NOTHING much surprises Team Solent chairman Mike Smith these days, but even he finds this weekend's congested track and field programme hard to credit.

While the bulk of the area's elite athletes are busy at tomorrow's star-studded Aqua-Pura International at Loughborough, Team Solent have no fewer than six league fixtures to fulfil in the next two days.

They have two men's teams and a women's team in Southern League action tomorrow - two at Exeter and one on the Isle of Wight.

On Sunday, their top club athletes - some of whom will have competed at Loughborough - face trips to Rugby and Bedford in the UK Women's and British Men's League respectively. And, just for good measure, their young guns are in National Young Athletes' Boys' League action at Southampton Sports Centre.

For Smith, one of the country's most respected sprint coaches, it sums up a sport that centres its programme on the elite end of the market rather than its bread and butter competitors.

In Smith's book the county championships, which were held last weekend, come way too early in the season, while the bulk of the league fixtures are crammed in to avoid clashing with this summer's showpiece events, the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships.

"August is a busy month for the top athletes, but it's not for the ordinary club athletes because everything has to stop for the bigger events," he said. "So you get weekends like this one that are packed with fixtures and yet there are other times when there is nothing going on at all for club athletes.

"It's not just the athletes who are affected. Of our six league fixtures this weekend, they demand we provide officials for five of them and it's hard to find enough people to go round."

While Smith was keen to stress that he views the county championships as a valuable part of the season, he does not see the sense in holding them on the second weekend in May when the summer has barely started.

He said: "For the average athlete who is not Southern or National standard, the Hampshire Championships are the height of achievement, but early May is much too soon for them to be competing at their peak.

"People argue that they lead on to the Inter-Counties (at Bedford on May 25/26), but many counties have already picked their team irrespective of what happened in the county championships."

Rod Lock, who coaches Team Solent's Commonwealth Games 1500 metres hopeful Angus Maclean, agrees with Smith.

He said: "Athletes like Iwan Thomas and Angus will use county championships for training purposes, but it's hard for non-international athletes to peak at this time of year when they are just out of winter training."

Maclean has a busy week in prospect. He tackles his first 1500m of the season at Loughborough and, all being well, will turn out for Solent on Sunday at Bedford. Then, on Wednesday, he will be gunning for a fast 800m at the British Milers' Club evening meeting in Watford.

Basingstoke & Mid Hants' exciting 400m prospect Robert Tobin has been called up for Great Britain's under-20s at Loughborough. He is joined by Bryony Frost of the Isle of Wight, who is selected for the 3000m and 2000m steeplechase.