ONE of the big success stories of CI sport – the Channel Islands Athletic Club – has been saved from an early extinction.

Financial problems threatened to put the twice British Jubilee Plate champions out of existence earlier this month.

But the Garenne Group through its athletics-loving chairman, Stuart Falla, has come to the rescue and the CIAC’s short-term bid for British League status remains a realistic target.

The news of Garenne’s backing has come as a great relief to Jersey athletics development manager Andrew Winnie, the CIAC team manager and the driving force behind one of the fastest emerging clubs in Britain.

‘The support is a great help to us and we sincerely thank them for their support,’ said Winnie, who saw the CIAC ladies open their 2006 campaign with a sterling performance in Tooting Bec at the weekend, finishing second, and is in charge of the men’s squad who start their season in Hastings tomorrow.

Winnie had been extremely worried that he would have to pull his teams out of UK competition, with the airlines increasing pre-booked fares and last year’s sponsors Ansbacher pulling out at short notice following a change of ownership.

Winnie and the club’s top athlete, Guernsey’s Dale Garland, both see the importance of CIAC winning an invitation to compete in the British League.

Currently they compete in the Southern League where the women have quickly risen to Division One, while the men sit in Two having won every round at that level in 2005, but missed out on promotion for finishing bottom of the round which coincided with all the CI senior athletes being in action at the Island Games in Shetland.