Golden opportunity to spread word at Scottish athletics championships

The curtain may have come down on London 2012 almost a fortnight ago but the scottishathletics age group championships this weekend should be great examples of the how sport is growing in this country on the back of the Olympics.

Entry numbers are up by 58 per cent from last summer across the under-14, under-16, under-18 and under-20 track and field championships at Grangemouth tomorrow and Sunday.

Three of Scotland’s four representatives in Team GB at the world juniors in Barcelona in July – middle distance pair Emily Dudgeon (Edinburgh AC) and Laura Muir (Dundee Hawkhill) as well as Isle-of-Wight-based thrower Nick Percy – willcompete for medals.

The rise in entries looks like a response to a communications campaign and, arguably, an Olympic bounce, with entries having closed over the weekend Mo Farah clinched his double gold and Usain Bolt completed his treble in London.

Changing the date of the championships from the summer holiday period of July to after the schools return appears to have been a factor in the rise, as well as promotion to teenagers through social media channels Facebook and Twitter.

The total number of entries this year across the four age groups is 1403 as compared to 890 last year. The rise of 513 entries is 57.6 per cent of the 2011 tally and, in the two younger age-groups, there were almost 400 more entrants. “The age group championship entry figures have been tallied up and I have to say we are delighted about these,” said scottishathletics chief executive Nigel Holl.

“We want to say a big thank you to all those who entered. Let me extend those thanks to the parents, coaches, clubs and  athletes themselves who all made sure the names were on the start lists.

“It is great to see young athletes willing to take part in a national championships. That’s the place where you should be looking to set a personal best and mark it down as a highlight and major target of that particular season.

“The big rise in the two younger age groups is terrific and reflects well on our clubs especially, along with the support from our regional development managers and Club Together officers. We’re starting to see the impact.

“I’ve no doubt the Olympics have fired imaginations and ambitions. We always hoped that would be case – and want it to be the case for years to come. Changing the date has helped as well, and that was us reacting to the evidence of last year.

“In athletics, competition is the spice of life if you like. As our clubs all around the country enjoy a rise in memberships, or potential memberships, in the aftermath of the Olympic feelgood factor, we want to stress that greater numbers competing at the right level is very important, as well. That’s what raises performance standards across the board.’

Meanwhile, Edinburgh AC senior athlete Neil Renault has landed a first Scotland vest for this weekend’s 10-mile race in Dublin. Renault, who missed almost a year with a foot injury, supports Central AC’s Ross Houston and Matthew Graham of Kirkintilloch Olympians in a strong Scotland team for the event.

Two women are joining them on the trip across the Irish Sea for the Frank Duffy Memorial 10-Miler tomorrow, with the Scotland team to comprise Joasia Zakrzewski (Dumfries) and Sarah Inglis (Lothian).