Guernsey Athletics gets more youngsters on track
Ahead of the ActiveGsy Track and Field series sixth round on Sunday we find out more from Guernsey Athletics’ development officer Tom Druce about the Compete Against Yourself Initiative
Guernsey Athletics’ new scheme to incentivise younger athletes to take part is proving a popular addition to the track and field series.
Called Compete Against Yourself, it awards points every time someone betters a previous performance in an event.
It all runs alongside the senior competition, swelling the numbers of those competing and supporting.
‘Over the last couple of years I think we slowly began to see fewer of our younger junior athletes competing in track and field,’ said Guernsey Athletics’ development officer Tom Druce.
‘There were always a few, often those who were talented or physically mature for their age, but those who were in the sport more for enjoyment didn’t always seem engaged by competition.’
He said it is a balancing act.
‘I’m proud of the level of the meets we hold, they stand up well against any similar level events in the UK in terms of organisation etc, but I can understand that the “officialness” of the events could be intimidating for younger athletes.
‘UK Athletics are looking at competition structure changes for U13, but I’m not privy to that information yet so didn’t want to try anything markedly different before the new policies come out.
‘So the best thing to do seemed to be to add some incentives to the youngsters’ competitions based upon participation and personal improvements, as this would hopefully illustrate that it is indeed about competing against yourself and not worrying about the other athletes. This doesn’t directly tackle the issue if indeed track and field competition was proving intimidating, but I hoped the added incentive would get more youngsters out there and then the enthusiasm for it would spread.’
He said that competition is probably not the most important aspect when considering athletes’ development.
‘Clearly the correct prescribing of physical activity in the form of training is top of the list followed by non-physical traits that can be learnt such as sportsmanship, good listening skills and teamwork,’ said Tom.
‘I think competition sits with those kinds of aspects – learning to deal with external factors, instructions from officials, being gracious in victory and defeat – but most importantly, striving for self-improvement. I’m very passionate that a child’s sporting experience must not be fixture driven, this in my opinion is a big problem in Guernsey in other sports. We want to offer plenty of opportunities without falling into that trap ourselves. Everything in sport is a balance and we must continually self-reflect if we are striking this balance correctly in numerous different areas.’
Even before the inception of Compete Against Yourself, Tom implemented separate U13 track races.
‘This was to remove the barrier of the youngsters being nervous to compete with older athletes. U15’s do compete against other athletes based on grading of times. This is the correct stage for most athletes to be able to focus on themselves and not worry about the age of the athlete alongside them. In any case, the standard of officiating during the meets and the coaching around the meets means that the education of athletes of all ages in terms of etiquette and safety is always ongoing.’
Tom has been pleased by the reaction to the initiative.
‘At the same time as implementing the initiative, we also made a change to the athlete pathway at the U13 level of the club – which is the first step for me on an upcoming objective to solidify an athlete pathway and coaching structure over the next few weeks or so.
‘Making the change to the lower U13’s training set-up at the same time as the competition change seems to have helped us convey the ideals across effectively. We are absolutely seeing a more broad choice of events from the youngsters who recognise that they can accrue points in events which are newer to them. But even better than that, they are actually enjoying taking part in and then training for these new events – which obviously is the aim.’
He believes that there is some momentum at the moment, particularly the year 6’s who have a great collective attitude, and encouraged others to follow them.
‘The rationale of a multi-event approach is fairly obvious in that it gives the youngsters a broader base to grow from and more choice in the future of what events they might want to compete in. And immediate success isn’t needed. Sometimes those who struggle initially are the most coachable or have a growth-spurt around the corner which then helps them be more effective at certain movements. My main message to parents would be to please discourage early specialising, taking part in numerous disciplines is the best way to ultimately improve and achieve things later on.’
The U13’s in particular have injected energy into the meets this year.
‘It’s great to see someone like Peter Curtis showing what he can do at Footes Lane before he heads off to the Commonwealth Games, but actually the racing and camaraderie shown in those U13 events is every bit as valuable to the occasion.’
Sunday’s meeting at Footes Lane begins at 12pm.
The start lists are available at https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2022/GBR/gsy6/event/
Timetable
12pm Shot putt
12pm Long jump
12pm 100m hurdles
12.10pm 100m
12.25pm 100m (U13)
12.45pm Javelin
1pm 300m hurdles (M60)
1.10pm 300m
1.20pm 400m
