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Lewes Athletic Club wins SE Regional Club of the Year Award
Each year England Athletics makes awards to clubs and volunteers for outstanding performance and commitment. This year Lewes AC has received the prodigious award of Development Club of the Year. The award has been made in recognition of the outstanding work and initiatives undertaken by its coaches and club members to further develop the club and its activities.
Special recognition was taken of the club’s approach to coaching and supporting young athletes by creating the Lewes AC Academy. This new initiative provides the opportunity for young academy members to develop at an early age their skills across all aspects of athletics. An integral part of the Academy approach has been to create opportunities for older young athletes to coach the younger athletes which provide the older athletes with skills they can use not only in the Academy but also later in their life.
The Academy provides the bedrock of athletic skills for the junior members of the club to progress to greater things as they get older. In parallel with the development of the Academy further coaching initiatives have been put in place to guide and develop the older junior athletes. Talented club athletes are specifically supported which includes warm weather training early in the year. This has resulted in major athletic successes by the Club’s young athletes at events in Sussex the Region and Nationally. Many are ranked highly at the National level and at the recent Sussex Track and Field Championships 37 athletes competed winning 20 medals and setting 5 new club records.
It was also recognised that the club has refreshed its approach to coaching and mentoring adult members which has resulting in significant club results across the County. These included the Club winning the Sussex Sunday Cross County League, winning all three open divisions in the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League, and winning the Sussex Masters League for the first time. Linked with the fresh approach to coaching for adults has been a concerted drive to recruit new members including providing opportunities for absolute beginners to join in.
The club has also extended its contacts with local schools and is looking to extend this further by the creation of after-school clubs and arranging school based competitions. Whilst England Athletics recognised the major strides the club has made in its own further development it was also recognised that the Club provides a major and influencing role in the development of athletics across the County.
Club administration has not been forgotten in all of this and new initiatives have been taken in this area as well. A new internet-based membership system has been created and the internet used to facilitate communications across and between club members. The club has also taken on the management of the maintenance of the athletics track to make sure it is properly maintained not only for club use but also for use by the wider community.