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With the next track season fast approaching it seems fitting to take a look
forward to see what we can expect from 2009.
British Athletics League
The British men are no longer in the lowest division in the league, though
admittedly this is because another one has been added for 2009!
Over the past 3 years they have finished 7th, 6th and 4th in the division so they will be
looking to continue that upward trend this year and with relatively close fixtures such as
Abingdon and Bournemouth it's looking good - the team are capable of excelling in the
division when at full strength.
In both 2006 and 2008 the club reached the BAL cup final, and even the athletes will admit they
were surprised. It would again be an achievement to reach it in 2009 but I have at least added
it to the fixtures list this year ;)
UK Women's League
Team Southampton's senior women are in for a lot of travelling this year, their three
fixtures will take them from North London to North of Edinburgh with a hop to Cardiff
thrown in for good measure.
We have been comfortable in division 2 of the national league since the formation of the
club recording 4th, 5th, 4th and 3rd between 2005 - 2008. With commitments to the Southern
Women's league also our women will be looking to continue this solid run.
Southern Men's League
Despite only finishing 6th in the league table in 2008 our Southern Men were agonisingly close
to promotion. If our men would have scored just 4 additional points*, at the right matches, they would have
finished second in the league and surely have their sights firmly set on division 2 this year.
The fixtures are slightly closer than they were last year and if we can utilise the strength of
our older juniors coming through the ranks we will surely start to claw our way back to the top of the Southern
table.
(* That's event points, i.e. you get 4 points for winning a race.)
Southern Women's League
In 2007 Team Southampton's Southern Women joined the 'Senior' division, which does not include scoring U15 or U17
events and have come top of that in the two years since, they will surely be hoping to repeat this feat yet again
in 2009.
They have a home fixture for their fifth and final match in September so hopefully a strong push up to the forth match
will once again secure a victory.
National Young Athlete's League
Team Southampton finished 8th and mid table in their first showing in the Southern Premier league last year, impressive for a club which
has been struggling to reach this league for the past several years. The club continues to show it has strength in depth
with its juniors and so will be looking to build on this success for 2009, a top 5 finish would secure a place in one of the two
finals ('A' and 'B' finals) and it would be an admirable achievement for the club to reach either of these.
Hopefully our athletes won't be exhausted by the end of May, there are 3 NYAL matches that month as well as the Hampshire Championships, the
SEAA U17 championships AND a Team Southampton open meeting.
Wessex League
The club's friendly rivalry with the Isle of Wight will be rekindled in 2009 as they attempt to go one better and
top the league table. Team Southampton comfortably won all but one of their fixtures in 2008, finishing a narrow second
behind the IOW in our home fixture. This year the tables are turned and the IOW have a home fixture so hopefully our Wessex team
can raise their game still further.
The team managers are the same as for the NYAL but have changed from 2008 so take note. The managers and their contact details will be
listed on your track fixtures list in April but in the mean time please check out the Track Fixtures page.
National Junior League
Traditionally Team Southampton has not competed in the National Junior League but in 2009 the club has decided to dip their toe
in the water and see how it goes, our entry will be re-evaluated next year depending on the level of enthusiasm shown by our
athletes.
Sue Stevens is spear-heading our efforts in this league, managing both the U20 Men and Women. The league is open to U20 athletes
though U17 are more than welcome and events follow the standard format of 'A' and 'B' strings but there is only one age group (not
separate U20 & U17). Intested athletes are encouraged to visit http://www.nationaljuniorathleticleague.co.uk/ or email
teamsouthampton@hotmail.com and I will forward your email on to Sue.
Championships
The main championship for the majority of Team Southampton athletes are the Hampshires in mid may, traditionally Team Southampton enters
more athletes than any other club and this year we will be looking to maintain this reputation.
The team for the English Schools in mid July has featured 13 Team Southampton athletes in both 2008 and 2007, whilst this is a great
achievement for the club it would be great if we could top this number in 2009.
We also have a number of athletes who will be looking for success in the other championships: The BUSAs, Southern Champs, England Athletics Champs and UK Championships (Including World Trials) have provided some outstanding Team Southampton performances in the past and keep an eye on the website as I attempt to highlight our best championship performances of 2009.
Open Meetings
Team Southampton have provisionally decided to host 5 open meetings this year on the following dates: 22nd April, 27th May, 17th June, 15th July and the 26th August. All the meetings will take place on Wednesday evenings and athletes are encouraged to take part in what can be a very fun evening of friendly competition. The meetings are only provisional at this stage and are dependant on the state of the track in the Summer.
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