England long-distance runner Hannah Viner expressed delight after winning the Susan Halter Elite Athlete award.
The 22-year-old from Belsize Park has made her mark in a number of events, continuing her rise in the sport, having also been nominated for the accolade 12 months ago.
“It’s a massive honour and unexpected,” said Viner of her MGB award. “It’s a real honour to represent the Jewish community in athletics. It’s nice recognition for how hard I’ve worked.”
This has been her breakthrough year. Not only did Viner achieve personal bests in all her events, from the 800m through to the 10k, but she made the UK under-23 top 10 rankings in several races, against very strong competition. This included the 5k parkrun, which attracts large fields nationally every weekend. Viner is currently No. 1 in the UK in her age category and the 50th all-time fastest woman for this event.
Her daily regime consists of running between 60 to 70 miles a week, sometimes training twice a day, including two or three interval sessions.
“I’m lucky to have a very good training group to help push me on,” said Viner. “I’d like to thank my parents, who have supported me tirelessly; my coach, Matt Yates; my boyfriend; and training partners Emma and Yasmin.”
A member of Belsize Square Synagogue, and in the final year of an English literature degree at King’s College London, Viner has caught the eye with her outstanding performances representing Highgate Harriers. She took up the sport after becoming “fed up of the FA’s politics of being the only girl in a boys’ football team” at the age of 11. “I got into running through school,” she said. “As a Year Seven pupil, I ran at the Camden cross-country championships and finished second.”
She was spotted by Camden council and recommended to Highgate, where she has been training for nine years. “I started with cross-country races but around the age of 16, I started to take my running more seriously as I was doing well. During the track season, I set new personal bests in the 800m, 1,500, 3k and 5k and I really enjoyed road running, too.” She describes the 10k as her “favourite distance”.
Viner explained: “I find it easier to break the distance down in road runs, when I’m not running in circles and there is also the fear factor of everyone watching you around the track.”
She says her three siblings are “very proud” of her achievements and says winning her first England international vest in October was “one of her favourite highlights so far”. Reflecting on her performance that helped England win the team gold at the Sobhi Sport 10K in Rennes, Viner reflected: “It was an amazing experience representing my country in an international road race.
“I will also never forget being invited to take part at the British Championships for the first time last summer, racing against the very best athletes in the UK.”
Viner has completed her race schedule this year, but she will “continue to train hard” as she prepares for some big competitions in 2019.
“I have the Middlesex County cross-country competition in Perivale on January 5,” she says. “That will be followed by the South of England championships, the National championships and the Inter-County championships, which are all big senior races.
“By next summer I would like to be running faster than ever and hope to achieve a senior women’s vest for England. I’m really proud to be running for my country. It’s really exciting as people look at you differently and take you more seriously.”
Winning and Temple Fortune have not always gone hand in hand over the years, but in terms of longevity, they are head and shoulders above the rest in the Maccabi GB (Southern) Football League.
Kyte was one of the original founders of the club in 1968. He lived next door to Princes Park in Temple Fortune, where he, his brother Peter and two other friends established TFFC following a series of kickabouts.
It has been something of a topsy-turvy journey since then – at its height, Fortune have run three men’s teams, two in the MGBSFL, which the club joined in season 1976/77, and they are the founder members of the Maccabi Masters League, which they joined in 1999. Fortune won the old MSFL Second Division championship in 1985/86 and two years later, the 1st XI returned to the Premier Division for another three-year stint.
Season 2015/16 was TFFC’s 40th of consecutive participation in Maccabi football, a feat unmatched by any other current MGBSFL team. Kyte estimates that Fortune have had approximately 850 players representing the club over the years. But maintaining three teams has proved something of an issue for Kyte, who oversees the club’s administration and is the current treasurer.
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary, Kyte said: “It’s an incredible milestone, especially when you consider how many clubs have gone under. It also speaks volumes about our excellent reputation, longevity and high-ranking status within Maccabi sport. And when new players join, I make sure they understand the ethos of the club, which makes it so special. To me a sense of history and tradition is important and I try to instil this into our players.”
Kyte insists this award “is for the football club, not me”. He went on to say: “I don’t like all the fuss and backslapping and prefer to stay out of the limelight. I hold it all together, but it wouldn’t be possible without such a great team around me, including Lee Fegan, Simon Linden, Steven Black and the Old Boys management. And plenty of hard-working officers over the years, such as Jonathan Cohen and many others.
“I kept the club running during the stagnant pre-league era as there were times when people were not prepared to do all the donkey work. I’ve become so engrossed in the club’s history and I find it so much easier doing the main club admin myself. It’s just become a way of life for me.”
In an age when numbers in grass-roots football are on the decline, Kyte, who won the MSFL Team Secretary of the Year in 2006/07, says he is as enthusiastic as ever. He also oversees Temple Fortune’s presence on social media. “I think it’s been positive for the league and the hope is it will lead to more teams getting involved,” he said. “My aim now is for the club to reach 50 seasons in the MGBSFL to become the longest-running ever.” He designed and artworked a book of more than 100 pages to commemorate the club’s Golden Anniversary this month.
Kyte is also a qualified referee. He lives and breathes amateur football and officiates at University 1st XI level at UCL, in the Southern Amateur League, and Southern Amateur Vets League, as well as having returned to the MGBSFL. He said: “I decided to come back this season due to the introduction of sin-bins. I’d stopped as I’d become fed up of all the constant whingeing and dissent, but the sin-bins have been great for this level. It was trialled in the Southern Amateur League last season and dissent was decreased enormously.
“I expect to referee around 50 matches this season and remain highly dedicated to Maccabi football.”
Minnie Freed was praised for her “strong leadership skills” after winning the UJIA Maccabi Youth Games prize. JFS pupil Freed, who is 14 and lives in Highgate, was part of a Maccabi Great Britain squad who took part at the inaugural event in Israel.
A member of the judging panel described Freed as “someone we know will have a long future with MGB due to her bubbly and engaging personality, combined with her willingness to support and help others…
“As a true leader, she led both on and off the pitch, supported staff and her team-mates wherever possible and was a reliable and honest young woman, who did all she could to encourage and help in any way she could.
“This is also why she won the MGB Future Female Leader Award at the Youth Games and worked with her squad to bring home a first junior girls’ football medal at an international games”.
Upon receiving the award, Freed said: “I’m so thankful and proud and, equally, I’m incredibly grateful that I was able to get involved with an international games during the summer. It really was phenomenal, making friendships with people from different countries, embracing our Jewish identities.
“I hope that I’ll stay involved with MGB in the future and, hopefully, one day I’ll wear a ‘manager’s’ T-shirt and be able to both inspire young athletes and give them the experience of a lifetime.”
The Maccabi GB U14 Blue football squad collected the JCC Maccabi Games Award. They were acknowledged by the judging panel for “showing commitment, dedication and passion to win the gold medal and pulling together as a team despite previous tournament results”.
Joint-manager Alex Elf described the event as “an incredible experience”. He said: “The games are held over five-days; however, the build-up takes 10 months of preparation, including trials, training and kit-ordering which are all part of the experience.”
This year’s JCC was hosted by Orange County and were about “sport, togetherness and Jewish continuity,” said Elf.
“As part of this journey, you build relationships with your squad, their families and, of course, the managerial team. This is what makes the experience so memorable.
“Along with my co-coach, Callum Stein, we were able to build a strong bond with our squad who were undoubtedly the most organised team in the tournament, conceding only three and scoring 51 goals in seven matches.”
Asked about the recipe for success, Elf said: “To win gold, playing seven games in four days, requires a lot of effort both physically and mentally. Credit must go to the squad who worked hard at every training session and never stopped running, even in 104 Fahrenheit.
“A big thank-you must go to everyone at MGB who helped to organise the event, as well as heads of delegation, Janice and Ian Aarons and support from all the parents.
“I wish the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games Squad the best of luck at the upcoming games in Detroit.”
Naima JPS secured the JC School Sports team prize for its “excellent attitude, attendance and all-round exemplary behaviour at every tournament”. Naima’s Alexandra Cohen said: “We have a wonderful spirit across all areas of the school and are delighted to see that it has been recognised in sport, too.”
The achievement capped a memorable few months for the Maida Vale independent Sephardi primary, which received the top rating of “excellent” for both the achievements and development of pupils earlier this year.
Young Rio, who met footballing hero David Beckham at the Invictus Games in Sydney last month, describes GB Paralympian Jonny Peacock as his “inspiration”. Woolf said: “He doesn’t let anything hold him back.”
Ben Rosen, winner of the Fred Worms Outstanding Volunteer, was praised for being a “fantastic young leader who cares about the development and well being of participants and athletes”.
MGB credited him for “dedicating endless hours in the UK and abroad inspiring young people, both on and off the playing field. He plays an integral part as a participant and as a leader, showing what is possible from a Maccabi journey through projects such as Streetwise and International Games”.
Rosen, 19, admits he gives up his time as he “likes to give back to the community”. A student in Nottingham, he came through a four-year course on sports leadership with flying colours. And he says the programme helped him “find myself and develop as a person”. He went on to say: “I used to volunteer at sports camps and then led a team on a football zone.”
A member of Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue, his “most memorable event was the most recent leadership weekend where I advised a group of Level One participants who are only just starting their own journey. It was great seeing some of the delegation go from shy and quiet individuals to coming out of their shells and lead great sessions. It’s a memory that will stay with me for a while.”
The Ken Gradon Rachmanus award went to the Elliott Simmons Maccabi GB Challenge Israel Tour.
This is a unique trip to Israel for young people, aged 16 to 19, with mild to moderate learning difficulties. Over the 12-day trip, participants toured the country while learning about cultural, historical, religious and social elements, as well undertaking an activity each day involving a physical “challenge”.
The group were praised for “supporting one another when challenged with activities that really pushed them out of their comfort zone and encouraged them to be the best version of themselves”.
