Mon Apr 03 2023

As a committee we want to grow the club and support athletes, this means that as look to move the club forward, we want to provide the best and most suitable competition for our athletes and raise the profile of the sport in the area so as many people as possible have access to our great sport.

In the past we have always compared ourselves to local clubs like Epsom and Ewell, St. Mary's, Walton, Sutton and Hercules Wimbledon.

However, in recent years we have grown larger than most of these and are able to offer access to a far broader range of competitions than any of them - and more like the bigger clubs in London such and TVH, Herne Hill and Blackheath and Bromley.

We believe it is now time to make sure we can compete fully as a larger club, providing the support and benefits these clubs do across all the very wide range of events we participate in to attract and maintain a strong athlete membership.

As such we do need more money and will need to raise club subs which going forwards, this will be voted on at the AGM, the proposal is that the subs are raised to the following:

· £80 for seniors excluding the EA registration which is £17 for 2023;

· £60 for juniors excluding the EA registration which is £17 for 2023; and

· £30 for U11s no EA registration fee for U11.

With the extra funds we raise, the plan is to provide far greater support for athletes across the club including

· Free travel on a coach to all matches that are more than 20 miles from home.

· Support for travel for athletes at university to compete in key matches

· Hotel accommodation for the NAL and SAL teams for the Liverpool and Yeovil matches respectively.

· Provision of some team kit for NAL competitors

· Provision of funds for every single team manager to spend on their team to improve the experience of their athletes. It will be the team managers choice how to spend it within this remit and could be a team event, a piece of kit for all team members, athlete of the match awards, fun things on the day (eg the ribbons / make up at Lily B etc).

· Open Meetings (roughly three a year), which will prioritise club athletes needs / requests for events and will be free for U11s as an introduction to the competitive side of the sport to supplement their time in Kestrels.

As a committee we endorse it as the best way to move the club forwards as we continue to be one of the best athletics clubs in London.