News

08/04/2022 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field / School News /

The Welsh Schools Athletics Association Track & Field Championships will be held at Cardiff on Saturday 2^nd July. To participate you must be selected by your school district via your school district trial. Below are the provisional dates and venues for the eight school districts we have been advised of to date. Pupils from any school district wishing to participate should speak to their school PE teacher for event times.

Age Groups: U15 = school years 8 & 9. U17 = school years 10 & 11. U20 = school years 12 to 14.

• Wednesday 4^th May Afan Nedd Tawe @ Swansea
• Thursday 5^th May Glamorgan Valleys U17W&M & U20W&M @ Aberdare
• Wednesday 11^th May Glamorgan Valleys U15B&G @ Aberdare
• Thursday 12^th May Eryri @ Treborth
• Wednesday 18^th May Cardiff & the Vale U15B @ Cardiff
• Wednesday 25^th May Cardiff & the Vale U15G @ Cardiff
• Thursday 26^th May Powys Schools @ Brecon
• Monday 6^th & Wednesday 8^th June Dyfed Schools @ Carmarthen
• Thursday 9^th June North East Wales @ Deeside
• Awaiting South East Wales & Cardiff the Vale U17&U20.

The championships on 2^nd July also acts as the selection event for the British Schools U17 international which are being held in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Saturday 16^th July. Perhaps unique to athletics, and as very occasionally happened in the cross county this winter, pupils entered by PE teachers, can potentially progress all the way to a Welsh National vest without being affiliated to a club, academy, regional or national development program. In addition, school year 7 is not included in the formal schools championships pathway, however some school districts do hold year 7 events within their country trials or as stand alone events, please contact your PE teacher for details.

Secondary Schools U14 & U16 Cup Matches

The NASUWT Welsh Secondary Schools U14 & U16 Cup & Plate finals will be held at Aberdare on Wednesday 6^th July at Aberdare. This is a school team rather than individual or school district representative event. To participate your school must first have progressed through your school district cup qualifying fixtures. To be considered for selection for your school team, speak to your PE teacher, listed below are provisional dates and venues for the school fixtures we have been made aware of to date:

Age Groups: U14 = school years 7 & 8. U16 = school years 9 & 10.

• Tuesday 14^th & Thursday 16^th June Cardiff & the Vale qualifiers @ Cardiff
• Wednesday 15^th June Dyfed Finals @ Carmarthen
• Wednesday 15^th & Thursday 16^th June Glamorgan Valleys qualifiers @ Aberdare
• Tuesday 21^st June Glamorgan Valleys Schools @ Aberdare
• Wednesday 22^nd June Cardiff & the Vale Finals @ Cardiff
• Thursday 23^rd June North East Wales @ Deeside
• Thursday 23^rd June Afan Nedd Tawe Schools @ Swansea
• Tuesday 28^th June Powys Schools @ Newtown
• Thursday 30^th June Eryri @ Treborth
• Awaiting South East Wales.

TEACHER TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES:

Secondary WEDNESDAY 4^th may 9.30am to 4.30pm.

Virtual run Jump Throw Teaching Secondary School Athletics Workshop. £60pp. 3 x Two hour workshops covering the topics of:

• Teaching Running Events & Developing Pupils Engagement
• Teaching Jumping Events & How to deliver an Inclusive, Child-Centred Approach
• Teaching Throwing Events & Developing Schemes of Work and Lesson Plans

Each workshop is accompanied by free access to the Secondary Schools App-based Resource, associated with the workshop topic (i.e. If you attend the running workshop you will get the Running Teaching Resource, but if you attend all three workshops you will get the full secondary schools bundle). These resources include:

• Examples of Schemes of Work and Lesson Plans
• Technical tips on how to teach sprints, endurance, jumps and throws events
• Activity cards covering a full range of athletics events for pupils aged 11+
• Pupil Tasks Cards for greater independent learning

The resources associated with this workshop are provided via the Schools Athletics App, which has been designed to place running, jumping and throwing at the heart of school physical education, whilst supporting teachers in delivering athletics activities in an inclusive, exciting and engaging manner. To book click here. 

Primary Tuesday 24^th May & Thursday 26^th May 3.30pm to 5.30pm:

Virtual Run Jump Throw Teaching Primary School Athletics Workshop. £50pp. This is an online workshop that will take place in two parts; the first on Tuesday 24^th May 3.30pm to 5.30pm and the second Thursday 26^th May 3.30pm to 5.30pm. The aim of this course is to provide teachers, new teachers and trainee teachers and others working in primary schools with the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver enjoyable and engaging running, jumping and throwing lessons that focus on maximum participation, increasing understanding and skill acquisition based upon high quality technical models.For more details and to book click here. 

THE DAILY MILE

Why not use the Daily Mile to help prepare your pupils for the summer term track & field events. As part of an exciting new partnership, Welsh Athletics has entered into a formal partnership with The Daily Mile. The Daily Mile is a transformative initiative where children run, jog, wheel or walk for fifteen minutes every day. Inclusivity and accessibility has always been at the heart of The Daily Mile – getting young people involved regardless of ability. For more details on how to sign your school up for this initiative click here.

Want to find out what other races you can put in your diary? Click here