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Nowra Athletics Club |
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CAPITAL TO COAST
RUN NEXT WEEKEND Nowra Athletics Club as its’ last event for the winter season will conduct the inaugural Capital to Coast run over next weekend. The event will cover 100 Kilometres and will stretch from Canberra to Nowra in stages of 15 kilometres run through back country roads and forest trails. A 9 kilometres prologue run will be staged on Friday evening in Canberra. Stages one to three will be run on Saturday while Stages four to six will be run on Sunday. Stage six will start at the Shoalhaven Campus of the Wollongong University and end at Nowra showground. Entries have been received from runners outside the local area as well as 10 local runners some of whom from Nowra Athletics Club have recently completed the King of the Mountain and various other long distance races. The Capital to Coast will be another test for their stamina with 45 kilometres to be covered on Saturday and Sunday. Those entering the Capital to Coast can chose to run as individuals or form teams. Six teams have been entered and two of theses are made up of local runners. This will be a great way to end the winter for Athletics club members who have had one of the best winters on record.
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Patrons Epistle Last Saturday, Club members journeyed to Dapto to do battle with Kembla Joggers for the McCaffrey Challenge Shield. Some tremendous running from a good cross section of ages and distances was not enough to wrest the shield back from the Joggers but we had them worried particularly in the 4k race which we won. The 1k squad went close in the points tally so did the 3k squad. The 2k and 8k teams from the Joggers were really strong however and had clear wins. The annual challenge in two parts, at Willandra and at Dapto produces some great running rivalry and after all the sweat dries we enjoy afternoon tea and a chat and that is enjoyable too. Thanks to Kembla Joggers for putting on a top day of running. The McCaffrey Challenge events were our last pointscore events for the winter. This Saturday the results of the pointscore will be revealed and Certificates presented at Willandra when we have our end of season fun day. There will be running of course but not the usual way because the back section of Willandra is closed off with cattle now in occupation. The City to Surf will be conducted on Sunday, I wonder how many of our Club members will be in the thousands who will wind their way to Bondi. Go well all of you. I trust you have been keenly watching the Olympic Games. What great performances have been achieved by the athletes. It is great to win medals but only three can do that so what do we think of the others who have given their best? I reckon they are great and I worry at the expectations put on them by “us”. All the sports have had great results and also disappointments. The track and field program is in full swing and the running, jumping and throwing has been awesome. The 100 metres, the 10,000 metres and the long and triple jumps, boy what a treat to watch. There is plenty to come and I hope you will be inspired. I hope to see on Saturday as we wind up the winter and look forward to the summer track and field season. Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle Well Club members the winter season is all but over. On Saturday the return match with Kembla Joggers for the McCaffrey challenge shield will be conducted at the Joggers Dap to course. There will be no competition locally but the McCaffrey match will still count for the winter pointscore because the distances run at Dapto are the same as our normal competition events. This is the last round of the winter pointscore and many of the divisions are very close. Points will be allocated as normal depending on your results and this could be the run you need to get those extra points. We need a big rollup to put up a good challenge to the Joggers and we are getting closer in this annual competition. In the first round at Willandra in May the 1k group came out on top while the long course squad were very close ,only a few points in the result. The 3k and medium distance squads were well beaten by the strong Joggers team but the overall effort by the whole Club was great. Check the web site home page for directions and be early the first race is at 2.15pm. Our end of season novelty day and presentation will be Saturday 11th at Willandra when we will round off the winter by running in a different way around the course or engaging in something that will be a bit of fun not that cross country running is ever NOT fun. I congratulate and thank all those who represented the Club at State and major events through the winter, many had great success others achieved results above their expectations and all gave of their best. I assume that many will be all primed up for the City to Surf which is on Sunday 12th following our presentation day. Go well all of you and CARRY ON! Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle This Saturday at Upjohn Park in Rydalmere Sydney, the NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships will be conducted. The Club will have a keen squad of younger age groups attending and may good running be in store for them. Last Saturday the NSW Road Relays were conducted at Ourimbah. The Club had one representative, Bradley Sawyers who ran as an individual of course. We had planned a coach to take our team to this event but for various reasons this did not eventuate. School holidays, sickness, other pressing events and in one case the reluctance of our some of masters age group to “go that far just for 2K”. Well those who were not there missed a great day. The loop course of 2K was great, traffic free and fast though quite testing. The old timers were missed by their keen rivals from Bankstown, the Hills, Sydney Striders and St George. The 65 plus guys particularly. Where is the Nowra mob? They asked as many doubled up and ran another 2k in the 55 plus group then if that was not enough they ran in either a 2,4 or 6k fun run that was also on the programme. A large group( hundreds) of the Newcastle/Central coast runners who organized the fun runs provided an interested spectator gallery as the relays sped by. The venue at the Ourimbah Tafe is splendid and it will be the venue again next year. YOU NOW HAVE ONE YEAR TO PREPARE.!! I reckon that the programming of State championships on consecutive week ends would also contribute to some reluctance by athletes to support both. Twice this winter season Athletics NSW has done this and I for one will raise this at the Winter Committee meeting. I wonder if anyone shares my concern about this. Back to Club matters and congratulations to all who ran in the King of the Mountain or helped in the organisation. I read through a great list of results and the P B count was high. Many are getting faster as they get older. On Saturday Round15 of the winter pointscore will be at Longreach.The season is nearly over and I remind Club members in advance of the return visit to Dapto for the second round of the McCaffrey Challenge at the Kembla Joggers course, this will be Round 18 for us. Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle Our Club is certainly having an amazing winter season and now that I have recovered somewhat from the Classic at Willandra last Saturday I can let Club members know how proud I was of our efforts on the day. There was a record entry (108) in the various championship events and the Fun Runs. Volunteers carried out the many tasks that are required when you are hosts of a State Championship and from reports from many outside our Club were full of praise. Many regulars who have competed at State level before were not overawed by the strong opposition and gave a good account of themselves. Others who may have been first time competitors at this high level would have been pleased with their performance and some may have realized that there are a lot of speedy people out there but hopefully would have gained from the experience. I was thrilled to see the young ones trying so hard and congratulate those who were rewarded with medals. I wish I had a bagful of medals for tryers, you all deserve one. I hope you were impressed by watching the seniors go round. The open mens race was great to witness and we wish Jeff Hunt well as he prepares for the Olympic Marathon. James Nipperess and our friend Russell Desaix-Chin who loves running at Willandra certainly made Jeff work hard for his victory. Young Celia Sullohern and 2011 champion Milly Clark together with 2010 champion Lorraine Hince also put on a great show in the open womens championship. Note the age span for these ladies Young Celia 19 Lorraine 44. Fine running indeed. Our own efforts were also great. Jill Smith was State 65 plus Champion continuing her domination of the masters ladies events. Chased by the Bankstown Sports ladies Jill did it again. Other individuals to ‘podium’ as they say, in the open events were Jade Mustapic who was silver medalist in the U/12yr 2k. She ran a massive PB at Willandra to earn this medal. Under 18 Champions Michaela Quinn and Aaron Spiessberger-Parker were Bronze and Silver medalists respectively. Their high standard performances continue. Many received Country medals and our teams also earned many medals. It is great to be rewarded with medals when you work so hard to earn them. I hope those who did not take home any metal of various colour will be satisfied with their efforts anyway. I doubt anyone would have run better at any other time than they did last Saturday. Now we must not rest, there is more to do.The King of the Mountain will be conducted on Sunday and the distance enthusiasts will be in action heading to Kangaroo Valley via Budgong. A big team of volunteers will again be at work. In case you have forgotten to check your program for the season two more State events are very close. The State Road Relays at Ourimbah on the Central coast will be on July 7th, followed the next week on July 14th(I wish they would not do that) by the State Short Course Cross Country at Rydalmere. Road Relay squads will be announced at Longreach on Saturday when we get back to some normality with Pointscore round 13. Carry on everyone you have done very well!! Rod Gibb |
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Patrons Epistle I have plenty to mention in this communication to Club members and it may not be possible to be brief. There is a lot of interesting events coming up so here goes. 1) Saturday 23rd June at Willandra the annual cross country ‘CLASSIC’ will be conducted. This incorporates the NSW Championships from under 12s to Masters over 70. A news sheet was on the web site last week which detailed the program and many other points of note. I emphasise that: * The running starts at 12 noon well before our usual time. To enter the State events you need to let Club officials know at Willandra THIS SATURDAY ( 16TH JUNE) * Entry fee is subsidized by the Club, you only pay $10. * You must be in Club uniform and have Registration Numbers. If you do not have these let officials know without delay. * Because the Club is the host for this event we have many jobs to do and assistance is needed. Even if you are running there may be something you can assist with. A volunteer sheet will be on hand on Saturday, please put your name down if you are able to help. 2) A sheet will also be on hand regarding the forthcoming inaugural ‘Capital to Coast’ which will be run on August 17th to 19th. On this sheet you can register interest in entering in the event as an individual or forming a team. Some publicity was handed out a couple of weeks back and I will explain some more about this unique event. The Club has a history of organizing long distance runs (the King of the Mountain for example) and this Capital to Coast is an exciting new venture aimed at distance runners and teams of runners . After a prologue of 9k in Canberra there will be 6 stages of 15 km. These will be spread over the two days not run all together. If you cannot form a team, the organizers can put you in a team. Though the Capital to Coast is two months away it is important RIGHT NOW to Register Interest. Talk to Kevyn Davis, he will give you information and more details will soon be published. Come a bit earlier on Saturday so we can get important administration concerning next weeks Classic completed and bring some dry clothes for after the running, it is going to be a bit wet!! Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle I am sorry I missed the McCaffrey Challenge last Saturday. Though we expected a tough time at the hands of the strong Kembla Joggers we put up a good show. In the five events KJs won the 2, 3 and 4K runs fairly clearly. Our 1K mighty midgets were victorious, a few points ahead of KJs while our long course squad was only beaten by a few points. A great day of running. Sorry about the wind !!. It was good to see several members of Blue Stars and Athletics Wollongong joining in as well. Now to next Saturday and the cross country relays at Miranda. The Club has a big contingent going to battle with KJs again and also all the other country and city Clubs. If any problems arise please contact the team organizers Mel Mustapic (44643600) and Peter Dooley (44418739) If you have to withdraw for some reason team reserves will have to be contacted. You are reminded that Club uniform is our Black, gold and white top with BLACK shorts etc. You must have your registration number on back and front. This year Athletics NSW will be using the timing chips for each runner. Be sure to be as early as possible because extra time will be needed to sort out team details and get each team member their chip which is fixed to your shoe lace. Those runners not involved in the relays will be at Timberhills,Tomerong for special events. The following Saturday Round 10 of the winter pointscore will be at Longreach. ADVANCE NOTICE – The
Willandra Country Classic incorporating the State cross country
Championships will be conducted on Saturday 23rd May. Our
Club is host to this event so we will have a big day of RUNNING and
Organising. Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle Some great running on a great day at Tomerong last Saturday. Bradley Sawyers took out the Bill McKinnon Memorial trophy when he won Division 2 of the long course, well done Bradley. There is plenty more action coming up in the next few weeks. This Saturday at Willandra round 9 of the winter pointscore will feature the McCaffrey Challenge. We will be hosting the Kembla Joggers Club who currently hold the trophy and we will also be welcoming runners from the other Wollongong Clubs, Illawarra Blue Stars and Athletics Wollongong. There will be a lot more people than we normally have at a Club day so I suggest that you come early and that you use the north (top) car park entrance, that is follow the direction signs. We will not be parking as we usually do. The Club will be providing a free sausage sizzle, tea, coffee etc and you may wish to bring some afternoon tea and stay a while to mix with our visitors. The racing will be as normal for our pointscore, the visitors will join in of course. We intend to run the 1km first then follow with the 2, 3, 4 and 8km as usual. A big day ahead let’s have a big roll up!! Next week on Saturday 2nd June the State Cross Country relays will be conducted at Miranda Park in Sydney. The Club’s teams will do battle with not only other country clubs but the strong Sydney clubs as well. A big contingent from Nowra will be in action GO NOWRA!! While many are away at the relays the ‘others’ will be at Timberhills, Tomerong for a ‘Fun day’ which will feature special relay events. There will be more exciting events coming up in June and July details soon. Rod Gibb |
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I have to catch up on a couple of weeks action since Round 5 of the winter competition, time certainly seems to fly when things are happening. Firstly, the Club Annual Meeting and Presentation night was another great night. The fifty second annual report was adopted and it recorded another good year for the Club. Thanks to all those who contributed to the successful year and were present on the night. Kevyn Davis did not seek re election as Club President after a solid twelve years term. He will remain on the management committee. Peter Dooley was elected as our new Club president. Claire Pitkethly our Treasurer also did not seek re election as she is soon to leave the area. Thanks to Claire for her great work, she will be missed. Alison Havadjia is our new Treasurer and Matt Dallas is another new committee member. The Club Management
Committee has appointed Melinda Mustapic and Andrew Havadjia as Club
Captains for the On our AGM and Presentation day the first of the State winter championships, the NSW Novice, was conducted in Sydney. Heather Sinclair ran brilliantly to win the Womens Championship. What a way to start the winter championship season. Great work Heather! Incidentally you may remember that last year Michaela Quinn was silver medalist in the Novice. The next week at the State Road Championships held at Homebush, Michaela and Aaron Spiesseberger-Parker had convincing victories in the Under 18yrs 5k Championships. As I said, a great way to start the championship season. While on State events the next one to claim our attention is the Cross Country Relays at Miranda Park in Sydney on June 2nd. Club team squads will be selected this week and displayed on the notice board at Tomerong on Saturday. The squads will be selected on current form and from members who ticked the box on their membership application form indicating they would be willing to compete in State events. The Club pays the entry fees for each team. Club team managers need to know if you will be available for the relays so please check the notice board and respond to this question. Round 8 of the winter pointscore on Saturday will feature the Bill McKinnon memorial run. This year long course runners will be competing for the trophy. Then on Saturday 26th May we have the McCaffrey Challenge against Kembla Joggers Club at Willandra. We will also have some visitors from the other Wollongong Clubs and some of the school athletes who will be contesting the Regional Cross Country at Willandra on June 1st. Following the running the Club will host a free sausage sizzle and afternoon tea. Busy Busy Busy!!! Rod Gibb
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Patrons Epistle Well folks the rain has returned and it is perhaps just as well we run at Longreach on Saturday (21-04-12). For newcomers the directions are as follows:- Take Yalwal road (the road to Burrier) which heads past West Nowra, continues over Flat Rock Creek bridge, past the turn off to the University and past the road to the rubbish tip. Longreach road is on your right. Watch for cross country signs. Administration is from 1.30pm and the first race is at 2.30 pm. While on the subject of
administration all need to note the IMPORTANCE OF COMPLETING THE
PAPERWORK. Existing Club members and new folks must complete the paperwork. Volunteers who help conduct events also have forms to complete. Ask officials when you arrive. THE PAPERWORK MUST BE DONE !! Last week at Tomerong for the first time this season some great running was noted. Ron and Ruth Mc Kinnon, our hosts at Timberhills are keen to have feedback on the course. To old hands comments comparing the old way (anti clockwise) to the new way (clockwise) would be appreciated, for new folks who have only experienced the clockwise direction, their comments would also be of value. The marathon squad members who journeyed to Canberra last weekend produced some great results. I am told many PB’s were set by this enthusiastic band. Darrin Morris in his first ever marathon broke 3hours and was first in his age group. Glen Sanson did a PB to win his age group. PB’s also to Scott Johnson, Scott martin, Eric Moeller-Duhme, Peter Khourie. Darren Morris and Ming Leung rounded out the men's group. Not to be outdone Zahra Wells, Deb Sanson, Eva Moeller-Duhme, Donna Johnson and Trish Bird tackled the half marathon. I reckon the Canberra locals would remember this Nowra squad's visit. The Club ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND PRESENTATION NIGHT on Saturday 28th April at Illaroo Road School, North Nowra, should by now be firmly in your diary or in your I Phone or computer. The Club’s 52nd Annual Report will be presented and Office Bearers for the 2012/13 season will be elected. Awards from last winter and the summer season just ended will be made along with some special awards. Those receiving awards have been reminded and invited in writing but the night is open to all club members old and new. New members are particularly welcome, it will be an opportunity to meet with other members socially. Following the presentations supper is served and all are requested to bring a plate of supper to share. ROD GIBB |
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Patrons Epistle Round 2 of the winter pointscore was conducted in cooler conditions and I witnessed some great running at Willandra. There is great enthusiasm evident and it is good to see many new faces as well as the old hands. I will comment on some administration matters that should be noted by all and particularly new folks who may not be familiar with the organisation of our events. Timekeeping: Firstly apologies to the 3k runners who again have suffered a stop watch malfunction and did not have their times recorded. We are very sorry for this. Next week all be OK. The time keeping and place recording go together and both are important to get correct. Place recording: In the 1,2 and to a lesser extent the 3k races the younger people often are encouraged by parents or friends who jog along with them and while Club officials accept this it is important that those running with the small fry - DO NOT CROSS THE FINISH LINE. Also those supporters who offer encouragement from the sideline should keep clear of the finish line because it can get a bit hectic with many finishing close together. After the race officials need to make sure the number of finish tags handed out equals the number of times taken and for this to happen they need to have a clear idea of who is finishing distinct from the supporters. At the Willandra and Timberhills courses there is a bypass chute used by the long course runners who run two laps. The runners use this to bypass the finish line for the first lap. It is important that no others should be in this chute. At Willandra particularly this can be a problem. Please note this. Next Saturday we go to Timberhills at Tomerong. To get to the course you follow the Princes Highway south and turn Right at Kells Road. Look for direction signs to Cross Country. A reminder for your diary is April 28th the Club Annual General meeting and Presentation Night.
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Patrons Epistle It was a pity to postpone the start of the Club winter 2012 season last Saturday but today all will be in readiness for some great running. Many thanks to Club President Kevyn Davis, Peter Dooley, John Morris and Damian Smith for their efforts to get the course ready. So far this week some school carnivals have been held and the course has had some good smoothing out by many little feet pounding around. Today at Willandra new members will receive a programme for the season which will have lots to interest them. Current members will have received the programme by mail or email. To Program One item of interest not on the programme is the visit of ‘the other Wollongong Clubs (not Kembla Joggers) who have expressed a wish to have a run at Willandra with our Club. This is set for Mothers Day May Sunday May 13th. This may interfere with some family plans but some may be interested. It is proposed that we run in the morning, around 11.30 am then enjoy a picnic or barbecue lunch together. The Clubs coming to visit are the Illawarra Blue Stars and Athletics Wollongong. More details later. The usual State Championships will be of interest. The Willandra Classic, the State Cross Country Championship will be on 23rd June. The popular cross country and road relays will be great for our teams to contest and the road relays will be at Ourimbah this year. Administration will take place from 1.30pm and we start to run at 2.30. Come and have a run!!. Rod Gibb |