News

25/12/2024 00:00, In Blog /

As 2024 nears its conclusion I wanted to reflect on another incredibly busy and successful year for the sport in Wales.

From success at the Olympics and Paralympics, increased demand in races, the emergence of new running clubs and groups and new opportunities for new coaches and officials, across the sport we are seeing demand soar!

The whole world was focused on Paris over the summer and Welsh athletes were at the fore throughout, with medals being won by Jeremiah Azu (bronze - men's 4x100m), Aled Davies (silver - shot put), Hollie Arnold (bronze - javelin) and a memorable gold medal and world record for Deeside athlete Sabrina Fortune in the F20 shot put.

It wasn’t just our athletes that performed at the highest level in Paris, Welsh coaches and officials played key roles. Dave Jessett and Sue Maughan had senior roles as technical officials at the Paralympics, while Welsh Athletics staff member Ryan Spencer-Jones undertook the role of throws lead for Team GB at both the Olympics and Paralympics.

Our sport continues to strive for inclusivity, and as an organisation, we are increasing opportunities for para-integrated competitions. This year saw the introduction of seated throws and wheelchair racing events within our Championships, and the number of junior athletes achieving classification status continues to increase.

Our aim over the coming 12 months is to embed para inclusion across the club section of the sport, and as a Governing Body achieve the Gold standard for InSport – joining just two other National Governing Bodies in achieving the standard in Wales.

It's been a year of growth across all aspects of the sport, with significant increases in the number of races and participants. The Welsh Senior Track and Field Championships saw the highest ever entries, and the fact that the Cardiff Half Marathon sold out within a week is a further testament to the demand and growth in the sport in Wales.

Despite the challenging financial climate, with support from Sport Wales, we are continuing to support with upgrading facilities.  Over £1.75 million has been secured over the past few years to resurface and upgrade a number of facilities across Wales – safeguarding the sport for many years to come.

As we look ahead to 2025, we will continue to drive innovation and empowerment across the sport. As our sport continues to grow, we want our clubs and groups to be ready by supporting the recruitment and development of more coaches and officials.

Our clubs are led by passionate and committed volunteers – and without them, the sport would not exist. Above all, we want to ensure that our club volunteers and committees feel supported and can continue to support their members.

I am always mindful that everyone has a different reason for being a part of our sport, and we are always trying to ensure that our programmes reflect the needs of our members and participants.

To this end, I am so proud to see our partnerships with Mind Cymru and The Daily Mile going from strength to strength. The Starting Blocs programme is bringing more young people into our sport – with the hope to expand this offer across all parts of Wales. The competition programme continues to grow and we hope to further expand opportunities in jumps and throws in 2025.

We will continue to be led by the views of our members, and continue to look at ways to support our passionate volunteers – many of whom will no doubt be supporting events throughout the festive period.

Can I end by thanking every member of the Athletics community in Wales and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

James Williams
CEO at Welsh Athletics