East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside AC

Tameside Athletics Development Group

The Tameside Athletics Development Group was formed in 2002. The main aim of the Group was to develop athletics within the Borough at junior level linking all interested athletes to East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside Athletic Club.

The Development Group now has a four year development plan in place. This covers junior development of track and field athletes as well as road and cross country from participation level through to excellence level.

The Group work with all Primary and Secondary Schools to offer the athletes a pathway to the sport, this is done firstly by Tameside Sports Development Coaches who deliver athletics sessions to all schools. This is then underpinned by organised competition all year round. In the winter it is cross country and in the summer it is an indoor sports hall competition followed up by various meetings at East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside Athletic Club.

The Development Group were awarded nearly five thousand pounds by Sport England's Awards for All Lottery Scheme to develop school to club links especially targeting areas of deprivation.

After the above work was completed the Group were responsible for setting up two satellite centres at Hyde Technology School and more recently Fairfield High School where children are given the chance to attend a ten week starter club run by East Cheshire Harriers coaches who are well qualified having obtained Coaching Qualifications through UK Athletics, the Sport's National Governing Body. During this period all children are given the chance to compete in an indoor competition representing the Club on a monthly basis.

The Group also work with the Club in trying to improve its facilities and equipment at the Richmond Street Athletics Stadium by helping to buy specialist equipment for all junior athletes.

The Development Group meet five to six times per year and are now constituted which gives them a chance to gain external funding to help athletics within the borough of Tameside and especially the very successful local Club East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside Athletic Club.

Any person who wishes to find out more about the Group should contact Andy Dwyer, Sports Development Officer for Athletics on 0161 603 5266 or e-mail andrew.dwyer@tameside.gov.uk


Update 29th December 2006:

Through Greater Sport, and the County Athletics Development Officer,the following have been set up and achieved:

Tameside Athletics Development Group was set up which brought partners together and enables regular updates to be provided from a County and National perspective. It has helped to bring in external funding from Active Sport, Awards For All, Star Track, PESSCL and Sport England.

Helped with the employment of a full time Community Athletics Development Coach by securing funding and coordinating monitoring and evaluation. The Community coach has had a massive impact on 80 Primary Schools and 17 High Schools so far in Tameside. The community coach has also been instrumental in driving Club Development issues along with the County Officer to benefit East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside AC.

Help and support in expanding the athletics satellite centres to four across Tameside where over 120 children have accessed and have been able to be fed in to the main club. As a Satellite centre they have also entered a UK Athletics Indoor League ,which has increased the numbers of young people participating and also allowed further development within the club and satellite.

Through the Greater Sport partnership and County Officer club coaches have been able to access subsidised coach education for the last 2/3 years, enabling over 20 coaches at East Cheshire Harriers to have gone through this scheme.

The County Officer has guided and driven the Club to completion of the Clubmark Accreditation which has raised standards across the whole club benefiting everyone. Star track Holiday Schemes are now available in Tameside in every school holiday this has been made possible by linking with the County Officer who orders resources and gains project funding in order to run a partnership of schemes across the whole of Greater Manchester making it easier for clubs and Local Authorities to opt in.

Through the various initiatives promoted between April-Aug this year 2822 children have participated in athletics in Tameside. Development of disability athletics has been made possible by linking with Greater Sport through the County Officer linking in with programmes run through the county Disability Officer enabling coaching programmes,coach development opportunities,funded sessions,this has led to school and Greater Manchester wide athletics events.

Through Greater Sport and the wider networks Tameside and ECH have been able to access UKA Young Officials courses for young leaders within the School Sport Partnerships. Tameside have qualified over 35 young officials who can now be linked with the Club.

Update 20th September 2007: Athletics Development Plan

The Athletics Development Plan, which has been agreed by the regional council of England Athletics and provides the platform for delivery of athletics within the borough over the next year in the partnership arrangement which is in place between the club and Tameside.