Graham Merrington Writes...

To League Management Committee-UK Youth Development League

Re: Midland West 1 Division U13/U15 age group

I am writing on behalf of Telford AC to strongly object to how Telford has been treated by the organizers of this League.

This objection is on the basis of our understanding that the new league structure was introduced to give athletes improved competition, reducing the distance athletes had to travel for competition, and reducing the cost to Clubs of competing.

I have to say that the Division Telford were forced into(despite an appeal) has resulted in none of the  objectives being met. The distance that athletes will have to travel has become enormous and as a result the transport costs will be excessive. With regard to the objective of improved competition this will not be achieved because as the  Club will not be able to travel to all of the fixtures because of distance, and clubs will not travel to Telford for the same reason for their host match, competition will become almost non existent for our athletes.

In late November when the league structure was made public an appeal was made to yourselves via Wendy Daniel. The appeal was that Telford was in the wrong Division (West 1) and the reasoning was the excessive amount of travelling the Club would have to do (and I included travel distances). I compared it to being Division East 1 were the distances would be much less and we would be competing against our “neighbors”. In fact I made the case where several teams in East 1 were better suited to West1. Even with the switch both Divisions would remain the same in number. The appeal was heard on 8 December. The club did not hear of the outcome, so I emailed Wendy to ask the outcome. The Club have still not heard form her. On 19 December I emailed our Area Co coordinator Joyce Tomala to ask if she knew the outcome. Her reply was ”the request was considered but apart from travelling the committee had to take into account all other options”. No change. No explanation was given as to the “other options”

Since that date the final League structure has been made public and the host clubs announced. Firstly this has resulted in the other Shropshire club (Shropshire All Blacks) resigning because of travelling. This now means that our nearest neighbour club Is Yate, which is 84 miles away! As Telford are hosting a meeting it means that the club have 3 away fixtures which will result in the Club travelling 650 miles. What further compounds the problem is that on the weekend of June1/2, Telford are being asked to travel to Yeovil on the Saturday and Cardiff on the Sunday at a combined total of 550 miles. You cannot expect athletes, officials and families (who will have children in both age groups) to travel these ridiculous distances.

How can this be a league structure that promotes participation and more meaningful competition? Shropshire athletes have been very badly served by you and were much better served by the National Young Athletes League.

Graham Merrington   Track and Field secretary   Telford AC       11/03/2013


 

TO ALL TEAM MANAGERS, COACHES, ATHLETES AND PARENTS:

With the fixture list now published, many of you will have seen the venues for the newly formed National Youth Development League. I would imagine that you were shocked at seeing the venues that the Club have to travel to. Although the U17/U20 league team has some long distances to travel, it is nothing like the distance that the U13/U15 league team have to travel.

As this is the first season of this league, the League Management Committee have decided in what Divisions Clubs should be placed. In Telford’s case they were placed in Midland West 1 which has Clubs from South Wales, Gloucestershire and Somerset. This in the opinion of the Club Committee was clearly the wrong Division as Midland East 1 had clubs from Staffordshire and the West Midlands. In December the Club appealed to the League Management Committee that they had been placed in the wrong Division and the reasons for it. This appeal was rejected.

The Club was then left in the position of either withdrawing form the League or staying in it and being selective in the venues the team travels to. In March the Club Committee considered this and decided to remain in the League, and to continue to lobby the National Committee to try and change the League structure for 2014.

The U13/U15 age group is now in a division with teams from Carmarthen, Cwmbran, North Somerset, Bath, Yate and Yeovil. The alternative division denied to our team has Clubs from Cannock and Stafford, Halesowen, Leicester, Tamworth, Sutton Coldfield and Wolverhampton and Bilston.

The latest letter from your Club Committee to the National Youth Development League is attached for your information.

Graham Merrington, Track and Field Secretary on behalf of Telford AC Club Committee 26/03/2013