GCAN and Local Athletics News
5th June 2010 - The GCAN Open Day
GCAN Open Day took place on Saturday 5th June at Cambridge University Athletic track.
The day attracted over 60 junior athletes who competed in the first Quadkids Final.
Quadkids is a multi-discipline team based athletic format for school children. Each
child competes in four events – sprints, middle distance, jump, throw and an optional
relay. Their individual score for each discipline is combined towards an overall
team score. GCAN is one of the first athletic networks in the Country to deliver
and support a Quadkids event. In the next few days a news item will be added onto
the England Athletics National homepage – www.englandathletics.org. Alongside the
Quadkids competition the day also included sport injury clinic delivered by International
athlete Sam Boden, Paul Evans master class followed by a 5km open graded race. The
feedback from the event has been positive!
20th March 2010 - Core Cambridge Strength and Conditioning Session
On 20th March Core Cambridge, one of GCAN athlete support service providers, delivered
a strength and conditioning session for GCAN members. The session was free to all
GCAN clubs and was open to all ages and abilities. The session was designed to provide
athletes and coaches with a basic understanding of the principles of strength and
conditioning and how to put the theory into practice. In addition, the session included
a section on injury prevention - how to diagnose and help to prevent injuries in
athletes. The feedback from the attendees was very positive and they felt a lot
was learnt in a short space of time.
6th March 2010 - 25 Newly Qualified Level 1 Athletic Coaches
On 6th March 2010 25 people attended a level one athletic course organised by GCAN.
The course aimed to provide a generic introduction to athletics and qualify attendees
to assist a level two or above athletic coach. Following on from the course attendees
were asked to complete a self audit form outlining their development needs and how
GCAN can support them reaching their coaching potential. The information compiled
from the forms will form the foundations of future GCAN coach development sessions.
11th Feb 2010 - GCAN Athlete and Coach Endurance Development Session
GCAN have organised a series of athlete and coach development sessions taking place
through 2010 and focussed on areas that will specifically benefit GCAN members.
The first session, led by Chicago marathon winner Paul Evans, attracted over 40
athletes and coaches who came together to share ideas, experience and training tips.
The session included a mixture of discussion and practical training which provided
a great chance for road-based athletes to train on an athletic track (some for the
first time!) Feedback from the session has been extremely positive and the session
provided a fantastic opportunity for athletes from different clubs and ability levels
to train together. GCAN would like to thank Paul for his support, effort and time.
7th Dec 2009 - Launch Event
This took place on Monday 7th December 2009 with Olympic Champion and athleics legend
David Hemery (left) leading a workshop for member organisations.
At the event, James Cudmore from England Athletics (right) presented Neil Costallo
and June Swift from GCAN with a cheque for £38,000 for network's first year.
