About Us
The club’s mission (in words agreed with the Charity Commission) is ‘to promote community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for athletics’.
Membership includes:
- Registration with England Athletics to allow competition entry
- Free coaching and advice
- Free entry to league matches in track and field, cross-country and road running
- Reduced entry fees for some road running events
- Excellent, free training facilities at the University track plus a substantial reduction on track user cards for use outside club hours
- Free indoor training in winter at Cambridge University Sports Centre
- Services to athletes negotiated with local specialists for medical and training advice and treatment, kit etc.
- A regular newsletter
- Maybe most of all, club members to train with, compete with and enjoy each other’s company
We try to offer coaching in all the major disciplines but the club is run by volunteers and not all events are available all the time. If you are interested in a particular event, please ask about it.
The Club
C&C was founded in 1961 from a merger of two clubs, Cambridge City Athletic Club and Coleridge Athletic Club. (Coleridge is a district of Cambridge.) It has been C&C ever since.
We have around 900 members around 800 of whom are active. Around 40% of the club’s membership is young athletes, under 18 years old. Another 20% are adult track and field and the remainder focus on road running and other endurance events such as cross country and even fell running.
The official rules of the club can be seen here.
The Committee
C&C Committee
The club is run entirely by volunteers and has a maximum committee of 15. Currently, they are:
Committee Members for 2023/2024:
Neil Costello – President
Peter Thompson – Chair
Ed Hall – Treasurer
Marie Whittle – Membership Secretary
Steve Green – Track and Field portfolio
Chris Hurcomb – Endurance Portfolio and Operations Manager for Cambridge
Stu Dunlop – Coaching Coordinator
Steve Vandermark – Young Athletes Portfolio (Junior Academy)
Sarah Clarke – Welfare Officer
Mo Park – Vice Chair and Operations Manager for Carver
Stacy McGivern – Without Portfolio
Co-opted members:
Carol Wright- Official’s Representative
Jenny Leggate – Young Athlete’s Representative
Allan Phillips – Disability Representative
Kathryn Williams – Committee Secretary
If you want to know who we are, please look here.
The committee is organised around a number of portfolio responsibilities. Details are set out in this document.
Welfare and child protection
We want all our athletes to feel safe and to be able to train and compete without being subjected to any form of harassment, bullying, verbal or physical abuse or excessive pressure. We have adopted the UK Athletics Welfare and Child Protection policies as the basis for our welfare policies and codes of conduct. If you have any concerns about the way you (or your children) are treated by Club officers, coaches or officials, we encourage you to contact one of the welfare contacts listed below, and discuss the issue with them. Similarly, if you feel concern that another athlete, or a friend, is being subjected to any form of abuse, you should mention your concerns to one of the contacts. Any discussions you have will be treated in complete confidence, and the contacts will help to resolve or eliminate the problem, and have access to professional assistance if required.
The club’s Welfare contact e-mail is [email protected]. The welfare e-mail is our preferred contact method, and is always available should you have any queries or anything you wish to report. if you have a pressing issue, then direct contact details are available on the Contact page here including additional contacts if the welfare is not available.
There are guidelines explaining what to do if you have any concerns.
Some of the relevant documents and links are shown below:
Guidelines and documents
The club documents are provided so that team managers, volunteers, parents, athletes and coaches can find out the guidelines and responsibilities associated with the club.
It is very important that all members know what is expected of them – you sign up to do that on the membership application form.
Please take time to look through the guidelines which relate to members. They are summarised in the Welcome to C&C booklet.
Charitable status
We are registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
As such have to meet the relatively stringent conditions the Charity Commission impose on us in giving details of the club’s trustees (its elected committee) and its financial operations.
The club’s registered charity number is 1169959 and its address is University Sports Ground, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0EQ.
If you have any questions please read the club constitution or contact the committee.
The club constitution is found here
C&C Trust
C&C has set up a trust with the mission, objectives and criteria set out below and for individuals and organisations which meet the criteria described there. Grants will normally be for relatively modest amounts. If you meet the criteria described below and would like to apply for a grant, please send an email to [email protected]
Applications process:
- Grant requests must be submitted in writing to: [email protected]
- No special form is required but the application should include the requested grant size, any relevant quotations or receipts, the reason for the financial request, other funding sources used and any other relevant information including:
- an explanation is provided demonstrating why the individual or organisation cannot raise money from other sources for the grant
- An exploration of alternative treatments or equipment (if appropriate).
- the clear athletic benefits of the grant are articulated
- Considerations by the trustees:
- We are informed in advance of the expenditure.
- Applicant is supported by a coach
- Applicant contributes by competing or volunteering for the club
- While wishing to promote the trust’s mission, the trustees will use their discretion and judgement to balance funds available and the number of grants requested before making their decisions
- An acknowledgement will usually be given within one month but a decision may not be forthcoming until the next meeting of the trustees.
Mission Statement
- To encourage the development of athletics in the Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas.
- To encourage the involvement of the public from all social and ethnic backgrounds in athletics as defined by the UK National Governing Body for Athletics.
- To assist athletes in need.
- To assist in the development of coaches by actively servicing their needs in relation to the development of athletic talent.
- To assist in the provision of athletic equipment to the highest safety standards.
- To assist in the improvement of existing athletic equipment particularly with reference to safety.
- To raise general awareness of athletics as defined above, by organising publicity, events and exhibitions.
Charitable Objects
- To advance for the benefit of the public in the Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas, the development of character, mind, mental coordination, self discipline and physical fitness through the organisation or provision (or assistance in the organisation or provision) of equipment which will encourage and enable such people to participate in athletics as defined above.
- In the interests of social welfare to organise or provide (or assist in the organisation or provision of) equipment for participation in athletics, as defined above, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the equipment is primarily intended and either: (a) those persons have need by reason of their disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances; or (b) the equipment to be available to members of the public at large through membership of an open club affiliated to the UK National Body.
- For public purpose beneficial to the community to promote, encourage, provide, enhance or maintain the safety of equipment in the defined area where athletics, as defined above, takes place.
- Such other objects and purposes in the defined area being objects and purposes which are exclusively charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
Area of Benefit and Operation
- Individuals who benefit must be permanently resident (as defined by the National Governing Body for Athletics) in Cambridge or South Cambridgeshire, or hold First Claim membership with an open club providing support for a wide range of athletic activities and having affiliation to the UK National Governing Body for Athletics. The Club’s headquarters must be within a three mile radius of Great St. Mary’s Church, Cambridge.
Mode of Operation
- Make grants to individuals
- Make grants to organisations (such as athletic clubs, schools)
Example grant payments
It wouldn’t be possible to create a list all possible grant applications that might be successful, however two examples of previous grants are:
- Medical expenses for sports injuries
- Kick-start funds for running activities in the local area, to train coaches and basic equipment