Club History
SCVAC HISTORY AND STRUCTURE
Southern Counties Veterans
Association, as the organisation was called at first, was formed in 1975,
with Fred Cuthbert as the Area Organiser, and became SCVAC in 1984 under the
chairmanship of Jim Day. Other leading pioneers in the development of the
club were Jeanne Coker, Ken Crooke, Barbara Dunsford, Jack Fitzgerald, Ken
Harland and Jack Heywood.
The club began organising competition and championships in track and
field, road running, cross country and race walking. In 1986 the first club
newsletter was published and transformed in 1990 into the first issue of The
Southerner magazine.
1990 was an important year for the club in another way when the track and
field league consisting of eleven clubs was formed through the efforts of
Jim Hurley. There were three meetings during the season with the men’s
league table topped by Blackheath Harriers and the women’s by Bromley
Veterans. The league expanded in 1991 to 29 clubs with four matches in each
of four geographical divisions, followed at the end of the season by a
league final. There are now six divisions.
There are now five life members, honoured for their
long and dedicated service in running the club, Jeanne Coker, Bridget Cushen,
Barbara Dunsford, Pam Jones and Vilma Thompson.
The club is run by a committee of members elected at the AGM in December.
Five committee meetings are held at roughly two month intervals.
Any athlete of 35 and over may join the club for an
annual subscription, £10 in 2022, and become automatically a member of the
BMAF. They are then eligible to compete in any SCVAC and BMAF Championships.
Providing that they are British citizens they are eligible to compete in the
British team in International Championships.
The club is affiliated to BMAF and sends a delegate to the major biannual
meetings of EMMA and BMAF to discuss national and international matters.
There are ten other regional clubs , all affiliated to BMAF and they compete
in a track and field inter area match.
Arthur Kimber
December 2021
