News
Welsh Athletics Clubs & Run Wales Conference March 2022
08/03/2022 00:00, In Blog / Club Notice Board /
Saturday 5th March saw the long-awaited return of the Welsh Athletics & Run Wales Conference at the Vale Resort Hotel. It was a fantastic day, with representatives from clubs and groups across Wales in attendance. We were delighted to be joined by exceptional guest speakers who delivered engaging sessions across various topics including Supporting Positive Mental Health, Building & Sustaining Positive Environments within our Clubs. The community Q and A panel saw great interaction between the audience and the guest speakers, with clubs sharing their experiences and ideas and discussing how they have achieved their aims. Topics covered included social media, parkrun, young leader programs supporting growth within athletics clubs, inclusivity, organising events & races, the use of technology within clubs and how it enhances the volunteer experience, and some incredible personal stories about how people got involved in running.
Our partners from Welsh Blood Service were welcomed to talk to the audience about our campaign ‘Giving Runs in Your Blood’ and highlighted how clubs and groups can get involved in supporting blood donations across Wales and it was great to see so many interested in getting further information on this topic. During the lunch break, attendees were encouraged to speak to staff about subjects such as coach education, safeguarding, membership enquiries and it was great to see many people making new friends within other clubs or groups and touching base with others they’d not seen in a while.
| In the final session of the day, it was great to hear about how Bridgend AC and Lliswerry Runners have created positive environments within their clubs, which inspired a workshop around supporting clubs and groups to think about their own environments and what they can do to ensure their members’ journey is a good one! Clubs & groups then made pledges to capture what they are going to take back to their clubs/groups to try and do something new or differently. We look forward to seeing how the pledges progress! |  |
Welsh Athletics & Run Wales would like to extend thanks to all the brilliant guest speakers that helped shape the day to be such a fantastic event. Thanks go to:
- Jonathan Tidball (JustRun Penybont)
- Lloyd Ashley (Living Well with Lloyd Ashley)
- Myfanwy (She Runs: Cardiff)
- Amy (She Runs: Cardiff)
- AJ (She Runs: Cardiff)
- Emma Marshall (JustRun Penybont)
- Stephne Puddy (JustRun Penybont)
- Chris Jeynes (Brackla Harriers / Bridgend AC)
- Chris Davies (Lliswerry Runners)
- Ruth Powell (Rhymney Valley AC)
- Donna & Lewis (Welsh Blood Service)
- Chris Moss (Interim Director of Development, British Athletics)
We look forward to welcoming clubs and groups along to the next conference in the autumn of 2022!
Click here to view the slides from the weekend.