SATURDAY will be a momentous day in the history of Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club as Down Grange hosts a British Athletics League meeting for the very first time.

Until now, the club has had to host their home meetings in Abingdon, 38 miles from Basingstoke, as the track at Down Grange did not have the required eight lanes all the way around.

The club and The Gazette launched a campaign to extend the track – and this finally came to fruition last year, with the extra lanes being added in the autumn after just under £500,000 of funding was provided by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for improvements to the track and other facilities at Down Grange.

A couple of meetings have already taken place on the track, but Saturday will see elite athletes from around the country travel to compete in the town for the first time.

Chris Blow, chairman of Basingstoke and Mid Hants Athletic Club, said: “It has been a long time coming, and it’s great for the club.

“We are really looking forward to it, and it is great to have a home match at Basingstoke at last. It’s also great for athletics supporters in the town because they have never had competition like this on their doorsteps before.

“Many people may not have been able to get tickets for the Olympics, but they can come and watch some high-class athletics here for free. The track is first class and it will be interesting to see what sort of times people do.”

The British Athletics League is this country’s premier club competition for men and Basingstoke are currently in National Two, just two divisions below the top flight.

They finished fifth in the table last year, and team manager Ian Byett believes his side can do even better in 2012.

“If we get our best team out for all of the matches, then we should go well,” he said.

“The problem is that we do not have a great deal of depth in our squad, but with our best athletes out we are a match for anyone.”

The afternoon of top-class athletics will get under way at 12.30pm, with admission free to all. The highlight is likely to be at 4pm, when Basingstoke and Mid Hants star, and Olympics hopeful, Robert Tobin will compete in the 400metres.

Byett said: “Robert is going to turn out for us, as he searches for some form, so people can see some top class athletes in action.”

Byett added. “It’s free to watch and everyone is welcome, so I hope we get a decent crowd.”

In addition to Tobin, Basingstoke will also field top hurdler Andy Blow. New additions include young sprinter Myles Richardson, hammer thrower Ben James and middle distance runner Alex Teuten. However, Byett will still be without several key members of his team.

Decathletes Sam Sleap and Dean Showler-Davis are both competing at the English Multi-Events Championships in Bedford, while talented sprinter Kieran Showler-Davis is still at university in Florida.

Perhaps the biggest problem is the absence of Commonwealth Games decathlete Ben Hazell, who normally competes strongly in several events. He is away in Tenerife, looking to get a score good enough to qualify him for either the Olympics or European Championships later in the summer.

“Ben is really good over a large range of events, and I am sure we will miss him,” said Byett. “The other teams will be in the same boat with their multi-eventers though and it gives an opportunity to other people.”