INTRODUCTION
This report covers the period from 1st January to 31st December 2020.
During 2020 the activities of the Junior Section were restricted by the Covid-19 outbreak. The club has put together a brief summary recording how the activities of Crook & District A.C. have been affected by the outbreak. This annual report can be read in conjunction with that summary.
Thanks to the stewardship of Harry Binyon, the Junior Section’s Treasurer, and the efforts of the parents committee the Junior Section has remained in a stable financial situation throughout 2020. The sections outgoings such as the renting of the track and entry fees for competitions have been greatly reduced this year due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
TRAINING AND COACHING
The Junior Section continued to hold its regular Thursday night training sessions at Stadium 2000 up until mid March 2020. This was the mainstay of the section’s activities before athletics in the United Kingdom was restricted by national Covid-19 regulations.
MEMBERSHIP
The usual process of collecting in annual membership subscriptions was interrupted as regular group training sessions came to halt in mid march 2020. This has resulted in a fall in membership numbers.
COMPETITIVE EVENTS
• County Durham Athletics Network.
UNDER 11’s SPORTSHALL COMPETITION
The County Durham Athletics Network – Under 11’s ’Sportshall’ Competition took place on Sunday 26th January 2020. Sedgefield Harriers hosted the event which was for primary school age children (school Year 3 up to and including Year 6). A young team from Crook competed against other County Durham clubs. In all 84 competitors from seven different clubs took part.
The event followed much the same pattern as previous years with every child doing 8 events.
It was an enjoyable event with bags of energy and enthusiasm from the young Crook team with some promising individual performances.
The County Durham Under 11’s team for the Regional ‘Sportshall’ finals was chosen using the results from this competition. Unfortunately the Regional final was cancelled at short notice due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.
• North East Harrier League.
A small number of Crook Juniors ran in the Harrier League Cross Country races during the winter. The season was disrupted due to bad weather with events having to be rearranged due to waterlogged car parks etc. What proved to be the final event of the season took place at the Lambton Estate on Saturday 14th March 2020. This was a new venue for the harrier league and provided a scenic route with a bit of everything so a good event to bring the season to a close.
• North East Youth Development League.
The 2020 season had to be cancelled due to the restrictions in place at the time.
STADIUM 2000 AT SHILDON
Stadium 2000 continues to be the Junior Section’s home base.
During the summer and autumn of 2020 extensive improvement works were carried out at the stadium. These included the relaying of the track and the provision of a new throws cage. The work was done at a good time from a Crook & District A.C. point of view in that the facilities would have been unavailable to the club anyway due to the Covid-19 restrictions. The improvements should provide Crook Juniors with excellent facilities for many years to come.
CROOK JUNIOR’S – ‘RETURN TO TRAINING’
The contractors handed over the improved facilities towards the end of October. Unfortunately due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions Crook Juniors were unable to restart training at the stadium until the first Thursday evening after the half term – Thursday 5th November 2020. The return to regular group training was short lived but the Juniors did manage to fit in two training nights before Christmas. This provided a welcomed get together for the first time since mid March.
THE YEAR AHEAD
Hopefully 2021 will see the Junior Section return to something close to normal with regular group training sessions on a steady continuous basis. All being well the light nights of the summer should see the section making good use of all the improved facilities at Shildon.
29th January 2021