Summer is Coming!

We were locked in for two whole months exactly because of the bad weather from the end of November to the end of January. We only managed to break out five separate times to do some essential shopping. These days it is incessant rain and gale force winds that are taking panels off greenhouses and branches from trees. So it's maybe as well to look ahead - Spring isn't far away and summer is just around the next corner. The club secretary used to have an actual diary that was brought to Committee Meetings in which was marked at the start of the year the dates when things had to be done - eg apply for the permit for the Youth Ballot Team Race at the end of June, Presentation Social/Dance to be brought up at the August Committee meeting, etc so that nothing was forgotten. If we are to have a successful summer season, then certain things maybe need to be looked at.
1. The track will have to be booked for the end of March or the start of April. Does it come up at the February meeting or does it get left to the last minute - the March meeting?
2. What do we do about the cost of the track? Do we levy the athletes or does the club accept the hit and pay for it in some other way? Probably a bit of both: West Dunbarton for instance used to charge the youngsters £3 for a week, Central charged £1 a session last year and so on. We always paid a training levy when I was running and it was a constant chore trying to find someone to collect the money. Regardless of how it is paid, we really need to have a track facility in Clydebank: with the 2014 Games coming up there will be plenty of publicity; there will also be much greater use made of Glasgow facilities. For max usage and some peace and quiet to d our own training, we NEED to be there.
3. If we know the dates of League matches, then the athletes need to be informed now as to when they are: it is not good enough to ask them ten days before the match if they know it's on!
4. A recruiting campaign needs to be structured now if we are to maximise the use made of the track - posters need to be made up and distributed to schools and elsewhere (libraries, sports centres, etc). Not difficult with a computer but very useful.
Stop the rant Brian! OK.