Carmarthen and District Harriers Athletics Club held another successful Annual Club Dinner and Awards Evening for 2019 in Carmarthen last night.
The Ivy Bush Hotel in the heart of Carmarthen Town Centre has been the host venue of the Dinner & Awards Evening for several years and on Saturday evening 12th October, the club were back there again using the fantastic facilities on offer at one of the town’s main hotels for the ninth year in succession.
Carmarthen Harriers were established in 1948, 71 years ago. It was when RB Evans became the Chairman between the period 1948 to 1981 before current President Dr Hedydd Davies took over from 1981 to 2018. Last year, 70 years was celebrated with a special dinner at the Ivy Bush.
In that time, the likes of Lynn Davies, Colin Jackson, Jamie Baulch, Rhys Williams, Matt Elias, Dewi Griffiths, Steve Brace, Angharad Mair, Steve Perks, JJ Williams, Mike Delaney, Lynette Harries, Hedydd Davies, Fred Bell, Roy Bergiers, Wayne Griffiths, Mike Walters, Gwynne Griffiths, Peter Hughes-Griffiths, John H Collins, Berwyn Price, Wynford Leyshon, Claire Williams, Steffan Hughes and Malcolm Arnold have all been past speakers of this annual event.
This year’s gathering moved to an earlier date to previous years and also moved from a Friday to a Saturday night. The room was once again full of athletes, members, friends, parents and guests as around 160 people attended the dinner to meet and celebrate the successes of the club and its members during the year along with thanking those who work hard in front of and behind the scenes every week.
In attendance was Cllr Kevin Madge, the Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council.
During the three-hour event, there was the chance for athletes, coaches, officials and parents alike to get together in each other’s company whilst enjoying the activities on offer, including a two-course meal, awards, speakers, raffle and a lot of fun!
A copy of the Annual Report was given out on the evening including reports, results and pictures from the year’s events at the end of 2018 and up to the summer of 2019 as well as club records and outstanding performances.
The club currently has real strength in depth across events with 33 individuals achieving a top 10 Welsh ranking up from 20 last year. Four athletes ranked in the UK’s top 10. Progress and ambition in the athletes were demonstrated when 6 qualified to make the trip to compete in Bedford at the England/British championships, returning with two medals.
It has been a season of great results and performances from juniors and seniors alike in the past 12 months and these were evident in the awards
Having welcomed Dewi Griffiths, Josh Griffiths, Jake Heyward, Caryl Jones and Claire Williams 12 months ago, there was asome good company again as the guest speakers for the 2019 dinner were former Carmarthen Harriers members and current club record holders Bruce Tasker and Caryl Granville.
It was a pleasure to welcome these talented athletes to the dinner and inspire the next generation of athletes from the club.
The duo took part in an inspiring question and answer session, led by Edward Morgan. This was a great opportunity for the parents and coaches, as well as the athletes themselves to ask questions and listen to experiences that they might not have heard about before. The Commonwealth Games, Winter Olympics, championships and other training and competition facts were shared.
Bruce Tasker is currently the club record holder in the under 15 boys 400m (52.51) 2002 and under 17 / 20 men 400m in 2004 (49.85).
Caryl Granville is currently the club record holder in the under 20 women age group for 400m (55.89) 2008, Triple Jump (11.69m) 2005, Pentathlon (3736 points) 2007 and Heptathlon (4807 points) 2007. In addition, she has had further success in the under 17 women too and is currently the club record holder over both the long hurdles distances; 300m Hurdles (42.65) 2006 and 400m Hurdles (61.55) 2006.
On returning to the Carmarthen Harriers Dinner & Awards Evening, Caryl said: “I attended the Carmarthen Harries Dinner every year when I was a member of the club. I always aspired to have achieved enough in my athletics career to attend as the guest speaker one day. So to have been invited this year was a huge honour and a privilege.
“All of my junior achievements occurred as a Carmarthen Harrier: winning my first race, achieving my first welsh vest, breaking my first welsh record and earning my first GB vest. My time at Carmarthen Harriers was a very happy one and it was nostalgic to see everyone again. Although I left the club for a higher level of competition with Swansea in the UK Women’s League, I have always considered myself a Carmarthen Harrier even after 12 years away from the club.”
A total of more than 60 awards across 22 categories were made on the evening – from the athletes and volunteers to coaches and team success. As well as categories that have been a regular at the dinner, there were a number of new awards presented in 2019 which included recognising International athletes who were selected in all disciplines and awards for athletes who ranked in the top 10 in Wales and the United Kingdom – over 30 of these.
The club record was one award which was back for the second season to recognise those who broke club records during the year. Seven records ranging from the under 15 to under 20 age groups were the recipients of these, two of which date back to the 1970’s.
Making presentations throughout the evening to all the winners were Bruce Tasker, Caryl Granville, Cllr Kevin Madge and Hedydd Davies.
The awards were Bursary Awards 2019, Welsh Champion & International New 2019, Welsh Champion New 2019, Welsh Champion & International Repeat 2019, Welsh International Repeat 2019, Welsh Inter-Regional Sprint Relay Champions 2019, Welsh Cross-Country Under 13 Team Champions 2019, Welsh Cross-Country Under 15 Team Champions 2019, Welsh Cross-Country W40 Team Champions, Welsh International Mini Marathon 2019, Top 10 UK Award 2019, Top 10 Wales Award 2019, Club Record Award 2019, Richard Wyer Throws Memorial Award 2019, Ossie Morgan Hurdles Memorial Award 2019, Outstanding Club Contribution Award 2019, Young Club Volunteer of the Year 2019, Club Service Award 2019, Ernie Jones Memorial Award 2019 (International), J Eirwyn Walters Memorial Award 2019 (Best International Performance) and RB Evans Award 2019
The full report can be viewed via the Carmarthen Harriers Website https://www.carmarthenharriers.co.uk/latest/ivy-bush-royal-hotel-hosts-harriers-2019-annual-dinner-awards-evening-121019-reportadroddiad/
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