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August 2021 Newsletter
Published Wed 18 Aug 2021
What an incredible festival of sport we were treated to with Tokyo 2020 (in 2021). The Australian track and field team certainly did us proud, with an incredible 14 representatives finishing within the top 8 in their respective events. Foremost of these - no doubt - were our medallists:
- Nicola McDermott - Silver - High Jump
- Ashley Moloney - Bronze - Decathlon
- Kelsey-Lee Barber - Bronze - Javelin
Five National records also bit the dust:
- Peter Bol - 800m (1:44.13 & 1:44.11)
- Jessica Hull - 1500m (3:58.81)
- Nicola McDermott - High Jump (2.02m)
- Ashley Moloney - Decathlon (8492pts)
The whole team put in a stirring performance, timing their peak for The Games and inspiring us with their feats.
While Tokyo was a particular blessing for some during lockdown, it was tough to manage watching all the events live: as much as some may have tried! Full replays of sessions, along with some recaps, interviews and select moments, are available for the next couple of months on 7plus: https://7plus.com.au/olympic-games-tokyo-athletics.
On the eve of the Tokyo Opening Ceremony, we had some tremendous news: Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympics! While it wasn't quite the surprise of the Sydney announcement, given changes to the bidding process, it was met with a similar amount of joy.
Those who remember 2000 are keen to relive what was truly a magical time. Those who were born too late, will now be dreaming of competing in a home Olympics. The youngest member of our Tokyo athletics team was just 18 years old, meaning a current 7 year old could match their feat. We even had Masters-eligible competitors in the squad, so the hope of a Brisbane berth can still be held by many. At the farthest end of the age scale, Australia had the oldest of all Games participants at 66. 55 year olds: you still have a shot (but may have to learn to ride a horse!).
Aside from the lucky few to don the Australian uniform, the rest of us can be excited regarding the upcoming investment in sporting facilities, the programs to attract/hone/retain talent, and the level of interest in anything sport. It's going to be a great next decade and a bit!
We needn't look as far ahead as 2032 for major sporting events though. There is a packed upcoming international sporting calendar. This athletic season will be followed by:
- World Athletics Indoor Championships - Serbia, March
- World Uni Games - China, June/July
- World Athletics Championships - USA, July
- Commonwealth Games - UK, July/August
- Para-Athletics World Championships - Japan, August/September
There's even the Winter Olympics in February! And the FIFA World Cup next November!
First up though, is the Tokyo Paralympics, with the Opening Ceremony set for next Tuesday. The Athletics program will get underway the following Friday, with some red-hot gold medal chances among our Aussie team. One of the foremost contenders is former AW member James Turner, who will be contesting the T36 100m and 400m. The 800m event, in which he won gold in Rio, has been removed from the program for his classification, but he should do OK in these shorter races: he's only the reigning World Champion and world record holder!
We'll have a solid week-and-a-half of track and field competition, before it's all done for Tokyo on September 5th. What a terrific job the host city has done under the circumstances!
Many of our past, present and future Olympians will have attained some polish through working with sports academies. Our local Illawarra Academy of Sport counted 9 Tokyo Olympians among their alumni. Nominations for their next intake of representatives are now open. AWD applications close on August 27th, while those for the LoneStar program (under which track and field falls) have until September 3rd. For more information on eligibility, what they offer, and to submit a nomination, see https://ias.org.au/apply/.
Those from outside the region have similar opportunities: the South West Sydney Academy of Sport for one. Last week the SWSAS announced AW's Thomas Noakes as one of their 'Athlete of the Year' Chairpersons Nominees for 2021. Nicely done! They are also soon to open their 2022 Summer intake for the Wests Future Stars Scholarship Program. See here for more details and to nominate: https://www.swsas.org.au/sports-programs---wests-future-stars.html
Healthy hamburger chain Grill'd are giving back to the community through their Local Matters program. Each month every burger sold earns the purchaser a token which they can place in one of three jars, each representing a local community organisation or charity. At the end of the month, the jar with the most tokens wins their cause $300. There are no losers either, as the other pair win $100!
During September, the Wollongong store will be featuring an Athletics Wollongong jar. Treat yourself to a feed and throw a token our way. Tell your friends and family. If you live out of area, then you could even arrange delivery to a poor, local unfortunate (like the Club President: he enjoys the whole menu! LOL).
Grill'd is on the corner of Crown and Keira in the Gateway Shopping Centre. Here's their website for the menu, online ordering, and drool-inducing pictures: https://www.grilld.com.au/restaurants/new-south-wales/south-coast/wollongong.
Postponements and Cancellations
...and now for the bad news. It was announced that the Australian Winter Walks and Road Running Championships have been postponed. This will likely have a knock-on effect of determining when the State Long Walk and Team Walk Championships will be eventually held.
There's some hope yet for the State Cross Country Championships, now tentatively scheduled for September 25th-26th. It's a similar story for the Sydney Half Marathon, now targetted for October 10th. The ANSW-run Anniversary 5K, held around Sydney Olympic Park, is still a TBA at this stage.
More definitive is the cancellation of the NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships, which were to be held in Dapto. Also cancelled are the Australian Masters Winter Throws Championships. Formerly to be held in Wollongong over the October long weekend, the organisers felt there was little choice left but to pull the pin. They are resolved, however, to hold some replacement competitions once circumstances allow; some of these with a virtual participation option.
Athletics Wollongong Winter Distance Running Pointscore
Our Winter Distance Pointscore has been brought to a premature end by the current lockdown. Held as part of the parkrun series of events, members' performances were compared to age-graded records to give a percentage figure. The average of their top efforts were then used to determine the winners.
Taking out the Senior division was Ros Perry with a score of 69.43%. Our Junior winner was Seattle Bazley with 62.29%.
Sadly the club missed out on the opportunity of "taking over" the North Wollongong parkrun one Saturday; we'll look to try it again next Winter.
Athletics Wollongong Summer Competition
Obviously there is little surety regarding community sport in the short-term. As previously announced though, Athletics Wollongong will continue to aim for our Summer Series of meets to commence on October 6th. Newly available on the club website is the program of events that we will endeavour to put on this season; see the Competition page for details.
At this stage the program is a guide. Generally track events will remain the same, but there may be some small changes to field events/age groups depending on eventual participant numbers. As always, the order of events for the coming week will be posted to the Athletics Wollongong Facebook group, the Sunday prior to competition.
Fingers crossed we can kick off as per schedule!
The Committee has received little info from ANSW regarding the upcoming season. It's not known what membership categories will be available, nor their base price. We also don't know our affiliation costs, so are unable to determine the club fee. All we know at this stage is that registrations are scheduled to open mid-late September. We hope that more information will become available shortly; once it does we will advertise it far and wide. We hope you do the same: word-of-mouth is, after all, our best advertisement.
If you don't want to risk missing the news, you can sign up for an email notification here: https://www.nswathletics.org.au/events/109303/.
Given the ongoing situation, once registrations open it would be wisest for people to take on the lowest tier of membership initially: i.e., eligible for club competition only. As the season progresses - and once external competition options become clearer - you can then upgrade your membership online to a higher level for no penalty.
The vote for Little Athletics and Athletics Australia to merge at the National level is scheduled to be held in October. In anticipation of the result, our State bodies have entered into a Heads Of Agreement, setting out the path towards unification of the sport in NSW. They have also formed a joint Unification Committee to oversee the implementation of this goal.
We don't anticipate there being any local impact to us this coming season. There may be a small chance of some joint events, as there is intended to be for the Australian Cross Country Championships, but merging is a major task and implementation at the grassroots level is no small thing. It's more likely to be a work of years, before there is any consequential change.
Subsequently, the process for Dual Membership for eligible Little Athletics members remains the same as last year. Those in the U12-U17 age categories in Little A's are able to access a discounted ANSW Concession membership called a 'Dual Membership'. To do so, eligible Little A's members register online via the Athletics Wollongong Membership Portal, selecting that category from a drop-down list (once regos open mid-late September).
Note that there are some questions regarding Dual Membership during the Little A's sign-up process, but this is just to get on a mailing list to be notified once ANSW regos are open. To actually become a Dual Member is a separate procedure. As for any other Athletics Wollongong member, our Duals will have to contest ANSW events (i.e. all those asides from our Wednesday meets) in an AW uniform. They will also collect their number bibs from the first ANSW event they participate in.
Wollongong City Council has a Master Plan for the Beaton Park Regional Precinct, with over $50million set to be spent there over a 20-year period. The very first step is hoped to get underway some time next year, with upgrades to the tennis courts and associated facilities. Access to the track and Leisure Centre is anticipated to remain unaffected during this work. Parking may be at a premium initially though, as the space currently utilised for that between the Tennis Club and Foleys Road will be the area of construction. Replacement parking will soon become available on the land currently inhabited by the tennis courts nearest the track.
Council is looking for feedback on their plan, which can be made via their community engagement site: https://our.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/beaton-park-tennis-upgrades, by September 6th.
Retail therapy is an important coping strategy during these times. Feel even better about yourself by shopping at Rebel Sport. Associate your purchase with Athletics Wollongong and we will earn store credit, using it to buy prizes for our members. Everybody wins!
- 25th & 26th September - NSW Cross Country Championships, Tapitallee
- 6th October - Athletics Wollongong meets resume
- 10th October - Sydney Half, Sydney Olympic Park
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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