Some Gossip

The new Scottish Athletics Fixture List is now out along with the PB magazine and booklet of Championship Entry Forms. If you intend to compete in any of the District or National Championships, you had better make a note of the date NOW and put them on the big calendar that every family has in the kitchen as well as in your training diary. Don't be caught unawares - you should be starting to shape your training for them now. The other thing though is that you should be registered with the membership scheme. If you have been racing in past years and don't have the package of stuff referred to above, you probably need to renew your membership; if you are starting back after a layoff, get yourself registered and you will get all the info sent to you. You can register by phone using a credit card at 0131 476 7321 or online at www.scottishathletics.org.uk. Don't go rushing to Donald, Phil or Yvonne two weeks before a championship asking them to check or even to do it for you!

James Austin was on the phone last night - apparently he has been ill since the Dunbartonshire Championship in Kirkintilloch and is still on medication although he hopes to be racing during the summer.

Continuing the comments on Committee Organisation, the two people who really keep any club going are the Secretary and Treasurer (Yvonne Green and Jim Wright). The Treasurer's job is self evident but there are lots of wee additional bits that go to making it more difficult than Jim makes it look. There is the monthly statements and cash book entries that we have before us at every committee meeting, there is chasing up money that should be in the bank but is not - like the Puttnam Dividend that Jock Semple left us and which produced a monthly sum for the club but which disappeared off the radar for a bit. The Secretary is supposed to be the person who organises the agenda, does all the club correspondence and often has to guide a president through the meetings. The secretary is actually there to smooth the path of the club's journey through athletics. It is important that both Treasurer and Secretary are in post for some time so that they get to know the routines, set in place their own ways of dealing with problems and make the necessary contacts throughout the world of athletics. We are exceptionally lucky to have Jim and Yvonne filling these posts for us and it is to be fervently hoped that they will continue for some time to come.

Incidentally, Yvonne is the first woman secretary the club has had in all its time from 1885 and has been in post now for three years. Aileen Scott was the first woman president and was a really good and innovative president as well as chairman of the meetings. The only other woman holder of any of the main posts was Jan Shields who was assistant secretary in the 1980's/90's. She it was who started typing the club minutes instead of writing them out properly in longhand. It seemed like a good idea to us all at the time.

Some new club coaches - Donna Campbell, Paul Doherty and David Brown - are going down to Postie's Park in mid April to have a look at their new field events facility with a view to doing our field events training there. David of course has never been away but is is really good to see Paul and Donna back in action. Mary Ann Savage will basically be in charge of the group.