Photo by Bobby Gavin
John Rodger believes a huge team effort across athletics in Scotland continues to drive our sport forward.
Our President was speaking at the Annual General Meeting of scottishathletics as the governing body looked back at the year ended 31 March 2024.
The meeting. chaired by David Ovens for the third time, was held online on Saturday morning with more than 35 clubs represented (with 29 mandated plus one proxy). Just over 50 individuals were present on the call.
Age group category changes were agreed with Scotland to fall into line with World Athletics categories (U14, U16, U18).
The AGM also agreed to an increase in membership fees and conferred Honorary Life membership status on three deserving stalwarts of our sport – Margaret Brown, Charlie Forbes and Ricky Taylor.
Lead roles in our Commissions – Track and Field, Officials, Hill Running, Road Running and Cross Country – were confirmed again and there was a thank-you for Jo Butterfield, who steps down from a Board role after eight years of service.
The main discussion area during the meeting was around finance, led by questions from Liam McCabe of Central AC and Ronnie Hunter from Stirling Uni AC.
There seemed to be broad agreement that increased membership fees might be a future route in order to try and reduce a reliance on government support.
‘The great thing about our sport is its diversity and inclusivity,’ John told the meeting.
‘There is no age barrier to taking part and from the wide range of events and year-round competition, the sport ensures that there is something for everyone.
‘It includes the stars of track and field, road, cross country, hill and trail, to those going out for a recreational run as part of our jogscotland programme.
‘One of my responsibilities as President is to write a piece for the Annual Report that looks at the sport in its entirety and measures how we are performing nationally and internationally.
‘It is about how we support our athletes through our club structure, coaching, officiating, volunteering, parenting, safeguarding and national planning.
‘In a sport as diverse as athletics this can be difficult to evaluate. What we can say is that scottishathletics membership has continued to recover towards pre Covid levels, participation numbers are healthy, and our international athletes continue to bring recognition on the world stage.
‘Late in 2023, scottishathletics were once again short-listed for the Team Scotland Governing Body of the Year Award which is a measure of how we are perceived from an organisational perspective by other sports.
Megan Keith won Euro Cross U23 gold in Belgium last December (photo via Getty Images)
‘Of course one way of determining elite success is to count the number of significant medals won by Scottish athletes and another is to count the number of Scottish athletes that represent GB and NI as a percentage of the UK and Scottish population.
‘These measures are often used by our funders. By any evaluation of the year in question (April 2023 to end March 2024), the numbers look encouraging.
*In Track and Field, there were eight medals – five gold – won across the World Athletics Championships in Hungary, the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow and the European U23 Championships in Finland.
*There were also two medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. The seven Para athletes who competed in the World Para Athletics Championships in France in July 2023 won seven medals, three of them gold.
*In cross country, hill running and road running, our athletes won 14 medals across four championships, six of them gold. I have to note the performance of Megan Keith who won the U23 Women’s Cross Country title by 83 seconds.
*There were 15 Scots were named on the World Class Programme (WCP) by UK Athletics, seven of them Para athletes
*Not to be outdone, 25 scottishathletics officials were selected for the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow.
‘Many people help in delivering the success of scottishathletics as a governing body and athletics in Scotland as a sport.
‘The huge support mechanism of coaches, Officials, volunteers, team managers, parents, clubs, club members, commissions and the scottishathletics Board and staff contribute to the welfare of our athletic community. My thanks to you all.’
The AGM approved a motion from our Board to change Age Groups to move in line with World Athletics age groups.
Track and Field, Road Running and Cross Country will operate a single competition year running from 1 October to 30 September with Trail and Hill running operating a competition year from 1 January to 31 December.
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The AGM approved a motion on membership fees. These take effect from April 2025 and will be as follows:
Senior Club Member £24
U21 Club Member £14
U13 Club Member £11
Coach Members – £27 for three years
Family Member £59
Senior Member unattached £51
Over 65 Member £16
Corporate Member £56
Affiliation fees will be set (from April 2025) at £7.50 for first claim member and £3.50 for second claim member.
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Honorary Life Membership is bestowed on deserving individuals via our AGM.
This year we are delighted to confirm the status is now afforded to Margaret Brown, Charlie Forbes and Ricky Taylor.
Many congratulations to Margaret, Charlie and Ricky and thank you for your outstanding service to our sport over many years.
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The following individuals were confirmed in their on-going roles with the sport.
Track and Field Commission: Convenor: Diane Ramsay; Treasurer: Lesley Thirkell
Road Running and Cross Country Commission: Convenor: Mike Johnston; Secretary: Sandra Hardacre*
Hill Running Commission: Convenor: Helen Fallas; Secretary: Stephen Winter; Finance Officer: Andy Douglas
Officials Commission: Convenor: Alistair Aitchison; Secretary: Brian Brown
*Many thanks to Julia McAfee who steps down after a long stint as secretar of the RR and CC Commission.
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Tags:
AGM, Colin Hutchison, David Ovens, John Rodger
