Return to Club Nights

Good news! From Tuesday 30th March we will be starting club nights back up again on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Here’s what you need to know:

  • it will be the same system as before lockdown with all sessions needing to be booked on Eventbrite beforehand and sessions available to members only.
  • sessions on Tuesday 30th March will be available to book from 8am on Wednesday 24th March
  • sessions on Thursday 1st April can be booked from 8am on Friday 26th March.
  • sessions will be 12 runners and 1 coach.
  • meeting points are on the cricket pitches at the Littledown Centre.
  • social distancing (hands, face, space) and track and trace protocol all still need to be followed, so you should let us know if you have symptoms or test positive for Covid after attending a session. If you have Covid symptoms prior to a session, please do not attend.
  • Littledown car park is open to use, but currently the centre is still closed so runners should turn up ready to run and go home straight afterwards. We hope toilets will be available from 12th April.
  • Please remember to be considerate of other members and only book a session you intend to join. If you need to cancel, you can do so up to 5pm on the day. It’s helpful if you do cancel a place if you can pop a message on Facebook to let others know in case someone is waiting for that spot, where possible.

Full details, links to the booking system and to the map of where to meet can be found here – any other questions, email us and we’ll do our best to help littledownharriersrc@gmail.com

Only a few more weeks to go, see you then!


 

England Athletics and Club Membership Fees 2021/22

You may have seen an email from England Athletics (EA) if you are an affiliated member explaining what the affiliation fees will be for 2021/22. Please don’t worry – EA fees, as always, are paid through the club and we pay your affiliation fees to EA on your behalf. That is still the same for this year, so take the EA email as just for your information only.

When are fees due and how much are they?

EA affiliation fees for 2021/22 are £15 and are due from 1st April. EA have asked for these to be paid to them by 30th June where possible. Club membership fees are usually collected at the same time.

Given it has been a tricky year and we are just getting back to club sessions, the committee have agreed that affiliation fees and club membership fees will not be asked for until 1st May this year, instead of the usual 1st April. It has also been agreed that club membership fees for the year up to 31st March 2022 will be £15 instead of the usual £20. This works out at £1.36 per month.

  • If you are a first claim (affiliated) member, your fees will be: £15 for EA affiliation + £15 LD club fees = £30
  • If you are a second claim or non-affiliated member, your fees will be: £15 LD club fees.

You will get an email from us on 1st May with full details. Any members who are worried about paying fees can contact Ken (membership secretary) to discuss in confidence.

What are club fees used for?

Membership fees are a main source of income and enable the club to operate. Lots of costs have to be covered, things like; paying club affiliation to England Athletics, paying membership to the Dorset Road Race League, buying PPE and first aid supplies for coaches, covering the cost of coaching courses and first aid courses for coaches, paying for upkeep and maintenance on the club website, subsidising club socials such as a coach to get to races like the Charmouth Challenge, and social events such as the AGM and the Christmas Party – all of which we hope to be able to host again in 2021!

Racing as an affiliated member before 31st August 2021

If there is a return to racing prior to 31st August, anyone who paid affiliation fees in 2020/21 will still be affiliated until then. If you did not pay affiliation fees in 2020/21, you will need to make sure you have paid for 2021/22 before entering as an affiliated member.

Thanks everyone for all your ongoing support. We are excited to get back to normality, get back to training, racing and socialising like we’re used to!


 

Dorset Road Race League (DRRL)

With a return to running on the cards, the DRRL are hopeful that they may be able to put on some form of competition this year. There is a meeting to discuss later in March and then we will pass on an update. Fingers crossed we might have some DRRL races later in 2021!


 

Updates on Races

We have been trying our best to keep track of what is happening with the races which were part of the Club Championship and Dorset Road Race Leagues in 2020. We’ve listed when they are being rescheduled to and which ones are still set to go ahead this year. You can read the latest update here – it is on the members page of our website, under the ‘racing’ section and we will keep updating it as more races are confirmed or cancelled.


 

London Marathon Club Ballot

The information about how we can apply for club places for the October 2021 London Marathon and how many we will be allocated is expected to be released by the end of March. As soon as we know more, we will let members know.

We have decided to do an online ballot draw this year as we can’t all be together. Keep hold of that email you were sent from London Marathon telling you to log on and find your ballot result back in February – you’ll need it to enter the club draw. Other bits of eligibility criteria apply as always, but we will tell you more as soon as we know how many places we will have and when the draw will be.

Watch this space…