This is the only athletics track in the borough of Merton and a key London venue, visited by athletes and clubs from all over the capital, Surrey and throughout the UK, who come here to compete. Most importantly it is a much-valued community facility, providing equal opportunities for people of all ages and abilities within our ethnically diverse borough to become, and stay, active. However, the current track is now over 30 years old and is in urgent need of renewal, as it is being badly undermined by the roots of the surrounding poplar trees. If work to re-lay it – and insert a root barrier to prevent future damage – is not carried out next year the future of athletics in Wimbledon Park will be in jeopardy.

Hercules Wimbledon AC is your local, thriving, athletics club whose history goes back to 1967, when two clubs founded in the 1930s, Hercules AC and Wimbledon AC, became one. We have a constantly growing membership which currently stands at around 650 athletes, who compete at league, county, national, and international level, and in the last two months alone have received over 50 requests to join us. Our youngest (7-11 year olds) meet on Sunday mornings for our 7Upsandovers sessions, where they are introduced to athletics in a fun way. These sessions are so popular that we have around 150 children on the waiting list. From here the youngsters progress to our twice weekly coaching sessions.

The track is also used on a regular basis by the Wimbledon Windmilers Running Club and some 20 local schools, along with other community groups and individual athletes.

Hercules Wimbledon is known for hosting Open athletics meetings of outstanding quality, and we are developing our work with nearby schools, along with hosting summer holiday camps for local youngsters. However, all of these activities and plans are under threat if we cannot complete the work on the track next year.

As a club, we have considerable experience of fund-raising, having previously led on raising a significant amount of money towards the building of the community clubhouse and the installation of the security fence at the stadium. We are committed to doing the lion’s share of the work involved in the track project, but cannot proceed without the written backing of the council. It is this commitment that we are urgently seeking.

Posted by:
Dave Clarke, Club Chairman, who represented GB at numerous World Championships on the track, road and cross country
Dwayne Cowan, Club international sprinter, World and European bronze medallist for GB in the 4 x 400m relay
Club Coach, Patrick Hutchinson, celebrated globally for saving a counter-protester amid the Black Lives Matter demonstration in June 2020, and author of Everyone Versus Racism
Lorna Boothe MBE, OLY, former Olympic hurdler and local resident
Ben Noad, Hercules Wimbledon AC Performance Director and former international distance athlete
Frances Ratchford, Chair, Surrey County Athletics Association

This ePetition ran from 25/08/2021 to 29/10/2021 and has now finished.

1044 people signed this ePetition.