ON SUNDAY, August 7, athletes from Yate & District Athletic Club were in action in two different places.

Seniors and under-17 athletes went to Stoke-on-Trent for the final match in the Midland League with the clear aim of doing enough to keep the team they compete in with colleagues from Bristol & West AC in the Premier Division. Younger athletes went off to Exeter for the South West Inter-Counties championships.

The top division of the Midland League has been on a knife edge all summer with just a few points separating Cannock, Rugby/Northampton, Stoke and Bristol/Yate.

Such has been the competition that even winning the opening match when they were at home did not guarantee the local team a place in the league next season.

Wins were hard to come by with Birchfield Harriers out in force and the other clubs determined to do their best. Most impressive on the track was Yvette Westwood in the women's sprints.

Her win in the 100m in 12.2 secs looked very strong, and she backed this up with a second place in the 200m.

The other Yate winner was Adam Brooks in the high jump. His winning height of 1.95m was close to a personal best.

It cannot be long before he clears the magic 2m. Here he knocked off the bar at that height by the slightest touch.

At the end it was still unclear whether survival was assured. An official from Wolverhampton was convinced that his club and Stoke were relegated and it seems that this was right.

So another season at the top level of the Midland League awaits. With growing numbers of Yate athletes becoming available, the future must look promising.

Meanwhile, in Exeter a number of youngsters were strutting their stuff on the South West stage. Competition here can be fierce so the numbers of outright winners was impressive.

Jumpers were to the fore. Luke Ball is still under-13 but a leap of 4.83m in the long jump was enough to win the gold medal. He followed this up in the high jump with a silver with a jump of 1.43m.

Jack Moore is good at a number of events but he has concentrated on high jump for a while now and was rewarded with a gold medal with a jump of 1.83m.

He too went home with a second, silver, medal in the 100m hurdles. There was a win also for Liam Hillier in the triple jump with a new pb.

Willa Gibb showed her class over the 70m hurdles with a time of 11.6 secs, which is enough to rank her fifth in the national rankings.

Sprinters were not to be outdone. Jess Fraser gained two pbs in the 200m (25.87 secs) and 300m (41.5 secs) gaining a silver and a gold medal. Nathaniel Mitchell won both 100m and 200m. His times of 11.67 secs and 23.4 secs demonstrated again his potential.

Throwers were not to be outdone. James Viner took second in the discus and fourth in the shot. Toby Conibear took silver in the hammer with a throw of 38.07m.