AND WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
As competition providers it is beneficial to regularly appraise whether what we offer is both best practice and actually what our athletes and their clubs want!
Athletics in the SW of England is vibrant but we cannot sit still and rest on our laurels.
We are grateful to Keith Reed (EA SW Regional Chair/Erme Valley Harriers) for sharing with us some of his thoughts on the possible future direction of the SWAL. Please feel free to send comments to us via this EMAIL LINK
​South West League – The future?
The SW league is now a very successful league and the one division format of 12 clubs creates a vibrant and competitive match which athletes enjoy.
There are so many positives to the format namely
  • Good competition and high turnout of athletes
  • High standard of performances
  • Fantastic atmosphere at the matches.
  • Good regional interaction
  • Development opportunity for officials.
  • Juniors and seniors competing together
  • Photofinish and EDM
There are however a few negatives;
  • Limited programme of events
  • Very busy with athletes which can make events difficult to organise.
  • No promotion or relegation
Whilst the SW League has become popular the Southern Athletics League, UKWL, YDL and even the BAL have struggled. Many SW clubs have found it difficult to get athletes to turn out because of the distances involved in travel to the matches and also the ever increasing cost of travel.
Some clubs and even composite teams are considering not taking part in these leagues in 2019 and are instead looking for more local competitions for their athletes.
It would seem therefore that the SW League has an opportunity to grow and fill the void for some of these clubs.
The proposal is as follows:
  • Have a SW Junior League for U13’s and U15’s and a SW Senior League for U17’s, U20’s and seniors.
  • Have a full programme of events at each fixture.
  • Max of 12 clubs.
  • Four fixtures for each league (on same weekends as YDL Lower and SAL or YDL Upper).
  • Use central venue if possible.
  • Have photofinish and EDM.
  • Encourage composite teams to ensure all clubs are relatively equal in strength.
  • Emphasis on athlete performance not necessarily on club success.
The positives and negatives of this proposal are below:
Positives
  • Full programme of events at every meeting (similar to YDL).
  • More relevant age group competitions leading to better athlete development.
  • Maintains high standards but should allow clubs to take more athletes.
  • High number of officials present will encourage development.
  • Relay teams could qualify for UKA events.
  • Reduced travelling and costs for clubs.
Negatives
  • Loss of senior and junior shared competitive environment.
  • More fixtures for some clubs who are not in other leagues.
I therefore propose we should introduce this at the start of the 2020 season. A working party could be set up to sort details during 2019.