Facebook and part of RVAC. I do not think my running club has ever been approached to attend. It needs to be remembered that not all SE Wales running clubs are part of the GLCL and but maybe involved in XC via the John H Collins League, we’ve joined this year *More inclusion More visibility from the region, more opportunities to compete and train as a region more visibility would go a long way I think – I have been an affiliated runner, club volunteer and coach for over 10 years and have close to no insight into what regional councils do *Marketing the sport. *Maybe separate meetings for: 1) Clubs with juniors / clubs without juniors 2) track & field / endurance *To discuss and involve all age groups *Hold meetings at different venues throughout East Wales. |
Joining the East Wales Committee
Volunteering/Officiating
What additional items/information would you like to see added to the website?
9 responses
| Links to ranking lists |
| Track and field success it very much dominated by road and fell running to date. |
| Nothing |
| I’m a Web developer and happy to help if needed but have no further suggestions on content. |
| More about junior athletics and ALL athletics. Not just running and road running. As the parent of a very good young throws athlete there isn’t enough of a spotlight on other disciplines within athletics or opportunities for development |
| A gallery of successful former East athletes? |
| Track and field competition |
| More kit and include master athletes |
| Nothing obvious springs to mind. |
Are there any other social media platforms that you think would be beneficial for communicating?
12 responses
| Maybe Instagram |
| Make more use of the ones you do have, get a social media officer |
| Possibly instagram?? |
| Whatsapp group. |
Funding
Conclusions and Next Steps
The survey affirms that the relevance and visibility of the regional committee are not clear, nor our role hosting athletics events. Our communications are not reaching the members that we are serving. The positive response to volunteering opportunities is encouraging. Moving forward, we will:
- Address feedback on communication issues
- Explore possibility of implementing suggestions made
- Communicate volunteering opportunities
- Maintain an open channel for ongoing member feedback
Thank You
We deeply appreciate all members who took part in the survey. Your contributions are shaping our future. For further comments or to discuss the results, please contact us at
communications@eastwalesathletics.co.uk
Paul Adams:
I hope this message finds you well and that you’ve had a great year of running so far. It’s hard to believe how quickly 2025 has passed!
It is my great pleasure to share with you the final standings for the 2025 East Wales Clubs Road Race Championship (EWCRRC). This year, we adopted a new format with five races spanning the middle of the year, hosted across all four corners of our region. I’m delighted to report that this change was met with increased engagement from our clubs – a fantastic result.
A few highlights from this year’s championship:
- A phenomenal performance from Eric Apperley (Builth & District RC), who was the first finisher in four out of the five races. He was narrowly pipped to a clean sweep, finishing second to Dan Bodman at the challenging Sorbrook Tough 10K.
- We saw incredible engagement from clubs in the north of the region, particularly from Brecon AC and Builth & District.
- It was also brilliant to see younger and smaller clubs making a bigger impact, with Crickhowell, Ystrad, and Hengoed all having a strong presence.
A huge congratulations to our 2025 overall champions, Griffithstown Harriers, who also topped the podium in the Female championship. Pont-y-Pwl and District Runners took the honours in the Male championship, while Lliswerry Runners put in a characteristically strong performance across all three competitions.
My particular congratulations go to Griffithstown Harriers, who clearly made the EWCRRC a key focus this year.
Award Presentation
All being well, I look forward to presenting the championship shields at the GLCL XC fixture in Monmouth this January.
The Future of the EWCRRC
With my three-year time as coordinator now complete, 2025 marks my final year in this role. A few clubs have already enquired about the 2026 format; however, at this stage, there is no one confirmed to take on the coordination.
This leads me to a request: Please ask within your clubs if anyone would be willing to take the championship forward.
It would be a great shame to see the EWCRRC fade away. While I understand everyone is busy (my primary reason for stepping down), this championship has steadily grown in popularity and is a wonderful way to unite our region in friendly competition. Its unique format gives every club, regardless of size, a real chance to shine.
The role is not arduous, requiring roughly 10-12 hours of work throughout the year to collate results, before arranging for the shields to be collected, engraved, and presented.
I am more than happy to have a conversation with any interested parties to explain how it all works. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
Finally, thank you for your tremendous support over the last three years. It has been a pleasure, and I sincerely hope to see the EWCRRC continue to blossom in the future.
Best wishes,
Paul
Caerleon RC
What: Outdoor Regional Championships
When: 9 May 2026
Where: Aberdare
Timetable and further details will be published in the new year.
What: Inter-Regional Championships
When: 13 June 2026
Where: Aberdare
Help Needed
Which club performs best at team events? which clubs can keep the momentum going for a whole series?
This is our own East Wales Road Championships – set up by East Wales athletes, for East Wales endurance athletes, but we need some help to keep it going.
We are seeking volunteers who are keen to keep alive the competition between the East Wales Region clubs. Several clubs have stated that they don’t want the series to disappear – but it needs a few dedicated people to help set up and run it.
This is what is involved:
- Select 5 races of various distances and locations throughout the year.
- contact the race organisers to ask permission to host the competition within their event and request that they provide a copy of the results in excel format post event – and ensure the athlete’s club information is collected (this is important)
- agree a format for the results
- help to promote the details of the races and scoring to all the clubs. There is a Facebook page and Gmail account set up to promote the championship, the races selected, share results and to generally interact with everyone. Access will be transferred to anyone who will volunteer to look after this element.
- Post race – calculate results
- liaise with East Wales regional council Chair to purchase trophies
- decide when/how presentation of trophies to take place.
A small committee, meeting perhaps twice a year would be ideal. Deciding the races will mean looking at events throughout East Wales – trying to keep a fair balance for clubs to travel.
Once the scoring format is agreed – someone with excel skills is needed for producing results after each event and then the final scores.
The initial meeting may take an hour or two, but once up and running – input really wouldn’t be very time-consuming – although producing the results may take a little longer.
Will you help?? contact admin@eastwalesathletics.co.uk
Age Group changes: An overview / FAQ’s link
You can watch the recording of the webinar here
East Wales won Division 1 of the YDL Midlands SW Upper Age Group on Sunday 6th July.
The team finished first on the day with a score of 289 points and won the division with overall 864 points.
East Wales secured an amazing total of 30 first places.
Our athletes have been a credit to the region throughout the season, well done to everyone who has competed.
Thanks also to all club coaches who have worked hard with their athletes.
The team has been supported by our regional officials at every match and our thanks go out to them as an important part of our team.
Joyce Tomala
Chair – East Wales Regional Athletics
