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They say all good things come to an end and that's certainly the case with Athletics Wollongong's 2020/21 series of Wednesday meets. We'll have one last hurrah though, with our End of Season Special on March 10th.
The most anticipated event is the 60m Skins Champion of Champions, with Club Captain Anthony Howlett personally putting up a purse. Win your way through a series of short-recovery, handicapped, elimination races to the final and you could win CASH.
Something just as sweet is up for grabs in the 800m Chocolate Run (no prizes for guessing what!). Everyone runs the full 800 metres but faster runners give away a headstart; the time each runner waits at the start line is based on their season-best performances. It's shocking how much faster people can run when chocolate is on the line!
We'll also hold a free BBQ for our members and their supporters, along with crowd favourites events like the One-Against-Many Relay, Gumboot Throw and more! Come along and farewell our season!
At our End Of Season Special, you'll have your first opportunity to purchase tickets for AW's fundraising raffle. Up for grabs are vouchers from rebel sport and Crown Central, as well as an Athletics Wollongong merch prize pack. Tickets are just 1 for $5 or 3 for $10.
If you can't make it to The Special, you can also purchase them online from our store. Just click the Shop link on the Athletics Wollongong website.
The raffle will be drawn at the Club Presentation Night on May 1st. We're committed to holding an event this year after having to cancel last season's on account of COVID. Unfortunately, things aren't quite back to normal just yet and we're currently unable to hold it at our regular venue of Keiraville Public due to limitations on the number of attendees. We'll be searching for an alternate venue and that will partly dictate what kind of Presentation we'll be able to put on. Sorry to say: wherever it goes, we won't be having a pizza smorgasbord this time!
What we will offer is a light-hearted evening where we congratulate our clubmates on their performances this season, provide encouragement and hopefully inspire. We'll do this via the medium of giving out trophies, certificates and awards. It's a fun night and we hope to see you there! More details will be made available as they come to hand. For now, just save the date!
The AGM is a little more up in the air. The current club committee has actually only served the last 6 months, due to COVID delaying the 2019/20 AGM. Given all the other stuff going on, the committee thought they could do with one less spinning plate and have decided to push this season's AGM back 'til mid-year. The idea is to still give the incoming committee plenty of time to prepare for Season 2021/22, but an exact date is TBD. Again, club members will be kept up-to-date via the newsletter, website and our social media.
In the meantime, people might want to consider how they can get involved and help the club remain AWesome. There are a wide variety of roles to suit various interests, commitments and availabilities. Everyone on the committee is happy to have an obligation-free chat with anyone who would like to find out more information. You can also read some role descriptions for Committee Members and Support Position Holders. AW Needs You!
The State Open, U23 and Para Athletics Championships were held this past weekend at SOPAC. A dynamic dozen AW members contested the event with the medal haul including two gold, a silver, and two bronze, as well as a National Record.
Isabelle Hampton defended her Para Ambulant Javelin title, throwing 30.61m (66.54%). She's still in the hunt for a Paralympic qualifier and will be searching for those few extra necessary metres at Nationals. Rosie Boyland was our other gold medallist, taking out the Para Ambulant Shot Put event, with a throw of 9.53m (67.59%).
Our sole silver winner was Patrick Mitchell, who seemed to barely step off the track with a packed schedule. Unexpectedly, it was in the 1500m where he found the most success, running 6'17.36s (62.80%).
Bronze went firstly to Rosie Tozer in the High Jump, clearing 1.75m, and then to Mitchell O'Neill in the 200m. Mitch went into the final as the fastest qualifier, running a new PB of 21.35s, gaining plenty of praise and being noted as a sprinter on the rise by the live stream commentators.
Finally, Karlee Symonds just can't stop breaking National Records! She lowered her own T11 100m record once again. It's now set at 14.27s, though probably not for long!
You can see all the results here.
It's the turn of our younger members this coming weekend, with the NSW Junior State Championships being held Friday through Sunday. A huge squad of 36 AW athletes will be challenging the rest of the State. Go Team! Join us on Facebook where we'll post daily results from our members, alert you of medallists, you can see photos from the event, etc.
The Track Classic events are the premier athletic competitions in the country. By invitation only, it's the cream of the track and field crop, aiming to win bragging rights ahead of Nationals - not to mention cash! Thursday night and it's the Canberra Track Classic, featuring from Athletics Wollongong:
This Saturday evening it then touches down in Sydney, aiming to inspire the Juniors there for State Champs. Keep an eye on the Athletics Australia website for Entry Lists and ticket purchasing details.
Thank goodness the best event on the calendar went ahead! Mingara hosted the belated NSW Country Championships and there were some cracking performances from our team of 22. Delta Amidzovski probably earned the most buzz, breaking three U16 Meet Records, including one that was over two decades old! The 90m Hurdles (12.75s), 200m Hurdles (28.27s) and Long Jump (5.80m), never stood a chance!
Beating her in sheer numbers though was evergreen Christine Shaw, clocking five Meet Records. She also collected the 60-64 NSW Masters Record with a performance of 7.87m in the Triple Jump. Her other records were in the 100m (15.08s), 200m (31.97s), High Jump (1.25m), and Long Jump (3.84m).
Our final Meet record breaker was Rodney Tebbutt, who hurled the spear 50.45m, in the 50-59's Javelin.
Other highlights were Mitch O'Neill winning the Open 100m-200m sprint double and our Open Women's 4x100m relay team - giving away plenty of years - taking out the title in 49.51s. Well done Delta, Payton Williams, Keira Rejske, and Kailee Moore.
You can see all the results here.
Credit has to be given to Comeback Kid Zoe Daniels, not only competing in Mingara, but backing up the next day in Canberra! On the return from injury, she took out the ACT U17 Discus title with a throw of 40.80m. Also taking out a Territory Championship was Jude Basnet (U18 Discus - 33.26m; Hammer Throw - 30.00m) and William Willis (U15 Discus - 39.34m).
You can see all the results here.
Club Captain Anthony Howlett was part of an exhibition event at State Opens, with NSW Masters endeavouring to set records in a variety of age categories in the 4x800m relay. Anthony ran the first leg in the 40-44 team, with them eventually finishing in a time of 10'42.42s. This easily accounted for the previous record, breaking it by over 24 seconds!
Speaking of Masters: Christine Shaw features on the list of nominees for the NSW Masters Annual Awards. She is listed in both the Multis and Jumps categories. The winners will be announced at a Lunch on March 21st
Though many Little A's events were cancelled this season, the Combined Events Championships went ahead at Beaton Park last weekend. Thirteen AW members took part with Chelsy Wayne, most notably, taking out the U14 Girls category. This was her 5th NSW Multi Event win! Well done to all competitors.
The Little A's version of State Championships will be held 27th-28th March. Plenty of Athletics Wollongong dual members will be there, giving it a go; we wish them all the best!
A big thank you to those who assisted at Splash Wollongong! AW provides athlete registration and course marshalling at this event (for a donation). Plenty of feedback sent to organisers noted how encouraging and supportive the volunteers were of the participants. Some of our volunteers had such fun that they've already put their name down to help again next year!
Email davidrosswollongong@hotmail.com with athletics news to include in our regular Advertiser & Lake Times column. Send other enquiries to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
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