Menai Track & Field have been crowned Development Club of the year at the Welsh Athletics National annual awards which took place on the weekend, with Tracey Weetman also scooping up a national award as she was awarded the newcomer to officiating award for all of her outstanding achievement and dedication to officiating. After a busy year of Athletics competing across Wales and beyond, it was time to celebrate the clubs achievements with the return of the Welsh Athletics & Run Wales Awards, which this year took place on Saturday 12th November at Sophia Gardens (Glamorgan Cricket Club).
Menai T&F is an exceptional athletics club with over 200 members of various ages and ability, sprinters to endurance and throwers to jumpers. The club has a team of amazing leaders who are coaches, officials and volunteers who make up a strong committee that ensure the club is engaged locally, regionally and nationally attending competitions, events and courses all over the UK and beyond. The club has enjoyed another successful year winning promotion in the 2022 Youth Development League as well as being the leading club in North Wales ensuring athletes from all clubs across Wales and across the border can compete in various competitions such as the YDL, NJL, open events and regional T&F Championships.
The club competes in various junior and senior cross country, mountain, fell, road, and T&F events as well as providing in house competition evenings and festivals with excellent links with schools and neighbouring clubs creating opportunities to hundreds of athletes. The club is an inclusive and inspiring one, which has been awarded the Silver Insport award and continues to strive forwards towards the gold status. The club which caters for all athletics disciplines has had a fantastic year as a team and has had exceptional results with individual athletes becoming Welsh Champions in a variety of events as well as English Champions with some athletes leading the Welsh and British rankings. The club has over 35 Regional and national Champions across various disciplines as well as athletes topping the National and UK Rankings. The club invests in it’s athletes, officials, coaches and wider volunteers ensuring developing the volunteer workforce is a key focus to ensure a healthy and vibrant future of athletics.
Club chairman Andy Weetman commented “It was a great honour to receive the award for Menai, for Development Club of the year. It recognises the great work and effort that has been put in by our committee, coaches, officials and volunteers this year. This has enabled our athletes to develop their potential by providing excellent coaching and competitions at our club along with the support of all our members and parents/guardians.
Also it was especially pleasing to see Tracey receive her award for Newcomer to Officiating in recognition for her hard working in achieving her Level 2 field event official”.
The club has nurtured the likes of Osian Jones who has competed in the Commonwealth Games, Oliver Barberesi who was selected to compete in the Bahamas, Cari Hughes who was selected to compete at the IAAF world cross country championships in Uganda, as well as being CAU Inter County Championships (Inc British Athletics Cross Challenge) champion and British Athletics Cross Challenge champion at Cardiff. The club has enjoyed success on a variety of levels and having many athletes enjoying a taste of representing their country. Over the last 20 years the club has produced some fantastic athletes as well as coaches, officials and mentors, however 2022 has been one special year. With Osian Perrin flying the flag and some fantastic group of athletes following in his footsteps. Gethin Griffith taking the u15’s Boys English 300m title, Eli Jones coming home with a silver medal from the SIAB T&F event in Ireland as part of the Wales Relay team, Beca Bown finishing 2nd in the British junior Cross Country Championships. We have numerous Welsh Champions at u13’s, u15’s, u17’s, u20’s and seniors this year across the Indoors, Outdoors and various other disciplines. The club also supports Bangor University, Cardiff, Liverpool, Eryri Harriers by supporting athletes with 3-4 training sessions all year round and athletes such as Ffion Roberts and Zack Price are prime examples of athletes who continue to train at Menai T&F and have excelled again this year becoming BUCS Silver and Bronze medalist, Senior Champion as well as being selected for the athletics DNA and the Diamond League Fixture.
Congratulations to all involved at Menai T&F, great to see Menai T&F which is such a thriving and positive club taking home a couple of national awards.
# the future is bright the future is Menai
