| Document Reference | UU 20 |
| Title | Records of the University of Nottingham Cross Country and Athletics Club |
| Date | 1949-1999 |
| Extent | 7 boxes |
| Abstract | Record books, scrap book, photographs and newsletters created by members of the student sports club, the University of Nottingham male and female Cross Country and Athletics Club |
| Level | SubFonds |
| Access Conditions | The bulk of the collection is accessible to all readers. However, access to some items is restricted under current Data Protection legislation. Please see our Access Policy or contact us for further advice. |
| Admin History | The records indicate that the Club started out as the Men's Cross Country Club, later incorporating athletics and at a similar date, female members start being mentioned (c.1979). As with most university student sport clubs, it aimed to encourage members of all abilities to run for fun, as well as providing training, racing opportunities and social events; the Club was affiliated to the Amateur Athletic Association and later, England Athletics. The Club competed regularly against other universities in national events and organised inter-hall competitions. It usually held Wellcome relays and time trials for new members at the start of the academic year.
Information extracted from the record books about the Club's presidents/captains:
Men's Cross Country President 1949-1951 and Honorary President 1955-1956: L.E. Prior
List of Presidents/Captains according to list at UU 20/1/30 and UU 20/1/32:
1949-1950 J.B. Smith
1950-1951 P.L. Payne
1951-1952 D.N. Robinson
1952-1954 Gordon Read
1954-1955 D.W. Rustidge
1955-1956 John F. Raw
1956-1957 A.J. Brown
1957-1958 J.M. Burney
1962-1963 Roger A. Osborn
1963-1964 Alan J. Wilson
1964-1965 John N. Winn
1965-1966 W. John Newton
1966-1967 Colin W. Rogers
1967-1968 David Cresswell
1968-1969 Mike Whiteside
1969-1970 Robert Towler
1971-1972 Howard Forrest
1972-1973 Malcolm S. Price
1973-1974 Vernon Trott
1979-1980 Phil Kemp; Women's: Lindsay Elliott
1980-1981 Andrew Spenceley; Women's: Deborah Akers
1981-1982 James Tuck; Women's: Deborah Akers
1982-1983 Paul Taylor; Women's: Julie Lambourne
1983-1984 Pete Mayo; Women's: Julie Lambourne
1984-1985 Dave Ramsden (Cross Country); John Burns (Athletics)
1985-1986 Ben Reynolds; Julie Lambourne
1986-1987 Derek Bultitude; Julie Lambourne
1987-1988 Christopher Mayo; Tina Russell?
1988-1989 James Simmonite; Sheena Stabler; Adam Eyre-Walker; Helen Low
1989-1990 Nicola Dean; Catherine Heslop
1990-1991 Paul A. Roberts
1991-1992 Rob Sadler
1992-1993 Nick Moore; Alison Phillips
1993-1994
1994-1995 Raymond Ward
1995-1996 Richard Twomey
1996-1997Alan Thomas
1997-1998 Robert Thomas Hughes
1998-1999 Timothy Woodthorpe
Achievements:
In 1953 Nottingham University hosted for the first time the Universities Athletic Union Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park, organised by the Nottinghamshire Amateur Athletic Association, with the University's Cross Country Club taking charge and Vice-Chancellor Bertrand Hallward starting the race; other notable events featured in the scrap book include a relay race in Nottingham with a trophy presented by film star Jack Hawkins (c.1950s). In 1978/1979 the Club came 2nd out of 250 teams in the Corrida Relais in Belgium.
At 2018 the Club was participating in the major BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) championships each year, as well as many other events such as the University relay series (which it won in 2005), and local cross country leagues. The men’s team have previously finished 5th in the BUCS cross-country championships, and the Club has had two gold medallists at the track and field championships in 2011. Also, in 2009, it had 1st and 2nd in the BUCS Marathon (incorporated in the London Marathon). The Club holds a relay race every year on campus in memory of former student and athlete Ed Prickett who was tragically killed in 2005 in a road traffic accident whilst at the British Universities Track Championships. Half the proceeds from the event are donated to the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund (RPMF) – a charity Ed Prickett benefitted from. Reports and photographs from recent events are posted on the Club website: https://uonathletics.wordpress.com/ |
| Custodial History | The records had been stored in the attic at Sherwood Hall of Residence and were saved from disposal by the Club President in the late 1990s, who presented them to Manuscripts and Special Collections in 2018.
It is intended that more recent documents relating to the Clubs activities since 1999 should be added to this collection. Current members of the Club are invited to donate material such as race reports, details of committee members, copies of the consitutions, press coverage of events, photographs, etc. (including born digital items) by contacting Manuscripts and Special Collections. |
| Description | The bulk of the collection is an impressively lengthy and detailed series of handwritten journals or record books/files, dating back to 1949. These tend to include lists of Committee officers and often list the Club members. They may also include meeting minutes, photographs pasted in (often with humorous captions), race reports (which can give detailed accounts of weather conditions, difficulties experienced by the competitors, etc.), accounts showing the Club's running costs and income from members, etc. (UU 20/1)
Also present are a series of newsletters produced by the Club's Committee for distribution to members and potential members (UU 20/2), a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings (UU 20/3), and a small number of photographs (UU 20/4). |
| MgtGroup | University archives |
| MgtSubGroup | University related |
| Arrangement | Material has been arranged by type and by date order where possible. |
| Term | Athletics - Student |
| Cross-country running - Student |
| Students - sport |
| Students Union - clubs |
| FindingAids | Copyright in all finding aids belongs to The University of Nottingham. Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections. |
| Copyright | Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.
Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing on our Permission to Publish form (see the Reprographics Services part of our website or email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk) |
| ReprodnNote | Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents. |
| Related Material | Photographs from J.M. Kendrick, former student at the University of Nottingham, member of the Cross Country Club, and later Warden of Wortley Hall; 1955-1959 (NUP 32) |
| Photograph of the University College Nottingham Cross-Country Club 1930-31 (UMP 11/12/1-3 and 5) |
| Photograph of University College Nottingham Athletic Club 1935 (NUP/15/5) and 1934 (NUP/15/7) |
| Issues of the student newspaper 'Gongster' may also contain reports of sporting achievements (University of Nottingham Printed Collection periodicals) |
| Black and white photograph of the Nottingham University Athletics Club 1964 Winners U.A.U. Unicorn Trophy (NUP/60) |
| Related Record | NUP/32 |
| NUP/15/7 |
| UMP/11/12 |
| NUP/15/5 |
| NUP/60 |