For the first time for a quarter of a century two Sussex clubs will be competing in the British Athletics League this weekend.
Crawley Athletic Club will be spending another year in Division two where they finished fourth last season. They will be heading to Cardiff and can expect another tough battle to hold their position in the League.
Unfortunately they will be missing sprinter Jason Hussain, with an Achilles injury, all-rounder Richard Reeks and middle distance runner Max Thomas but on the positive side they have youngsters Joe Massimo, in the sprints, and pole-vaulter George Turner as well as some “Higher competition athletes” from other clubs and shot putter Sam Heawood from Worthing who are making their debut to the team.
Last season it was the Lasis boys who scored the most points in the throwing events and there is hope, following their fine throwing at the BUCS at Bedford last weekend they will repeat the medicine.
Crawley face Bedford, Bristol, Kent, Kingston & Poly, Nottingham and Swansea as well as the home team.
Brighton & Hove, who were founder members of Division one of the British Athletics League some forty years ago but dropped out of the League at the end of the 1980s, have accepted an invitation to join Division four.
Unfortunately they will have several absentees for their first match at Derby but they do have a couple of “Higher Competition Athletes” to bolster the team.
It is very much a case of dipping their toe in the water and there are only six clubs in the fourth division: Portsmouth, Doncaster, Reading and Rugby and the combined Derby/Mansfield host team however will provide a real challenge.