Following the publication of the latest Government advice, we expect group training to restart from 29 March. We still need confirmation of when the track will reopen and will let everyone know as soon as we hear. In the meantime the club will be reviewing and updating Covid procedures and athletes should check on all the latest England Athletics advice on returning to training.
Training suspended for lockdown
Guide to Mental Health Resources for Reading Athletes/parents and coaches).
With the recent Government announcement of a second lock down on Thursday 5th November 2020 until December (and potentially extended)- we hope that information regarding the following resources may help you if you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed or unable to cope for any reason.
Struggling to cope emotionally is recognised as one of the key effects of lockdown and we want to stress that you are not alone if you are going through such feelings. This is a common occurrence and asking for help is a sign of strength as it shows we care for our mental wellbeing and the wellbeing of people around us.
We hope this guide to resources you can access will be helpful:
KOOTH is a free online counselling service open to Berkshire residents aged 11 years to 19 years. You can sign up for free . Counsellors are available from 12 noon to 10 pm on Mondays to Fridays and at weekends too. Please sign up for free with this confidential service by visiting Kooth.com. You can access via tablet/lap top or mobile phone.
The NHS Every Mind Matters website also has expert advice and practical tips on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing. Link is: www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
Young Minds, mental health support for young people, parents and teachers. Link: https://youngminds.org.uk
Mind UK -General Mental health advice and support. https://www.mind.org.uk
Helpline for mental health sufferers- https://www.samaritans.org
Berkshire CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services, self -referrals https://cypf.berkshirewhealthcare.nhs.uk/ourservices/children-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs/
No5 Young People’s Counselling Service -101 Oxford Road Reading.RG1 7UD.
This provides a free confidential counselling and emotional support to anyone between the ages of 11 years to 25 years. Website: No5-counselling.
Tel: 0118 901 5668-do not leave a message as no-one is in the office.
Bharti Dhir.
Welfare Officer-Reading Athletics Club
CLUB CHAMPS 2020
Entries are now open for Day 1 and 2 of club champs (subject to UKA permit being granted: https://webcollect.org.uk/rac
If you entered the previous club Champs, cancelled in April, then please get in touch about transferring your entry.
To keep the event Covid Secure there are NO late entries and only 1 guest spectator per athlete, unless guests are also helpers. We will require lots of extra help to allow this to go ahead, so please volunteer by indicting on the entry form or getting in touch.
Day 3 details will be worked out after further clarification on events we can hold.
Athlete Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who has filled in the athlete survey. It has been very useful to find out what you are all up to. I am sorry that so many don't currently have access to coaching, but this is understandable given the restrictions in group sizes, some coaches may need to shield and the lack of a proper training venue with equipment. We still have no news on the track reopening and with indoor gyms not on the list of venues allowed to open the council may decide to keep PP closed until the gym is also open.
On the competition front, most people seem keen on local or club competition when possible, which makes sense given the lack of training for some. The 1m+ social distance rule may make this easier and thank you for the many offers of extra help to allow this to happen. In the meantime, I will set up another virtual athletics competition.
Julie (Chair)
Hypnotherapist service
A mind coach to help with mental well being or peak performance:
https://www.elenakennedy.co.uk/what-can-i-treat
The latest update on Training from England Athletics
Latest update on SEAA Competitions
SEAA COMPETITION LIMITED
With restrictions by the UK Government on movement in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 still in place, and with the following guidance received from UK Athletics.
“The suspension of athletics competition within the UK has now been extended until at least 30 June. The decision has been made collectively in light of the ongoing UK Government restrictions and the need to give athletes, coaches, clubs, event organisers and officials clarity, advance notice and time to plan”.
SEAA Competition Limited is working with England Athletics to reschedule individual championships if possible. As a result, we will be postponing the U20/Senior Championships that are scheduled to be held at the end of June. The U13/15 and U17 Championships are under review and further information will be posted in due course.
The All Age Group Combined Events Championships scheduled for July and the U15/17 Inter Counties Championships scheduled for September have been cancelled.
SEAA Competition are still working on providing a full Indoor, Cross Country and Road Running season if circumstances permit.
John Gandee
SEAA Competition Chairman
1ST May 2020
Covid-19 Latest
You can keep up to date on the latest advice at : https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Keeping fit and healthy is a way to reduce the risk of serious illness, but do remember to only go out for exercise once a day, not to meet up with others and stay 2m apart from others you may see. There has just been some research released suggesting that more than 2m may be needed if someone is in the slip stream of another person, so keep further apart if you are able.
Wishing you all the best
Latest news on YDL
In the light of the continuing uncertainty around the Coronavirus situation the YDL management committee held a Skype meeting on 29 March to look at all the possibilities for the 2020 season and have decided regretfully that all matches scheduled for the 2020 season will be cancelled forthwith.
There were a number of factors influencing our decision, namely:
Whilst government guidelines have forbidden mass gatherings until the end of May, it’s by no means certain that this won’t be extended, indeed if one were to use other countries as a model, it’s more than likely that this will continue for at least a further month if not longer.
We have been made aware that first aid support from St John’s Ambulance at meetings is likely to be withheld until at least the end of June.
We are aware that a number of tracks intend to extend their closure until June or July at least.
We felt that it would be helpful to clubs if we were to make a definitive decision so that they have as much notice as possible to cancel tracks or transport arrangements to avoid possible charges.
With the limited number of weekends likely to be available for competitions, there would be undue pressure on those dates, and clubs and athletes may be more willing and able to compete at a more local level than having to travel some distance to compete. This being the case we have requested that any dates previously allocated for YDL, be reserved for clubs who wish to organise local and open competitions.
We wish to support the Home Countries in their endeavours to try and salvage what remains of the 2020 season, and hope that our decision gives a little clarity to a confusing situation.
We also considered the duty of care owed to our officials, some of whom may have to undertake a 12-week isolation period, which takes us well into June.
There are continuing costs involved in keeping the league working towards next year, and we can assure clubs that individual match team fees collected for 2019-20 will be automatically credited towards meeting the match costs of the 2020-21 season.
This decision was based on advice being communicated at the Government daily briefings where restrictions may be turned on and off and has not been made lightly; we would like to ask our clubs for their forbearance and thank you all for your support. It’s not a situation of our choosing but we hope that being pro-active will help clubs with any forward planning and help cut down any additional costs being incurred.
We also ask our clubs to please pass on our sincere apologies to all those athletes for whom this season would be their last opportunity to compete in YDL. We are aiming to keep a watching brief of performances of all the athletes who would have hoped to compete in the league this year and wish them all the best in their future athletics career.
Good luck and the very best wishes to you all.
Grace Hall (Chair)
ALL TRAINING CANCELLED
Dear Members, following the government advice issued today, against all non essential social contact and travel, we are cancelling all training until further notice. Please also take note that Palmer park stadium will be closed by Reading Council from tomorrow. ( Exercise is still an important part of staying fit and healthy at this time, so if you are unsure about what to do please ask your coach for suggestions.)
Wishing everyone good health and a speedy return to normal,
Julie
Chair