s=10MOST athletes who come away from two events with silver and bronze medals are normally happy, but not Woodford Green's John Sear who was still disappointed with his recent performances.o

s=9John, who finished second in the Bishop Stortford ten mile race on November 17 and third in last week's ten kilometre Chelmsford race, did however get his hands on a gold medal from the second event along with club mates Trevor Jason and Terry McCarthy in the team event.o

Next Saturday sees the third match in the Metropolitan League cross-country series, where John will be hoping to lead the team to another victory.

It has been a busy time for Woodford Green athletes, with several of them competing against the best in the country in the Reebok Challenge cross-country races at Margate last weekend.

Mark Burgess took a fine 16th place in the boy's under-16 race, while Linzi Snow came home in 11th place in the girl's under-15 event, finishing just 34 seconds behind the overall winner in a very competitive race.

Her brother Tom was also only seconds behind the winner in the under-17 class, finishing in a respectable eigth place.

Sandra Andreou also experienced some tough competition and despite being a veteran took a fine 27th spot in an international class field in the women's race.

Elsewhere, Paul Major, son of past Essex cross country champion Eric Major, and Sally Chapman, daughter of ex-olympic steeplechaser David Chapman, were the first runners home for Woodford in the London Championships at Parliament Hill last Saturday.

Woodford Green Athletics Club (WGAC) could find itself involved in exciting plans to reshape the league for Track and Field Athletics in the not too distance future.

Following the Annual Congress of UK Athletics last weekend, new proposals which maybe put in to place for the 2003 season were discussed. It was mooted that there should be a joint Premier league for the top eight clubs in the UK, combining both women's and men's teams.

Woodford, who were ranked fourth at the end of the 2001 season would almost certainly be included in the proposals if it can maintain its standing.

New Gran Prix-style meetings will include a significant number of top athletes from other clubs, with the incentive of prize money and televised coverage a possibility.

Woodford Green AC spokesman Ken Bray said: "This news should be an encouragement for the club's athletes in the middle of their winter training."