About the EYAL

Eastern Young Athletes League (EYAL). A series of five league matches of good quality each involving six teams. The major clubs in the league only meet each other once during the season, so the opposition is different at each match. The clubs vary from very strong, to quite small. The majority of the clubs in the league are from Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. There are also Cup and Plate finals in September. (see below)

How does the league work? The league is specifically for athletes in the age range 11 – 16, and athletes compete in their own agegroup, with the scores for all age-groups totalled to give the overall match result. Each club can enter two scoring athletes into each event in an age-group (except hammer and polevault which are limited to one per club). The athletes are designated ‘A’ and ‘B’ competitors according to their ability. ‘A’ should be your best athlete and track races are run as ‘A’ and ‘B’ races. Field events are run all together with ‘A’ and ‘B’ results separated afterwards. All ‘A’ and ‘B’ competitors score points for their team (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). Non-scoring athletes are also permitted in most events, and these provide the opportunity for new athletes to get a registered performance for future team selection, or for athletes who are already in a scoring event, to do additional events. The normal range of events are 100m, 200m, 3/400m (not U13s), 800m, 1500m, Hurdles, Long-jump, High-jump, Triple-jump (U17s only), Pole-vault (not U13s), Shot, Discus, Javelin, Hammer (not U13s), 4 x 100m relays.
How do the Cup and Plate finals work? The top 6 clubs from the overall league contest the Cup final and the 7th-12th placed clubs contest the Plate final. The club qualifies for the finals as a whole rather than by individual age-groups i.e. based on the seasons aggregate club points score. No non-scorers in finals but otherwise the same range of events with ‘A’ and ‘B’ string competitors. The finals provide a match where the clubs can be very evenly matched and give good competition, which normally helps athletes achieve their best.
The Timetable, EYAL matches currently commence at 11.45am and aim to finish before 5.30pm, and are usually held on Sundays.
Who can compete? All club athletes who are aged between 11 and 16 on 31st August of the competition year.
How many events can each athlete compete in during the match? All matches are run under UK Athletics rules, which permit any athlete in the age range 11 – 16 to compete in a maximum of three individual events plus a relay on any day. In this league athletes can do a mixture of scoring and non-scoring events, and team managers should always try to give athletes as many events as they would like within the maximum limit. We recommend that athletes should try different events as non-scorers, but especially for longer distance runners it is suggested that these should be after their main event, or separated by a significant time period.

The full range of events in this league is shown above, but there are some restrictions on particular age-groups. Under 13s and Under 15s are not allowed under UKA rules to contest more than 1 event of greater than 600m on any one day. Under 13 athletes are not allowed to run 300m or 400m events at all. Under 15 Girls and Boys and Under 17 Women run 300m ..

All entrants shall be deemed to have made themselves familiar with and agreed to be bound by the UKA Anti-Doping Rules and to submit to the authority of UK Anti-Doping in the application and enforcement of the Anti-Doping Rules. The UKA Anti-Doping Rules apply to entrants participating in the sport of Athletics, for 12 months from the date of entry, whether or not the entrant is a citizen of, or resident in, the UK.

The officers of the league

General Secretary – vacancy

Chairperson ClivePoyner

Treasurer Tony Cheatham anthonycheatham1107@btinternet.com

Fixtures Secretary  Ray Gibbins 0208 3731957 / 07818 148748 raypenton1@hotmail.com

Appeals Committee members – above plus Neil Moss, Stuart Broadhead, Norma Harris