INVERCLYDE Athletics Club's juniors members have been embracing technology to keep fit during lockdown. managed to train and exercise on their own or with their families.

Club coaches have been busy working with members and their families to develop a range of activities and challenges to keep the younger groups entertained and engaged.

While the older groups have been continuing with their focussed individual training, communicating with coaches via group chats and uploading their training as normal, the younger groups' sessions have come alive online.

The IAC training team have produced a number of videos based on movement, sprinting and adapted circuits which have been a big hit with their budding young stars.

Their Virtual Relay proved to be great success and over 60 youngsters also participated in the club's Virtual 1K Challenge.

Times were put into an age gender calibration programme similar to that used by ParkRun and it was eight-year-old Olivia Lyne who came out on top.

Jonathan Cameron, 15, was second and Lucas Wagstaff, 10, finishing third.

With the club's annual Easter egg hunt falling foul of lockdown, mascot ZoominZebra organised a virtual replacement and ‘hid’ eggs in gardens.

A club spokesperson explained: "The resultant video of our juniors hunting for their egg was fantastic. Many Thanks to Lynne Owens for producing it and to the parents for their support."

IAC is also continuing with its Club Visit Challenge, which encourages all club members and families to submit the daily distance whether its running or walking.

The miles are then clocked up together and the accumulated distance used to virtually visit every athletic club in Scotland.

A spokeperson said: "We managed to visit 100 clubs during our first week, having travelled through Renfrewshire and Glasgow all the way around the country to Perth and Strathtay. It has been great fun and everyone is getting involved."

Small groups are still meeting via Zoom with coach Janice Hendry to complete the session's training programmes.

Coaches are hoping to make more use of this video conferencing tool to ‘meet up’ with athletes in the week's ahead as lockdown continues.

The club would also like to thank coach Matthew Higgins for keeping the club website www.inverclydeac.co.uk up to date with its virtual challenges and welfare officer Collette McGeehan for her work on the Zoom meetings.

To get in touch with management during lockdown, use the contact button on the club's website.