Juniors Training at GSAL 2025

GSAL athletics track map
By Bob Jackson Juniors Training 8 May 2025

updated 7 May 2025

Sorry, now postponed to 27 May

We will resume training at GSAL on Tuesday 13 May 2025 and we have booked 9 dates at approximately 2-weekly intervals. On the other weeks we will be at Leos, except one on 15 July when we will be at the Golden Acre Relays.

NB The “C” group will train at GSAL the first Tuesday of the month from June to September

DATES FOR 2025

Please click https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/general-information-for-juniors-2025/

BOOKING

Survey to book for the next month’s sessions

please click https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/booking-junior-training-sessions/

SAFETY / SAFEGUARDING RULES 2025

This is top of the page because GSAL have requested us to put strict rules in place (the request for group leaders to have full DBS comes from new legislation in 2024)

  • Parents may only bring more than 2 children if all of the children are their own (this is to ensure good parent to child ratios; this rule may be overriden at a later date)
  • No dogs allowed anywhere on site
  • All parents must park in the back car park (staff car park).
  • In no circumstances may parents drive their cars along the service road to the athletics track, not even for drop off.
  • All children, whatever their age, and even if late arrivals, must walk from the car park to the athletics track accompanied by their parent/guardian for the night. Anyone not doing this puts themselves at risk and also is breaking the terms of my agreement and risk assessment so puts at risk the rest of our sessions for the summer.
  • There will be a brief briefing for group leaders before the groups are “open” for children to join
  • Until the groups are “open”, parents are still responsible for their children – who, in the meantime, must not play on the gym equipment, go into the woods or run on the track
  • Parents must hand over their child/children to the correct “Main Group Leader” who will obtain the name and contact details
  • Parents may not go back to their cars unless they have permission from the “Main Group Leader” and then only if it is to pick up forgotten items e.g. water bottles.
  • Parents must be available to help, either generally as a group assistant or activity assistant …
  • … or specifically looking after their own child/ren including, if required, taking their child/ren to the toilet or applying first aid.
  • Parents not allocated to a group or activity must stay by the side of the track while activities are taking place in case your child needs attention
  • At the end of the session, parents must collect their children
  • And then walk, with their children, back to their cars

NOTES FOR CHILDREN

  • Do not touch any equipment
  • Follow your group leader’s instructions to move between activities
  • Follow your activity leaders’ instructions when taking part in activities
  • Do not cross the track except when instructed to do so
  • Do not scuff the track or track markings (we want to keep it in best condition). A warning will be issued if this is done deliberately

ARRANGEMENTS for first few sessions in 2025

  • The main activities will be 80m sprints, 400m laps, long jump, shot put. A 5th activity could be relays and a 6th could be tennis ball throws or turbo javelin throws.
  • Some activities will be simplified for younger athletes e.g. standing long jump or throwing boules in a shot put action
  • For each date, we have booked 2 hours – 6pm-8pm in GSAL term time (5 dates in 2025) and 5:30pm-7:30pm in GSAL holidays (5 dates in 2025)
  • Everyone will come for the initial start time and stay for approximately one hour
  • Those wanting additional training e.g. on long jump, shot put or sprint starts can stay longer providing there are sufficient qualified parents
  • The ideal group size is 12 to 16 as this works well for sprints (3 heats), long jump (two sub-groups), shot put (two sub groups). 12 is not too big a single group for 400m but with more then this can be split into two for the timed lap.
  • There will therefore normally be 5 groups but sometimes 6 and probably fewer in school holidays
  • The timetable allows for 10 minutes to meet and warm up, then 8 minutes on each activity
  • Each group will have 3 leaders
    • One person with full DBS who will be responsible for safeguarding (named as “Main Group Leader” in our safeguarding agreement with GSAL)
    • One person who has previous experience of leading or assisting at GSAL so understands the “system”
    • One person who, from helping at Leos, knows many of the children in the group
    • Between them they will look after warm-ups and cool-downs, moving the group safely from each activity to the next, liaising with the activity leaders, and general safety of the group
  • Each activity will have a number of leaders and assistants
    • sprints will have a starter, a false start judge, a timekeeper on the finish line and a keeper-in-order on the finish line
    • laps will have a timekeeper, a keeper-in-order and possibly a tail runner
    • long jump, for each of two pits, will have a leader to supervise jumps and measuring and an assistant for raking
    • shot put, for each of two shot circles, will have a leader to supervise throws

All those assisting will be briefed with what to do. None of it is technical (the most technical job is to record times on a stopwatch) and no athletics ability is required except for some of those helping on laps

It is possible that someone from the GSAL staff will come and observe the session. It is therefore vital that you tell your children to always follow the instructions of their group leader and always stay within their group.

ARRIVAL

In GSAL school holidays (e.g. 27 May) you should arrive 10 minutes before your session timeslot is due to start. You must park in the Staff Car Park.

In GSAL term time (e.g. 13 May) you must not arrive on site before 5:50pm. In previous years you’ve been allowed to park in the visitors car park but under GSAL CoVid rules, those attending external activities are prohibited from site until 5:50pm.

For all sessions, you must park in the Staff Car Park.

From the roundabout on the A61, go down the main drive and turn left at the barrier. Press the GREEN button. The barrier will go up automatically when you press the button. It won’t go up before 5:50pm in term time (go away and come back later), but will go up at all times in the school holidays. If the barrier doesn’t go up, press the buzzer.

NB don’t try to tail-gate after another car through the barrier. It comes down quickly. I saw someone try it a couple of years ago and it resulted in a damaged car (and a damaged barrier),

Having parked, make your way to the track as a family group and find your meeting point.

Children must not warm up / play on the track, nor in the long jump area nor on the gym equipment adjacent to the long jump pit. They may warm up on the grass round the outside of the track but must be in view of the parent at all times (parent’s responsibility)

ACTIVITIES

There will be 4 regular activities

  • Sprinting
  • Long jumping.
  • Endurance running (laps of the track)
  • Shot putting. Youngest children (up to year 2) will “put” tennis balls, year 3 will “put” boules (each weighs about 800gm which is less than half the weight an 8 year old would use in competition) to practice technique, years 4 and 5 will use boules or 2kg shots, years 6 and above will use 2kg or or 2.72kg or 3kg shots.

We will also add extra activities, as needed, to match the number of groups e.g.

  • Harrogate-Leeds shuttle relays (similar to Adel-Alwoodley!)
  • Turbo javelin throw
  • Tennis ball throw (nearest the bull) (not a real bull)

You can see videos of how to do long jumping and shot putting

Each group will spend 8 to 10 minutes on each activity.

We will have a team of parents (a “Main Group Leader” and two Assistants) to look after each group (as we do at Leos), and they will receive the children at the designated meeting point when they arrive, move them between activities and be responsible for safety.

We’ll also have an activity leader to look after each activity for the whole timeslot and some activity assistants to help the leader

  • for the sprints, we’ll have a starter (who will also be the leader), a false start judge, a timekeeper and finish line recorder.
  • for the long jump, we’ll have a runway checker, a take-off judge (who will also be the leader), someone to record where the jumper landed and 2 rakers. From 2023 we need 2 teams
  • for the laps, a starter (who will also be the leader) and a timekeeper, also hopefully a couple of parents to run including one to be back-marker.
  • for the shot, a technique judge (who will also be the leader) and an assistant to look out for safety. From 2023 we need 2 teams

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

We will have a first aid kit at the assembly area. We will ask the parent who brought the child to attend to the child. Any medicines that the child frequently needs e.g. asthma sprays should be brought by the parent to the session.

The closest major hospital with a dedicated Children’s Emergency Department is Leeds General Infirmary, which is located at Jubilee Wing, Great George Street, Leeds. Leeds Children’s Hospital, the specialist children’s hospital, also has its facilities at the same location. There is also a Wharfedale Urgent Treatment Centre at Wharfedale Hospital in Otley, which can handle some minor injuries and illnesses but is not a dedicated Emergency Department for children. Harrogate Hospital has an Emergency Department with a separate children’s waiting area.

If we need to evacuate the area, then meet at the assembly area but if this is not safe then meet in the centre of the Staff Car Park

Risk Assessment

Valley Striders Juniors at GSAL Risk Assessment Summer 2025Download

Booking and Confirmation / Cancellation

and hopefully not cancellation

  • I will publish groups and names (based on survey responses) by Friday noon
  • If you want a place you must confirm (via Facebook) by Monday 6pm (but preferably by Sunday 10pm, PLEASE)
  • I will publish the “final” list of groups and names late Monday evening
  • If you haven’t confirmed by Tuesday 2pm and the session is overbooked we’ll allocate your place to someone else and let you know by text.
  • If you’ve confirmed your place but then need to cancel you can do so up to Tuesday 2pm with no penalty – this will allow me to contact reserves to see if they want to take up the place
  • If you’ve confirmed your place but cancel after Tuesday 2pm you will have a lower priority for booking for the “following” week i.e. if your session is overbooked you won’t get a place, but if a place then becomes free you will get it (although it may not be your preferred group)
  • If you’ve confirmed your place but cancel less than 10 minutes before the start of your session (or you just don’t turn up), you won’t get a place for the “following” week.
  • Cancellations should be by Facebook post or by text to my mobile if you’re not on Facebook. Do not use email or Messenger to cancel.
  • Definition of “Following” – if this session is a GSAL session, it will apply to the next GSAL session

IF there are circumstances that cause us to have to cancel the session, a message will be posted here by Tuesday 4pm to confirm or otherwise. If we can’t use GSAL, we may go to Leos, with the same groups the “early” GSAL group at Leos at 5:30 and the “late” GSAL group at Leos at 6:15.

Miscellaneous (a checklist)

(a) Safeguarding and child protection – are managed by Juniors Manager and Main Group Leaders

(b) Low-level concerns;

(c) Medicines – see EMERGENCY PROCEDURES above

(d) Health and safety – see SAFETY above

(e) Fire evacuation – see EMERGENCY PROCEDURES above

(f) Staff/children ratios – a minimum of one adult to 6 children

(g) Risk assessments – see link above

(h) First aid – see EMERGENCY PROCEDURES above

(i) Late arrival/collection of children arrangement – included above. Parents will stay on site to collect children

(j) Management and supervision of children at the Hired Area – included above

(k) Complaints to whichever of the following is most appropriate

Bob Jackson – juniors administrator
James Slater – lead welfare officer
Tess Freer – welfare officer for juniors
Richard Irvine – head coach for juniors

Arrangements in 2024

Juniors Training at GSAL 2024 – Valley Striders

Bob Jackson / About Author
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