To fill the competitive gap in athletics for younger athletes given the age changes, there is a new series of regional athletics events for those in school years 5 & 6. It’s called Funetics and made up of four events: 75m sprint, howler/turbo javelin throw, standing long jump, and 600m run.
It’s only open to those who are members of NEYDL registered clubs (which includes Tyne Bridge Harriers). It runs in the evening (6-8pm) of the Fridays prior to the NEYDL fixtures. The first one was on Friday just gone, but there are three remaining: 15th May, 26th June, and 17th July. All events will be at Chester le Street Stadium (part of Riverside Sports Complex), DH3 3SJ.
We (TBH) are allocated 16 places in total and there are 4 places per events. Though there is a waiting list if not all places are not taken for a given event. Given that I can only see that 15 athletes were registered for the first event, I suspect that all who are interested in competing will likely get to do the events that they want.
It’s ‘first come, first served’. Registration is not managed by the club and it’s up to you to sign up your athlete. There is also a cost of £2.50 per event (not per match, e.g. if you want your athlete to compete in both the 75m sprint and standing long jump it’ll cost you £5). Please be aware that the website states that this cost is non-refundable. You will need to register yourself (parent/carer) first on Roster Athletics and then sign up your athlete. There is a separate link for each event:
Roster Athletics · U12 NEYDL Funetics match 2 – open to NEYDL member clubs ONLY
Roster Athletics · U12 NEYDL Funetics match 3 – open to NEYDL member clubs ONLY
Roster Athletics · U12 NEYDL Funetics match 4 – open to NEYDL member clubs ONLY
I think that this will be a fab opportunity for our younger athletes, but it’s important to note that this is up to you to manage and attend, i.e. the club will not be sending anyone to manage on the night or sending coaches to support. It’s probably worth a read of the NEYDL info on the club page, for general info on athletics, but not all will apply, such as you don’t need to wear a club vest (but obviously we’d love it if you do have one!). My general advice is get there in plenty of time, take water, and don’t forget safety pins for attaching numbers.
I’ll try and answer any questions you may have, though please be aware that my knowledge is limited as it’s not an event I’ve attended in any capacity. If you’ve any specific event questions, I’d recommend that you look at the NEYDL Facebook page, as I hear that its pretty active, plus there will be a community of people there to help with queries that you may have:
Louis Goffe
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