The NEMAA pentathlon championships took place on Saturday 21st September, and we were blessed with amazing weather - the sun shone all day and made spectating a pleasure (perhaps not quite so much for some of the athletes!). There were actually four championships taking place - the NEMAA pentathlon, the NECAA pentathlon, the NEMAA throws pentathlon and last but not least, the BMAF/NEMAA 10k Track Championships. 
There were some out of area guests competing in the pentathlons, and a few came for the BMAF champs, but the majority of athletes were from NEMAA, with lots of medals being won by our members. 
The women's 10k Champs were 100% NEMAA members - congrats to the age group winners Michelle Thompson (F35), Steph Scott (F45), Elaine Leslie (F50), Heather Robinson (F55), Annette Hames (F60) and Janette Kilgour (F65), with Stephanie Maclean Dann not only winning her age group (F40) but also the race outright, in a time of 39:13.66 minutes. 
In the men's races, we had Mac Stephenson flying the local flag in the older age groups race, with a first place finish in the M75 category, whilst Greg Penn fought a close race to come first in the M55 age group. Finally, in the last race we had two age group winners - Steve Medd claiming the M40 age group prize and Conrad Franks, winning both his age group (M35) and the overall race, for the second year in a row, in a time of 32:12.80. Congratulations to all our worthy winners - we hope you all enjoyed the day!
Below - a pic of all the lady athletes who took part in race 1 of the 10k Champs.
​Full results can be seen on our results page whilst individual event results (e.g. discus, long jump etc.) can be seen here for the pentathlon and here for the throws pentathlon.

Kim has asked us to remind our members that any applications for selection for International XC had to be received by her by the end of September. Full info can be seen HERE

FINAL INFORMATION FOR PENTATHLON ENTRANTS
Please declare in the clubhouse at the start of the day so I can mark you as present and make sure you have the correct number. Some of you will need new numbers, some of you may have old numbers, but I have had to change numbers 1-100 to accommodate the 10k champs,  so if your number was in this range you will definitely need a new one.

FINAL INFORMATION FOR 10K ENTRANTS
Thanks for your entry. Overall there are 79 entries, resulting in possible start time `tinkering`

RACE 1 All women and M65+         READ CAREFULLY
Please declare and collect your race number and age group number by 11.20am at the latest
Depending on declarations all women will start at 11.50am. If possible M65+ will start then as well
It might be necessary to slot in a separate M65+ race to finish before 2.00pm
Final information on this will be given at 11.30am, the meeting involves a multi events championship

M50, 55, 60 RACE START 2.00pm
Declare and collect numbers before 1.30pm
​
M35, 40, 45 RACE START 3.00pm
Declare and collect numbers before 2.30pm

The information below has been emailed to each athlete - please check your inboxes (and spam filters)! 

The map at the bottom of this post shows the car park available at Monkton Stadium (outlined in purple) - there is a charge for parking here (approx 70p) so please remember to bring some change. If you have trouble parking in the car park, there is ample parking along the sides of York Avenue (the dual carriageway that leads to Monkton Stadium from the A194) which is free to use. Please do not park in the surrounding estates if at all possible, but if you do, please park considerately. If possible, consider car-sharing or using public transport - the area is well served by local buses, and the Metro station is not far from the stadium.

Numbers will be available for collection from 9am (or 8am for the throws pentathlon entrants) at the clubhouse (marked on the map with a red X) - please remember to bring your own pins! Numbers must be worn front and back, so you'll need 8 (10 if you're doing the 10k Champs as you'll need to pin on an age category number too!) If you told me you had your old number, please remember to bring the bibs with you - you can check the number you have assigned on our start lists - main pentathlon HERE and throws pentathlon HERE, with the 10k Champs entries HERE. All 10k entrants will have been assigned new numbers, so please don't use your league number for this competition.

IMPORTANT NOTE - after 10.00 we may have moved to the back of the stadium stand (near the announcers box), although depending on weather conditions etc. we may still be based in the clubhouse, so try there first! 

NEMAA members - disregard my earlier email about reusing your league number, you have all been assigned a new number, you can check the number you have been assigned on our start lists HERE.

Hot food and drink will be available from the stadium cafe until approximately 2.30pm, with vending machines available after that time. 

Pentathlon:- Results will be displayed on the back wall of the stadium near to the announcer's box, with individual pentathlon event results (to show grades, wind speed etc.) available to view online here if desired (if time allows for upload).  Final results will be listed on the NEMAA website as soon as possible after the event. 

10k Champs:- Results will be displayed on the back wall of the stadium near to the announcer's box, and also online HERE. Final results will also be listed on the NEMAA website as soon as possible after the event. Medal presentations will take place as soon as possible after each event, at the front of the main stand.

An order of events is shown below. You will note that only the time of the first event is given, as it is impossible to accurately predict how long each stage of the competition will take.

We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday, and wish you all the best for a great day of athletics competition!

Bill Doidge with the bronze medal winning M70 XC team at the European Championships in Italy.

We hope to bring you all a full report from the Championships with a full list of NEMAA winners soon.

The BMAF Champs are taking place on 21st September and there are still plenty of guaranteed medal opportunities, particularly for women (all age groups) and M40 and M45 athletes - don't miss out on your chance at getting one of these medals! We don't often get the chance to compete for a BMAF medal on our doorstep, make sure you get your entry in by the 12th to be in with a very good chance of getting your hands on one!
 
These are the current start lists - check out your age group rivals and get entering HERE! 

If you're struggling to enter the 10k champs, please take a look at the screenshot below. If you follow the instructions and still can't access the system, you may not be registered with the BMAF and George Routledge will have to do it for you - please don't try and register yourself (i.e. ignore the little box that says "request access here")! 

​British Masters Championships – Birmingham 10th & 11th August 2019
 
“One Athlete, Two Days, Three British Records”
 
Despite the forecast of “Thunderstorms and high winds are expected to cause travel chaos and cancellations of high-profile events across Britain this weekend” the BMAF - British Masters Championships went ahead as planned. Conditions, despite being a bit on the blustery side, were gratefully much better than those forecast.
 
Fourteen athletes made the journey from the North East. They participated in a fantastic weekend of competition across 29 Track and Field events and returned with an amazing haul of 10 Gold, 7 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. 
 
Those crowned British Champions and presented with Gold medals were : Kath Stewart - North Shields (3), Ron Stewart – North Shields (2), Michelle Thompson - Morpeth, Ray Robinson - Redcar, Mark Byron - Gateshead, Jacqueline Etherington -- Sunderland Harriers, and Dan Upton – Richmond and Zetland.
 
Silver medals were won by : Stuart Ryan – Gateshead (2), Andrew Webb – North Shields (2), Norman De Bruin – North Shields, Dan Upton – Richmond and Zetland, and Ian Humphries – Tynedale.
 
Bronze medals were won by : Michelle Thompson – Morpeth, Stuart Ryan – Gateshead, and Dan Upton – Richmond and Zetland.
 
Arguably the highlight of the championships was produced by one of the legends of local, national, and international Masters Athletics. Kath Stewart, the reigning 400m World Champion from North Shields, produced three outstanding performances over the two days. Not only to be crowned 200m, 400m, and 800m British Champion, but to smash all three previous British records in the process.
 
Huge congratulations to our British Champions, medal winners, and to all who carried the flag for North East Masters Athletics, you did the region proud.