Worthing and District Harriers, one of the most successful Sussex track teams last season, have suffered a severe setback to their senior men's team.

Star sprinter Alistair Gordon has left the club to seek better competition at Newham and Essex Beagles who are in Division One of the British League.

Sussex high hurdles record holder Duncan Malins, from Haywards Heath, and leading steeplechaser Andrew Robinson, from Horsham, are also members of Newham and Essex Beagles.

Two years ago Alistair, who first made an impact as a youngster with the Horsham Blue Star Harriers before joining Worthing, left for Team Solent.

He changed his mind before the track season started and reclaimed his Worthing allegiance.

Last summer he won both the 100 and 200 metre Sussex titles and headed the Sussex rankings as well of being the third fastest Sussex 400 metre runner.

There can no doubt that his new club's status will afford greater opportunity for better competition, but unless he can command a regular place in their British League squad he could well find himself competing in their Southern League team which is Division Two while Worthing are in Division One.

Sprinters, Lindford Christie apart, do not usually survive into their 30s at the top of the tree and for Alistair, at 23, it is probably the right time for a move if he thinks such a change will help him on his way into international athletics.

Worthing have also lost the services of fellow sprinter Ian Barrett who made considerable progress during the summer and was an excellent number two to Alistair and Gavin Stephens in either the 100, 200 and 400 metres in their Southern League fixtures.

Ian, who at 19 finished second in both the under-20 200 and 400 metres events at the Sussex Championships, looks set to establish himself as one of the leading seniors in Sussex next season.

Ian has joined Crawley AC and will be a more than useful addition to their sprint group in Division Three of the British League which could do with a little strengthening.

Worthing were Division One champions last season, but both athletes had notified their intentions of leaving before the club were involved in the qualifying match for a place in the British League last September.

Neither competed as it would not have been good sense to have qualified for the higher echelon of competition and then have lost two high points scorers.

Worthing team manager Alan Easey was disappointed at the news.

"I was pretty choked," he said. "We have been fighting hard for the past few seasons to build up a team capable of making it through to the British League and it looked like this season we had cracked it.

"This came as a considerable blow but we are the Southern League Division One champions and that cannot be taken from us.

"There are one or two promising youngsters coming along but it could be a couple of seasons before we reap the benefit of them. We still have a pretty good squad and will be looking forward to next summer's matches."

Both Alistair and Ian remain in Sussex and will still be eligible for Sussex Championships and county teams.

The third known loss to Worthing is the talented javelin thrower Melissa O'Neill.

Melissa, the top young Sussex javelin thrower last season, has moved with her family to Suffolk and this will be a considerable loss, not only to Worthing but also to the county.

Although Melissa was not at her best at the All England Schools Championships in July, when she finished well below her best in tenth place, she did finish the season on a high note when she threw 36.37m. in the final Southern League match.

This effort made her the third best British under-15 thrower of the season and a distance that only three Sussex women - Worthing team manager and coach Caroline Garrett, Brighton and Hove's Sam Redd and Horsham's Candace Schofield - bettered during the season.

The immediate loss is not so great for Worthing as the two sprinters and Melissa will compete as a senior in league athletics next season and it is hoped that Caroline and the evergreen Debbie Woolgar will still be scoring plenty of points for Worthing in the league.

In the longer term it is more of a worry as she is also good with the discus and in a couple of years time could well have taken over from either Caroline or Debbie who are both now in the veterans age group.

THE recent UK Athletics Congress may have laid the foundation for a change in rules that could have prevented the loss to Worthing of the two sprinters.

It was suggested that athletes could remain with their home club but also join a club in a higher league for better competition.

This would have enabled both Alistair Gordon and Ian Barrett to join the Newham and Crawley clubs for British League competition but still be eligible also to compete for Worthing.

Sussex administrator Keith May said: "I think a change in the rules is necessary and such a scheme would be particularly helpful for many smaller clubs who would like to hold on to their star athletes as they attract more athletes to that club.

"The athletes would get the better competition they need to continue to improve.

"Many small Sussex clubs have insufficient athletes to enter the various leagues and this could certainly help them.

"Currently, athletes can only compete for their first claim club in league or championship competition, but it is hoped to have it on the rule books for the start of next season."