News reports - January 2025 |
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31st January 2025: Junior Awards evening held at Marine FC, Crosby |
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In addition to the certificates, individual Bishops were awarded to top scorers in team competition. For the girls, the sportshall athletics Bishop went to Esme Wilkinson, the cross country Bishop went to Emily Dean and track & field Bishops were awarded to Lucy Delamere and Alice Dobson. For the Boys, sportshall athletics Bishops went to Henry Summers and Jake Edwards, the cross country Bishop went to William Delamere and the track & field Bishop to Lewis McIlroy. The Athlete of the Year award is given for a high level of improvement in an athlete's principal event. Its always a difficult one to decide with at least 6 young athletes in the running this year. But the winner of the George Bebbington Memorial trophy, our 2024 Junior Athlete of the Year, was Lewis McIlroy. Before moving on to the individual performance awards, special mention was made of the outstanding team achievements over the winter by our Under 15 Boys. Winning the NW and Northern Autumn road relays, 2nd in both the Northern XC relays and the Northern XC Champs and 4th in the England road relays and England XC relays, William Delamere, Caleb Still, Eddy Clark and, joining them for the Northern XC Champs, Evan Thomas were loudly applauded. Turning then to performance, 6 of our junior athletes represented Merseyside at the English Schools Track & Field Championships in July in Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, the home of England Athletics. In recognition of such achievement, the club gives a memento award. This year, these went to Renee Adams (IG 300mH), Lauren Byrne (SG HJ), Sierra Jalloh (SG 200m), Caleb Still (JB 800m), Will Delamere (JB 1500m) and Josh Tan (IB 100m) Next were the Eddie Heckle Performance awards. For the second year running, the Girls' award went to Renee Adams for achievements over both 100m and 200m. Renee set club records over 60m and 100m in 2024 as a first year Under 17. Unusually, in 2024 there were many more boys than girls achieving at the very top end of the England Athletics Awards scheme with some 8 young athletes in the frame for this year's award. But, for his Under 15 club record sub-2 minute 800m run in the Northern Inter Counties in Blackpool, which ranked him 7th in the UK, the winner was the Next were the team manager awards for commitment and exceptional support for their YDL (Lower) team throughout the season. The awards went to Alice Dobson and Henry Summers. The final Junior award was the Vera Drury Challenge Shield, an award that dates back to Waterloo Harrier times. This is presented to a girl who excels in enthusiasm, attendance and club spirit. The criteria fit many of our girls but, for 2024, it went to middle distance runner Lauren Silcox. Athletics as a sport requires many volunteers and the club rightly recognises their essential contribution with a Volunteer of the Year Award. Whether its serving on the Committee, coaching, supporting, officiating or just helping out where help is needed, we value them and would always more people to get involved. This year, for his work developing our very young athletes in training and competing in sportshall athletics, our Volunteer of the Year is Chris Henders. The final award of the evening was the Senior T&F Award. Similar to the Junior Bishop awards, this is based on points earned for our senior team in the Northern T& F League. In 2024, Amber Hughes was our top scorer in the Women's team and Sam Coupland was again the top scorer in the Men's team. Sam's contribution to the team on return from university in the States had a massive impact on the team's overall performance and he again won the Senior T& F Award.
Tonight was a Junior Awards' night, but our senior road, trail and cross-country runners have awards for 2024 as well. In summary these were: The Women's Road Grand Prix was won by Fleur Culshaw with Susan Cooper taking the vet award. The Men's Road Grand Prix was won by Francois Rafferty with David Hamilton taking the vet award. the Senior Progress Trophy was awarded to Stephen Ward. The Trail Running Grand Prix was won by Andrea Scarborough and Simon Clark.. Our Senior Cross Country Champions were Andrea Scarborough and Ben Johnson. The Club Honours page on the web site has been updated and all this year's and previous years' winners can be seen there. 2025 is just beginning and already the first Northern medals have been won and Josh Tan, Lauren and Adam Byrne have set club records. The future is bright. We will have many more successes to celebrate next January! |
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25th January 2025: 22 Club runners in action at Northern XC Champs; U15 Boys take team silver |
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The 2025 Northern Cross Country championships were a little closer to home than the 2024 edition, coming back across the Pennines to Tatton Park in Knutsford. In contrast to the vicious winds of storm Eowyn the day before, the race day saw blue skies, light winds and cool to cold temperatures, setting the stage for a great day of competition. The course itself was largely flat, save for 1 down and uphill section on the long lap and mostly firm underfoot, again, with the exception of 1 or 2 short sections of the long lap which made for some very fast running. 22 club athletes – 12 juniors and 10 seniors – made the trip, with the main highlight coming in the U15 boys' race as they continued their superb distance running form this winter to take the Silver team medal, the first time Southport Waterloo has been in the team medals in the Northern championships in any age group!
Next to go were the U17 Men with Liam McCormick the sole club representative. Like Sydney, Liam is a bottom year in his age group and over a blisteringly quick 5.8km course, which the top 3 all completed in under 18 minutes had a great run coming in for 50th spot out of 101. The U20 Women were next to take to the start line, running the same course as the U17 men – 1x medium and 1x large lap totalling 5.8km. Emily Dean was flying the flag for the club here and kept up a good pace all the way round to finish 36th. Lucy Delamere then took to the course in the U13 Girls' race, running 1x short and 1x medium lap totalling 3.2km. All the way round she was close to the front of the field and a great finish brought her in for 22nd out of 123. Immediately afterwards the U13 Boys ran the same 3.2km course and like Lucy, James McGrory was also close to the front of the field the whole way round and a fast finish took him past a few other boys on the final straight to cross the line in 21st out of 138. George Hawthorn was also in this race and as a first year in his age group had a very good run, finishing 88th. The U15 Girls ran 1 large lap of 4km with the U15 Boys running the same in the following race. Lauren Silcox was the sole representative for the club in the girls’ race; another in great form this winter, she had a really good run again and as a bottom year finished 55th out of 138. The U15 Boys were the only one of our junior age groups to get a team score, with Will Delamere, Caleb Still, Eddy Clark and Evan Thomas – the same 4 who won the team gold at the County champs last month – lining up at the start. Immediately a very quick pace was set by Leeds City’s Yaried Alem and for much of the race both Will and Caleb were present in that front group right on his shoulder. One by one, athletes began to drop off and as the pace wound up even higher in the latter stages it became too quick for both boys,. The U20 Men would race over 2 large laps totalling 7.9km with club representation from Reuben Donnelly. After a fast start, he developed a stitch around the halfway point which caused him to drop off a little. However, once he ran it off he came back strongly, making up several places in the latter stages. He finished 52nd, a good result in a race containing athletes up to 2 years older. The Senior Women then took on the same course, with Gemma Delamere flying the flag for the club. In her first cross country race of the winter she kept up a steady pace for the 7.9km and finished 194th. The Senior Men’s race always produces the biggest field of the day and at Tatton Park there were 389 finishers, 9 of them being from Southport Waterloo with the first 6 in counting for the team scores. Leading our men home was Francois Rafferty who looked solid for the whole 3 large lap, 11.75km course and crossed the line in 129th. Next to come in just under a minute later was George Ingram in 157th, followed by Mark Dunham in 179th, Andy Veevers 214th, John Delamere 234th and Steve Wilkinson making up the team in 248th. David Hamilton unfortunately went over on his ankle on the final lap but still soldiered on to the finish, crossing the line 276th, while John Sprackland came in for 316th and finally Michael Cunningham finished 360th. Well done to all who competed at Tatton Park and I’m sure they all enjoyed nice weather for once… Next up cross country-wise it’s back to Mid Lancs, at Towneley Park in Burnley on Saturday 8th February.
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24th January 2025 Dates set for the 2025 Road Grand Prix |
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14 events have been included in the series of races for the club's 2025 Road Grand Prix. Many of the events are the same as last year and included are distances from 5K park runs through to popular 5 mile, 10K, 10 mile and half marathon races. See Road Running page for the list. Further details from Francois Rafferty or Andy Veevers. |
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18th/19th January 2025 Byrne twins impress at England Indoor Champs |
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Whilst many of our young runners were resting up after their fast cross country races at Range High School on Friday, three of our older athletes - Under 20s Lauren and Adam Byrne and Under 23 Amber Hughes - travelled over to Sheffield for the weekend's England Senior and Under 20 Indoor Combined Events Championships at the English Institute of Sport. Our Under 20s had a great weekend. No medals this time - although I think Adam was 3rd from a Northern club - but they left with a very satisfying tally of 4 Club Records and 9 PBs. Adam picked up two medals at the EIS the previous weekend at the Northern Indoor Championships so was in great form to perform well here. He competed in the Under 20 Heptathlon, finishing 10th with 4454 pts. In a high quality field, it was impressive that everyone achieved an indoor heptathlon PB, no doubt driven on by the high standard of competition. Adam's 4454 points was a new Club Record, replacing Sam Coupland's mark of 4247 set a couple of years ago, and more than made up for last year's 2675. If a Club Record wasn't impressive enough, all Adam's performances this year were PBs! He ran 7.67 in the 60m, long jumped 6m 27, cleared 3m 80 in the pole vault, put the shot 12m 14, ran 9.36 for 60m hurdles and cleared 1m 84 in the high jump. He won the pole vault event outright, was 3rd overall in the shot and 2nd in his group in the long jump. Picking out just two events, his best pole vault from last year was 2m 40, he cleared 3m 60 a week ago and then 3m 80 here. His long jump best from last year was 6m 11 and 6m 27 now. All very positive. Sister Lauren competed in the Under 20 Pentathlon, scoring a total of 2962 for 14th place of 23 who completed. Again, of the 23, 19 recorded PB totals and the other 3 Seasons Bests. So, again, a high quality, competitive field driving performances to new levels. 2962 pts in her first Under 20 indoor pentathlon is a new Club Record, replacing team-mate Amber Hughes' previous record of 2824 set just last year. Lauren's results were 9.43 for 60m hurdles, 1m 65 in the high jump, 4m 86 in the long jump 10m 59 in the shot and 3:12.90 for the final gruelling 800m. Her 60m hurdles and shot putt performances were new PBs and her high jump equalled her current Club Record. Finally, Amber attended but only competed in the 60h hurdles running 9.81. |
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17th January 2025: 36 SWAC juniors compete at Merseyside Schools' XC Champs – 6 automatically selected for English Schools |
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The main goal for many in this race was to gain selection for the English Schools championships, being held this year at Ardingly Showground in West Sussex on Saturday 15th March. The top 5 in each race would be guaranteed selection to represent Merseyside with a further 3 being selected following a selection meeting later. Out of the 37 Southport Waterloo athletes, 3 boys – Will Delamere, Caleb Still and Eddy Clark; and 3 girls – Sydney Monahan Clarkson, Sienna Fortune and Emily Dean all finished in the top 5 in their races and are therefore automatically selected. Congratulations to them! In addition, another 2 boys and 2 girls finished in positions 6-8 and have a good chance of making the team following the selection meeting. The first race of the afternoon was the combined Inter/Senior Boys, running 2 large laps plus the start and finish totalling around 4.5km, and this featured 9 SWAC athletes. As is usually the case, Will Delamere was up with the front runners straight away and while a couple of boys were ahead of him the whole way round, both were seniors. Out of the inters, he was completely unmatched from start to finish and took the win, gaining English Schools selection for the 3rd year running. Caleb Still was caught up in traffic at the start but gradually made ground up over the 4.5km, coming in for an excellent 3rd spot and his 3rd consecutive English Schools selection. Eddy Clark had a great run and took the final guaranteed selection spot finishing 5th, while Liam McCormick, having tired a little towards the end was 1 place behind in 6th, although there’s a very good chance he’ll make the Merseyside team anyway. A bit further back, Evan Thomas kept up his good form over this winter with a 14th place finish, Richard Berry came in for 27th, then Julius Zajitschek who was 14th in the seniors and Liam Yates who was 40th inter. Will Blackburn also started the race but was forced to drop out 2/3 of the way round with an injury. 5 minutes later came the Inter/Senior Girls, with both girls' and boys' races being out on the course at the same time and this also featured 9 SWAC athletes. Sydney Monahan Clarkson has been in great form this winter and had an excellent run round the 1 large and 1 small lap totalling around 3.8km, deservedly finishing 4th and gaining her 2nd consecutive English Schools' qualification. Just 1 place behind was Sienna Fortune who also had a great run and was rewarded with the final guaranteed selection spot. Emily Dean was the next club athlete in, finishing 4th out of the seniors and gaining selection for the 3rd time, having also done so in 2020 and 2023. Further back, Eva Meredith came in as 7th senior with Amelie Scott 8th, so there is a chance for both to potentially make the team following the selection meeting. Isla Gray was 19th in the inter race, followed by Jessica Burns in 20th, Olivia Johnson in 21st and Esme McNally in 27th. Next to go were the Year 7 Boys running a short and fast 2.5km course, followed closely by the Year 7 girls who were doing the same. The top 15 in these races would be invited to race in the annual Merseyside v Cheshire cross country at Ellesmere Port on Wednesday 2nd April. 2 boys from Southport Waterloo took on the course; the first to cross the line was Caden Walker in 14th, getting him into the race in April, then George Hawthorn 5 places back in 19th. 3 ran in the girls' race, the first of those was Caitlin Webster in 27th, then Lauren Sinha in 38th and Harriet Honess in 48th. The final races were the Junior Boys, followed by the Junior Girls, both running the same 3km route. 5 boys lined up at the start with James McGrory having a great race round the 2 small laps. He just finished outside the automatic selection spots in 6th but has a very good chance of making the team later at the first attempt. Oliver Kimball also had a good run, coming in for 19th spot and was followed by Daniel Shalliker in 26th, Lucas Lewis in 54th and Stanley Stewart in 72nd. The best of the 8 girls was Lucy Delamere who looked very strong throughout but couldn’t quite hold the pace to the end. She still finished 10th though, a very good run for a bottom year in the age group. Next to come in was Ava O’Rourke in 28th, then Charlotte Tyrer 41st, Amelia Tyrer 43rd, Ailsa McCann 48th, Phoebe Broadhurst 50th, Sophie Burns 57th and Phoebe Mangan 59th. Another great afternoon of racing on a good course – fingers crossed the Merseyside Schools is held at Range again in the future. Next up meanwhile is the Northern cross country at Tatton Park this coming Saturday. Girls' Results | Boys' Results
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17th January 2025: 5 medals and numerous PBs at Northern Snr Indoor Champs |
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After racing over 200m here for the last 3 years, Renee Adams moved up a distance to 300m this time around and had a great day on Saturday. She easily won her heat in the morning in 42.80, just 1 tenth short of her PB, before moving into the semi finals and smashing said PB as she finished 3rd to qualify for the final in 41.23. In the final she had the toughest lane being right on the inside and was boxed in just after the break line but still managed to get herself into 3rd place, picking up a well deserved bronze medal. Her time in the final was 41.41. Adam Byrne was another to pick up a medal as he finished 2nd in the U20 men’s Shot with a best of 11.64m then capped off a great day later on with a PB in the Pole Vault, clearing 3.60m to finish 4th. On Sunday, he added to his medal tally finishing 3rd in the High Jump clearing 1.70m. Lauren Byrne ran in the U20 women’s 60m Hurdles on the Saturday, finishing 4th in her heat in 9.69 but saved her best for the High Jump on Sunday, where her 1.65m clearance gave her the gold medal, her 4th Northern High Jump medal but her first time as champion. The final medal went to Will Delamere in the U17 men’s 1500m, 1 of 3 Southport Waterloo athletes lining up at the start with Caleb Still and Liam McCormick in the same race. While the fastest man on paper took it out from the start and opened up a huge lead, Will stuck right on the shoulder of 2nd until 400 to go when he kicked hard, increasing the gap with almost every stride and comfortably crossing the line to take the silver medal in 4:13.52. Caleb and Liam both ran PB’s, Caleb’s time of 4:22.94 giving him 4th place while Liam was 6th in 4:25.88, taking nearly 4 seconds off his best from last year. Reuben Donnelly ran in the U20 men’s 1500m immediately after the U17’s had raced and in his first race on an indoor track finished 5th in 4:29.92. Luke Ward was also in this race but was forced to drop out with an injury after 300m. Amber Hughes competed in the Senior Women’s 60 Hurdles on Saturday and finished 6th in her heat in 9.60, while Sierra Jalloh raced in the Senior Women’s 200 on Sunday, narrowly missing out on qualification for the final as she finished 4th in her heat in 26.30. Matthew Nuttall was in action in the U17 men’s Shot on Sunday, finishing 4th with a best of 8.85m and finally Josh Tan took on the U20 men’s 60m on Saturday afternoon, finishing 3rd in his heat and taking 1 hundredth off his PB with 7.21, before taking another hundredth off in his semi final, finishing 4th in 7.20. So another successful Northern senior championships – well done to all athletes who competed. The junior championships for U13 & U15 are in 3 weeks time on Sunday 2nd February. |
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SWAC's annual Junior Awards and disco evening was held on Friday at the Marine FC function suite in Crosby. A wel-attended gathering of young athletes, family and coaches applauded the winners, with awards presented by club President, Steve James. 'Bishop' certificates were available for all Under 11 to Under 17 athletes who competed in team competition for the club in sportshall athletics in 2023/24, in cross country in 2023/24 and track & field in 2024. Remaining certificates can be collected from Chris Henders at Litherland training
Northern Indoor 800m champion and England Indoor silver medallist, 
The first race of the programme was the U17 Women which featured Sydney Monahan Clarkson. Over the 1x short and 1x large lap totalling 5.2km she continued her excellent form this winter and as a bottom year in the age group crossed the line in a very respectable 28th out of 86 finishers. 
However, both still finished very strongly with Will crossing the line 4th and Caleb 5th. Eddy had a great run, looking strong round the whole course to finish 24th while Evan, in only his third race for the club left a bit in reserve for a strong kick at the end, taking him past 3 other boys into 66th out of 123. That kick would prove crucial in the team scores as, while Hallamshire had taken the gold easily, with 5 of their athletes in the top 30, our boys’ score of 99 to take the silver was just 2 points ahead of Trafford who picked up the bronze with 101.
After being held at Arrowe Park on the Wirral for many years, the 2025 Merseyside Schools cross country came across the Mersey to Range High School in Formby, a new venue for this event but used in the past for English Schools' cup races. While the start and finish were in the school grounds, the rest of the course took in several of the trails in and around the pine woods and the sand dunes, although the lack of hills on the course, with plenty in the area was lamentable. What it was though was very fast, as there’s no mud here and some great races were had.
While virtually all outdoor sport was cancelled this weekend, the Northern Athletics Senior, U20 & U17 Indoor championships at EIS in Sheffield went ahead as planned. 12 Southport Waterloo athletes made their way across the Pennines to compete and between them picked up 4 medals and achieved plenty of PBs.Home | About Us | Athlete Rankings | Fixtures | Useful Links | News | Road Races | Schools | Contacts | Facebook Group
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