Sponsors
The Kerryn McCann Athletics Centre will be closed from Monday, 14th November until Friday, 18th November. There will be no access to the track (or field) area during this time. Remedial work is being performed on the hurdles markings.
If the work goes ahead as planned, this sadly means that we will miss one week of our season. As a result, we'll be making some small changes to the schedule to minimise the impact:
It was hoped that this work could be performed at a more convenient time but unfortunately Council is restricted by the availability of technicians. At the conclusion of the work, consider giving the hurdles a go! We know they'll be spot-on, after this action.
With no club meet on this Wednesday we'll all be at a loose end, so why not join us at The Wollongong Tennis Club? Wednesday is Schnitzel night and there's also Trivia on, with free entry and great prizes. The 'T.C.' are our neighbours in the Beaton Park sporting precinct and we'll be there from 6pm.
Wollongong Tennis Club are also an Athletics Wollongong sponsor this season. Become a member of The Tennis Club and not only will you receive a discount on food and drink at the venue, but AW will also earn a percentage of the money spent at the bar and bistro by our affiliates!
Tennis Club memberships start from as little as $10 for 1 year and $5 for age pensioners. To join up, lodge your membership form (either available at the venue or online here) the next time that you attend. Your member card will be available to collect within a couple of days, but you can enjoy the savings immediately. If you're an existing Tennis club member, ask them to affiliate your membership with us.
(NB - no rebates for the club during December & January)
Another blessing in disguise from the track closure? Athletics Wollongong will have our largest representation at the NSW Relay Championships for many years. The event is being held next weekend, November 19th & 20th, at the Campbelltown Athletics Centre - and likely would have impacted participation at the preceding Wednesday meet.
Over 20 AW teams will be in action across the weekend! You can see who you'll be cheering on via the team announcement post on the club website: https://www.athleticswollongong.org.au/news/relay-teams-selected/.
For those in a team, we encourage you to read the information on the ANSW website ahead of the Championships: https://www.nswathletics.org.au/events/152373/.
The Athletics Wollongong banner will be up, so keep an eye out to find both it and your teammates.
The first full rotation of pointscore rounds has concluded. When AW's meets resume following the track closure, there will be one more full rotation before we finish off the first half of the season with our Christmas Special.
The distance events don't align with the same round each time, given their greater number - and some of these are only contested once or twice a season. As noted above, steeplechase will be held on our return week (November 23rd); one of only two opportunities to try this great event this season. Also to look forward to are the 3000m and 5000m races.
In previous seasons we would soon be holding The Athletics Wollongong Gift, a handicapped 100m race with prizes on offer. This has instead been held back until the Christmas Special on December 21st. The delay will afford athletes further sprint opportunites in the meantime which, in turn, should lead to more accurate handicaps for more people.
The Gift will be sponsored once again by Trueflow Plumbing, headed by club member Russell Rann. $100 will go to first place, $30 to second and $20 to third. As slower athletes receive a headstart, everyone has a chance to win! Along with a free BBQ on offer for members and their supporters (bacon 'n' egg rolls are reportedly on the menu), we're expecting a big turnout.
There's plenty to look forward to ahead of our Christmas-New Year break!
Athletics Wollongong hosted a Bunnings BBQ at the Wollongong store on November 12th. It was our first fundraiser held since the sausage sanga price rise and that - along with an absolute pearler of a day, ripe for DIY - saw us with our highest takings in a long while.
A big thank you to those on the Committee who made up for a shortfall of volunteers. Several had to work more than one shift and one even drove back to Wollongong from a weekend away, just to do a stint. Hopefully it was all just a matter of unfortunate timing, with our BBQ scheduled for the same weekend as the Little A's Relays.
Our next fundraiser is Splash Wollongong on Saturday, December 10th. Around a dozen of our members will be at the Australian All Schools Championships on this date, but event calendars suggest an otherwise free weekend for most; at least, athletics-wise.
We will require 15-20 helpers, the bulk of these as course marshalls, encouraging and directing competitors along the run leg of the Aquathons. The course goes along The Blue Mile and - for the Long Aqua - through Puckey's Reserve. The remainder of our helpers will assist at athlete check-in at City Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.
It's a great experience and just a couple of hours of your morning. It's a real boost, being around positive athletes, grateful for you being there.
Those who do help at the event will be eligible for financial assistance to attend Junior or Open Nationals. If you're tied up at Australian All Schools, we'd be happy for you to provide a representative to volunteer on your behalf. If National Champs aren't a goal of yours: don't let that stop you from volunteering here, there are plenty of opportunities at Splash for everyone. Lastly, if the timing just doesn't work out for you, then there'll be a final chance to assist with club fundraising at the Australia Day Aquathon, where we will again provide athlete check-in services.
To find out more about Splash Wollongong, go here: http://www.splashdash.com.au/.
To add your name to the list of helpers, email athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
Several of our Masters competitors are recently returned from the Gold Coast, where they contested the Pan Pacific Masters Games. Track and field was just one of over forty sports at the Games, with around 16,000 competitiors said to have taken part.
Montse Ros may have only entered the one event, but her focus served her well, winning the 40-44 years pole vault with 2.92m - a meet record and a new NSW Masters record.
Also bringing home gold was Anthony Howlett (50-54 Triple Jump) and Tim Bradford (35-39 400m).
AW didn't have representation in the 'A' races of the NSW 3000m Championships, where the titles were decided. These were only up for grabs in the Open division, with Juniors otherwise contesting graded races. Making his club debut, Darcy Carless, beat some more fancied rivals in the Men's 'E' race (running 9'13.18s), while Olivia Sivills was in the Women's 'E' Race (running 11'28.31s).
The revamped Treloar Shield is drawing to its conclusion, with only one more regular round (Round #6 at SOPAC) ahead of the finals. This doesn't mean the end of weekend competition, however. We've already had one High Velocity Meet, with the first of the Bankstown Milers starting later this month. After the New Year break, it's Championships Season... See what's on offer the next few weeks via the Athletics NSW event listing.
Typically, access to these competitions is only afforded to those with either a Dual, Concession or Open Membership. Those with a Community membership who wish to participate in these events will have to upgrade first. It's an easy process: go to the club website and follow the 'Log in' link at the top right. From your user profile you just click the Upgrade Membership button. Note that upgrading is at no further cost than had you bought that level of membership in the first instance.
Club President Michael McClelland was a finalist in the Local Hero of the Year category at the Illawarra Sport Awards, courtesy of his efforts for Athletics Wollongong. The category is 'to congratulate and celebrate the volunteers and unsung heroes in Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands sport'. While he didn't go home with the win, he was both pleased and humbled to be nominated: let alone make it to the final half dozen!
One area that Athletics Wollongong could improve upon, is the number of accredited officials associated with the club. With people knowing the correct way to officiate an event, it means that our participants will have a better experience - and that there'll be no surprises if they were to compete elsewhere under stricter eyes. While we very much do NOT want to change the relaxed and social feel of our club meets, more educated and experienced helpers there can only be a good thing.
The good news is that gaining accreditation these days comes at no cost, and can be done in your own home in your own time. For more information on the Scheme, or to begin your online learning, see: https://www.athletics.com.au/officials/australian-athletics-officials-education-scheme-/.
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!
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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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