Junior distances?
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Kitson | May 14 2024, 5:09pm | It is great to see junior participation increasing and younger runners discovering their love for racing and the great outdoors. I wonder are our races too long for many other youngsters? IMRA guidelines indicate that kids born in 2018 can race distances up to 5km (Accompanied) in an IMRA race. Add in elevation gain and you have a very tough night out for many u14s, never mind for a six-year-old who would be expected to race that distance if they wanted to take part. Most u14s would be happy with a couple of kilometers around a trail followed by a packet of crisps. Maybe try shorter races to attract even larger numbers? |
| Alan Ayling | May 14 2024, 7:19pm | Evening Brian, I'm not clear are you suggesting an additional race for the younger kids, or do away with the existing junior course as we know it. The former concerns me in that - quite simply - who is going to resource that? Race directors and officials already have enough on their plate. Any distraction or additiional burden that might compromise the existing races is, in my opinion, not a good thing. So the only way would be for someone to take it on as an independent exercise. The latter concerns me because that option would be frankly rubbish to older teens who aren't allowed run the full course. Offers nothing to encourage progression, Should we really be asking ourselves, what do we want when it comes to young people in our sport? This is mountain running. It's meant to be tough, If any person, whether because of their age or anything else, finds mountain running too tough, it's not for them and that's OK. There are other ways to enjoy a couple of km around a trail and a packet of crisps. Should we have to distract from our purpose to organise it though? Would we be better openly branding our sport as being suitable for ages 12 upwards and living with the bit of hardship? |
| Barry O'Neill | May 14 2024, 7:31pm | I don’t see an issue including something like this. An event last year had an inclusive race for kids added. Despite the fact the event was a new race on the calendar there was no issue. Very few extra resources were needed. |
| Miriam Maher | May 14 2024, 9:15pm | Hiya Brian Sounds like an idea that you’re best to contact Elizabeth Wheeler directly about - seeing as how all things to do with the juniors in IMRA come under her remit. Thanks Miriam |
| Phil behan | May 15 2024, 3:41pm | Hi folks, I hope it is ok to add some thoughts here. I coach juniors at U14 in Raheny Shamrocks and usually bring a gang of juniors to the IMRA races, so maybe I can add a little insight. I understand Brian's point on the distance and elevation being intimidating for some juniors. There are however, possibly other factors at play for lower participation. For many Dublin based parents, brining young kids to Wicklow for a race is simply too much of an ask, unless they are running themselves of course. We struggle to get kids to from Raheny to Tallaght for track races sometimes. It also think it’s really important for the non-Wicklow based clubs, that we retain races like Ardgillan, Howth and Killiney Hill etc which are far more accessible for those not in Wicklow and can be used as gateway races to encourage more into the sport. Probably a similar situation across the country also. So what could we do? For say 12 upwards, we could look at a junior league within an existing league. As an example, we could choose 5 existing races from the Leinster league, with 3 races to score and a prize at the end for league winner. I know this already happens, but we could promote these 5 events as junior focused races also. What this might do is encourage more juniors to attend as they will now have a focus and a goal, it will definitely add more competition, and it might limit juniors going week in week out which can have a physical impact on younger athletes joints. The issue around distances for younger kids below 12 is really a parenting decision, and if they feel their kid is up to it then what can we do? Some as young as 8 are running park runs week in week out on tarmac! Having a shorter say 2km race would be great for younger kids, but again it might add in more pressure on an RD already under pressure. There is a solution to all of this somewhere, but just thought I would add the above. Happy to help and look after a junior league if it is something that might be a runner. No pun intended. |
| Tim Grummell | May 17 2024, 11:12pm | Phil I'd definitely agree with you on the create a shorter juniors league within the current wed night races, something like 5 races. Still leave the short course at the rest of the races, however hopefully more juniors will be encouraged to come to the specific junior race events knowing they will get a more competitive race. In general the feedback I get is that the 15/16/17s olds would much much rather race the full event, even if its pushing 10k and abit long for them (in my view as a coach), however if those races were more competitive then it would be less of an issue. It would absolutely make since to have a separate say 3k race for aged 12 to 14 and the 5k for older. My final comment would be it would be best to do all this in the later stages of the summer, from say late June onwards, at the minute there are loads of schools and other junior track races on, alongside exams etc in mid June. I'd be happy to help out organise some of this, I should have a decent bunch of juniors at some wed nights from mid June on. |
