While the Scottish stars of the future are in action at the Celtic Games at Grangemouth this weekend, their seniors will take to the track south of the border with the UK Women’s League reaching its finale, while the men compete in match three of four in the British Athletic League. All three matches in which Scottish clubs are involved take place in and around London.

Edinburgh AC’s women compete at the Division One match at Copthall, a joint fixture with the BAL Premiership which sees a large number of Scottish men turning out for their English clubs. VPCoG women travel to Sutton, South London for the final Division Two match of the season and Edinburgh AC’s men compete in the BAL National Three Division at Bedford.

Following a strong start to their 2008 campaign, Edinburgh AC’s women currently sit 2nd in Division One behind the unstoppable City of Manchester. Barring accidents or disaster, the Manchester club look set to take the League title for the 21st time in their history, their eighth title in nine years. A strong showing from Edinburgh could see them continue their run of top three finishes, a major achievement in a UK competition. A top three finish will take a strong team effort however in a team depleted by injury. Several field events and relay teams may have an unusual line up! Outside the Edinburgh team, several leading Scottish athletes will be in action for English clubs. Current league standings are;

UK LEAGUE DIV 1 STANDINGS
                            Event  Lge
1 City of Manchester        395.5  16
2 Edinburgh AC              353.5  13
3 Trafford AC               326    10
4 Shaftsbury Barnet H.      309    10
5 Birchfield Harriers       307.5  9
6 Windsor,Slough,Eton,H'low 299    7
7 Woodford Grn & Essex Lds  262.5  5
8 Rugby & Northampton AC    200    2

As the Division One match is a joint fixture with the men’s Premiership, many Scottish male athletes will also be in action at the the Copthall track. Newham and Essex Beagles currently lead the top flight division with Woodford Green & Essesx Ladies and City of Manchester chasing hard. Scottish athletes will compete for no fewer than six of the eight clubs in the Premiership, proof positive of the lure the quality competition the top division of this league provides. Current League standings are:

1. Newham & Essex Beagles 16 (675.5)

2. Woodford Green & Essex Ladies 13 (636.0)

3. City of Manchester 13 (621.0)

4. Belgrave 8 (544.5)

5. Birchfield Harriers 8 (524.5)

6.Enfield & Haringey 6 (510.0)

7. Shaftsbury Barnet Harriers 6 (484.5)

8. Windsor, Slough, Eton & Houslow 2 (360.0)

VPCoG meanwhile head south after a mixed start to their season. Finishing 7th in the opening match at Swansea, things did not look good for the Glasgow club but a return to form when taking 2nd place in the second match rocketed them up the table and sets them up for another strong performance this weekend. Current League standings seem to be a state secret, still absent from the UK League website almost a month after Match 2!

Edinburgh AC’s men go to Bedford in a bid to pull themselves up out of the relegation zone. Currently in 8th place on 4 league points, a good performance could pull them clear of the bottom two positions as the two clubs above them (Bedford and Channel Islands) also have 4 league points, only their superior match points moving them ahead of Edinburgh. With the league at the halfway stage, two matches completed and two to go, the key to the Edinburgh team retaining their National Three status could be the performance of their junior athletes. Current League standings:

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Event Lge

1 Leeds City AC 766 16

2 Kingston & Polytechnic 626 13

3 Crawley AC 607 12.5

4 Team Southampton 548 9.5

5 Medway & Maidstone AC 507.5 9

6 Bedford & County AC 454 4

7 Channel Islands AC 422 4

8 Edinburgh AC 421.5 4