Mid-Ulster Athletic Club
Trustees’ Annual Report & Public Benefit Review 2023
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Mid-Ulster Athletic Club
Registered charity number:
103578
Website: www.MidUlsterAthleticClub.co.uk Facebook: Mid-Ulster Athletic Club E-mail: barrieholmes2000@yahoo.com
Contents
| 1. | Annual Review ................................................................................................................................ 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| I. | Membership ............................................................................................................................... 3 | |
| II. | Coaching, Officiating & Education ............................................................................................. 3 | |
| III. | Junior Section ............................................................................................................................. 3 | |
| IV. | Development & Senior Section .................................................................................................. 4 | |
| VI. | Masters ...................................................................................................................................... 9 | |
| 2. | Public Benefit Review ..................................................................................................................... 9 | |
| 3. | Compliance ..................................................................................................................................... 9 | |
| I. | Overview .................................................................................................................................... 9 | |
| II. | Annual Accounts ...................................................................................................................... 10 |
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1. Annual Review
Mid-Ulster Athletic Club enjoyed a successful 2023 on and off the track. It continued to fulfil its purpose of promoting community participation in healthy recreation by providing coaching and facilities for athletic sports in the Mid-Ulster area.
I. Membership
At the close of 2023, the Club comprised the following membership:
36 Junior Athletes (aged 5 – 10) 56 Development & Senior Athletes (aged 11+)
5 Masters Athletes (aged 35+)
9 Coaches (accredited by the UK governing body, UK Athletics)
as well as the officers of the Management Committee. The Club continues to be run on a voluntary basis. Most young athletes undertaking physical education in the Club are still in formal education.
On 11 November 2023, the Club had a memorable Celebration Event in District 45, Magherafelt. The event recognised the achievements of our athletes as well as the contribution of coaches and volunteers (past and present). Awards were presented by our very own Nick Griggs. Honorary President Patsy Forbes gave a stirring keynote address. Nick was selected by Irish Athletics to compete in the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.
II. Coaching, Officiating & Education
The Club continues to promote and fund the development of accredited Coaches as well as the licence renewal of existing Coaches. The Club has Coaches across the full skill spectrum e.g. “Working with Children in Athletics”, Level 1 (beginner) and Level 3 (coaching, planning & performance and development), all of which are accredited by UK Athletics (UKA).
The Club promotes the development of accredited Officials for judging, timekeeping and starting duties at Athletic Events.
III. Junior Section
A successful indoor and outdoor programme was delivered for Junior athletes in 2023:
On 18 December at the Derry Cross Country run at Thornhill College, in the Primary School race over 1km Michael Millar finished 5th in 4:21, Rosie McLaughlin 10th in 4:56 closely followed by Grace Heaney at 11th in 4:57. Michael also ran the Irwin Spears Memorial Cross Country on 13 December, finishing 5th in the primary school event. In the Flahavan's primary school event a few days previous, he finished 8[th] for St Mary's P. S. Draperstown. On 9 December in the Irwin Spears Cross Country, Rosie McLaughlin ran the
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u12 race over 1km in 4:42 and finished 15th.
On 19 November at the Comber Cross Country event, Grace Heaney and Rosie McLaughlin ran the P6/7 race over 1000 metres. Rosie finished 21st overall with a time of 3.35. Grace was unwell during the race and finished 80th in a time of 4.56. There were 102 runners competing.
On 4 November at the Finn Valley Centre in the NI Ulster Uneven Age Group Cross Country Championships, Rosie McLaughlin ran the Girls U11 over 1200m and was 38[th] in 82 finishers.
On 22 October at the Billy Neill Country Park, in the girls U2 NI & Ulster Even Age Group Cross Country Championships over 1500m, Grace Heaney and Rosie McLaughlin debuted for the club. In of a field of over 100 competitors, Grace finished 46th in 5:33 & Rosie 64th in 5:50.
IV. Development & Senior Section
On 31 December in the Lough 5 road race, Krzysztof Sokol was 3rd junior male in a time of 30:06 and Niamh Campbell was 2nd junior female in a time of 34:54. There were 730 finishers.
On 27 December in the Greencastle 5-mile event, both Justin Bloomer and Niamh Campbell ran PB's. Justin was 21st in 28:46 and Niamh 123rd in 35:05. Niamh was 4th junior lady. There were 825 finishers.
On 18 December at the Derry Cross Country run, in the U13race over 1500m Connor Evans was 23rd in 6:42. The u15 and u17 raced together over 3km. In the boys u15 Conan O'Doherty finished 5th in 11:49. In the girls u15 Grace Evans finished 4th in 13:10. Also in this race special mention to Isobel Regan making her debut for the club finishing 6th in 14:06. In the boys u17 Luke O'Doherty had a strong race to finish 2nd in 10:46. Finally in the girls u17 Niamh Campbell finished 4th in 12:55.
On 12 December at the Triathlon Ireland youth awards held in Dublin, Luke came 1st in the youth series & came 1st in the National triathlon Championship race. Conan came 3rd in the youth series and 3rd in the National Championship race.
On 9 December in the Irwin Spears Cross Country, Grace Evans ran the u16 race of 2 miles in 16:18 and finished 3rd u16 female. Connor Evans ran the u14 race of 1 mile in 8 minutes and finished 18th. Two senior athletes, Justin Bloomer and Declan Leung, also put in two good performances. On 2 December in the Seeley Cup 10k in Ormeau Park, two good performances were recorded by Melvin Steele (37:36) and Declan Leung (41:42)
On 1 December 2023, Luke O’Doherty was first home at MUSA Cookstown park run in a Junior Men’s (15-17) course record of 16:26.
On 27 November in the Malcom Cup at Queen’s playing fields, in the mile race for u13 Grace Heaney finished 11th in 7:32, closely followed by Rosie McLaughlin in 12th in 7:34. In the u15 race over 2miles, Grace Evans had a fabulous race to finish first girl in a time of 13:40. In the u15 boys race over 2mile Conan O Doherty finished 7th in a time of 12:21. Finally, in the u17 boys Luke O Doherty had a good run to win in a time of 11:10.
On 19 November at the Comber Cross Country event, Grace and Connor Evans ran the 3k event. Grace finishing 1st female U16 in a time of 12.43. Connor finished 32nd in a time of 14.25.
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On 19 November, Krzysztof Sokol and Niamh Campbell both represented their club with distinction in the Irish Age Group Cross Country Championships in Kilkenny. On 11 November, Justin Bloomer finished 10th overall and 3rd in his age group in a time of 37:38 at the Davagh Forest 10K. On 4 November at the Finn Valley Centre, the NI & Ulster Uneven Age Group Cross Country Championships recorded some excellent performances: Girls under 13 over 1200m Grace Heaney 86[th] (110 finishers) Boys under 13 over 2000m Connor Evans 84th. Girls under 15 over 3000m Grace Evans 33[rd] (56 finishers) Boys under 15 over 3000m Conan O'DOHERTY 16[th] (68 finishers) Boys under 17 over 4500m Krzysztof Sokol 6th and Luke O'Doherty 7th. (39 finishers). Both have qualified for the All Ireland's. Novice men over 6000m Justin Bloomer 29[th] (68 finishers) On 22 October at the Billy Neill Country Park, the NI & Ulster Even Age Group Cross Country Championships saw great performances: Boys under 14 over 2500m Conan O'Doherty 4th in 8:25 (1 second off bronze). Conor Evans finished 86th. Girls under 16 over 3500m Grace Evans 35th in 15:11. Girls under 18 over 4000m Niamh Campbell 13th. Boys under 18 over 5000m Krzysztof Sokol finished strongly in 18:43. Senior men's race over 8000m Justin Bloomer finished 70th out of c. 300. On 14 October at the Tamlaght O Crilly 5k, Grace Evans finished in 3rd place overall (first junior to finish) in 21:15; Connor Evans came 4th place in 25m. On 22 September at the Galbally Runner "Conquer the Hill" 4x1 Mile Road Relay. Justin Bloomer, Ronan Bloomer, Ben Martin and Krzysztof Sokol came first place out of 90 teams and over 300 competitors!
On 9 September at the Maghera 5k, Grace Evans finished 1st female in a time of 20: 20. Connor Evans also had a good run 24 minutes.
On 9 September at Cahore Point Wexford, the National Youth Triathlon Championship took place. Luke O'Doherty competing in the 14-15 age group was crowned national champion. Conan O'Doherty competing in the 12/13 age group finished 3rd to make the national podium.
On 10 September the British and Irish Mountain Running Championships were held in Peebles, Scotland. In U20 ladies, Niamh Campbell came 14th overall and 2nd home for NI over 6km in 35.13. In U17 boys, Luke O’Doherty also came 14th overall in 16:15 over a distance of 3.5km (1st NI finisher). On 17- 20 August, Anne O Doherty took part in the Donegal Quadrathon (4 half marathons). Out of 86 competitors, Anne was first female home 3 days out of 4, combined time of 7hrs 25mins, 1[st] female & 6[th] overall.
On 5 August at the 3rd and final club league match of the track and field season, our three athletes gained two first and 3 second positions: Krzysztof Sokol 1[st] in the boys under 17 - 1500m in 4:24:09; Grace Evans 2[nd] in the under 15 girls 200m in 28:07, a new PB. Niamh Campbell 2nd in the under 17 - 1500m in 5:24:09. Grace was 1[st] the under 15 girls 800m in 2:39:25. Niamh was 2[nd] in the under 17 girls 800m in 2:38:25.
On 3 August at Scrabo Tower for the 7.2k NIMRA trial for the NI team to contest the Irish and British Championships, in the junior event Luke O'Doherty was 1[st] and Niamh Campbell was 2nd in U20 ladies in 39:51. On 23 July in the Galbally 5 Mile event, Justin Bloomer ran 29:25 for 5th place and Melvin Steele 30:37 for 15th place.
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On 29 July six members of the club took part in the Downpatrick 5k. In the elite race Krzysztof Sokol was 11th in a new P B of 16:34. In 12th position was Justin Bloomer in 16:43. Luke O'Doherty was 1st U17 athlete with a new PB of 16:52. Conan O'Doherty was 2nd U13 athlete in a PB of 18:46. Poppy Hastings recorded 21:17 and was 1st female under 17. Ben Martin was 2nd athlete in the U20 age group to finish in 20:17.
On 23 July Lara Scott won her first medal in the under Irish 18 Championships in the long jump when she won bronze with 5:01. On 19 July at the British Milers Club meeting at Mary Peters Track, Justin Bloomer ran 9:19.36 in the 3000m B race (just outside PB); Lara Scott competing in the High Jump set a new PB of 1:55 and claimed 3rd spot. On 16 July Ronan Bloomer won National bronze in the Senior Decathlon in Santry. This follows the senior gold medal he won in the NI & Ulster Championships a few weeks ago.
On 12 July at the An Carn mountain run, Luke O'Doherty was 4th overall and first u16 male.
On 8 July at the Irish Juvenile Championship in Tullamore, Lara Scott competing in the U18 High Jump competition finished 4th place with 1:50. On 8 July in the 2nd round of the NI Club League four new PBs were set. Conan O'Doherty in the U15 boys 1500m finished 4th in 5:10.81. Luke O'Doherty had an u17 win and a new PB in 2:09.35. Grace Evans in the u15 girls 200m finished 3rd in a new PB of 28:66. In the senior men's 200m master athlete Eoghan Devlin finished in 2nd place in 25:47.
On 30 June Grace and Connor Evans took part in the Bob and Bert's 5k in Portrush. Grace finished 3rd female in 25.06 and Connor finished 29.14. On 16 June 4 members attended the youth series Aquathlon held by Newry Triathlon club. In the 16/17 girls race Poppy Hastings came 1st and Niamh Cambell 3[rd] . In the 14/15 boys Luke ODoherty was 1[st] . In the 12/13 boys Conan O’Doherty finished 2nd with a great battle.
On 11 June in the NI age group championships, Luke O'Doherty finished 6th in the u16 1500m in a pb of 4:19. In the u14 1500m Conan O'Doherty finished 9th in a pb of 5:15. In the u17 - 1500m Krzysztof Sokol was 3rd in 4:26.39 and was 2nd in the 3k in 9:40.63. Niamh Campbell was 2nd in 5:11 in the under 18 - 1500m. Six medals in total a good weekend.
On 10 June Luke O'Doherty had a great run in the U16 3000m NI age group championship, finishing 3rd in a new PB of 9.28. Lara Scott competing in the under 18 section won the Bronze in the long jump with 4:83. She also won silver in the High jump with a PB equalling performance of 1:56.
On 3 June Krsysztof Sokol running for Rainey Endowed School in the Irish Schools Championships finished 9th in the inter boys 1500 in a new P B of 4:14:6.
On 31 May at the Newell 10K road race in Coalisland, Justin Bloomer ran 36:00 for 12th place overall out of 350 finishers.
On 28 May Niamh Campbell represented the under 18 NI/Ulster Mountain Running Team for an international cup event over 4.6km in Annecy, France. Niamh finished in 42nd position in a time of 26:24 and was second runner home for the Ulster team.
On 27 May three club members took part in the first round of the Youth National Triathlon Series in Galway. Poppy finished 4th in the 16/17 category, Luke finished 2nd in the 14/15 category and Conan finished 6th in the 12/13 category.
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On 20 May in the Ulster Schools Championships at Antrim Forum, Lara Scott competing for St. Patrick's College, Maghera won two Bronze Medal. One was in the Long Jump with 4:89 and the other in the High Jump with 1:54. Krzysztof Sokol running for the Rainey Endowed School finished 7th in the 800m in a new PB of 2:05:29. He finished 3rd in the 1500m in 4:21:49. On 12 May in the first round of the NI Youth Development League, three members of the middle-distance group recorded PBs. In the U15- 800m Conan O'Doherty recorded 2:37:05; in the U17 -1500m Luke 0'Doherty recorded 4:29:05 and Krzysztof Sokol reduced his 1500m time to 4:20:37. On 11 May at the finals of the NEBBSA at Antrim Forum, new signing Rowan McCullough won the U16 - 800m in a new PB of 2:17:20.
On 22[nd] April, Luke O’Doherty represented N Ireland in the London Mini Marathon. He ran a time of 8:21 over 2.6k and received his medal from Mo Farah.
On 8 April, Justin Bloomer had a great run in the Beragh 5-mile road race where he finished 3rd in a new PB of 29.06. there were 188 finishers. On 8 April, at the Lagan Valley meet in Mary Peters Track, Ronan Bloomer was 1st in the shot with 9.14, 3rd in high jump with 1.70 and 3rd in the 100m in 11.85.
On 2 April, Krzysztof Sokol today took part in the Irish indoor under 17 championships over 800m in the T U S International Arena, Athlone. In the morning he qualified for the Final by finishing 3rd in 2:05:62 and in the late afternoon Final he finished 6th in 2:05:51.
On 25 March, the club had two runners in the Omagh Spar half marathon and the 5k. In the 5k Ben Martin had a great run to finish in 12th spot in 18:36. In the half marathon Melvin Steele also had a good outing finishing in 59th position in 1:20.26 just outside his personal best.
On 24 March, the Queen's 3 and 5k road races were held on the
Embankment course in Belfast. Krzysztof Sokol finished 3rd in the 3k event in 9:31. In 5th place on 9:55 was Luke O'Doherty: Conan O'Doherty 33rd on 10:59: Poppy Hastings 51st in 11:41: Niamh Campbell 54th in 11:44. There were 89 finishers. Anne O'Doherty straight from her Tokyo Marathon success had a brilliant 5k race where she finished 380th out of 697 finishers with a time of 22:02.
On 18 March, Niamh Campbell was 4th in the Slieve Croob 3k trail for the under 18 International Mountain Race in France.
On 11/12 March, Ronan Bloomer competed in the Heptathlon at the Leinster Senior Indoor Championships in Abbottstown. Ronan finished the 2- day event 3rd overall with a PB in the shot putt, pole vault and 1000m. On 12 March, Krzysztof Sokol competed in the N.I./Ulster indoor
championships in Athlone. He finished 3rd in the U16 - 800m in 2:06.35. Luke O'Doherty ran 6th in his under 16 - 800m in 2:13.51 and later in the afternoon competed in the 1500m where he finished 5th in 4:30.77.
On 11 March, Grace Carson represented the Northern Ireland & Ulster team in the UK Inter Counties XC in the grounds of Prestwood Hall, Loughborough. Grace had a runaway win today. In a field of over 600, Grace won by over 15 seconds. She is now the senior Inter County Champion and the British Athletics Cross Challenge Champion.
On 11 March at the Coleraine Uni campus 5k, the club had 3 athletes in the elite race. Nick Griggs retained his NI/Ulster title in a new PB14:06.
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Justin Bloomer was next in 29th position in a new PB16:24. Next was Krzysztof Sokol in 50th position also in a new PB of 16:36. Not bad for a 16 year-old! Poppy Hastings ran in race 2 finishing 96th with a time of 20:01. On 7 March, Gary and Anne O'Doherty completed the Tokyo marathon together in a time of 3hours 31mins. Gary has now completed all six of the major marathons. Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo. On 26 February, Grace Carson had a fantastic win in the N I/Ulst. Senior Cross country championship over 6k at the Billy Neill Playing Fields. Her winning time was 20:59.
On 25 February, Nick Griggs ran a fantastic 1500m race at the World Indoor Tour Final in Birmingham where he clocked a great 3:39:94 to finish 7[th] . On 18 February, Nick Griggs had a great run in the senior 3k indoor
championships at the National Indoor Arena where he led from the gun to the final 200m. He finished second in 7:55.
On 18 February, Krzysztof Sokol had a fantastic run in the 5k Born to Run series in Castlewellan Forest Park. He won the race, his third in a row in this series, in a new personal best time of 16:48.
On 11 February, 3 club athletes competed in the Stormont Cross Country event. In the u13 2k race Conan O'Doherty finished 2nd time 6:41, just 1sec behind the winner. In the U15 over 3k Luke O'Doherty finished 1st in 9:48. In the u17 over 3k Niamh Campbell finished 3rd in 11:04.
On 9 February the Brooks International Road races were held in Armagh. In the men's 3k Justin Bloomer finished 25[th] in a good time of 9:12. In the Ladies International 3k Grace Carson competing for N.I. and Ulster finished 9th in another great time for her of 9:16. She was the second team member to finish, the team finishing 2nd just 2 seconds behind England. On 8 February, the club had 9 athletes competing for their various schools today in the Ulster Schools Cross Country Championships at Mallusk. Luke O'Doherty (St. Pat's Maghera) finished 6th in 16:44 for the 5k Inter Boys race. Krzysztof Sokol (Rainey) came 7th and qualified for the All Ireland’s. The Inter Girls over 3500m saw Poppy Hastings (Rainey) finish 20th in 13:06 with Niamh Campbell (Sperrin Integrated) 27th in 13:20.
Junior Boys over 500m saw Dara O'Kane (St Mary's) in 34th. There were 120 finishers. Minor Boys over 2500m saw Conan O'Doherty (St Pat's) finish 19th in 8:48. There were 141 finishers. Minor Girls over 2200m saw Grace Evans (St Pat's) finish in 44th spot in 9:21. There were 98 finishers in her race. Mini Boys saw Thomas Kelly (St Mary's) come 11th in 6:36. There were 136 finishers. In the Mini Girls Zoe Caskey (Rainey) finished 40th in 7:43. There were 117 finishers in her race.
On 28 January 8 members of the club were competing for their schools in 'C' District cross country qualification at Coleraine for the Ulster Schools at Mallusk on Wednesday 8th March. All 8 have qualified.
Minor boys over 2k Conan O'Doherty 2[nd] (St. Patrick's Maghera); Minor girls over 1500m Grace Evans 14[th] (St. Patrick's, Maghera); Zoe Casket 6[th] (Rainey School); Junior boys Dara O'Kane (St Mary’s). Inter boys over 4500m Krzysztof Sokol 3[rd] (Rainey School). Luke O'Doherty 5[th] (St Patrick's Maghera); Inter Girls over 3k, Poppy Hastings 4[th] (Rainey School); Niamh Campbell, 9[th] (Sperrin Integrated).
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VI. Masters
On 8 July in the 2nd round of the NI Club League, in the senior men's 200m master athlete Eoghan Devlin finished in 2nd place in 25:47. On 8 April at the Lagan Valley meet in Mary Peters Track, Glen Scullion (master 45), despite nursing an ankle injury finished 6th in 12.73.
2. Public Benefit Review
The purpose of Mid-Ulster Athletic Club is to promote community participation in healthy recreation by providing coaching and facilities for athletic sports in the MidUlster area. This is set out in more detail in the Club Constitution under paragraph 3, “Object”.
The public benefits which flow from this purpose include the promotion of health and recreation for people aged 5 upwards in the Mid-Ulster area through the sport of amateur athletics. It also advances the levels of competence and achievement in the range of track, field and related athletic disciplines, thereby enabling participants to achieve their full potential in the sport. These benefits are evidenced in the continuance of recreational and competition activities throughout 2023.
The possibility of harm, for example by physical injury incurred by participation in athletic events, is outweighed by the benefit and significantly reduced by the policies and procedures in place to address such risks, for example Codes of Conduct for Athletes, Children, Coaches, Volunteers & Parents. Club sessions are delivered by Club Coaches who are licensed and accredited by UK Athletics (UKA), the sport’s governing body.
The charity’s beneficiaries continue to be people aged from 5 upwards living in the Mid-Ulster area, as evidenced by the membership profile previously reported. The Club promotes its health and recreational opportunities through regular reports on its Facebook page.
There is no private benefit flowing from the purpose of the organisation. Beneficiaries are Club members who seek to achieve personal bests in their chosen athletic activities.
3. Compliance
I. Overview
The Club successfully registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 26 October 2015. It now submits its Annual Monitoring Return, Accounts and Reports for the financial year ending 31 December 2023 comprising:
-
Annual Accounts
-
Independent Examiner’s Report
-
Trustee’s Annual Report & Public Benefit Review
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- Annual Monitoring Return
II. Annual Accounts
The Club’s 2023 Annual Accounts reported the following:
Total income: £7,815.06 Total expenditure: £4,161.17
These have been independently examined and an Independent Examiner’s Report prepared.
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