April 2006
Metsec plc
TIPTON HARRIERS WIN METSEC SPONSORSHIP DEAL

Tipton Harriers, one of the most successful road and cross-country running clubs in Britain, has secured a £5,000 sponsorship deal with Metsec, the Oldbury-based engineering and building products company.

As well as supporting the athletics club by sponsoring their tracksuits, both Metsec and Tipton Harriers hope to use the partnership agreement to attract new young recruits from each other.

Metsec, which employs some 420 people at its Broadwell Road site, takes on five apprentices every year and believes the club could provide an ideal recruiting ground. Stephen Tilsley, Metsec's group managing director, said: "The positive attitudes, motivation and commitment instilled at Tipton Harriers are exactly the type of qualities we look for in our apprentices."

Keith Atkins, Tipton Harrier's treasurer, said: "The club has some 400 young members and we are always looking for more. 10% of Metsec's workforce is under 25 so we very much hope that working closely with the company will encourage some of their employees to join us."

Tipton Harriers will also provide Metsec's staff with expert advice and guidance on fitness and nutrition. Tilsley explained: "We hear a lot today about the dangers of eating too much of the wrong food and being unfit so we're looking to Tipton Harriers to provide lifestyle, diet and exercise advice for all our employees who are interested."

The sponsorship will build on an existing association between the company and the club where two of Metsec's employees provide field event coaching. Both Metsec and Tipton Harriers are long standing parts of the community. Tipton Harriers, which offers training facilities and hosts regional and national events for athletics, track and field, road and cross-country running at its Sports Academy on Wednesbury Oak Road, was founded in 1910 and Metsec has been an employer in Oldbury for 75 years.

To mark the launch of the sponsorship deal, two of Tipton Harrier's young stars, 20 year old West Bromwich student Darren Lewis, a Welsh international 400m hurdler, and 17 year old Kirsty Walker from Wordsley, a Stourbridge College student and the West Midlands Schools cross-country champion, met up on the training track with two of Metsec's current apprentices, 20 year old Chris Hoult from Tipton and 19 year old Chris Daly from Wednesbury.

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