HYNDBURN Athletic Club drew first blood as the opening round matches in the re-vamped Young Athletes League were held on Sunday.

Three local clubs - Burnley, Hyndburn and Chorley AC - are pitched together in Division 2NW and the first fixture was hosted by Burnley at the Barden track.

The home club notched 269 points to place second, but it was Hyndburn, helped by an impressive turnout, who swept to an early season lead with 471.

The big change for this year is the merger of the boys and girls teams, previously they competed in different leagues and were usually at different venues on the same day.

The new format has been widely welcomed as it will mean that resources will be far less stretched.

For the athletes though this weekend's fixtures were a dress rehearsal for the Lancashire Championships at Blackpool next Saturday and Sunday.

Three of them laid down their markers by setting Grade 2 Standard performances including Hyndburn Under-13 Robbie Schofield, who won a competitive 800m A race in 2:28.3.

For the Burnley pair Danny Eckersley and Danielle Walker, Grade 2 performances were good only for second places, Eckersley's coming in the Under-17s 400m hurdles where he clocked 58.8 seconds, and Walker registering 2:24.0 in the Under-15s 800m.

Chorley, with a tiny team, finished fifth. They were overly reliant on the Under-17 women, particularly Kelly Hilton who took the 100m/200m sprint double.

The club are looking to recruit for the junior team and you can contact them via their website http://www.chorleyathleticclub.co.uk/ or www.chorleyathleticclub.co.uk.

Elsewhere Pendle AC were competing at Trafford, while Blackburn Harriers were at Deeside.

The Pendle team were a little thin on the ground, but those who did compete excelled themselves with a total of 16 personal best performances.

Three of them went to under 15 thrower James Finucane in the javelin, discus and hammer and he won the A javelin.

The under-17 athletes from all our clubs were praised by the coaches after many were called into senior league action on Saturday and again for the juniors on Sunday.

Typical was Pendle's Marc Hartley who won his first ever 1500m steeplechase on Sunday after taking victory over the flat 1500m the day before.

Blackburn Harriers won 17 A string and 28 B string events.

The club will be hosting a round at Witton Park in a couple of weeks time and our Tuesday Grass Roots supplement will be tracking their progress then.

Team Manager Dave McAreavey singled out under-17 Lee Eccles for his team spirit.

"Lee is a pretty good shot putter and hammer thrower, he won both A events," said McAreavey. "And he did the 3000m for the team and ran almost all of it.

"He sprinted at the bell thinking he had finished!"

Results - Burnley AC: Boys: Under 13: Paul Murray (800m, 1st B, 3:31.7) Aaron Simcoe (1500m, 1st A, 5:27.5) Chris Wall (shot, 1st A, 6.09m) Under 15: Anthony Jackson Duxbury (800m 1st A, 2:31.0) Philip Hayton (1500m, 1st A, 4:51.2) Under 17: Michael Cruickshank (800m, 1st B, 2:40.7, discus, 1st B, 12.57m) Danny Eckersley (400m hurdles, 2nd A, 58.8, Grade 2) Girls: Under 13: Leanne Scott (800m, 2nd A, 2:43.0, Grade 3) Elizabeth Highton (70m hurdles, 1st A, 13.9, Grade 3/ high jump, 1st A, 1.10m) Under 15: Danielle Walker (800m 2nd A, 2:24.0, Grade 2) Abigail Ewart (high jump, 1st A, 1.35m) Under 17: Alexis Walker (javelin, 1st A, 27.22m)

Chorley AC: Boys: Under 13: Michael Hough (100m, 1st A, 14.4) Girls: Under 15: 4x100m 1st Under 17: Kelly Hilton (100m, 1st A, 13.9/ 200m, 1st A, 28.8) Rachel Good (100m, 1st B, 14.9) 4x100m 1st

Hyndburn AC: Boys: Under 13: George Walters (100m, 1st B, 16.4/ 200m, 1st A, 34.3/ long jump, 1st B, 3.58m) Robbie Schofield (800m, 1st A, 2:28.3, Grade 2) Under 15: Daniel Martin (100m 1st A, 13.5/ 200m, 1st A, 27.6) Damien Rawcliffe (3000m, 1st A, 11:18.7) Under 17: J Crossley (shot, 1st B, 5.71m) Girls: Under 13: K Hart (75m, 1st B, 12.0) Leigh Lennon (1200m, 1st A, 4:15.0, Grade 3/ long jump, 1st A, 3.40m) Sarah Crossley (1200m, 1st B, 4:18.6, Grade 3) 4x100m 1st Under 15: Sophie Hart (100m, 1st A, 14.2/ long jump 1st A, 4.54m) Heather Donald (100m, 1st B, 14.7/ high jump, 1st B, 1.30m) A Williams (200m 1st B, 32.9/ javelin, 1st B, 10.35m) Joanne Mitchell (800m, 1st B, 3:01.1/ long jump, 1st B, 3.48m) Samantha Murray (1500m, 1st A, 5:32.4) Natalie Willets (1500m, 1st B, 6:48.5) Thea Smith (75m hurdles, 1st A, 16.5/ shot, 1st B, 8.51m) Imogen Walters (javelin, 1st A, 23.88m/ discus, 1st A, 17.54m/ shot, 1st A, 8.67m, Grade 3) Under 17: Emily Walters (200m, 1st B, 32.7/ high jump, 1st B, 1.40m) Catherine Dudbridge (300m, 1st A, 47.9) Anna Griffiths (300m hurdles, 1st A, 49.9 Grade 3/ discus, 1st B, 23.51m/ shot, 1st A, 8.08m) Claire Mitchell (300m hurdles, 1st B, 55.2) Nicola Breaks (long jump, 1st A, 4.07m) Rachel Curran (high jump, 1st A, 1.40m) E Dunlop (javelin, 1st B, 21.69m) Lauren Grime (discus, 1st A, 25.62m/ shot, 1st B, 7.20m)