Welcome to Thanet AC. 

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We are a committed and passionate club serving the community of East Kent. Our athletes range from all ages and have a particularly strong youth squad. 

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We compete in a range of leagues and events nationally, consistently punching above our weight with our results. 

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We are an inclusive and diverse club, working with a range of schools and youth organisations to promote participation. 

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We look forward to seeing you at the track!

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As club secretary Linda manages the club email account, and therefore the primary contact for all club enquiries . She has been involved with the club since it was set up in 2010 so can usually answer any questions, and if she doesn’t know, will be able to point you in the right direction.

Linda is the U13 coach which places her in an ideal position as coordinate the team for KYAL (for our U13 and U15 athletes). She is passionate about using her various roles within the club to make the sport accessible and to support athletes to develop confidence and skills which they can transfer into all areas of their lives.

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Darren joined Thanet AC shortly after it officially started, and for the last few years has taken on the role of Head Coach at the club. He leads the U11 coaching sessions, and then takes the Senior Multi-Events group.

 

Darren used to be a Decathlete himself. He was ranked No.1 in the country and won National Honours. He then went on to compete for GB in numerous Internationals culminating in a selection for the Manchester Commonwealth Games Squad (injury ruling him out) and competing at the European Cup Combined Events before illness cruelly stopped his career short at the age of 23.

 

Luckily, or unluckily his athletes would say, he took his coaching badges and never looked back. He has coached multiple National Champions and representatives and plays a key role within England Athletics coaching and mentoring elite athletes both in the UK and abroad.

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Locally he is always on the lookout for up and coming talent coaching and running competitions in both Primary and Secondary schools.

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Lewis has been an athlete at the club for approaching 10 years, training sprints with James. 

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As well as his own training, Lewis is often found working with and alongside all athletes at the club to support and develop their athletics, frequently attending competitions to encourage and coach.

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Lewis also plays a huge part behind the scenes, managing and updating the club website, attendance records, membership, clothing and acting as athlete representative.

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James is one of the founding members of Thanet AC so without him we would not have this amazing club to be a part of today, for that, we thank him!

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In the days before Thanet AC, James himself was a sprinter, making top 10 national rankings. He has since been involved in all aspects of athletics and sport, working at community level as well as with elite athletes. 

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James has found himself at the centre of the athletics community for the last 25 years, boasting an impressive 20 years of coaching experience having worked with some of the country's greatest sportspeople.

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Terry is currently the Vice-Chair of Thanet AC after handing the reigns to Julien.

 

He is also our middle distance coach and has been with the club since it was established over 12 years ago!

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In his teenage years, Terry's athletics career started with sprinting and hurdling before progressing to road running, where he has completed an impressive range of events all the way from 1k to a full marathon.

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Since his retirement from running, Terry is keen to be giving back to the sport that gave him countless opportunities in his early days.

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Amy has been involved with Thanet Athletics Club since the very beginning, after attending the very first night of training as an U11 athlete, and then training and competing as a multi-eventer for many years. She's moved on to the longer distances now and was lucky enough to run the London Marathon in the club vest in 2022.

 

Amy has recently taken on the role of treasurer and is excited to give back to the club that was such a big part of her childhood.

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Christine has been our welfare officer at Thanet AC for the last 5 years. Christine is also a level 2 official, regularly attending competitions and enjoys seeing our athletes progress.

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If you ever have any questions or issues, she is available at the track most Tuesday evenings and is always happy to help or advise where possible.

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Janet has been an assistant coach at Thanet AC since its inception in 2010. She coached the U11's for over 10 years before moving to the U13 group in more recent years to assist Linda. 

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Janet is extremely passionate about encouraging our athletes to challenge themselves and experience all aspects of track and field, to include competing regularly. Athletics should be a fun experience for all involved!

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Amongst other things, Janet travels the world watching and supporting athletics, she has even managed to make a few TV appearances so keep your eyes peeled!

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Paul is the newest member of the club, joining us 18 month ago. With a lifelong passion for athletics and being a keen triple jumper in his early days, Paul is working towards his coaching qualification for horizontal jumps - for which he hopes to complete by the end of the year and have a fully fledged training group! Paul currently assists James in the sprints group while he works towards this.

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As well as athletics, Paul's other interests include rugby union and learning Italian; Bravo, Paul!

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