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April 2021 Newsletter
Published Tue 20 Apr 2021
Australian Track & Field Championships
Nationals were held at Sydney Olympic Park this past week, a welcome return after they were unfortunately cancelled last season. Athletics Wollongong had an incredible 31 representatives who participated, with a total combined medal haul of 9 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals.
One of the undoubted stars of the Championships was Delta Amidzovski who won four individual events in the U16s: the 90m Hurdles, 200m Hurdles, High Jump and Long Jump. She was also part of the silver medal-winning NSW 4x100m relay team.
Sprinter Tierney Dunne capped a slow and determined return from injury with personal best performances and a full suite of medals in the fiercely-contested U20s division: gold in the 4x100m, silver in the 200m and bronze in the 100m.
Ashleigh Goncalves' debut year with the club finished with a gold medal in the U18 400m and another in the 4x400m (the latter event held just 15mins after her 200m final!)
U15 competitor Chelsy Wayne completed a clean sweep of Discus titles, adding the U15 National Championship to those she previously attained at NSW Country, NSW Juniors, NSW All Schools and State Little A's.
Rosie Tozer won bronze in the U20s High Jump and was also close-up to history in the Opens division: missing third position on a countback, while fellow competitor Nicola McDermott went on to become the first female from Oceania to clear 2.00m
Isabelle Apthorpe (née Hampton) won silver in the Para Ambulant Javelin and broke the Australian record for her F12 classification. During the Championships , as part of their athletics sponsorship, Coles were awarding Open record-breakers a $1000 Gift Card, as well as donating $1000 to a Little A's Centre of the winner's choice. Congrats on your deserved windfall, Izzy - and it was a nice attempt at trying to get us the money in your interview with Tamsyn!
Charlize Colwell contested the U15 Para Ambulant category, winning gold in the 800m and silver in the 400m. Straight after the Championships, she was on a bus to the Australian Institute of Sport to attend a Paralympic Pathway Camp. This Camp is for athletes who demonstrate the potential to medal in events like the Paralympics and World Para Championships; congratulations, Charlize!
Kailee Moore was awarded bronze in the U18 100m Hurdles, missing out on silver by just 3 thousandths of a second.
Mitchell O’Neill missed the Open 200m B Final by just one spot but then went on to win silver as part of the NSW 4x100m Relay team.
Full results of our clubmates at the Championships are available on the website: (https://www.athleticswollongong.org.au/results/). Congratulations to all those who qualified and to their respective teams (including family, coaches, training partners and the like) who helped get them there. We hope to cheer on lots of AW competitors at next year's event; announced to be going to Perth.
Athletics Wollongong's Presentation Night for Season 2020/21 will be held at Wollongong Tennis Club - our neighbours in the Beaton Park sporting precinct - on May 1st from 6pm. We're asking people to RSVP ASAP here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBK9D7P. The venue is subject to a cap on attendees due to coronavirus restrictions. While we don't anticipate coming close to the cap, attendance is still something we need to report to the Tennis Club beforehand and also monitor on the night.
We encourage all members of Athletics Wollongong to attend what should be a fun and light-hearted evening. If you'd like to know what awards you're up to receive, you can check this partial list. Missing are the nominees for the perpetual trophies; these will be announced over the coming days on our social media channels and under the club website's listing for the Event. Several awards will also be left as surprises on the night (Best Performances on a Wednesday, The President's Award and those related to club spirit/service: The Ron Bragg Awards and Club Person of the Year).
We're also encouraging attendees to utilise the Tennis Club's facilities before and/or after Presentation. Their management is recommending bookings for those wishing to dine at the bistro; it opens at 5pm and we anticipate Presentation finishing around 7:30pm. Note that it's a licensed club, so those moving outside our venue of the Court View Function Room (immediately upstairs to the left upon entry) will have to be a member or sign in as a guest.
Athletics Wollongong is running a raffle which will be drawn at Presentation. Up for grabs is $100 at Rebel Sport, an AW merchandise prize pack, and a $25 Crown Central voucher. Tickets may be purchased on the night or via the club website (1 for $5, 3 for $10).
The shutdown put paid to our Winter Program last year, but it's back for 2021. Held as part of the parkrun series of events, athletes can choose to participate in whichever 5km race is most convenient to them. The competition window runs from May 1st to August 31st and participants must compete in a minimum of 6 events to be eligible for pointscore awards. The best 6 Age Grade % performances achieved by an athlete during the competition window will then be averaged to determine our winners.
To see how to register for parkrun (for free) and to ensure that your performances are counted in AW's pointscore, please read this document.
The Club's Annual General Meeting will be held 8th June in the Wollongong Tennis Club's Boardroom. It's been a shortened year for the current Committee, due to delays in having the 2020 Meeting as a result of COVID restrictions. Usually, the AGM is held close to Presentation but - so the Committee had one less spinning plate to deal with - it was decided to put it back a couple of months, while also giving the incoming Committee time enough to prepare for Season 2021/22. The new Committee - and associated Support Position holders - will be elected at the AGM.
The Committee is comprised of regular people who choose to donate some of their time to make Athletics Wollongong a more effective and rewarding club for its members. We urge anyone with an interest and some availability to consider nominating for a position:
If you would like to nominate (or have an obligation-free chat about any of the positions) please email athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
If you're unsure as to which to go for, note that nominations are yet to be received for: Vice President, Secretary, Development Officer, Race Secretary, Chief Timekeeper, Equipment Officer, Fundraising Officer, and Grants Officer. Some of these roles are critical to the club's operations; some mean our athlete's experience with the club may be sub-optimal. Please consider nominating.
The Tennis Club's boardroom will now be AW's ongoing venue for monthly Committee Meetings (the June edition will follow the AGM). Committee Meetings will be held the second Tuesday of each month, from 7pm.
Sadly, the Advertiser & Lake Times newspaper - home to AW's 'Track & Field' fortnightly column - is no more. The paper had been in decline for a while: once being delivered for free to all homes throughout the region, it was then only available at central locations, and finally just accessible online.
Several people have written AW's Track & Field column over the years but the author for more than the last decade has been Dave Ross. Dave is happy to report that his column will now be appearing in The Illawarra Mercury. While you have to subscribe to see many of their articles online, it is still an important avenue to reach prospective members and to give our athletes' achievements the publicity they deserve. Please continue to send Dave material for inclusion (particularly during the club's off-season where school results are harder for independent parties to find). Don't be shy! Send your athletics news, results and photos to davidrosswollongong@hotmail.com.
Recent visitors to the track would note that the grandstand restorations have been progressing rapidly. While we don't have an exact date for re-opening, we anticipate it will be happening soon. The bad news is: the club is going to have to move all of our stuff back into it again! We were immensely grateful for the assistance with our initial move into our temporary shipping container home. We will soon be seeking helpers to shift everything back again. Keep an eye out on the Athletics Wollongong Facebook group when we have more details and volunteer if you can.
60m Skins Champion of Champions
It seems like such a long time ago, but there's been no club newsletter since our End of Season Special. To celebrate the end of our summer season of Wednesday meets we held a BBQ for members and their supporters and put on some special events. While thrower and self-confessed chocoholic Jude Basnet took out the 800m Chocolate Run, most attention was on the 60m Skins Champion of Champions, courtesy of the prize pool sponsored by Club Captain Anthony Howlett. Beau Rejske, Charlotte Rose and Christine Shaw were victorious in their respective divisions and progressed through to the final. Christine narrowly took out the win there ($50), while Beau ($30) and Charlotte ($20) were hot on her heels. Many thanks go to Anthony for putting up the purse and adding some extra interest. Christine will be awarded the Perpetual 60m Skins Champion of Champions trophy at our Presentation Night.
NSW Junior State Championships Results
The following weekend were the NSW Junior State Championships. Thirty-three Athletics Wollongong members contested the event with a mighty impressive honour roll of State Champions: Ashleigh Goncalves (U18 400m), Charlize Colwell (U15 Para Amb 800m), Chelsy Wayne (U15 Discus), Delta Amidzovski (U16 90mH, 200mH, Long, High), Holly Rea (U15 100m), Jamaya Wayne (U16 Discus), Rosie Tozer (U20 High), and Tayissa Buchanan (U16 800m, 1500m). Full results from our members at the event are available here.
The Track Classics are a series of invitation-only events for Australia's leading athletes. Several Athletics Wollongong members were given the honour of competing:
- Canberra - James Mcpaul, Mitchell O’Neill, Susie Seitaridis
- Sydney - Mitchell O’Neill, Susie Seitaridis (also featuring several 100m finals from the NSW Junior State Championships, including those contested by Delta Amidzovski, Holly Rea and Nat Carroll)
- Melbourne - James Mcpaul, Mitchell O’Neill
- Brisbane - Rosie Tozer
Congratulations! Results from these events are available on the club website.
Excel Performance Athlete Scholarship
Excel Performance recently contacted Athletics Wollongong, offering a free gym membership, training and programming to some of our members. Previously awarding the same service to a few AW sprinters a number of years ago, they were keen this time to work with some of our talented throwers. We were able to put them in contact with a few likely candidates and understand that they'll be getting to work together shortly. Excel Performance hasn't asked to be lauded for their generosity in return but, given that they're supporting our clubmates, if you were looking for some strength, flexibility and power training, you could give them a look.
Paralympics Australia are inviting people to participate in a fun day of Para-sport at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Halls, Friday, April 30th, 4pm-7pm.
These Multi-sport Come & Try Days aim to introduce people to a broad range of Para-sports and increase exposure and awareness ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021. There will be a wide range of Para-sports on offer with National Sports Organisations, State Sports Organisations, Disability Sports Organisations, and Clubs on hand to provide information about programs and classification and deliver activities.
The event is FREE to attend and participate in, however, all participants must register prior to the event.
Masters athletes may be feeling short-changed by the cancellation of their National Championships this year. A replacement event is on the (far western) horizon: the multi-sport Australian Masters Games, to be held in Perth 9th - 16th October. Track & Field is part of the program with earlybird fees available for registrations made prior to July 31st. Their website promises that "The Games is renowned for its social program almost as much as the sport. The opportunity to explore iconic Perth locations will combine with a jam-packed entertainment program. It will be epic". If you're over 30 and can cope with the epicness, you'll be joining some other AW members in heading west. Looks like we got us a convoy...
- 1st May - Athletics Wollongong Presentation, Wollongong Tennis Club
- 1st May - Winter Pointscore Competition window opens
- 8th June - Athletics Wollongong, AGM, Wollongong Tennis Club
Email davidrosswollongong@hotmail.com with athletics news to include in our regular Illawarra Mercury column. Send other enquiries to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
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