Cup Final at Solihull on 3rd September, 2006

This was my eleventh cup final as team manager and the third time I had hopes of winning an A final. Almost all our women athletes were fit and able to take part. Realistically the men had no chance considering that two who were very likely to win events were abroad, while injuries to three more possible winners seriously weakened the team. However, one never knows what the strength of the opposition will be, or how well anyone will perform on the day. 

The first event, the men’s hammer, gave us a win from Shane Peacock,  but we had no M60 competitor. The first women’s events brought immediate success with Debbie running away from the field to win the 800m and Marina winning the W35 high jump. Hilary was second in the W50 high jump and won the W50 800m. In the men’s 800m Windel ran a personal best and finished a tenth of a second behind the winner. Derek went one better with his late run bringing him victory with the same time as the vanquished Worcester runner. Could the competition become more exciting? The first intermediate team scores announced had Birchfield’s women leading but the men languishing in seventh. Ann got useful points in the W45 long jump and Marina won the hammer, while on the track in the 100m both Judy and Ann were narrowly beaten into second place. The men fared much less well although Windel managed an unexpected third place in the M35 race and seventy-eight year old Allan Meddings was fourth in the M60 event. Karen was fourth in the W45 shot, but we had no-one in either of the men’s long jump competitions, but did contest the high jumps where Windel was fourth.

The series of 3000m brought immediate success with Rachel pulling away for a clear win. Hilary battled round to finish fifth, then rushed off to join Julie in the javelin. Julie won and Hilary was third. In the Men’s 3000m Mike struggled in the sunshine and finished sixth, and Derek was also a little below par but managed to finish second. The women accumulated more points with Judy finishing third in the long jump, then Julie won her 400m by six seconds followed by a second place for Ann in the W45 400. Little was expected from the men’s 400m races, but Windel started fast and held on for a surprise win. A weary Derek got a couple of points in the M40 400, then Wilf, running faster than in last year’s final, was fourth in the M60 race, three places better than last year. In the javelin competitions Peter was fifth in the M50 and Chris was third in the M60.

While Julie was winning the triple jump and Karen the discus, Debbie produced the best run of the day. Leading from the gun in the 1500m, she increased her lead continuously and won by over a minute with a time which broke the league record by six seconds and was over a second quicker than the fastest male runner. Ann ran round for fourth in the W45 1500, then Mike found his form to finish third in the M35 event. We  had a rousing M40 1500, with Windel tracking the pace maker while they pulled steadily away from the field. Previous races told in the finishing straight where Windel’s finishing effort was bettered. However, the winner was in the B final so the huge efforts of the Birchfield man brought him his second maximum points of the day in his fifth event.     

The 200m events followed. Judy was caught on the line and Hilary also finished second. It now looked as if we might win the cup. Marina was second in the shot and when Karen won the W45 walk and Pam picked up useful points in the W35, a team win seemed certain. For the men, Chris was fourth in the M50 shot, then seventh as a reserve M60 walker. In the M40 2K walk, Peter had his best, and fastest, race of the season to take maximum points. The ad hoc men’s 4 by 200 relay team got the baton round, but the women’s team triumphed magnificently by ten seconds from Rugby and Northampton who themselves were eleven seconds ahead of third place Royal Sutton, last year’s cup winners.

Women                                    Men                                  Central TV

Birchfield    178                        Rugby        184             Rugby        352

Rugby        168                        Worcester ) 158             Birchfield    292

Cannock    119                        Stoke        )158             Sutton        271

Sutton        118                        Charnwood 157             Charnwood 244

Harborough 110                       Sutton        153             Sparkhill     227

Charnwood   87                       Sparkhill     141             Cannock      214

Sparkhill       86                        Birchfield    114

This was our first time we have one an A cup final. Congratulations. Thanks too Barrie Taylor for his support and work in officiating. The same applies to Rob Quinn who also risked his injured calf muscle by striding a 100m race.