August 5: MMK Senior team gains NAL promotion
In a closely fought contest between Reading, Marshall Milton Keynes and Yate in the National Athletics League Division 1 final fixture at Stantonbury, Yate and Marshall Milton Keynes gained the top two promotion places.
Persistent rain in the morning threatened to washout the match, with the men’s pole vault delayed to see if the weather improved. A clear three-hour break in the rain just after midday ensured that all events could take place.
Going into the match, Yate were ahead in the division, with the same number of league points as MMK with Reading third.
| Position | Division 1 | Match Pts | League Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yate | 994 | 14 |
| 2 | Marshall Milton Keynes | 826 | 14 |
| 3 | Reading | 798 | 12 |
| 4 | Wigan | 714 | 11 |
| 5 | Enfield & Haringey | 521 | 9 |
At the end of the afternoon, Yate nosed ahead to deny the host club a win that would have seen them promoted as Divisional Champions, but both Yate and MMK will compete in the NAL Championship next season.
The final match score was
| 1 | Yate | 550 | 8 |
| 2 | Marshall Milton Keynes | 540 | 7 |
| 3 | Reading | 484 | 6 |
| 4 | Wigan | 301 | 5 |
| 5 | Enfield & Haringey | 184 | 4 |
This gives the final league table as
| 1 | Yate | 1554 | 22 |
| 2 | Marshall Milton Keynes | 1366 | 21 |
| 3 | Reading | 1282 | 18 |
| 4 | Wigan | 1015 | 16 |
| 5 | Enfield & Haringey | 705 | 13 |
Congratulations to the athletes, officials, team managers and all the club members who helped to put on this match.