Frequently asked questions

Senior athletics is £14.50 a month and covers everything the club runs: coached athletics, circuit training, road and track sessions, in person and online. Junior athletics is also £14.50 a month. Senior off-track membership, which covers coached road and off-road sessions but no track sessions, is £40 a year. Students who are members of the University of York Athletics Club pay £25 a year.

Discounts are available for two members of the same household. England Athletics registration is included from U12 upwards, so there is nothing extra to pay to be registered to compete. Race entry fees are paid by the athlete, and a club vest is £25.

We train at six venues across the Vale of York, from Tadcaster down to Bubwith, on every weekday and Saturday mornings. Every session, venue and time is on the map at Locations & Times.

No. We have a planning application with North Yorkshire Council for our own floodlit all-weather track and field facility in Selby. In the meantime we hire tracks: the recently refurbished all-weather Redgra track at Tadcaster Grammar School, the floodlit all-weather track at the University of York, and the all-weather sprints and hurdles straight at York St John University.

Groups are normally capped at twelve, so a coach knows your name and you get to know everybody you train with. We are a community club rather than a large squad, and we welcome athletes from all backgrounds.

Summer: West Yorkshire Track and Field League, York and District Road Race League, Yorkshire Veterans Grand Prix Series, Yorkshire Veterans Championships Series.

Winter: West Yorkshire Cross Country League, PECO Cross Country League.

We are affiliated to England Athletics, Northern Athletics and the Yorkshire Veterans Athletics Association. Masters athletes compete in all of the above, in their own age group rather than against the whole field.

Endurance is coached by Ian Martin. Sprints and hurdles by Karen Buck and Les Grant. Jumps by Les Grant and Beverley Horsfield. Throws by Dave Pascoe. Full details of every coach, coaching assistant and run leader are on the Coaches page.

All of our coaches are qualified and licensed by England Athletics and are Enhanced DBS checked. Safeguarding is our number one priority.

Cross country from Year 2 upwards in the PECO Cross Country League over the winter, and track and field from Year 5 upwards in the West Yorkshire Track and Field League over the summer. The Juniors page explains how it works.

Online coaching is included. We use VDOT for endurance coaching, which gives you training plans and customised sessions that sync to your Garmin or Apple Watch. The software, the plans and the online coaching are part of your membership, not an extra.

Yes. Members get discounted gym membership through the club’s partnership with Selby Leisure Centre.

Yes. Alongside the gym discount we run a weekly circuit training class at Bubwith for athlete-specific strength and conditioning, on Thursday evenings.

We welcome athletes from all backgrounds and are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, with a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, victimisation or harassment of any kind. Safeguarding is our number one priority. See our Safeguarding & welfare page.

There are waiting lists at U10 and U12, and Funetics at Sherburn in Elmet and Sherburn Hungate is full. There is space at Funetics in Bubwith and Tadcaster for 5 to 7 year olds.

We are a community run by volunteers, and the number of children we can take is set by the number of adults helping. Parents and guardians who volunteer in some capacity, or who compete themselves, are moved up the list. That is a genuine offer rather than a formality. Please ask to be added rather than assuming there is no point.

Athletics is a significant commitment in terms of training and competition. We encourage children to take part in other sports, clubs and activities, but they must be able to attend training and represent the club across the region.

Our aim is to nurture complete athletes who can sprint, hurdle, jump and throw proficiently, and who can run 2K non-stop at primary age and 5K at secondary age. They may not be able to do that right now, but they must be willing to work towards it in a fun and supportive environment that values team spirit and a positive work ethic above individual achievement. Once total fitness is built, event specialisation can begin.

Our coaching rests on four pillars. Consistency is showing up. Variety is a healthy mix of run, jump and throw at different intensities on varied terrain. Athleticism is agility, balance, coordination, speed, strength and power. Community is teamwork, persistence and giving back to your club.

We expect good standards of behaviour, and all our athletes sign up to the England Athletics Code of Conduct.

Take them to junior parkrun on a Sunday morning in York or Selby and see how they get on with 2K before you think about joining a club. For older children there are 5K parkruns on Saturday mornings in York and Selby.

Our structured endurance sessions are for ages 12 and above. For children under 12 we focus on the athletic fundamentals of run, jump and throw, with an emphasis on agility, balance, coordination and speed.