PRESIDENT’S FOREWORD
I would like to thank my colleagues at Northern Athletics for my nomination as ECCA President; it is an unexpected honour, and a personal high point following a long involvement with the sport of cross country.
My first encounter with cross country was at Yorkshire’s Whitcliffe Mount Grammar School in 1963. The freedom we enjoyed then is almost unthinkable now. An entire school year’s athletes were dispatched from the school grounds to run along about three miles of bridleway and country paths, which we thought nothing of, back then, hopefully to return safely back at school before dark. A stark contrast to the current levels of risk assessment, safeguarding, and safety advisory processes that the same sport must now have in place. My best school performance (third place in the year 7 & 8 school championships), did little to suggest that I would ever reach the heady heights of the sport, but it did instil in me a love of cross country running which is still strong today, despite walking a 4km course
lap proving a bit more of a struggle! My first athletics club was Bingley Harriers in the early 80s, but I ran my first National Championship as a senior was with Morpeth Harriers on Newcastle’s Town Moor in 1986. I It was something of a shock to discover, despite the deep snow, how fast the whole race was. I competed in a further seven successive Nationals and ran a total of 11 senior races, for Morpeth and later for Rotherham Harriers & Athletics Club, following a move back to Yorkshire. At that time, I had no idea how much expertise, time, and effort, by so many people, went into giving me and every other competitor the opportunity to run in those events.
As my advancing age made racing increasingly difficult, I embarked, in 2007, upon a late apprenticeship in event organisation/club administration. This began at South Yorkshire level, then Yorkshire, then Northern and then, in 2013, I was the event manager for the National Cross Country Championship at Herrington Country Park in Sunderland. I’d like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Graham Heeley, Joe Mower, John Temperton, Ian Byett and Richard Inchley for their help and guidance with that initial National event, also for their help with the 2016, 2019, and 2023 events for which Arwel Williams and I were event managers.
I want to express my admiration for the hundreds (probably thousands) of volunteers, officials, club and association members involved in delivering all the competitions that constitute the pathway leading up to, and including the ECCA two Championship events; we are very fortunate to have that support & expertise in our sport.
The ECCA is more than just the competition provider of the two Championship events; it is the custodian and lead organisation for the sport of cross country in England. It is vitally important that it continues to effectively represent the grassroots of the sport, and ensures that the high quality of the Championship events is maintained and improved for future generations. I know that the ECCA is viewed with respect by the clubs, coaches and athletes involved in our sport; long may it run! I look forward to seeing everyone at the 2025 relay championships on 1st November, and at the 2026 National Championships at Sedgefield, County Durham, on 21st February 2026. I wish you all, participants and spectators alike, an enjoyable and successful championships.
Steve Gaines
Rotherham H&AC
President English Cross Country Association 2025- 2026