| Monthly Newsletter to showcase everything that is happening at our wonderful club |
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| Co-Chairs Introduction Behind every young athlete’s progress is a team of supporters helping them succeed — and parents play one of the most important roles of all. Research consistently shows that children perform better, enjoy sport more, and stay involved longer when parents provide positive encouragement and practical support. Whether it’s helping athletes stay motivated after a tough race, reinforcing healthy habits at home, or simply celebrating effort and improvement, parental involvement has a powerful impact both on and off the track. We see the results of the strong support network within our club. Bertie Lee, coached by Ian Marriott, is currently ranked 2nd in the country in the U18 110m hurdles with an impressive time of 14.0 seconds — just 0.3 seconds away from the qualifying standard for the European Championships. Evie Barrett is currently ranked 4th nationally in the U14 javelin, while Michael Emmanuel sits 9th in the country for the U16 300m. Both athletes are coached by Bryan Walker. Steve McCauley is 1st in the UK and 2nd in the world for M50 shot put. Popsie Wootton is 2nd in the UK for M55 100m and 400m and 3rd for 200m. Achievements like these reflect not only the dedication of athletes and coaches, but also the wider club community that supports them. Taking part in matches gives young athletes far more than just competition experience. Representing the club helps children develop confidence, resilience, teamwork, and a sense of belonging. Competing alongside teammates encourages athletes to challenge themselves, support others, and learn how to handle both success and disappointment positively. Most importantly, matches are about athletes achieving personal bests and seeing the progress they are making through training — winning is not what matters. Matches are also one of the best ways for athletes to stay motivated and enjoy the rewards of their hard work. If your child is reluctant to compete, please speak to your coach, who will be happy to help and support them in finding the right opportunities and building confidence. At our club, volunteers are the heartbeat of everything we do. Parents who help at training sessions, assist at matches, support club nights, or lend a hand behind the scenes help create the positive, well-organised environment that allows every athlete to thrive. Just a small amount of time can make a huge difference — not only to your own child’s experience, but to the success of the entire club community. Adult league matches also rely heavily on volunteers and officials to take place successfully. We encourage our senior athletes, where possible, to give a little time back to the club by helping officiate or support events during the season. Having athletes involved in officiating not only strengthens the club, but also helps build knowledge, leadership, and a deeper understanding of the sport. You don’t need coaching or officiating experience to get involved. In fact, the most valuable role parents and volunteers can play is to encourage, support, and help create opportunities for athletes to grow in confidence and independence. If you are interested in helping with coaching, please speak to one of our coaches at training. If becoming an athletics official appeals to you, our Officials Coordinators (officials@oxfordcityac.com) would be delighted to explain how you can get involved and support the club at competitions. As the season continues, we need more parents, athletes, and supporters to join our fantastic team of volunteers. Together, we can continue building a club environment where every athlete has the chance to enjoy, improve, and achieve their best. Volunteer Survey Results – Thank You! A huge thank you to everyone who completed our 2026 Volunteer Survey. We received 57 responses, and your feedback is already helping us shape how we support volunteers at Oxford City AC. What we learned • 80.7% of respondents have volunteered in the past year. • Most people volunteer to support young athletes and help matches run smoothly. • Volunteers enjoyed camaraderie and support from other volunteers and were pleased to be supporting the club and making sure that the match happened. They liked supporting the young athletes and seeing children improve and gain confidence. They were pleased to be closer to the action. • The biggest challenges are wanting to watch your child compete, busy schedules, and not knowing what help is needed. What we’re doing next • Making volunteer roles clearer and easier to sign up for especially for senior matches and coaching. Better coordination of parental helpers at QuadKids sessions. • Offering shorter, more flexible time slots where possible. • Introducing shadowing for anyone who wants to try a role for the first time. • Improving communication through Spond, WhatsApp, and email especially for senior matches. • Creating more support for parents of younger athletes so they can volunteer without missing key moments. • Advertising rules for selecting teams as this includes volunteering • Changing rules governing waiting lists to include parental volunteering • Cake for volunteers at the club clean up! Thank you for everything you do. Our club runs on the energy, kindness, and commitment of volunteers. Whether you help two or three times a year or every week, you make a real difference. If you’d like to get more involved, speak to a committee member or keep an eye on Spond/emails for upcoming opportunities — every hour helps. Seniors Road Running The summer road running season is now in full swing! The opening Motavation at Charlton was run in perfect conditions and saw lots of great performances. First to cross the finish overall was Duncan Lawrence, with Izzy Haines-Gray winning the U19 category, Sarah Davies placing 2nd in the v50s and Bryan Vaughan finishing 2nd in the v70s. The Town and Gown race saw some terrific times from Oxford runners, Sean very nearly under 34 minutes (!) and Fliss and Martha placing in the top 10 in the women’s field. Well done to all who ran. In the other GP race in May, Amber Mackenzie was 1st U20 at the Chalgrove 10k. Well done also to Lisa, Paul & Gwyneth. See here for the road racing calendar for the rest of the year. Athletics The senior team placed 4th in a very competitive first SAL match at Abingdon. Lots of people were competing for the first time for Oxford City and it was a really enjoyable day. Highlights were the ladies sprint hurdles (Martha & Flo winning A & B string), Albert’s 6.61m winning the long jump and the ladies throws (Joyce, Lily & Susan all scoring big points!) The next match is on 21st June at HorspathThe Bannister track miles took place on the 4th May, with some excellent effortsfrom Oxford City athletes. Kuzey, Peter F, Harry C & Will P all ran really well and there were a number of personal bests. A great event to support next year!! Oxford City AC is 80! As a club we are planning to celebrate our 80th Anniversary together on Sunday 20th September. Please put the date in your diaries! There will be track and field events, food and drink, plus our end of season awards. If you can help with organising the event please contact John Kentish – jkentish@gmail.com Thanks to Charlotte and announcing our New Welfare Officers A huge thank you to our outgoing Welfare Officer, Charlotte Stewart, for all her hard work, support, and dedication to the club over the past year. The role often happens behind the scenes, but the impact it has on creating a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment for all members is incredibly important. We’re very grateful for everything she’s done for the club and wish her all the best moving forward.We’re also excited to introduce our new Welfare Officers, Zoe Flood and Servane Poulain. Both will be there to support members’ wellbeing, help foster an inclusive club environment, and act as approachable points of contact for any concerns or issues. Zoe is a mother of two young athletes at the club and brings a wide range of professional experience to the role. A veterinary surgeon and former official vet at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she has also worked as a stunt double for film and television. Through both career paths, Zoe has developed extensive experience in areas including risk assessment, fitness, nutrition, and supporting people working under pressure. She is looking forward to helping support athletes across the club and contributing to a positive and inclusive environment for all members. Servane joined the vets league at the end of last year and already plays an active role within the club community. She also has a daughter who is a keen runner, giving her a strong understanding of the athlete and family perspective within the sport. She is looking forward to supporting club members and helping maintain a welcoming and positive environment for everyone. OCAC Academy Another stellar month for our Academy athletes. With our competition season rolling on we are happy to see multiple PBs coming in. As well as our usual comps, the fist of the seasons championships took place across two days in Milton Keynes, 9th and 10th May. Many of our athletes took part and all enjoyed two days of great results. As a coach it is reassuring to see so many athletes having a great time, enjoying one another’s company and doing what they love. County Champs – Results Page for Power of !0 Holly Simpson – silver – 200mH / bronze HJ U14 girls Katia Minchno PB 100m – 14.40 U16 women Tacita Kentish – gold – 1,500m U16 girls Anna Fegyveres-Nagy – gold – 100m – silver 200m U16 women Grace McCulloch – gold – javelin / silver HJ – a multi event athlete Grace also performed well in LJ (4th) and both the 100m and 200m where she was 5th and 6th respectively in the finals. Angelo Jones – gold – 100m – silver 200m U16 men Michale Emmanuel – double gold – 800m / 200m U16 men George Coyle – gold – 100mH U16 men Ruby Rogers – double gold – 100m / 200m U18 women – I believe Ruby is county champ for the 6th consecutive year! Eve Walker – gold – discus – U18 women Tobias Packham – PBs in both the 100m and 200m U16 men Some of our drop in athletes also took medals in the throws and jumps, well done to Evie Barrett (gold U14) and Daisy Coyle (silver U14) javelin, Lilija Sadler (silver U14) long jump and Toros Essen (gold U20 mens) HJ.It was a wonderful weekend with a great effort from every OCAC athlete who took part. Thats quick. This weekend was the second round of the YDL upper age group. Along with others from OCAC, Ruby Rogers was running as a second claim athlete for Blackheath and Bromley. As well as the 100m and 200m, Ruby was a member of the U18 women’s 4x100m relay. This group of young women ran their one lap team effort in a staggering 46.48s! This is the fastest relay in the UK for their age group this season.0.57s away from breaking the UK record. Faster than the senior team who represented GBR in the Castellon European club champs. Needless to say Ruby is ready to run very fast. Well done, Ruby! They’re back – A special mention to Leo Adiri and Oli Thurston, both made successful returns to track (Leo at counties and Oli at SAL) following long lay-offs due to injury. Very proud to see you both complete your rehab and get back to racing. A massive well done! An Academy for all – the Academy group is for all OCAC members, if you would like to try a drop in session in a new event, or try a fully supervised gym session, please do reach out, bryan.walker@oxfordcityac.com. All OCAC members are very welcome to trial a session at no extra cost. Also, please remember if you’re at an event and you’re not sure how to warm up, or who to warm up with, head over to the Academy group. We will always have an athlete leader or coach who is there to help. Senior session – We are looking to hold a beginners running session for senior members. This is an introduction / return to track running for parents, grandparents or any member looking to gain confidence with their running. This session won’t be designed for seasoned runners, but happy for you to join if you like an easy “jog”. If you’re interested please reach out, once we have enough interest we can sort a potential start date, at this stage my thoughts are Saturday morning after our youth sessions.                   Coach WalkerDirector of Academy Bryan.walker@oxfordcityac.com  Results blast Oxford Park Run Bicester Parkrun Harcourt Hill Park Run University Parks Park Run 18th May – Sri Chinmoy Series Race 2 Cutteslow 3 mile 17th May – Blenheim 7K 19th May – EMGP Banbury 5 Oxford Town & Gown 10K Motavation Series Charlton on Otmoor 4th May – Bannister Community Mile Chalgrove Festival 10K Hagbourne Fun Run London Marathon And here is the new Club Power of 10 Link Any Other Business Quad Kids The Quadkids and their coaches have benefited from 2 sessions from Bryan Walker who has shown some great training drills and techniques to improve their form when running. There are so many great coaches at the club and opportunities for development. Young Athlete Funding Ruby in U18s has been supported by the Tim Henman Foundation, their mission is to create opportunities that support and inspire children and young people to reach their potential. Have a look at their website for funding opportunities. If you find any other opportunities please let us know so we can share with the group. The Tim Henman Foundation social media posts on Ruby are below: Instagram Post here Facebook Post here Sponsorship If your organisation would like to sponsor this Newsletter and provide a profile and pitch to our readers please do get in touch. We have a growing list of recipients and I’m sure they would love to hear from local businesses. Newsletter The Newsletter is driven by your content, thanks to all of the contributors. If you would like to submit content to the Newsletter or highlight a great performance or contribution please send an email to Toby |