BEACH Park Irvine was the venue for the 30th ScottishPower Secondary Cross Country Championships last weekend (8th March).
Thousands of secondary school-aged pupils took to the starting line in the high-profile outdoor event, with four races for both boys and girls of distances between 2400 and 6000m.
The cross country championships has been running at Irvine’s scenic Beach Park for more than 20 years and has seen some of the country’s top runners including Liz McColgan and Yvonne Murray take part.
Now in its fourth year of sponsoring the grassroots element of athletics, ScottishPower, the environmentally-friendly energy company, is proud to be associated with this event.
Jim Paterson, sales and marketing director of ScottishPower, said:
“Beach Park in Irvine is always a fantastic venue for the Secondary Cross Country Championships, even with the cold and wet weather we seem to get every year without fail!
“Despite this, there was a great turnout, with plenty of talent emerging on the day.”
At the recent National Cross Country Championships in Falkirk, also sponsored by ScottishPower, youngsters were able to witness the more senior athletes take to the tracks and be inspired to continue on in the sport, perhaps one day representing Scotland in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Scottish energy company’s sponsorship concentrates on encouraging youngsters to take up athletics and make the most of the sport and the benefits it can bring to the individuals’ health, as well as the environment, as it takes their focus away from computers and televisions.
Jamie McDonald, scottishathletics Youth Development Manager, said:
“The ScottishPower Secondary Cross Country Championships is a huge event on the athletics calendar and always results in exciting competition both individually and between schools.
“The Irvine course is a great test for Scotland’s young endurance athletes and it was great to see so many young athletes compete in the 2008 Championships.”
Media Information – Jane Holmes 0141 636 4557
Notes to Editors:
Results will be sent alongside the press release and images, however, they can also be viewed on the Scottish Schools Athletics Association www.ssaa.co.uk.