Despite lack of local track, Peninsula Track and Field Club works well – Vancouver Island Free Daily

Levi Venables (right) here seen with his mother, Elizabeth Venables, who is also a coach, will represent the Peninsula Track and Field Club at the 2022 BC Games to be held in Prince George from July 21-24. His teammate Egan Franey will join him. (Photo courtesy of Peninsula Athletics Club)

Track and Field Club has named Rosie Haynes its top runner for 2022. She will compete in the 300m at the BC Athletics Junior Developmental Track and Field Championships in Surrey July 15-17. (Photo courtesy of Peninsula Athletics Club)” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1.jpg 1440w, https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1-300×277.jpg 300w, https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1-1024×946.jpg 1024w, https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1-768×709.jpg 768w, https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1-640×591.jpg 640w, https://1kc6192wfbuqzt2py3il3781-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/29621038_web1_220629-PNR-PeninsulaTrackAndField-Track_1-1200×1108.jpg 1200w” sizes=”(max-width: 320px) 70vw,(max-width: 639px) 85vw, (max-width: 1023px) 55vw, 640px”/>The Peninsula Track and Field Club has named Rosie Haynes its top runner for 2022. She will compete in the 300m at the BC Athletics Junior Developmental Track and Field Championships in Surrey July 15-17. (Photo courtesy of Peninsula Athletics Club)

With the 2022 BC Games in Prince George on July 21-24 approaching, the list of names representing the Peninsula Track and Field Club is growing.

Egan Franey and Levi Venables, both 13, were part of the BC Zone 6 Summer Games team. The duo will represent the club in a variety of events. Franey will compete in the hammer throw, discus and javelin throw while Venables will compete in the pentathlon, their coach Aaron Holmgren said.

The announcement of the duo’s selection for the games, which brings together BC’s top emerging high-performance athletes, trained coaches and certified officials, comes after a busy season for the club with some upcoming events.

Rosie Haynes, who the club named runner of the year, will be in contention for the fastest time in the 300 meters when she competes at the BC Athletics Junior Developmental Track and Field Championships in Surrey July 15-17.

The club, formed in 1984 and offering athletes a chance to compete in a wide variety of events without the pole vault, records these achievements against the backdrop of not only COVID-19, but also changes to the track. Parkland High School with the track currently being replaced.

As Holmgren said earlier in the year, the club was struggling to find coaches before COVID.

He then had to forgo a season in 2020 due to COVID restrictions before going through the 2021 season splitting training into separate days. Things have changed since then.

“(Now) with a strong group of new coaches and an excellent marketing manager, our club is brimming with interest and membership has grown significantly,” he said. With interest high and access to facilities limited, the club actually had to cap interest.

“We don’t have the facilities to accommodate them all at the moment,” Holmgren said earlier in June, adding that the club currently maintains a waiting list.

During the season, the club continued to train twice a week with a training session in North Saanich on a space next to the track being replaced and another session in a space rented from Saanich at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) for the most advanced. athletes.

But those hurdles also seemed to have brought the club closer together. Photos from various events show club athletes and their coaches, many of whom are parents, supporting and encouraging each other with the results.

“It’s been quite a remarkable season considering we’ve been training without our home track at Parklands this year and coming off of two years of pandemic impacts on training and competition,” said Holmgren, who told him. -even won two gold medals as one. of the top 800m and 1500m runners for his age group nationally.

“I’m proud of the athletes and the club, those who participate and those who train simply for the perseverance and dedication it takes to be an athlete on the track.

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Saanich Peninsula