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We were amazed by the incredible achievements of Athletics Wollongong members, Delta Amidzovski and Chelsy Wayne, who left an indelible mark at the recent Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.
Delta Amidzovski's exceptional talent shone brightly as she secured not one, but two gold medals. Her first triumph came in the Long Jump, where she leaped an astonishing 6.34 meters, achieving a personal best and setting a new Games record. Adding to her accolades, Delta then conquered the 100m Hurdles in 13.25 seconds, narrowly missing her own Australian U18 Record.
Chelsy Wayne proved herself a formidable contender in the discus competition. With determination coursing through her veins, she claimed the lead with a 49.39m throw in the final round. The event concluded with a thrilling twist though – the very last throw of the competition surpassed Chelsy's by a mere 14 centimeters and clinched the gold. Chelsy's unyielding spirit earned her the silver medal for Australia.
Tremendous results from our clubmates and a terrific example of what hard work, dedication and a strong team working together can achieve,
Australian Cross Country Championships
Next to represent the club at higher levels are those contesting the Australian Cross Country Championships at Stromlo Forest in the ACT this weekend.
Best of luck to the following competitors!
No AW members are participating at this year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest, but there is certainly some local interest with both Sarah Carli (400m Hurdles) and Jessica Hull (1500m & 5000m) representing. This is arguably the strongest team that Australia has ever sent to the event, so be sure to keep up with all the action!
Every session from the nine-day event will be broadcast live and free across the screens of SBS, including the World Athletics Championships hub via SBS On Demand, which will also feature daily extended highlights, short clips and full replays of all sessions.
In other major Championships news, Wollongong was announced as host of the 2024 NSW Country Championships!
Last held in The Gong in 2018, this is the best event on the ANSW Calendar - and you should endeavour to be a part of it! It's the largest Championship held for all ages, so the entire family can participate at the one event. As a club based outside of the Sydney metro area, all Athletics Wollongong members are eligibile to enter. In fact, Athletics Wollongong is the two-time reigning Country pointscore champion club: let's make it three in a row on our home track!
Note that as a co-host we'll be required to help with both set-up and pack-away, as well as providing on-field helpers throughout. With everyone lending a hand it won't require a huge effort. That's the trade-off for getting to sleep in your own bed each night of a Country Champs!
January 19th-21st is the weekend to save in your diary. Yee-haa!
Athletics Wollongong Draft Calendar
Speaking of dates to save: how about clearing your schedule on Wednesday evenings from October 11th? That's the first night of Athletics Wollongong's Summer Series of weekly Wednesday track and field meets. The draft calendar for Season 2023/24 has been released and is now available on the club website.
Our parent organisation Athletics NSW has announced some changes to how memberships will work from now on. Rather than registering for a particular season, memberships will instead last for 365 days. This makes sense for those who joined late in the season, for example: they will now get full value out of a membership.
New members can sign up with Athletics Wollongong NOW.
Existing members will have to wait until their current membership lapses, before they will be able to join under the new means of operating. ANSW have announced that registrations will be open for everyone from October 4th.
Eligible club members gain discounted entry to the NSW All Schools Championships. As previously reported, this Championship is now split across three separate events:
23rd-25th September - NSW All Schools (Senior) Championships, SOPAC
23rd-25th September - Primary Schools Challenge, SOPAC
6th-8th October - NSW All Schools (Junior) Championships, SOPAC
Entries close surprisingly early for the two in September: the 8th is the cut-off date - don't get caught out! Those attending the Junior Championships will have until September 22nd to enter.
Winter Distance Pointscore Competition
There is now just one week remaining of the AW parkrun series for 2023.
There weren't many AW competitors found at local parkruns on August 5th, as Athletics Wollongong 'hosted' the event at North Wollongong by supplying most of the volunteers. The club banner was on prominent display and there were plenty of conversations had with parkrunners who were keen to learn more about us.
On the competitive side, in the Seniors Em O’Sullivan has been blitzing it with three runs having an age-graded score of over 80%. Runners who have put in runs of over 70% include Ros Perry, Rob Bongiorno, Olivia Sivills, Scott Bazley and Peter Kidd. The seniors who completed the most parkruns for July were Tom Schambron , Scott Bazley and Des Comer who each completed all five weeks possible.
In the juniors, the highest percentage result is Axel Comer with two runs of over 70%. The junior with the most runs for last month was Seattle Bazley, who contested all five.
Thanks must go to our outgoing Winter Competition Coordinator Ron Perry, who has administered this competition from its inception.
We're currently gauging interest from our parkrun regulars for an end of competition get-together. A potential venue is Cordeaux Dam, where we could have a run, use the BBQs, and hand out the Winter awards. Stay tuned for any announcements in the Facebook group.
A sad change to the local athletic landscape with the Illawarra Mercury making the decision to discontinue the weekly Track and Field Column, shared by ourselves and IBS. The club has been contributing in this format since the early 90s and while we have had many names in the byline, the role has been filled by Dave Ross for the past 13 years.
The Mercury will still be taking news tips supplied by the club, with stories appearing on an ad hoc basis. We will continue to source results via the club Facebook group, not only to tout articles for publishing in the newspaper, but also to continue fostering close bonds between members and supporters. It's an important strength of our club that we show our support for everyone's achievements, so we encourage members to continue sharing their athletics results.
There have also been some changes to the Active Kids vouchers this season. Eligibility (school-enrolled children) and the procedure to use them (applying for a voucher on the Service NSW website and then entering the code during your online Athletics Wollongong registration) remains in place. Where it now differs is the amount ($50, down from $100) and how long the vouchers can last: there are still two available per year, but the first expired on June 30th, rather than it being able to be applied for the remainder of the year.
The Wollongong Tennis Club - our neighbours in the Beaton Park Sporting Precinct - is a sponsor of our club this season. AW will earn a percentage of the money spent at the bar by Tennis Club members who are our affiliates!
Tennis Club memberships start from as little as $10 for 1 year and $5 for age pensioners. To join up, complete your membership form - either available at the venue or online here: https://bit.ly/3RMXaMK - noting 'Athletics Wollongong' as your club affiliation. If you're an existing Tennis club member, ask them to affiliate your membership with us. Submit your form and enjoy the savings!
Coming Dates
26th August - Australian Cross Country Championships, Stromlo Forest, ACT
26th August - last parkrun eligible for AW's Winter Distance Pointscore Competition!
3rd September - Sydney Half (inc NSW Half Marathon Championships), SOPAC
17th September - NSW & Australian Marathon Championships, Sydney
23rd-25th September - NSW All Schools (Senior) Championships, SOPAC
23rd-25th September - Primary Schools Challenge, SOPAC
6th-8th October - NSW All Schools (Junior) Championships, SOPAC
11th October - Start date of AW's Summer Series of Weekly Wednesday Meets
Contact Details
Email davidrosswollongong@hotmail.com with any athletics news story tips. Send other enquiries to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
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