# _**Inverclyde Athletic Club (A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) Scottish Charity No: SC047791**_ _**Annual Report and Financial Statements For the period 01 September 2024 – 31 August 2025**_ 1 ## **Trustees Annual Report** ## **For the period ended 31 August 2025** The Trustees have much pleasure in presenting their report together with the financial statements for the period 01 September 2024 to 31 August 2025 ## **Reference and Administrative Information** ## **Charity Name** Inverclyde Athletic Club ## **Charity No:** SC0447791 ## **Address** 197 Old Inverkip Road PA16 9EW ## **Current Trustees** - Gerard M Gaffney - Janice Hendrie - Rhona Bushfield - Collette McGeehan - • Sean Gaffney ## **Structure and Management** ## **Constitution** Inverclyde Athletic Club (the Club) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). It was registered in its current legal form on 3[rd] October 2017. It has a single tier structure and as such the Trustees are members of the Charity. ## **Appointment of Trustees** The Trustee Board are the Charity’s Trustees. Membership of the Trustee Board is open to all members of the Club provided they have had one full years Membership prior to nomination/election. Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting which is held in September. There must be a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve Trustees. During the year all IAC Trustees received the regular OSCR updates including being made aware of the changes to the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 which required any Scottish charity completing a new online annual return created on or after 30 June 2025 to include charity Trustee information as part of the submission. 2 ## **Objectives and Activities** ## **Charitable Purposes** To advance public participation in sport through the promotion and advancement of Athletics and in doing so provide recreational facilities, and to organise recreational activities, available to members of the public at large, with the object of improving the conditions of life off those in the community. ## **Activities** The club provides athletic coaching and competition to members of the community from age 8 upwards at various venues within Inverclyde including Ravenscraig Athletic Stadium, Inverclyde Academy, Battery Park and Darroch Park. The club also provides athletic coaching to disabled athletes, with Inclusion sessions specifically tailored towards young disabled athletes being held weekly at Ravenscraig Stadium on Thursday evenings between 4 – 5 pm for a group of disabled youngsters, providing them with racing wheelchairs and frame runners, enabling them to have a much-needed stimulus and challenges which takes them beyond their comfort zone. All the youngsters, usually about six of them, respond magnificently during these sessions much to the delight of their parents who continually advise that Thursday nights are the highlight of their youngsters’ week, with the club being awarded £500 from the ‘Tesco Stronger Starts Grants’ scheme towards holding these sessions. The club also seeks to focus on their junior athletes' overall health and wellbeing by educating them that it’s not simply a case of how fast or far they can run, jump or throw, recovery from running can be just as important as the training session itself, with the body looking to restore homeostasis, fuel and fluid lost during exercise which must be replaced and damaged tissue which needs time to heal. An integral aspect of their education is teaching them about hydration and replenishment postexercise, (training sessions), however it can be challenging to know if our junior athletes have the opportunity at home to implement their knowledge, therefore to ensure they have equal access to the correct nutritional food and drink after their training sessions, IAC presently provide foods such as yoghurts, oat, fruit bars, hot chocolate and oat milk after each training session for their junior athletes. During the year, an average of 30 junior athletes attending three evening training sessions per week benefitted from this Hydration and Replenishment Initiative. The club in partnership with Inverclyde Schools Athletics and accredited by Inverclyde Active Schools, provided a weekly after-school session for 5-8 year olds and during the holiday periods of Summer, October & Easter organised Athletics Camps for 5-11 year olds. Two new Subgroups, Safeguarding and Welfare, were established during the year, with several club coaches and volunteers attending a Child Protection Officer and Child Protection Safeguarding Course during the year. : 3 The clubs’ training sessions revolve around four nights a week and Saturday mornings at Ravenscraig Stadium, three nights at Inverclyde Academy, Thursday nights at the Battery Park and Saturday mornings at Darroch Park. A key aspect of the clubs’ athletic coaching philosophy is enshrined within its Mission Statement which states: _A Young Athlete Development Plan which provides a pathway for all our young athletes to not only be the very best they can be as athletes but equally importantly prepare them to become the seniors of the club and adults of the future._ ## **Membership** At the end of August 2025, membership totalled 195 comprising: - Seniors (including Masters) - 87 - Juniors (aged between 11 – 19) - 60 - U11s - 48 The clubs’ activities are only made possible by the tremendous commitment and enthusiasm of its coaches, members and volunteers who give up an enormous amount of their time week in week out to support the club. During the year, the club welcomed two new Coaching Assistants. The club is proactive in promoting hosting athletic events and during the year hosted the Renfrewshire Road Race Championships. The club had also taken part in the Scottish National Athletics League, (SNAL), the CSSAL, the YDL for U’13/15 as part of a combined team with Helensburgh AC & Clydesdale Harriers together with the West District Cross Country League. ## **Achievements & Performance** During the past year, Inverclyde Athletic Club (IAC) continue to be represented (and influential) at National Level on several Committees: - Scottish National Athletics League. - West District Cross Country League - West District Road and Cross Country Running Commission. At a local level, IAC continues to be an integral and influential part of local athletics working closely with local groups such as: - Active Schools Inverclyde - Inverclyde Local Athletic Partnership - Ravenscraig Community Sports Hub 4 - Inverclyde Sports Council - • Inverclyde Leisure - Inverclyde Council while also organising and hosting numerous athletic activities and events during the year, many of which involved the above groups working in Partnership with IAC. As they have been doing for the past 24 years, IAC held their Youth Development Camps during the Easter and Summer holidays at Inverclyde Academy and Ravenscraig Stadium for all club and local youngsters involving Active Schools, SAMH, CLD Inverclyde and Inverclyde Communities Health & Wellbeing. During 2025, our two new Initiatives introduced in 2022 still proved popular: - A younger age group category between 4 - 8 years of age training session was introduced called the TOTZZ (Tots Zoomin Zebras) catering for children who will be starting their pre - school year in August 2024. - Family Sessions’ being held each week of the summer holidays, which saw many parents attending with their children. Both Initiatives proved to be very popular and will be repeated during 2026. In partnership with Active Schools Active Schools Inverclyde, IAC, once again, organised and hosted the following events: - Inverclyde Primary Schools XC Challenge. - Inverclyde Schools Primary & Secondary Cross-country Championships. - Inverclyde Secondary Schools Track & Field Championships. - Inverclyde Primary Schools Sportshall Championships - Inverclyde Secondary Schools Sportshall Championships - Inverclyde Primary Schools Heptathlon - Inverclyde Secondary Schools Heptathlon - Inverclyde Primary Schools Relay Championships IAC are actively involved in Inverclyde Councils’ Active Inverclyde Strategy which seeks to provide a framework for community planning partners in Inverclyde to work together to increase participation in physical activity, including sport. During 2024 IAC led the way for Scottish Athletic Clubs by signing up to a Sports Chaplaincy Charter, with the club welcoming Chris Barlas as its new Sports Chaplain. However, during 2025, Chris was ordained a Church of Scotland Minister and moved to the east coast to take up a new Parish. IAC established a Womans’ Jogging Group which meets every Wednesday evening at Ravenscraig Stadium providing a ‘safe space’ for woman to exercise in line with Inverclyde Womens’ Safety Charter. 5 Continuing with the Inverclyde Womens’ Safety Charter theme and as part of the Active Inverclyde Strategy Initiative and in conjunction with Branchton Community Centre, (BCC), (member of the Ravenscraig Community Sports Hub), IAC established up a BCC Womens’ Only jogging group who meet every Monday morning at Ravenscraig Stadium, together with a mixed group Fit2Run jogging group on Wednesday evenings, again at the Stadium. IAC organise athletic events at Ravenscraig Stadium with other clubs, e.g., Giffnock North AAC & Kilbarchan AAC in line with **scottish** athletics ClubsWorkingTogether Initiative. In February, IAC hosted another successful Renfrewshire Road Race Championships at the Battery Park attended by over 400 athletes ranging from u11 through to seniors, with IAC athletes, once again, winning individual titles across a wide range of age groups and being placed across all the age groups. In June, the club held its second Loch Thom Trail Race during Athletics Trust Scotland Week, raising an impressive £1000 for Athletics Trust Scotland, the highest amount raised by any club during that week, followed by another very successful Scottish Athletics Pole Vault event at Ravenscraig Stadium, where many personal best heights were recorded by many of the young athletes who took part. As part of Ravenscraig Community Sports Hub (HUB), IAC held a Family Sports Day Festival at Ravenscraig Stadium during August, which saw over 60 youngsters with their parents treated to a truly fun packed Festival of Sporting challenges and activities, which according to their feedback received on the day, was deemed an outstanding success! The activities enjoyed by both the youngsters (and some parents) included standing long jump, and relay races, basketball challenges such as relay/dribbling through obstacles retrieving markers and bringing them safely home, a range of challenging football skills including beat the goalie basketball skills including shooting to the portable basketball hoop while hockey dribbling skills proved very challenging! A very popular addition this year was a visit by KG Hawks with their Birds of Prey who brought along various birds of prey which the youngsters, (and not so young) were able to handle and learn all about them. For the less energetic, face painting again proved very popular with many of the youngsters queuing up to have their faces painted in all sorts of guises. All activities were enjoyed amid a lovely warm and sunny day ensuring healthy appetites all of which were satisfied with plenty of sandwiches, fruit, juice, chocolate bars and the all-important ice cream! The club also held a successful Santa, Elves & Reindeer Dash during December and was delighted to, once again, support Branchton Community Centre with its Christmas Appeal and also Starter Packs Inverclyde. IAC were fully prepared for the new changes to The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 introduced on 1[st] April 2025. 6 A very welcome return during the year was the clubs’ Annual Prizegiving, (the first since before COVID) which saw three (very successful) separate nights held at a local Bowling Club for the u11 & u13s, the u15, u17 and the u20 and seniors, with the intention of holding one Prizegiving night for all age groups the following year. IAC Coaches continue to deliver their training sessions on a voluntary basis at: - Ravenscraig Stadium on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings, - Inverclyde Academy on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. - Thursday nights at the Battery Park - Saturday mornings at Darroch Park. In addition: - Curriculum sessions in primary schools and at Craigmarloch. - Weekly after school sessions at All Saints, Kings Oak and St Joseph’s Primary Schools. However, during the year it was becoming increasingly evident that allocating (our already busy) coaches to sustain the various main community projects the club has been delivering for several years was becoming more of a challenge. To ease this, the club agreed to have its own (paid) IAC Community Impact coach established via the Scottish Athletics Club Together (CT) scheme, with the costs shared between the club and the CT scheme. In collaboration with Inverclyde Councils’ Youth Team, Community Learning and Development Team, the club established a Participative Democracy Certificate (PDC) Programme which linked into the clubs’ Young Persons Forum. The PDC is a youth award that provides SCQF level accreditation to young people involved in group decision-making and gives participants the opportunity to acknowledge and develop their communication, decision-making and negotiation skills in the context of democratic engagement. In the Inverclyde Sports Personality Awards 2024, four members of the club were nominated with with John Bell and Kyle Brotherton winning the Senior Sports and Disabled Sports Personality Awards respectively, with Hannah McGeehan, (Young Coach of the Year) and David Tamburini (Volunteer of the Year) making it through to the final nominations. ## **Previous Races/Events** From a club performance perspective during the past year, IAC athletes continued to compete (and made an impact) in numerous events across the county and beyond during the past year with some notable performances and achievements: ## _**Scottish Athletics West District Cross Country Relay Championships, Kilmarnock**_ - Senior Men and Women Team – 2[nd] - Young Females Team 4[th] 7 - Young Males Teams – 16[th] & 28[th] ## _**Scottish Athletics Cross Country Relay Championships, Cumbernauld**_ - Senior Men Team – 7[th] - Senior Women Team – 10[th] - Young Females Team - 18[th] and 34[th] ## _**Scottish Athletics Short Course (4k) Championships, Kirkcaldy**_ Ben Potrykus 1[st] Senior Men Senior Mens’ Team – 20[th] Millie McLelland Brooks – 1[st] u20 / 5[th] overall Senior Woman Nynke Mulholland – Strummer – 19[th] Grace Barry – 5[th] Young Females Olivia Law – 14[th] Young Females Team – 4[th] ## _**Scottish Masters Cross Country Trial**_ Markl Doherty, Colin Doherty, Gregor Yates and Robert Paterson all selected to represent Scotland at the British & Irish Masters International in Belfast on 16[th] November. ## _**Great Scottish Run Wheelchair 10k**_ Kyle Brotherton 2[nd] ## _**Great Scottish Run Half Marathon**_ John Bell 6[th] male Nynke Mullholland Stummer 2[nd] female ## _**Jedburgh Wheelchair 10k**_ Kyle Brotherton 2[nd ] IAC young athletes competed in the first Scottish Athletics Indoor League meeting in the Emirates Arena on Sunday 27[th] October Ben Potrykus and Millie McLelland Brooks were selected to represent Scotland at the British Cross Challenge and Euro Cross Trials at Liverpool on Saturday 23[rd] November ## _**Scottish Athletics West District Cross Country Championships, Erskine**_ - U13 Girls – Rosie Callan 24[th] , Rosa Currie 76[th] & Emily Kane , Team – 14[th] - • U13 Boys – Louis Reid, 9[th] & Alex Morrow, 38[th] 8 - U15 Girls – Grace Barry, 1[st] , Olivia Lyne, 10[th] , Nula Munro, 13[th] , Cara McDougal, 19[th] & Molly Farish, s Team 2[nd] . - U15 Boys - Charlie Lyne, 29[th] - Senior Women – Nynke Mulholland – Strummer, 4[th] , Kendal Gregory, 70[th] & Faye Currie, 127[th] - Senior Men – Andy Douglas, 4[th] , Ross Gray, 10[th] , Phil Gillan, 97[th] , Jason Kane, 107[th] & Thomas Jamieson 127[th] . ## _**SAIL Match 2, Emirates Arena**_ - Lots of fun and pb’s! ## _**Malaga Marathon**_ - Hannah McGeehan – 3h 56m ## _**Scottish Cross Country Championships, Falkirk**_ - _**U13 Girls -**_ Rosie Callan 68[th,] Frances McFadden 118[th] , Rosa Currie 124[th ] , Annie Henry 138[th] - 15[th] Team - _**U13 Boys -**_ Louis Reid 14[th] - _**U15 Girls -**_ Grace Barry 7[th] , Olivia Lyne 24[th] , Cara McDougall 34[th ] , Lucy Nelson 59[th ] Molly Farrish 86[th] - 5[th] Team - _**U17 Men**_ - Ruben Alfheld 71[st] - _**Senior Women**_ - Nynke Mullholland Stummer 12[th] . Kendall Gregory 181[st ] - _**U20 Women - Millie McClelland Brooks, 2[nd]**_ - _**Senior Men -**_ Andy Douglas 16[th] , Ross Gray 31[st] , Elisha De Melio 71[st] , Robert Paterson 158[th ] - Al Myers 271[st] and Sean Gaffney 333[rd] - 15[th] Team ## _**Scottish Schools Cross Country Championships**_ - _**U15 Girls**_ - Olivia Lynne 9[th] , Nula Munro 10[th] , Cara McDougall 18[th] - _**U17 Girls**_ - Grace Barry 9[th] , Molly Farrish 44[th] ## _**Inter District Cross Country Championships, Alexandria Park, Glasgow**_ - _**U13 Girls**_ - Rosa Currie 74[th] and Annie Henry 75[th] - _**U15 Girls**_ - Grace Barry 11[th] , Olivia Lyne 16[th , ] Nuala Munro 32[nd] - Members of the West 2[nd] Team - Cara McDougall 35[th] , Lucy Nelson 45[th] and Molly Farrish 50[th] - **Senior Women** - Nynke Mullholland Stummer 7[th] - _**Senior Men**_ - Ross Gray 24[th] - Member of the West 2[nd] Team ## _**UK Intercounties Cross Country Championships, Nottingham**_ Grace Barry 33[rd] , first home for Scotland West who finished 8[th] Team Olivia Lyne 168[th] 9 ## _**Scottish Students Indoor Athletic Championships, Emirates Arena**_ - Lochlan Steele, 3[rd] 200m ## _**Renfrewshire Road Races, Battery Park, Greenock**_ - _**Senior Men -**_ John Bell 1[st] , Ross Gray 3[rd,] Gregor Yates 5[th] , David Tamburini 17[th ] - • Robert Paterson 18[th,] Jason Kane 27[th] – Second Team - Allan Callan 40[th,] Allan Poole 42[nd] and Thomas Jamieson 45 - _**Senior Women -**_ Nynke Mullholland Stummer 1[st] , Millie McLelland Brooks 2[nd] 1[st] u20 - • Kendall Gregory 11[th ] – 1[st] Team • Megan Stirling 30[th] - _**U11 Boys -**_ Ollie Bonnar 1[st,] Rudy Byrne 15[th ,] Fraser Norr 16[th] – 3[rd] Team - Louis Sutherland 22[nd] , Danny McGonigle 24[th ] and Rudi Stetz 25[th] - Thomas Laird 32[nd] Liam Money 34[th ] Jonah Cassidy 39[th] - _**U11 Girls -**_ Annie Shearer 4[th,] Faye Holmes 5[th ,] , Reenie Henry 11[th] - 3[rd] Team - Orlagh Kirkwood 18[th ] ,Gabrielle Hammil 19[th ] , Lola Hughes 29[th ] Cara Irvine 33[rd ] , Layla Miller 35[th ] Juliete Roy 36[th ] and Carlotte Workman 37[th] - _**U13 Boys -**_ Louis Reid 3[rd ] Alex Morton 20[th ] Arran Kirkwood 26[th] 3[rd] Team - _**U13 Girls -**_ Rosie Callan 8[th ] Shanna Byrne 21[st] - _**U15 Girls -**_ Grace Barry 2[nd ] Nula Munro 7[th ] Cara McDougall 8[th ] 2[nd] Team - Kiera Gregory 9[th ] Molly Farrish 16[th ] Pearl Paterson 19[th ] Leah Kane 29[th] - _**U17 Men -**_ Liam Kane 7[th] ## _**Allan Scally Road Relays**_ - John Sharp, 16.10, Jason Kane 17.17 Robert Paterson 17. 12 Ross Gray 15.05 ## _**Nigel Barge 10k Road Race**_ - John Bell 2[nd] and Jack Letson 15[th] - Nynke Mullholland – Stummer 2[nd] ## _**Scottish Cross Country Championships, Falkirk - U20 Women**_ - Millie McClelland Brooks, 2[nd] (omitted from previous minutes). ## _**British Masters Cross Country Championships, Tollcross**_ - Robert Paterson 1[st] O/55 10 ## _**Young Athletes Road Races, North Berwick**_ - Grace Barry, 7[th] , Nuala Munro, 14[th] , Cara McDougall, 23[rd] IAC 4[th] Team U15G, Lucy Neilson, 40[th] & Kiera Gregory, 45[th] _**SIAB Schools' International Cross-Country Match, Falkirk**_ – Grace Barry 23[rd] , Scotland Team 3[rd] _**London Marathon - Jack**_ Letson 2.29.53, (Scottish Marathon M40 Champion), Nicholas Gemmell 2.35.54, (Scottish Marathon M50 Champion), Andy Harkins 2.45.25, David Hendwerson 2.55.45, Alun Myers 2.57.50 & Nynke Mullholland – Stumer 3.00.48 _**Tom Scott Memorial 10m Road Race, Strathclyde Park**_ – John Bell, 10[th] , Nynke Mullholland – Stummer 2[nd] , Meredith Reid 6[th] _**DAA 10 Mile Road Race Championships –**_ John Bell 1[st] , David Henderson 10[th] , Andrew Harkins 14[th ] _**,**_ Martyn Campbell 39[th ] _**GAA Miler Meet and Scottish 10,000m Championships, Crownpoint -**_ Robert Paterson 1[st] O/55 _**Scottish National Schools Aquathon –**_ Olivia & Charlie Lynne, Gold medals representing Clydeview Academy, with Charlie and Olivia also part of the Clydeview Academy team who took Gold in the mixed relay race. _**Tristar Three Age Group Triathlon -**_ Olivia & Charlie Lynne, 1[st] in their respective age group. ## **Financial Review** As a registered Charity (SCIO), IAC is very conscientious of the cost of participating and subsidises a number of events and travel costs for members, also working closely with Active Schools staff to identify Inclusion at both club sessions and holiday camps. During 2024 IAC actively supported Christmas donations to local charities including local foodbanks, Branchton Community Centre and Starter Pack Inverclyde. The Clubs’ main source of funding is annual membership fees, with the Club introducing a Standing Order Scheme to pay for annual membership fees several years ago, which is now proving popular among the members. However, the club has also benefited from generous donations from several Club sponsors all of whom believe and fully support the clubs’ activities, which together with hosting the Renfrewshire Road Race Championships also brought in valuable income via catering at the event. 11 The Club was also extremely fortunate to benefit (again) from Inverclyde Councils Community Grant Scheme (formally U19 Sports Waiver Scheme) and also its Warm Hand of Friendship and Windfarm Grants Schemes. ## **Management** The activities, strategic development and finances of the club are overseen by a Board of Trustees who meet periodically to consider the Club Development Plan, Financial Position and any material matters arising from the Management Committee. A Management Committee meet monthly to consider the day to day activities of the Club including membership, capacity, competition, member welfare and general administration duties. ## **Reserves Policy** The Trustees’ policy is to retain at least 6 months’ worth of core running costs, e.g., facility lets, race entry fees and our Scottish Athletic Affiliation in order to meet commitments and to cover any unexpected expenditure. This expenditure stands at around £15,000. Unrestricted reserves are in excess of this at £30,000 which the Trustees believe to be acceptable but will continue to monitor the position. ## **Plans for Future Period** The Trustees intend to continue to pursue the growth and development of the Club on a managed and controlled basis building on our recent success and will continue to work constructively with Scottish Athletics on developing the structure and governance of the Club. ## **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (e.g.**
**Chair)**||| |---|---|---| ||Gerard Majella Gaffney|| ||Treasurer|| 12 Date 21°, May 2026 13