Date: Sat 22^nd June 2019  Venue: Mile End Stadium, London, E14 7TW

Hosted by London Borough of Tower Hamlets and GLL, supported by Carmen Butler Charities Charitable Trust and the Roden Family Foundation.  

Metro Blind Sport – Welcomes athletes of all ages and experience throughout the UK to join us in our annual competition’s ‘43^rd year! 

The morning ‘Come and Try Coaching Session’ will once again provide those new to the sport a brilliant opportunity to try out running, jumping and throwing in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, supported by qualified coaches. If you haven’t tried an event before and want to compete in the afternoon, or are looking to improve your performance this is the place for you.

The 2019 programme will be run under UKA/IBSA rules and is open to males and females of all ages. The athletics competitions are principally for registered blind and partially sighted people.

Every competitor will receive a free t-shirt along with either a medal and/or performance certificate. Free packed lunches will be provided for all competitors, coaches, officials and volunteers. *Guide Runners may be arranged with advance notice, you will need to provide an estimate of your track times.

Guest competitors are welcome but no medals or certificates can be awarded.

Come and Try Session starts 10.00am – 11.30am, open to all ages, an ideal opportunity to access specialist coaching in track and field disciplines.

Competition starts 12.00 noon, listed below are all events grouped under the relevant age ranges. Results will be uploaded to Power of 10 as soon as possible. 

Event closes after final Medal Ceremony – 5.00pm  

The track (Mile End Stadium) and the accommodation (Queen Mary University) are within walking distance of Mile End Tube Station (Central and District line).

• Athletes aged Under 12, 14 or 17 may take part in up to four individual events in any one day.
• Senior Athletes may take part in a maximum of five events. These will consist of either 3 track and 2 field, or 2 track and 3 field on the day.
• Electronic timing will be used on all track races.
• B3 and B4 athletes are reminded that competition rules do not allow any concessions to assist performance. (No Guide Runners)
• ALL B1 ATHLETES MUST PROVIDE AND USE THEIR OWN SHADES. Time permitting there will be a Fun Relay for all competitors during the afternoon including parents and coaches.
• Photos: A gallery of high resolution photos will be available in the week after this event. We will share a link with you where you can view and select, following a donation of your choosing, the photos you would like to keep. Please take note of the number/s and send these to wynne@metroblindsport.org. Saul will setup an individual WeTransfer link (available for 7 days only) for you to download the Digital High Res Photo/s you have chosen to your pc. Photo requests are on a first come, first serve basis only and will be processed when time allows. Donations can be made via the website donate button http://bit.ly/MBSDonatePage

In order for as many events as possible to take place, it may be necessary to merge sight categories thereby ensuring the maximum number of individual ‘event requests’ are met. We recognise this could lead to a miss-match in functional sight levels, however our aim with the ‘Metro Athletics Open’ is to always offer the widest range of opportunities for athletes to compete. We view this as a preferable option to cancelling events with low numbers.    

 The closing date for Entries is Saturday 01^st June 2019, if you require Accommodation the closing date is 31^st March 2019.

Accommodation: This will be available on Friday and Saturday night (21^st and 22^nd) at the aforementioned Queen Mary University of London.  Please note there is a further reduction for those under the age of 18. A separate form is available for accommodation requests, please email charlie.raven@metroblindsport.org