It is very sad to see the passing of one of Northumberland's greatest athletes, Paul Dickenson.

Paul won 5 GOLD MEDALS in the Hammer Throw at English Schools' events from 1964 to 1968. He was coached by Carl Johnson at Tynemouth Technical School (now John Spence School) and was a member of North Shields Poly.

Click on Track & Field button for obituaries ...

If you are looking at this website then you will know that Northumberland Schools' AA provides

cross country and athletics competitions for school children in North Tyneside, Newcastle & Northumberland.

This is operated by a small number of teachers, retired teachers and non-teachers who are all keen supporters of our Association.

Many of the above have given service over a very long period of time.

WE ARE NOW VERY MUCH IN NEED OF EXTRA SUPPORT.

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO HELP PLEASE?

- an assistant organiser for any of our events

- an assistant team manager attending Inter County & National events for Cross Country

- a kit manager looking after our team kit & also hoodie sales

-a provider of refreshments (teas, coffees & packed lunches) at our county events

-a helper at any of our events in any capacity

If so, please go to the Contacts Page, and get in touch with any member of our Association to discuss your interest.

Thank you.

HOW DOES SCHOOL ATHLETICS WORK ?

1. In the first instance it is up to the PE teacher to identify athletic talent .... running, jumping, throwing.

2. The PE TEACHER should offer the following pathway, outlined below, to talented pupils.3. How do the AGE GROUPS work?They are DIFFERENT to other school sports because the AGE DEADLINE is set at the end of the school year, 31 August midnight. (So an Under 12 rugby player is an Under 13 athlete) BUT we also use YEAR GROUPS to assist clarity.

3. Athletics Age Groups:

• Year 6 (Minors) and can include Year 5 pupils (but not Y4)
  Year 7 (Minors)
  Year 8 (Minors & Junior) - they can compete at both levels
  JUNIOR - Years 8 & 9
  INTERMEDIATE - Years 10 & 11
• SENIOR - Years 12 & 13

4. A pupil, representing their school, should firstly be entered into the District championships.

5. There are FIVE DISTRICTS to cover all areas of Northumberland:

• NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND
  EAST NORTHUMBERLAND
  TYNEDALE
  NORTH TYNESIDE
• NEWCASTLE

THREE ATHLETES are chosen from each area to compete at the County Championships, except for Newcastle who are allowed 4. In exceptional circumstances districts are allowed to excede those numbers. In the Minors Championships all areas are allowed up to 4 entries in each event, because there is scoring for a team competition.

6. There are TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS at COUNTY LEVEL -

• (Senior) County Championships - Juniors (Y8/Y9) Inters (Y10/Y11) Seniors (Y12/Y13)
• Minors County Championships - Y6(Y5) / Y7 / Y8

7. There is NO FURTHER PROGRESSION FOR ATHLETES IN THE MINORS SECTION.

8. ATHLETES COMING FIRST and SECOND in the (Senior) County Championships are automatically selected to represent Northumberland at the INTER COUNTIES MEETING with Durham, Cumbria, Cleveland and North Yorkshire which normally takes place the following weekend. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INTER COUNTIES MEETING the Northumberland Team is selected to represent the county at the English Schools' AA Track & Field Championships. Northumberland is rated as a D-county and is allowed to take a maximum of 24 athletes to the championships.The ESAA publishes ENTRY STANDARDS (ES) for every event and athletes should gain those standards in order to qualify for selection.

9. At the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, at INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ONLY, the first two athletes are selected to represent England at the Schools' International, organised by the Schools' International Athletic Board (SIAB).

10. In some years the ESAA may decide to enter an ENGLAND TEAM into the World Schools' Championships organised by the International Schools' Sports Federation (ISF). This is dependent on two factors: firstly, that school teams must also be entered and, secondly, that the ESAA can financially afford to send a team (which is not always the case when events are at some distance).

11. THE ESAA TRACK & FIELD CUP is completely different to the above. It is a SCHOOL TEAM EVENT and has nothing to do with INDIVIDUAL SELECTION for anything. A PE teacher will enter this national competition which takes place over three rounds. The County Round in May, a Regional Final in June and a National Final in July. School athletes must take part in two events in order to contribute to the team score.

Also the TF CUP ages are DIFFERENT too:

• JUNIOR TEAM - Year 7 & Year 8 -COMBINED
• INTER TEAM - Year 9 & Year 10 -COMBINED

Performances are scored on a POINTS TABLE (rather like decathlon) and finishing position in an event is not as important.

 

HOW DOES SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY WORK ?

Age-Groups & Districts: They are the same as for athletics above.

Primary & Year 7 School Team Championships: usually first or second Tuesday in October.This event is for Boys and Girls who run in separate races at each level - Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7.The first 10 finishers in the Year 7 races receive a direct invitation to run at the County Championships on the third Tuesday in January. Details are published on the Cross Country web page.

County Cross Country Championships: normally third Tuesday in January.The event is for Boys and Girls who are representing their districts. The district events normally take place in late November and early December. Usually there are no races for Senior runners who are directly nominated to the County Championships. Age Groups: Year 7, Junior (Y8/9), Inter (Y10/11), Senior (Y12/13)

Inter Counties Cross Country Meeting: (Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, North Yorkshire & Northumberland) The top 16 finishers in each race are selected to run for Northumberland at the Inter Counties, which usually takes place on the first Saturday in February. Finishers in places 17 to 20 become nominated non-travelling reserves for the event.

ESAA National Championships: Following the Inter Counties Meeting the Team Managers select six teams, Junior - Inter - Senior (Boys & Girls) to represent Northumberland at the ESAA Championships held in March. Eight runners are selected for each team along with four non-travelling reserves. Selection is at the sole discretion of the Team Managers.

Also two Year 7 teams, Boys & Girls, each of 10 runners are selected for the Year 7 National Finals held at Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire, in March. Team selection is as follows: the first THREE at the County Championship are automatically selected, along with the next SEVEN based on the combined results of the County and Inter Counties races, along with FOUR nominated non-travelling reserves as back up. We hope to renew participation in this event in 2023.

Schools International Cross Country: JUNIORS & INTERS who finish in the top 8 at the National Championships will be selected to run for England (ESAA) in the SIAB meeting against Scotland, Wales & Ireland, normally a week later.

In some years the ESAA may decide to enter an ENGLAND TEAM into the World Schools' Championships organised by the International Schools' Sports Federation (ISF). This is dependent on two factors: firstly, that school teams must also be entered and, secondly, that the ESAA can financially afford to send a team (which is not always the case when events are at some distance).

ESAA Schools' Cross Country Cup is similar to the TF Cup which is a SCHOOL TEAM EVENT and has nothing to do with individual selection. The PE teacher will enter this national competition which takes place over three rounds. The County Round in October, a Regional Final in November and a National Final at the beginning of December.

The Age-Groups are as follows:-

Teams of up to 6 runners with 4 counting in a race

• JUNIOR TEAM - Years 7 & 8.
• INTER TEAM - Years 9 & 10
• SENIOR TEAM (new 2021) - Years 11, 12 & 13.