Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Tough hurdle for Olympic hopeful
CHANGE IN ATTITUDE AT TRAINING BASE THREATENS PARIS DREAM
AN athlete fears his chances of making the 2024 Olympics in Paris are being compromised because of what he perceives as a change in attitude towards athletics at his training base, the David Weir Leisure Centre at the Sutton Arena in Carshalton.
Jacob Paul, a member of Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club, is a 400m hurdler with a PB of 49.40 and is currently ranked third in the UK.
He has used the facility for the past 10 years and is part of a training group there, but he says there has been a worrying trend in the past 24 months with other sports taking preference and he is unhappy at the prospect of paying a fee for the first time as access is “restricted” for members, as well as those high-end athletes on the Everyone Active Sporting Champions Scheme.
His aim is to have a meeting with the centre to discuss the changes and come to an amicable solution.
“For us as a group the centre has been very good and it’s 10 years-plus I’ve been training there,” said Paul.
“They’ve got great facilities. There’s an outside track and an indoor centre where there’s a 60m running stretch upstairs. Downstairs there’s a field event area with long jump, high jump and pole vault.
“The centre has offered a good level of support. It’s accessible for those in our group travelling from London. It’s been our choice based on location and the quality of the facilities.
“There are other athletic groups too. It ranges from grass-root beginners to elite and our group has Jessie Knight [Olympian at 400m hurdles in 2021]. Some have represented their country in the Commonwealth, European and World Championships. Jessie has her sights, like a couple of us others, on Paris 2024.
“Then there’s the next generation, who are preparing for future Olympics.”
The Sporting Champions Scheme was launched in 2016 and its slogan is ‘Helping upcoming and elite athletes achieve their full potential’.
The Everyone Active website states: “As an Everyone Active Sporting Champion, you’ll benefit from access to free training facilities at any of our 200-plus sports centres located all over the country, as well as to mentoring days throughout the year.”
That has certainly been the case, with the ambassadorial face of the scheme being hurdles legend Colin Jackson CBE.
“For me, the last couple of years things have started to shift,” said Paul. “The coaches of our athletics groups have clubbed together to see if we can communicate with the centre to come up with a viable solution.
“We were advised on an email a new structure was coming into place [from December 1].
“The new format is going to be a booking system where coaches have to book a lane at a cost of £8.50 per hour, per lane.
“The support scheme gives us free access. Now they are turning around to us and saying they are going to charge us a high fee for access to the track. There was little clarity given on how it was going to work.
“It will have a detrimental effect on a lot of athletes. I would say 50% are on this scheme, the others are paying members of the facility and are being told there is an extra fee they have to pay, through their coach. For me it’s the most inclusive sport, with different backgrounds, gender equality – it’s accessible to everyone. That’s the beauty of the sport and Everyone Active is a nonprofit organisation. What we want to get from them is to open the door for a reasonable conversation.
“We are being told ‘this is in place and there’s nothing you can do about it’. We feel it’s an injustice and we want to put it right.”
Already, Paul says the hiring of other sports has meant restricted access for athletes on some evenings.
“It’s frustrating and there’s been no communication to us about that,” added Paul.
He also has issue with the centre “pricing out” in his words a group of wheelchair athlete users when the centre is named after one of the greatest Paralympians.
He also feels the legacy from London 2012 is, “gradually beginning to fade away” and is “a concern for athletics as a whole.”
Rebecca Eyles, contract manager for Everyone Active, said: “Supporting up and coming sporting talent is important to Everyone Active. Our Sporting Champions scheme has been running for six years and supports talented athletes by providing them with free access to gym and swim, at any of Everyone Active’s 200-plus sites across the country.
“This benefit remains and athletes on the scheme will continue to be provided with unlimited free access, alongside mentoring sessions and much more.
“Over and above this, traditionally, David Weir Leisure Centre has also offered these athletes free access to additional facilities. Upon review and under the current economic climate, we have had to reduce this offer, and now provide one-hour free access per day of the athletics facilities.
“This is a goodwill gesture that is offered over and above the Sporting Champions contract.
“It has always been Everyone Active’s policy that members will be expected to pay a fee on top of their monthly membership if they are using the facilities with an inhouse coach.”