This last weekend has seen the Lancashire County Track and Field Championships, held over two days in Stanley Park, Blackpool.

This date is fixed for most counties with the majority holding their events also on this weekend.

This event is in decline in some counties which has led to efforts to merge some counties' Championships with other counties.

This is not the case in Lancashire where the event is thriving. So why is Lancashire different? It's hard to say really. There could be several factors.

Lancashire does seem to benefit from the willingness of some high quality athletes to make the effort to compete.

England Junior international and Blackburn Harrier Alison Leonard lead home a trio of "On Camp with Kelly" girls in the 800m, to record the 2nd fastest U20 time in the world this year.

Leigh Lennon of Newham & Essex Beagles and Stephanie Roe of Preston helped make it one of the best quality 800m races seen in any county champs.

Ex Chorley Harrier, and England International Vikki Gill travelled up from her new club Aldershot to compete in the 5000m and 1500m and took both titles, and top 800m runner Paul Bradshaw of Blackburn also made the long journey up from University in Cardiff to take the 400m and 800m senior titles.

Another East Lancashire International and current U20 Hammer record holder Sophie Hitchon, competed in her favoured Hammer, but also in Shot and 200m.

It is great for athletes and spectators alike to see some of these stars turning out, but the mainstays of the event are the club athletes from around Lancashire, and those that travel back to compete from outside the area, without whom most of the events would be meaningless.

Most of the programme is well supported and not many "cheap" medals are available.

A glimpse at the unofficial medal table below also tells a story. In addition to the big 3 clubs in the County, the inclusion of the Isle of Man in the Championships makes a great contribution to the entrants and the standard of competition.

It can also be seen that there is a large and active base of athletics clubs in Lancashire that perhaps is not the case in some other counties, with 18 different clubs taking gold medals.

The Lancs AA committee also deserve credit. They have been forward thinking in their approach adding in new events this year such as U15 Boys Triple Jump and U15 Girls Hammer. The event is managed efficiently from the taking of the entries to the timetable and officiating.

But, despite the overall success of the event, there is still a need to look at ways that it can be moved forward in the years to come.

There was a lack of competitors in some of the U13 events. I think that some parents, coaches and athletes have this image of the County Champs being of too high a level and beyond them. This is not the case. All clubs should be promoting this as an event for all, and perhaps the inclusion of U13 javelin and discus may be a step worth considering.

A relaxation of the pre-entry date may also help swell the entrants, particularly in these younger age groups. This year the closing date was 19th April. I am sure many clubs are like mine and get a new intake of athletes following Easter when Schools start to include athletics in their P.E. programme and it is usually too late to enter them.

At the other end of the scale, some of the senior events are poorly attended. Clubs should do their utmost to encourage their senior members to attend and have a go.

But it is clear that Lancashire has a vibrant County Championship that I hope will continue to grow in it's relevance to all track and field athletes.

Medals table

Club

 

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde

 

34

32

25

Preston

 

32

26

20

Blackburn Harriers

 

32

20

11

Manx

 

16

12

8

Chorley AC

 

7

1

1

Lancaster & Morecambe

 

6

10

3

Wigan Harriers

 

6

2

3

Pendle

 

3

7

13

Liverpool Harriers

 

3

2

2

Ribble Valley

 

2

6

6

Liverpool Pembroke

 

2

5

1

Aldershot, Farnham & District

 

2

 

 

Sale Harriers

 

2

 

 

Hyndburn

 

1

3

6

Barrow

 

1

1

2

Rossendale

 

1

1

2

Burnley

 

1

1

 

Unattached

 

1

 

 

Newham & Essex Beagles

 

 

2

 

Oxford University

 

 

1

 

Northern AC

 

 

 

2

Seaton

 

 

 

1