Petrofac Athletics League begins new season

The Petrofac Athletics League season will commence this Sunday, 25 April, at the Aberdeen Sports Village with the first of four scheduled meetings. To kick-off the league, which has been sponsored by oil & gas facilities service provider Petrofac since 2007, athletes from Aberdeen and Ellon clubs will compete in a range of track and field activities, including the long jump, high jump, sprints and throwing events. The winners will then go on to compete in the league finals to be held in Inverness in September.

The Petrofac Athletics League, as it was renamed in 2007, has been running since 1980 and involves 16 athletic clubs covering northern and eastern areas of Scotland. The east section includes clubs from Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Angus and Perth and the north section includes clubs from Elgin, Inverness, Caithness and Nairn.

Carl Thompson, VP, finance & business services, said: “Petrofac is delighted to support such a successful league, which plays a vital role in the development of athletes and inspires young talent to aim to progress to a higher level.”

Winston Webber, secretary and treasurer of the athletics league, said: “Without Petrofac’s help budding athletes in the North and East of Scotland would not have the chance to hone their abilities and perhaps go on to qualify for the Olympics or Commonwealth Games. It is the only league in Scotland where all the club athletes, both young and old, can compete at the same time and offers a unique opportunity for clubs in the area to come together and compete.”

The league is also the only one in Scotland to provide competition across a range of disciplines, abilities and ages; ultimately enabling young athletes to progress to national level competitions. With the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in mind, it is hoped that this league will inspire young athletes to work hard and strive to become good enough to participate at these levels.