Uka Postpones Super8 Glasgow Event

UKA has confirmed the postponement of this year’s Super8 event originally earmarked to take place in Glasgow next month.?

Niels de Vos, chief executive of UKA said: ‘We were delighted to again have the support of Glasgow City Council to stage Super8 in its third year and were also thrilled at the continued positive response from several city councils in support of sending representative teams’.

‘However in the current economic climate, some of the participating councils were unable to confirm their involvement in time to stage the event to the standard we have targeted and to give athletes time to plan their competition diaries’. ? ?

According to de Vos, Glasgow City Council has emphasized its commitment to the competition and the sport by reinvesting its support into other athletics events such as the Scottish National Championships.
 
Super8 is based on a City v City format, and in 2009 the event was piloted in Cardiff, with the host city taking on London North, London South, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Sheffield.

The event runs in midweek and takes place over two hours, incorporating events each for both women and men and medley relays in 200m, 400m and 600m.

UKA will now bring key City representatives together later in the summer to develop a long term plan for the Super8 competition format.? ?

De Vos added: ‘In parallel to the elite Super8 event, the concept continues to generate huge interest in schools and clubs and will form the basis of the athletics competition in the new School Games in 2012, as well as the British Athletics League adopting the format for its own Cup competition’.

‘The compact nature of the event permitting a full competition for boys and girls within a two hour window is proving fantastically popular with schools and clubs. There continues to be a high uptake for the concept, and we look forward to making an announcement on future plans very soon’.