On track to London

Left to Right: Aberystwyth University Vice Chancellor, Professor April McMahon, gets Harriers runners Dylan Jones (President), Rhiannon Anderson and Susanna Ditton underway as Guild of Students Activities Officer, Alun Minifey, looks on.

A team of 15 athletes from Aberystwyth University Harriers Running Club will make their way to London next Friday 4 May to compete in the three-day British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, which will be held at the new Olympic Stadium.

The Championships will be the highlight of Universities Week 2012, an annual UK wide celebration of universities and institutions of higher education which runs from 30 April to 7 May.

This year’s Universities Week, themed ‘The Olympic Games’ and coordinated by Universities UK and BUCS, aims to increase public awareness of the wide and varied role of the UK’s universities http://www.universitiesweek.org.uk/Pages/default.aspx
 
The draw of competing in a stadium that will in a few months, play host to the world’s greatest athletes, has proved a great incentive and has seen more than 100 universities registered.

Professor April McMahon, Vice Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, says, “The experiences of participating at the Olympic Stadium, will I’m sure provide an excellent platform for our athletes to work from in the future. I wish them every success and also look forward to the other sporting events planned at the University next week.”

Harriers Club President Dylan Jones, a Masters student from the Department of International Politics, explains, “This is a great opportunity for the club to compete on the biggest stage and should provide an amazing experience that will inspire our athletes to improve in the future.

“We would like to thank the Aberystwyth Guild for supporting us with equipment such as sprint blocks and for travel to the Championships.”

Alun Minifey, from the Student’s Guild Activities Office, explains, “We are incredibly proud and excited to be sending our athletes to the Olympic Stadium, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we wish them well in the competition.

“Although only recently revived, the Harriers has developed from a small group of athletes to a club that not only competes on a national level, but also contributes to the community by raising a great deal of funds for charity.”

A whole host of other sporting activities will also take place at the University during Universities Week, which includes a rugby 7s tournament and a fencing competition on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May, as well as a netball tournament also on the Sunday.

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