After a gap of a quarter of a century the Sussex Track and Field Championships return to Brighton this weekend.
Traditionally the men’s championships were held in the Brighton area in the years before WWII and immediately after and apart from a couple of not very successful transfers to Princes Park, Eastbourne in the 1950s when the home base was the Greyhound Stadium at Hove there they remained until they took up home at the Brighton Sports Arena (Withdean) in 1955.
The Women’s championships tended to wander around the county and spent several years at the Priory Grounds at Chichester on the May Bank Holiday before eventually setting up home at Withdean with the Men’s event.
It was 1989 when they moved to Crawley and there they have remained until this year when a change of date meant the Crawley track was not available.
Entries have increased a little but this is probably more to do with the change of date and venue as, over the past twenty odd years, athletes have become more mobile and the overall track and field strength has probably moved more to the north of the County. Whatever the reason the move has done little to improve entries in the senior age groups and the increase has been amongst the younger age groups.
The senior women/U20 entries have been seriously affected by the clash with the National Combined Events championships at Bedford where several Sussex athletes will be heading.
If entries stand-up there could be some interesting and exciting battles in both track and field events, most probably in the younger age groups and a few records during the two days of competition.
Probably the most promising senior race, if all the entrants report to the starter, will be the senior men's 5,000 metres where Kevin Rojas (Brighton & Hove) is down to defend his crown against club mate Howard Bristow and Jon Pepper (Brighton Phoenix). Pepper is the fastest on paper but neither he or Rojas have been showing their best on the road over the past few months, but Bristow is in bristling form and there are several other leading Sussex distance runners amongst the entries.
The action starts at 11.00 and lasts through till 5.00 each day so without doubt the hardest working people there this weekend will be Championship secretary Keith May along with Sue May in what is their last stint as meeting managers, and the nearly one hundred officials all of whom are volunteers.