Annual Report of the Committee 2021-2022 Ilkley Harriers AGM 2022

Post COVID the club currently has over 400 members registered, as far as we are aware, the highest number since the club began.

This is in no doubt down to the fact that new members have been welcomed and encouraged by existing Harriers over the last 12 months and importantly the leaders and coaches who generously give up their valuable time each week. Thank you to everyone.

Membership

• We currently (end August) have 315 senior, 27 students and concessions, 94 joint membership, 9 second claim and 2 joint second claim (447).

However it should be noted that this includes quite a few members who are trying us out, including the new ‘Jeffing’ (run / walk) group.

• We have continued our registration to EA – please note the basic affiliation has risen from £15 to £16 (see treasurer’s report).

 Racing and the races we host

• Normality resumed on the racing front this year and it was welcomed by all. 2020 seems a long time ago and it’s allowed us to host no fewer than four events:

1/ The Ilkley Moor Fell Race – huge thanks to Steve Weston who bows out after a decade of taking this event from strength to strength (including two renewals in the last 12 months – October last year and March this). He has an excellent successor in Peter Roll and Steve will be Peter’s deputy in 2023 to ensure a seamless transition. 

2/ The Ilkley Trail Race – a change this year in that Neil Chapman (and the Harriers) have taken over the running from Lawrence Basham. A huge undertaking, especially in the first year, but it proved to be a very successful event and £1000 will be donated to the orphanage in Uganda as a result. 

3/ The HDSRL returned “in person” rather than 2021’s virtual format and we hosted a race for the first time since COVID, again enormous thanks go to Neil Chapman for organising this. There were plenty of challenges getting it going again but he overcame them all and the night was rounded off with nearly 400 runners being fed at the rugby club, appreciated by all. 

4/ Great to see the Ilkley Incline open to all again this year, huge thanks to Caroline Howe for organising. Nearly 100 runners took part and two young Ilkley Harriers – Ed Hobbs and Christos Tzelis – came home first and second.

Looking ahead to 2023, one very important addition is a 10k closed-roads race in memory of Harriers legend Pete Shields. We have a route and date (Sun 25th June) planned but there are still plenty of hurdles to get past before we can open it up for entries.

• Thanks to Paul Stephens for co-ordinating the HDSRL races for us and also to Dan McKeown for again looking after the Harriers’ Race League.

As races have got back to normal there have been an incredible array of performances. So much so that even a brief highlights would take up a huge chunk of this report. It’s been fantastic to see all standards prosper – a special mention for Ben Rothery who became Yorkshire Fell Race champion but has also been more than happy to take out a Tuesday night club run whenever asked.

• And on that subject it makes a huge difference the more people who offer to help out. All seven Tuesday evening groups (six from Ilkley, one in Burley) continue to attract good numbers each week and are a welcome part of the running routine. In addition we have Jo-Ann Pattinson’s “Jeffing” group which has been over-subscribed early on, with the additional bonus of hopefully attracting new members.

None of the above would be possible without our run leaders (on Tuesdays and Saturdays) and coaches and we thank them all for their diligence in planning, delivering and attending sessions and thanks to members for using the SignUp system to help everything run smoothly.

We really do need more coaches though so we don’t rely solely on Neil Chapman and Jane Bryant, who between them look after no fewer than four sessions a week between Monday and Thursday. Please do talk to any of us on the committee if you’d like to get involved – the club pays for all leader / coaching courses.

Communication

• We have continued to use different channels alongside the website updates and emails, with regular use of the WhatsApp group (186 now signed up) alongside Facebook.

• And traditional comms via the Gazette news and articles have continued to be a great way to provide greater visibility of club activities. Many thanks to Jean Sullivan and Jill Ezard for looking after this – and also to Petra for keeping the website and Twitter updated in addition to her roles as Membership Secretary and XC captain!

• The club now has partnerships with local businesses such as the Commute Cafe, where Harriers receive a discount, while we’re also forging stronger links with nearby clubs, such as the track share with Saltaire Striders.

Committee and other roles

• We’d like to increase the number of people involved with helping to run the club – it is not an exclusive group so please do get in touch if you can help. It would be great if we could share the roles rather than having a few people doing a lot of the work.

In particular:

1/ Roles on the committee are always open at the AGM – if oversubscribed then we can vote on the applicants. Please let us know if you are interested in coming on board.

2/ Social secretary – we would love someone to step forward and get this off the ground. All ideas are up for debate. Hiring a bus to get to a race / a day trip / monthly member gatherings etc. If you think you can help please do.

3/ Diversity champion – this is a new role but an invaluable one. We are looking for someone to help with any member or potential new members that have a special need – the parameters are wide. It could be helping them join / integrate or just a bit of support generally, to underline that running with the Harriers is for everyone. If you feel you can offer that skill or would like to know a bit more about the role please contact the Committee.

4/ Sustainability champion – again a new role but one we feel strongly about. Someone to look at everything from car sharing at races / training sessions to our impact on our local surroundings and ways that we as a club can help our local community.

5/ The one captain’s role that is currently vacant is XC men, while Petra would like someone to take over XC women.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Tuesday evening – please do make the effort if you can.

On behalf of the Committee

Jonathan Turner

Chair Ilkley Harriers