​Maurice Doogan, BMAF Track and Field Secretary and Great Britain & NI Masters Team Manager sadly passed away on Wednesday April 14th after a period of ill health. NEMAA members who attended national championships and major championships abroad will know of Maurice’s extreme hard work, commitment and dedication to masters athletics. Maurice was instrumental in bringing the BMAF Track 10k Championships to the North East in 2019 and again this coming September (19th). Sincere condolences to Maurice’s family and friends from NEMAA.
Archie Jenkins,  fellow GB team manager and great friend of an enthusiast who will be remembered for many years.

As some of you have already discovered, entries are now open for the NEMAA Track and Field League. Season passes are available for £25 (six matches), whilst individual matches can be booked for £5 each (only match 1 currently available to book).

​Due to Covid restrictions, we are unfortunately unable to take entries at the stadium, so all entries must be done online prior to the match). We take credit or debit cards, plus cheques by post if received in advance of the match, but if anyone is unable to make payments online, please contact me by email and we will see if alternative arrangements can be made. 

If government guidance varies throughout the season, or there are problems with social distancing/numbers of athletes during any matches, there may be changes made to the published timetable, and of course if any lockdowns occur we will be providing refunds on all booked matches.

Throws equipment will be sanitised throughout the course of the match and if you have your own equipment, you are welcome to bring it. We look forward to having a safe and enjoyable league this year after its absence in 2020, and hope to see lots of you at the track soon!

Following Saturday's bucket collection for the landowner's nominated charity ManHealth, we have been informed that a staggering £562.23 was raised, thanks to people's very generous donations. This is an amazing sum and we're sure it'll be well used by the charity, who are in more demand than ever during this pandemic - thank you to everyone who contributed! 

The NECAA Senior XC Relay Champs were held today at Thornley - these champs incorporated the Masters Champs, which this year were in truncated form due to the ongoing Covid restrictions. However, this didn't spoil what was a very enjoyable day, with a clear blue sky and early frost underfoot creating perfect cross-country weather. The ladies masters team were first off on the day, and the race was won rather decisively by North Shields Poly in 38:32 and almost a minute lead over second place Elvet Striders, closely followed by Elswick Harriers. The fastest leg title actually went to an athlete from Tyne Bridge Harriers, Alison Dargie, showing the depth of competition in this race. Full results can be seen on our results page.

The masters men set off immediately after the women, and their race was a slightly closer affair with the top three teams finishing within 30 seconds of each other. Sunderland Harriers took top honours in 31:33, with Darlington and Elvet battling it out for second and third, with only 2 seconds between them. Fastest leg honours also went to Sunderland Harriers, with Michael Barker claiming top spot with 10:09. Results can be found on our results page.

Please let George Routledge know if you are interested in representing NEMAA in the EMAA Outdoor Track & Field Challenge to be held on July 18th 2021 in Nuneaton (Covid restrictions permitting). See Newsletter for info

International Cross Country 2021
Members are invited to apply to compete in the trials in order to qualify for the England teams (see previous NEWS item for details).