Track and Field Athletics

Wakefield District Harriers & A.C. are based at Thornes Park Athletics Stadium in Wakefield, an international standard track, which also has an excellent indoor training facility attached. The club usually hosts a couple of Open Meetings there each year, in April and September, and also hosts rounds of the West Yorkshire Track & Field League, as well as meetings of the major leagues that the club competes in.

Excellent Competition & Training Facilities.

We are a large but friendly family club catering for all athletic events and for all age groups, from the age of eight right up to the Veteran age groups. We compete in a number of Junior and Senior, Male and Female Leagues, where all abilities are welcome. Our members range in ability from beginners right up to International level, and in 2008 we were very proud to have two members of the club representing Great Britain in the Olympic Games at Beijing.

Yorkshire's only club with athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics.

Martyn Bernard Olympic Finalist High Jump.

Emily Freeman Olympic Semi-Finalist 200m.

Our flagship team is the Ladies Senior team, who have been Yorkshire's leading track & field team since the mid 1990s, when they entered the UK Women's League. Their highest finish was in 2000, when they finished 5th in Division 1 (now the Premier Division), which to this day is the best ever National League finish by a Yorkshire club. This year (2011) our ladies compete in the 2nd division of the UK Women's League, and are still Yorkshire's top club.

The senior men have never quite made it to National League level, but almost got there in 1977 when they won the old Men's Northern League, and came 3rd in the National League qualifying match. The Northern Athletics League is now a combined league for both men and women, and the club is currently in the 2nd division of this league, but hoping to regain their place in division 1, where they competed last year.

The club have for many years been successful in the National Junior Athletics League, for U20 & U17 athletes, with many of our current internationals having gained valuable competitive experience there, on their way to the top. This year the club is once again the leading Yorkshire club, competing in the Northern Premier Division.

For the U17, U15 & U13 athletes the club competes in Young Athletes League, and last year did very well to finish 7th in the Northern Premier Final, and 2nd team from Yorkshire.

For all the above teams the club policy is to try and pick the best team on the day, to maximise points, and get the best team result for the club. Athletes wishing to compete for the club can find contact details for their team manager on the Club Contacts page.

For those athletes who want to try out their chosen events, or chase a PB, there is the West Yorkshire Track & Field League. In this league there is no team selection, and athletes compete as individuals, as well as scoring points for the club. This league caters for all abilities, and also has events for the U11 age group.