Summer's over, welcome to the new athletics season and the prospect of glorious mud underfoot. But some athletes expect to be competing in warmer conditions, if not training in them.

Locally the Indoor season begins in early November. Monthly competitions for Minor athletes commence on Sunday mornings at Monkton Stadium (Jarrow), and for older competitors on Thursday nights at Gateshead College and Monkton (see our Competitions listings)

Competitions at Monkton are track events only, ranging from 60m to 600m, the longer distances using rebound boards at the ends of 75m long tracks. Gateshead track events are restricted to 60m, some over hurdles,and a mixture of vertical and horizontal jumps together with Shot putt.

This season the North of England Indoor Championships will be held in January at Sheffield's EIS Stadium, followed by the North Eastern Indoor Championships over a weekend at Gateshead College in February.

Richard Kilty, the IAAF world 60m Indoor champion (6.49sec pb) began his 60m career at Monkton as an U13 with a time of 8.0sec. When Kilty became U23 NE 60m Champion in 2010, at the same competition Sunderland Harriers' Hollie Lancaster, running as an U13, also became champion for the first time. For the next three years Hollie (8.03sec pb) was Champion twice and silver medallist on the other occasion.

Sunderland Harriers have a recent history of success in the northern competitions with a further 2 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals shared between Amanda Edwards, Anna Harris, Sandra Jackson, Graham Lee, Logan Powell, and Stephen Scott in the last three years.

Not content with a Long Jump silver medal in the British Masters Championships outdoor at Birmingham, Anna also won Long Jump silver at this year's NE Indoor Championships.

So if you fancy a warmer athletic winter you could do worse than sampling the Indoor scene.