Regional leagues taking shape for the summer

Peterborough and Nene Valley AC’s post-lockdown track and field season is finally starting to take shape, and it’s looking like an action packed summer for competition-starved local competitors, writes Barry Warne.

Start dates of the various leagues have been put back to June from their traditional late April dates.

Travelling is to be kept to a minimum, with the usual set-ups scrapped and small regional leagues taking place instead.

The Southern Athletics League kicks off on Saturday, June 19 at Sandy, and concludes at Bedford on Saturday, September 11.

The other two fixtures will be staged on the Peterborough Embankment track on Sunday, July 11 and Saturday, August 14.

Peterborough Nene Valley will be up against Huntingdonshire AC, Northampton AC, Biggleswade Buzzards and Bedford and County AC in their league.

The National Athletics League have announced their matches will be staged on Sunday, June 6, the weekend of July 3/4, Saturday, August 7 and Saturday, August 28.

The venues and a format are expected to be revealed shortly, and this league is also expected to be run on a regional basis.

The Eastern Young Athletes League and East Anglian League are expected to announce a regional format shortly.

A Wednesday, June 2 meeting in Peterborough marks the beginning of the Eastern Master’s Track and Field League, and, assuming they compete to form and qualify, the Peterborough Nene Valley AC team will be among the favourites in the finals on the weekend of September 25/26.

The city side are likely to have 400m World Masters bronze medalist Dave Brown, GB number one ranked over 35s 400m hurdler Sean Reidy, and multiple World and European Masters throwing gold medalist Andrea Jenkins in their star-studded line-up.

The Cambridgeshire Schools Championship has been provisionally booked for Saturday, June 12 in Cambridge

And the Anglian Schools Championship are set to be held in Peterborough on Saturdaym June 19.

The prestigious English Schools Championship will run from Friday, July 9 to Sunday, July 11 in Manchester.

Dave Brown (left) and Sean Reidy will be part of the PANVAC Masters team