Strong winds lead to a wave of cancellations including the South of England Inter-Counties and Masters Champs in Croydon and English Schools Cross Cup in Leeds
Legendary endurance coach George Gandy once said “the word ‘cancel’ should not be part of a cross-country runner’s vocabulary”. Maybe that was once the case, but Storm Darragh led to a wave of cancellations over the weekend (December 7-8).
Old-timers will tell you events used to go ahead whatever the weather. Modern athletics, however, is hamstrung by health and safety guidelines, all of which means you can guarantee there will be plenty more meetings called off in coming months.
Victims of Storm Darragh included the South of England Inter-Counties and Masters Cross Country Championships at Lloyd Park in Croydon on Saturday. Nearby parkruns, including one in Lloyd Park itself, went ahead without problems – although there were many parkrun cancellations elsewhere in the UK – but the South of England Athletics Association called off the big cross-country event on the morning of the races due to the strong winds.
The late decision led to a wave of criticism on social media due to many athletes having already started their journey to the course, although there were plenty of athletes and coaches who sympathised with the organisers as well.
David Harris, chair of the SoEAA endurance working group, said: “We deeply regret that it was necessary to cancel the meeting but this was due for safety reasons. The extremely strong winds were causing the portable toilets to move and blow over very nearly hitting one of the setting up team. Also there were a few branches that had blown down in the wooded area of the course.
“We were also not able to put up tents and gazebos at all which were required for athlete registration, officials registration etc. as this would have been near impossible in the storm conditions which showed no signs of abating.”
He added: “This was not an easy decision to arrive at. No one wants to have to cancel an event but the primary concern as always is to the safety of the athletes, officials and spectators.
“The referee felt that there was no other choice but to cancel. Once the decision had been made to cancel the event, every effort was done to contact teams and officials to advise them the competition would not be taking place. It is hoped that the association may be able to re-schedule the meeting and will be looking at alternative dates.”
Masters athlete Lesley Richardson said: “Gone are the days when we competed whatever the weather and came to no harm. What a shame.”
Cornelia Abe-Minale, a coach with Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets, said: “We went training at Parliament Hill instead and our athletes enjoyed the session. Why are we giving our young athletes the message that we can only race in good weather?”
English Schools Cross Country Cup
Athletes due to compete at the English Schools Cross Country Cup at the Grammar School in Leeds were given more notice with the English Schools AA making the decision on Thursday (Dec 5) to postpone their event from December 7 to March 1.
The ESAA turned off commenting under their Facebook post, but one of their officials, Ken Burkett, said: “It was not because it was windy. It was the fact that we were looking at winds in excess of 40mph on an area of Leeds that gets significantly high winds than lower down in the city. It is in an area surrounded by trees and running through the woods would not be safe or right.”
Organisers are undoubtedly in a no-win position when the weather turns foul, but the ESAA’s decision to call the event off is in stark contrast to the 2018 English Schools Cross Country Championships in March 2018 which was hit by viciously cold winds dubbed “the mini beast from the east” along with snowfall.
On that occasion organisers put out a stirring message on the day of the races, telling young athletes “it was their chance to decry the increasing perception that kids nowadays are ‘snowflakes’! Turn up. Run. Get cold. Get muddy. Enjoy getting warm again! This is proper cross-country weather.”
Competitors who braced the cold that day at Temple Newsam in Leeds included Keely Hodgkinson, who finished runner-up behind Ella McNiven before making the Olympic podium three years later.
The English Schools Cross Country Cup also went ahead in Newquay in 2021 despite strong winds.
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Further events cancelled in recent days due to Storm Darragh include the Manchester Cross Country League at Woodbank Park. “Looking at the predicted wind speeds, these are well in excess of UKA safety guidelines, and clearly we have a duty of care to all concerned. The warning also now extends to safe travel,” said Nick Bishop, chair of the league.
The Borders XC event at Spittal in Northumberland, East Yorkshire League at Ravenscar and the Lincolnshire Runner Cross Country League in Louth were also called off.
The Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity cross-country clash went ahead, however, with Olympian Jared Ward and Niamh Bridson Hubbard leading the way on a gruelling course that included a river crossing.
Varsity Match (Graham Smith)
Full coverage here.
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