News
September 2021 Newsletter
Published Sun 12 Sep 2021
What a tremendous and inspiring two weeks we were treated to with the Tokyo Paralympics! The performance of our athletes truly captured the attention of the nation and highlighted that fierce, competitive and elite sport is open to those of all abilities. It even pushed the narrative of equality beyond the stadium, perhaps best demonstrated when public pressure prompted the Government to announce that Paralympians would receive the same medal bonuses that our Olympians do. Speaking of medals, this was the haul of our athletics team:
- Madison de Rozario - Gold T53 800m, Gold T54 Marathon, Bronze T54 1500m
- James Turner - Gold T36 400m, Silver T36 100m
- Vanessa Low - Gold T63 Long Jump
- Isis Holt - Silver T35 100m, Silver T36 200m
- Jaryd Clifford - Silver T13 5000m, Silver T12 Marathon, Bronze T13 1500m
- Rheed McCracken - Silver T34 100m
- Michal Burian - Silver F64 Javelin
- Evan O'Hanlon - Bronze T38 100m
- Robyn Lambird - Bronze T34 100m
- Sarah Edmiston - Bronze F64 Discus
- Maria Strong - Bronze F33 Shot Put
- Deon Kenzie - Bronze T38 1500m
- Nicholas Hum - Bronze T20 Long Jump
James Turner, of course, is a past member of Athletics Wollongong, now a resident of the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. There was another local athletics connection at the Paralympics, with Fiji's Inosi Bulimairewa in the F64 Javelin: he moved to Wollongong last year and is now coached by Peter Lawler, alongside some of our AW clubmates.
Athletics Wollongong has a few para athletes who will now be even further inspired to be there in Paris, Los Angeles and Brisbane. We'll be cheering them on all the way!
Illawarra Academy of Sport Squad Announcement
Eight Illawarra Academy of Sport graduates were part of the Tokyo Olympics team and the Academy is working very hard to get more local representatives there in the future. Those aims extend to the Paralympics, with the IAS AWD Squad recently announced for the 2021/22 Season. Congratulations must go to Athletics Wollongong's Charlize Colwell and Patrick Mitchell who will continue to receive high performance sports development through the Academy.
Recipients of a LoneStar scholarship (the program which includes able-bodied track and field athletes) are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Athletics Wollongong are winners!
Athletics NSW recently announced their Season 2020/21 award recipients and Athletics Wollongong were one of the winners! Alongside such luminaries as Rohan Browning, Nicola McDermott and Jessica Hull, was 'Athletics Wollongong', as we were virtually presented the 'Club Development Award of the Year'. Well done, us!
The full list of winners is available on the ANSW website. According to the judges, we were presented the award on account of "a very successful performance at the NSW Junior Championships and strong recognition of your athletes through awards and social media content". An article on the club will be posted to the ANSW website over the next couple of months.
Cancellations and Postponements
The Australian Cross Country Championships were recently cancelled for 2021, given ongoing disruptions to cross-border travel. As a consequence, the NSW Cross Country Championships have also been cancelled: despite them still appearing on the ANSW Event Calendar. Clubs were told at a recent virtual forum that ANSW will be contacting all entrants and arranging a refund of their fees.
It was similarly bad news for school sport with an announcement that the CHS and PSSA State Championships for both Cross Country and Athletics had been cancelled for another year. The Catholic School Sports system announced their own cancellations soon afterwards.
It was also little surprise to see the Australian Masters Games postponed until a later date. They'll be back in Perth in April of next year.
In contrast to the disappointing news above, there can be some positivity regarding the NSW All Schools Track & Field Championships: Athletics NSW have said they are committed to running the event in 2021. While a specific date can't be indicated at the present time, we are told that they have made tentative bookings of Sydney Olympic Park on days throughout October, November and December. All they're waiting on is a green light from the State Government; or - more accurately - Return to Sport Guidelines, to ensure that the event can be held to the standard that participants expect. Once ANSW have some surety regarding a date, they'll lock it in and the preparations can truly get underway.
Note that - as was the case with All Schools last year - participants will either have to be a member of an ANSW-affiliated club (like Athletics Wollongong) or pay ANSW a one-off fee of $15 (on top of event entry costs).
Those registered in the 12-17yo age groups at Little A's are eligible to purchase a discounted Concession registration from an ANSW-affiliated club; known as Dual Membership. For the past few years Athletics Wollongong has provided Dual Membership at a 100% discount (i.e. free). This season, the AW Committee has elected to charge $10 for a Dual Membership.
Those Duals who have been members for a while and have used some of our services, know what great value that still is. Any Duals who've joined us simply to enter All Schools: you'll still save money if you do the same this year! Finally, for Dual-eligible athletes who haven't joined Athletics Wollongong before, we want to make it an easy decision to experience track and field with us: we'll have a discount code so that your first season is free. Once registrations open, send an email to athleticswollongong@gmail.com with your child/ren's name/s and we'll send you a code.
The latest news we have regarding registrations for Season 2021/22 is that they are anticipated to open in late September. The actual date is a decision that remains to be made by Athletics NSW. They are not likely to do so until they have some surety regarding the COVID restrictions expected to be in place at the time. That's fair enough, given the recent experience of those who bought a Winter-only Membership and then saw the Winter Season, more or less, entirely cancelled (NB - we've been told that ANSW are determining refunds for those affected).
If you want to receive an email from us letting you know when registrations will/are open, you can sign up for this "event": https://www.athleticswollongong.org.au/events/112851/. Tell your friends! (Word of mouth is the best advertisement).
We have also been informed of the membership fees for the coming season and it's good news: there is no change to what ANSW was charging last year. In fact, Community, Concession and Open registrations will be even cheaper this season as the AW Committee has elected to lower the club fee by $10. (The total registration cost includes the base fee from ANSW that covers insurance and such, as well as a club fee on top, to cover AW's administration, equipment, etc.)
We hope that this further encourages our members to get back on track for Season 21/22 - with fees as low as $45 for a Community athlete!
We will also have a system in place where people can trial with us for one night at the lowest possible cost. We hope to make it as easy as possible for those tentative to commit to a full membership right out of the gate, to experience athletics with us: we reckon we will win you over! Finally, we recommend everyone associated with Athletics Wollongong who isn't going to compete, sign up as a Club Volunteer. It's free and - in the unlikely event you injure yourself while helping at an event, for example - you'll be covered by insurance.
If you are a NSW Resident, enrolled in school, between 4.5 and 18 years of age (inclusive) and have a medicare card, you can apply a $100 voucher from the State Government towards sporting group registration costs; like ours! You need to have your voucher before registering: it can't be used afterwards. To claim your voucher go to: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-active-kids-voucher. Those eligible can receive two such vouchers per year.
Athletics Wollongong's Wednesday Meets
While we'll still work toward our planned start-date of October 6th, it's looking very likely that we are going to miss at least the first couple of weeks of our local season. For this reason the AW Committee elected to charge a lower club fee, as per above.
When we have the opportunity to begin competing at Beaton Park once again, we'll jump into the previously published program - which you can see on our website. As always, it's a draft which may change slightly depending on attendee numbers. The actual order of events are posted to the Athletics Wollongong Facebook group the Sunday prior to competition.
As was the case last season, we'll be operating under a COVID Safety Plan, subject to the restrictions put in place by the NSW Government. As users of Beaton Park Leisure Centre, we will also be required to abide by any local conditions that Wollongong City Council feel is appropriate to safeguard their staff and other patrons. While we can look to last season for an idea of what we may have to do, no-one can give us any surety at this stage. This includes questions regarding participants' vaccination status: that will be a determination made well above our pay-grade.
With the State Government determined to open up in the coming weeks as vaccination rates rise, it looks like there may be little impact to the ANSW Calendar, given that their major events are predominately in the latter half of the season.
Again, while no dates are set in stone, we've been told that multiple event calendars have been drawn up in preparation for whenever ANSW receive the green light. As per last season, it is recommended for athletes to initially register with Athletics Wollongong as Community. This will give members eligibility to participate in our Wednesday meets, which are likely to get off the ground first. They can then subsequently make a determination on whether to upgrade their membership (at no greater cost) once the ANSW Competition Calendar is clearer.
At a recent club forum we were given some idea of how ANSW hope to deliver their competitions this season. Their goal is a decentralised model, where - outside of Championships - they mostly oversee the calendar to ensure opportunities for all event-lovers in most geographic locations. Clubs will then be tasked to largely deliver the meets, with their focus to be on specialist/themed competitions. These are most appreciated by entrants (per a survey) and are easier for a club to put on than something with a full event grid. The result should be: more competitive opportunities, with events held wider across the State.
A revamp of the Treloar Shield/Club pointscore has also been mooted. Multiple sites are intended to deliver the same program across the one weekend, with a series of meets culminating in a grand final-esque event (which may be a replacement for the current Club Championships).
It's certainly exciting times and Athletics Wollongong are keen to get involved, subject to conditions.
Just to show how close we are to participating in track and field again, here is some news regarding upcoming rule changes. There are plenty of others, but these are the only ones likely to be encountered at AW's Wednesday meets:
Long/Triple Jump (TR30.1.1): an athlete fails if while taking off (prior to the instant at which they cease contact with the take-off board or ground), they break the vertical plane of the take-off line with any part of their take-off foot/shoe (i.e. no more toenail hangers)
Discus/Hammer (TR32.14): It's a foul if the discus or hammer strikes the far side of the cage, even if it subsequently lands within the sector (the far side of the cage is the left side for a right-handed thrower when facing the landing sector).
They officially come into action from November 1st. You can find the entire book of Technical Rules, along with the amendments, here.
Short-sleeved competition uniform
With competition seemingly on the horizon again shortly, we'll put out another call for anyone who may be interested in ordering a short-sleeved competition uniform. Generally people compete in a singlet, or wear a white shirt under their singlet, but if we have enough people interested, we can make a special order. Submit your interest to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
It's been a lockdown project to produce a list of members of Athletics Wollongong (and Southern Flame, as our club was formerly known) who participated at National Championships. The job has been done for Track & Field Championships to the best of our ability, given that only incomplete records were available. Winter is coming but, in the meantime, you can look over the Honour Roll and let us know if you're aware of anyone that is missing: https://www.athleticswollongong.org.au/records-and-awards/state-representatives/.
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 (I volunteer as tribute!).
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.
The ANSW 2020/21 Annual Report was distributed just prior to their Annual General Meeting. Several Athletics Wollongong members feature in photos inside: try and find them all! The Report also includes data regarding last seasons' club sizes. We don't mean to flex but...we're the biggest senior club in the area by far! We're actually the 3rd largest NSW Country club and are in the Top 10 overall, when including Sydney metro. It's great that we can maintain that 'small club feel' while having a size that can lead to stronger competition for our members. Let's keep it up!
The club is seeking an accountant (preferably a charity-minded one!). If you know of someone who has the skills to independently audit some very straightforward books, please contact athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
We've been able to achieve some great things with our sponsors. Just wait until you see what Trueflow Plumbing has been able to help us with for this coming season! Last time I spoke with Russell from Trueflow, he told me how busy he had been. Coincidence? Let's put it to the test! If you've got a business and have a willingness to help an awesome club provide services to some talented and committed athletes, you can help us figure it out. We're more than happy to talk about sponsorship arrangements or provide opportunites for prize giveaways; for science! Contact athleticswollongong@gmail.com, to join our team.
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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