TEAM Avon – consisting of young athletes from Yate & District, Bristol and West and Bath – did well to reach the regional final of the Youth Development League.

Everyone was looking forward to welcoming the best young athletes from across the Midlands to the Yate track.

The weather, however, had other ideas, and for only the second time in many officials’ memory, the match had to be abandoned after only forty events.

However, Yate athletes distinguished themselves in a variety of events.

Perhaps the performance of the afternoon came from Ellie Leather in the under-20 3000m. She finished over 30 seconds clear of the next woman in a personal best time of 10:39.90 seconds – remarkable because she had to run most of the race on her own.

Josh Snook had a good afternoon in the under-20 men, coming second in the 200m and winning the 400m by a good second ahead of the Cornish athlete. Josh’s aim is to beat fifty seconds: here he came agonisingly close in 50.03 seconds – three hundredths of a second short.

Adam Brooks finished the under-20 high jump with a jump of 1.90m, a full ten centimetres better than the second athlete. It can surely only be a matter of time before he clears the magic two metres.

His brother, Daniel, along with Nathaniel Mitchell, carried the under-17 sprints. In the 100m Daniel finished second in 11.03 seconds and Nathaniel third in 11.71 seconds. In the 200m – by which time the rain was already hammering down – Nathaniel took second in 23.30 seconds and Daniel third in 23.15 seconds.

Jack Joynson won the under-20 triple jump with a leap of 13.29m and Tyler Molton took second in the hammer with a throw of 45.70.

On the female side there was a win for Ellie Hobbs in the 1500m – a good time of 4:55.66 seconds, and for Molly Jones in the 80m hurdles. Georgia Taylor will have been pleased with her 400m time of 61.49 seconds.

In athletics, we say that matches are never abandoned for the weather, but when the track is a sheet of water and lightning threatens to come ever closer, just as young athletes are about to throw their javelins, the match officials were left with little choice.

The match result will stand, meaning that Rugby and Cardiff go forward to the national final.