ANSW Club of the Year

Athletics Wollongong is the ANSW Country Club of the Year!  Announced at the Athletics NSW Awards Night, AW has now won the Country Club title the past two seasons. 

While it largely depends on results at the NSW Country Championships (a special shoutout to those who went to Dubbo this year!) it's also due in part to how well we present ourselves to those who are outside of the club.  Our active social media - and the strong encouragement our athletes receive from the community there - showcases the club's welcoming and supportive nature, and demonstrates just how much all of our members are enjoying their athletics.

Well done to everyone associated with AW - and let's shoot for three titles in a row!

Annual General Meeting

The club's recent success isn't a total accident, with the AW committee doing their utmost to ensure a rewarding experience can be had by all members, regardless of their individual aims and aspirations.  Despite all their good work, it's important to know that the committee members aren't anything special!  They are just people who have chosen to dedicate some of their free time to the betterment of Athletics Wollongong.  You could help as well!  And the best place to get started is at our Annual General Meeting on June 13th.

As an incorporated association, Athletics Wollongong must hold an AGM where the club's financials are presented to members and officebearers are elected for the following year.  It will be held in the Wollongong Tennis Club boardroom from 7pm.

An email will shortly go out to all members officially notifying them of the meeting.  We encourage everyone to give some serious thought regarding how they might participate on the club committee. 

Here are the position descriptions for the roles that will be up for election at the AGM:

• Management Committee roles
• Support Position roles

We are very interested in speaking with anyone who has an interest.  Please contact athleticswollongong@gmail.com, or speak with a current committee member, for an obligation-free chat.

Cross Country Invitation

Victory Runners have invited us to trial the fun and challenging Willandra course, this Saturday from 3pm.  With everyone starting together, runners can then choose their preferred race distance: one-lap routes of 1km, 2km, 3km, or 4km; two-lap routes of 6km and 8km, or the three-lap route of 10km.

There is no cost to participate and timing will be provided.  No pre-entry is required either; just make your way to the startline at 101 Browns Mountain Road at Tapitallee (north-west of Nowra).

This could be a valuable scouting opportunity ahead of the venue hosting the NSW Cross Country Championships next month!

NSW Cross Country Relays

We're putting out the call to those interested in forming a team for the NSW Cross Country Relay Championships, being held at Rydalmere on June 3rd.  Just like for the track and field relays, entries must be submitted by the club, so expressions of interest from runners to form a team are required ASAP.  To encourage team submissions, AW will pay the team entry fee. 

If you're keen, submit your details to athleticswollongong@gmail.com by 27th May.  Please also note whether you're willing to run in a different age group/gender (including a leg distance limit, if relevant). 

As for the summer season relays, you're most likely to form a team if you promote the opportunity to your friends and training partners.  If people don't contact us regarding their interest, we presume that they're busy - not that they're waiting for a personal invite.

Unlike the relays: if a team doesn't get up, you can still participate in the event as an individual athlete.  We'll let you know if we couldn't form a team ahead of individual entries closing on 31st May.

Those with a Community membership are also eligible to join teams (though that team won't be eligible for a Championship medal).

Several members have already shown an interest (we're halfway to a U14 Women's team already, for example): join them!

Beaton Park Upgrades

Work is finally scheduled to begin at Beaton Park on the upgrades to the tennis court facility.  Starting later this month, we will see the courts closest to Foleys Road demolished, along with the nearby control room.  Parking in this area will also no longer be available, with a temporary access road instead leading to a new space, situated on the courts nearest the track. 

At the end of the project - estimated to take around 16 months - the Beaton Park Precinct will have a quality, modern community tennis facility that is also capable of hosting high-standard events.

Obviously this construction period intersects with our 2023/24 season, as well as any private use of the Kerryn McCann Athletics Centre during this time.  Wollongong Council have assured all users that - aside from during occasional and brief movements of heavy equipment - access to the Leisure Centre and track (and Tennis Club!) will be maintained throughout. 

Notice is mostly to alert patrons of changed traffic conditions and to remind everyone that this is only Phase 1 of the 20-year Beaton Park Precinct Master Plan.  Later phases will include a multi-sport indoor stadium - which will include extra storage for the resident athletics clubs!

Winter Pointscore Competition

Athletics Wollongong's Winter Distance Pointscore has begun, with the competition window opening on May 1st and going until the end of August. 

To participate, members can contest any parkrun event, held at various locations from 8am on Saturday mornings.  There are local editions at Sandon Point, North Wollongong, Killalea and Bowral but, if you're traveling or on holiday, you can find plenty more listed at https://www.parkrun.com.au.  You'll also need to create a free profile on that site and associate yourself with Athletics Wollongong (else alert our Winter Season Co-ordinator Ron Perry to your performances within a day or two of them happening). 

Participants' top six age-graded performance percentages over this time will be averaged to determine the overall winners (and Most Improved if you also participated last year).  You can find more info regarding it all HERE.

This year we'll also be having a lucky draw, with each parkrun you participate in earning you another chance at winning.  You can see who's putting their name in the barrel if you follow this link: https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=18072.  Let's get running!

ANSW Winter Calendar

ANSW's Winter Championship calendar continues, with the Sydney 10 being held last weekend.

Athletics Wollongong had a small contingent participating, including Emma O'Sullivan who again took out the 45-49 Women's division and also finished 27th female overall. 

Ros Perry took silver in the 70-79 Women's divison, while Olivia Sivills was the 15th female across the line in the 5km Fun Run.

Upcoming ANSW events are listed on their calendar HERE.

Presentation Results

Athletics Wollongong's 2022/23 Season Presentation was held on May 6th at Wollongong Tennis Club. 

Major award winners included:

• Most Improved Newcomer: Female - Elyse Bongiorno
• Most Improved Newcomer: Male - Justin Rejske
• Most Improved Female Athlete - Natalie Heywood
• Most Improved Male Athlete - Carlo Tallarida
• Most Outstanding Junior Athlete - Delta Amidzovski
• Most Outstanding Masters Athlete - Emma O'Sullivan
• Most Outstanding Track Athlete - Mitchell O'Neill
• Most Outstanding Field Athlete - Chelsy Wayne
• Most Outstanding Para Athlete - Charlize Colwell
• President's Award - Michael Melfi
• Ron Bragg Club Spirit Awards - Dave Ross & Nicole McHenry
• Clubperson of the Year - Anthony Howlett

The full list of winners is on the club website.  Those who were unable to collect their awards can organise to do so at the AGM.  After that it's either by arrangement at the track, or at the start of the next track and field season (likely early October).

Thank you to all of those who attended the club Presentation.  As mentioned on the night, it's one of the few opportunities where all AW members can get together and share their appreciation of their clubmates' achievements.  Those who mostly focus on our Wednesday meets can finally put faces to the names of AW athletes whom they've only read about.  And those who exclusively target Championships events can feel a part of something larger than their individual performances.

While it was a great night on the whole, there was a small mistep with the catering for which we apologise.  Unfortunately there was a breakdown in communication between the Tennis Club front office and the new caterers.  As a result we only learned that we were unable to receive the food that we had ordered as we were setting up.  While the food provided in its stead was nice, it wasn't quite the variety we had envisioned - nor was the lack of serving implements!  The improvements to the venue were a step up on last year, along with the ease of having the upstairs bar open, so we certainly don't hold a grudge against the venue - but we will ensure that they nail it next year.

Singapore Open

Last newsletter we reported that AW's Mitchell O'Neill was about to contest the Singapore Open.  Well, he did a lot more than just that: taking out the 200m event in his first international competition!  Well done, Mitch!

NSW Masters' Awards Lunch

AW's Christine Shaw is a nominee in two categories (Jumps and Multi-Events) for the Most Outstanding trophies at the NSW Masters' Awards Lunch this weekend.  Best of luck, Christine!

Winter Membership

ANSW have a new competitive member registration available that is active only from April 1st to Septmber 30th; it's called a 'Winter' membership.  This gives athletes eligibility to compete in the cross country and walking Championships.  Note that if you already hold a full competitive membership with Athletics Wollongong - i.e. Dual, Concession or Open - then you DO NOT need to purchase this Winter membership to contest Winter events.  Your existing membership is valid all the way until the end of the season (September 30th) and you already have eligibility to enter these events.

If you're a Volunteer or Community member who wishes to contest the upcoming Championships though, you'll have to upgrade your existing membership to Winter via the club website.  Just login and follow the Upgrade Membership link.

Officials Courses

You can help the club whenever you make a purchase at rebel Sport.  Just drop our name at the checkout and the club could receive 2% of your purchase price to buy prizes or equipment for our members.  Note that we don't receive a record of what those purchases are, nor who has done the purchasing: no shaming of shopaholics!

Coming Dates

• 20th May - Victory Runners State XC Course Invitational, Tapitallee
• 21st May - NSW Short Walks, SOPAC
• 3rd June - NSW Cross Country Relays, Rydalmere
• 17th June - NSW Cross Country Championships, Tapitallee
• 25th June - NSW Team Walks Championships, SOPAC
• 8th July - NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships, West Dapto

   

Contact Details

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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