Open & Junior Australian Championships

Athletics Wollongong's Open & Junior representatives have returned from Adelaide, where they put on one of the best performances at a National Championships in our club's history.  An incredible 38(!) of our clubmates contested the event with a combined tally of 5 gold medals, 8 silver and 9 bronze.  Our 2024 medal winners are:

What a spectacular effort from our AW representatives! 

Congratulations to the athletes, their coaches, their families, and their supporters.  While we must give our medal winners their due, everyone who made it to the Australian Championships has also earned some recognition, so please check the club website for the full results from our clubmates.

Australian Masters Championships

Providing inspiration for the above feats were our Masters athletes, who contested their own National Championships in Hobart the weekend prior.  10 Athletics Wollongong members made the journey, with each of them returning home with a medal.

Our National Champions are:

You can see the full results of our clubmates on the website as well.

Presentation Night

These are just some of the accomplishments that we will be marking at Athletics Wollongong's 2023/24 Season Presentation.

The Club Presentation Night will be held on May 4th at Wollongong Tennis Club, from 6pm.  It's an opportunity to say farewell to the season we have shared together and congratulate your clubmates on their achievements (and they on yours!). 

To see what awards you are eligible to receive, check THIS LIST.  Note that the list doesn't include all awards!  Missing are the major perpetual trophies: to add to the buzz, we will start announcing the nominees for those this week.  Some others will remain a secret until the night: The President's Award, Most Outstanding Para Athlete, Most Outstanding Winter Athlete, the 'Best Performance in a Wednesday event' winners and 'Club Spirit' awards will all be kept as a surprise.

It's a fun and light-hearted evening and to further sweeten the deal: everyone who attends is up for a lucky door prize!  We aim to be long gone by 8pm - breaking for some light refreshments midway through to keep our energy levels high. 

To aid with catering, we're asking for RSVPs.  Please indicate your attendance at Presentation NOW!  Go to the club website event listing, click the RSVP button and enter your name and how many people in your family will be coming along.  There's no need to log in (that just pre-fills the data fields) and if there are multiple club members in your family, then just one RSVP covering everyone is fine.  (NB - Please let us know if you indicate you're coming and you subsequently can't make it; we're charged per head for the food). 

Tennis Club Membership

As per above, the venue of our Presentation Night is the Tennis Club - our neighbour in the Beaton Park sporting precinct.  The T.C. is a sponsor of Athletics Wollongong.  One leg of our deal is that we are reimbursed a percentage of purchases made across the bar and bistro by Tennis Club members who have noted an affiliation with AW.

We strongly encourage our members to also join - and patronise - the Tennis Club.  WIth a one year membership there costing only $10 ($5 for student or pensioners), you'll be most of the way to earning your money back in savings just at Presentation.

Membership forms are HERE and can be submitted anytime at the Tennis Club bar, or their reception during office hours.  Remember to note 'Athletics Wollongong' in the Sponsorship Group section.

U20 World Championships Team + Save-the-date

The qualification period for selection in the Australian team to U20 Worlds closes this week, after Uni Nationals.  As previously reported, several Athletics Wollongong members have posted qualifiers: Chelsy Wayne (discus), Delta Amidzovski (100m hurdles and long jump), and Tayissa Buchanan (800m).  Adding his name to this list after Adelaide - and following a season in which his 400m time improved by nearly 1.5 seconds - is Chase Grant.

Spaces are limited on the team, with most events having multiple qualifiers.  With several junior stars contesting Open events or staying in the USA on the college circuit, as well as a renewed focus on relay teams, it leaves the picture slightly unclear.  From a reading of the Selection Policy though, it appears that AW may have a couple of starters in Peru.  That being said, there's no harm in waiting for the official team release and seeing it all in black and white - likely to only be in a couple of weeks.

Australian representation at this event is anticipated to come at a price, with costs estimated to be up to $6,000 per athlete.  To help a little with that, AW is in the early planning stages of a fundraiser.  We anticipate it being held on the evening of Saturday, July 20th.  More details are to come after the announcement of the team, but - for now - save the date.

Athletics Wollongong Winter Pointscore

Our Winter distance running pointscore is underway.  See the schedule of events HERE. 

How the competition works is a little different this season, read up on how it works HERE. 

The reason for the changes are to encourage two things: a "club" experience for members each Saturday morning with everyone attending the same parkrun; and, greater participation in ANSW Winter Series events. 

While we have even more ideas for next season, we think we're off to a pretty good start.  Come along and give it a try!

Dual Relay Championships

The first of ANSW's Winter Series of events is being held next Saturday.  This is the St George Classic, which will include the new NSW Dual Relay Championships.  This is a team event, with those in the U16s and below running one leg each, while those in the U18s and up will run two legs each.  Depending on age and gender, a leg will be either 1km or 2km in length.

Unlike at previous Cross Country Relay events, individuals won't be able to just contest the first leg - but they can enter any of the Fun Run events also being held. 

Teams don't need to be entered by the club, anyone can do so.  Any team representing Athletics Wollongong (i.e. containing two current members, entered under our name, and competing in our uniform) can claim reimbursement of their entry fee after they participate.  Just submit this form.

Entries close 24th April, submit them via the ANSW event listing.  If you don't have a teammate, feel free to post to the AW Facebook group (or email us and we will do so on your behalf)

Annual General Meeting

As an incorproated body, Athletics Wollongong must hold an Annual General Meeting.  This is where financials are presented to members and elections held for Committee Members and support positions for the following year.  Our AGM will be held on Tuesday, 9th July from 7pm - ahead of the monthly Committee Meeting - at our regular venue of the Wollongong Tennis Club boardroom. 

Official notice of the meeting will be circulated the month prior, where we will tick all the official boxes we need to.  In the meantime, we encourage our members to give some thought to volunteering some of their time and helping out the club.  Here are some Position Descriptions for roles on the Management Committee and Support Team.

If you have an interest or any questions regarding anything, send an email for a non-binding chat.  Note that there's no expectation of you being a business titan or corporate whizkid, just someone who has a few hours per month to help the club give the best possible experience to its members. 

• 24th - 26th April, Australian University Championships, Gold Coast

• 27th April, St George Classic feat Dual Relay Championships, Ramsgate

• 4th May, Athletics Wollongong Winter Pointscore #4, Killalea parkrun

• 4th May, Athletics Wollongong Presentation, Tennis Club from 6pm

• 11th May, Athletics Wollongong Winter Pointscore #5, Sandon Point parkrun

Contact Details

Email davidrosswollongong@hotmail.com with any athletics news story tips.  Send other enquiries to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.

See our Facebook and Instagram for more timely alerts, news and fun.