Club News

Volume 19                                                                August 1999

After much planning and several years of lobbying, the City of Whitehorse has approved funds to completely resurface the track at Hagenauer’s Reserve. Tenders were called for the work on the weekend of 17 July 1999 and work is due to commence on 10 August 1999. The works will include resurfacing of all eight lanes of the track, installation of a new concrete spoon drain around the inside of the track, installation of a new running rail around the inside of the track and patching of the pole vault runups. The resurfacing works are due to be completed by 2^nd October 1999 ready for the start of the track season.

All members are advised that there will be

This will be strictly enforced to prevent damage to the surface, avoid injury to our members and inconvenience to the Contractors who will be working all around the track during this period.

The Club has negotiated with the Nunawading Athletic Club to use their track at the Bill Sewart Reserve, Burwood Road, East Burwood for training during this period. This track is normally kept locked, however two keys will be issued to us which will initially be given to Rob Falkenberg and Peter Robbie. If you wish to use the Bill Sewart Reserve for training then you should coordinate access with these two coaches. The Bill Sewart Reserve will generally be available each weeknight and weekend for training, however all athletes MUST have finished using the track by 7:00 pm on Thursdays.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this closure of the track will cause leading up to the track season, however I am sure all members will appreciate the new improved surface which will result.

  DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

WORKING BEE 21 AUGUST 1999

With the next track season rapidly approaching, all members are urged to find an hour or two to help prepare the venue for the start of the next track season at a Working Bee to be held at the track on Saturday 21 August 1999

12:00 noon until 5:00 pm.

There are numerous tasks to be completed including painting, repairing hurdles and general cleaning of the clubrooms and grounds ready for the new season. We look forward to seeing a large contingent to help out the small group of members that work tirelessly all year to keep the ground in such good condition.

The Club is most fortunate to have secured the support of Ethertech Computer Services as a sponsor who have agreed to host our Web Page on their server. As a result of their support, we have now registered our own domain name on the internet. You can now find our web page at:

htttp://www.boxhillathleticclub.org.

We also have a new web page editor. Adam Pepper has kindly agreed to take on this task so if you have any infomation which you would like displayed on the Box Hill web site, please e-mail it to him at pepper@sme.com.au or contact him on 9803 9946.

At the Annnual General Meeting held on 7 July 1999, the following committee was elected by the members to run the Club for the next 12 months.

President Graeme Olden Ph 9885 0890
Treasurer Angela Robbie Ph 9898 3052
Secretary Julie Milner Ph 9428 7679
Committee Merv Blundy Ph 9894 3014
Joan Hines Ph 9859 5081
Colin Organ Ph 9813 3597
Adam Pepper Ph 9803 0046
Tom Waters Ph 9803 2565

Stewart Livingston and Andrew Dunner have both retired from the committee after several years of active service, however they will both continue to help in many ways around the Club. Merv Blundy and Adam Pepper return to the committee after a break of several years to pursue other interests. Their input will be most welcome, however we still have a very small committee of just 8 members and we would welcome anyone else who would like to volunteer to join the committee.

In order to maximise our income from the facilities at the ground, we are planning to increase the operation of the canteen during the year and open the canteen for schools that hire the ground during the week, as well opening on the normal Saturday mornings and afternoons. Our current canteen manager, Angela Robbie, is unable to open the canteen during the week as she works full-time, and would also appreciate some assistance with managing the canteen on Saturdays. While we realise that most people work during the week, the Club would be prepared to employ someone on a casual basis to run the canteen during the week for schools.The role would only involve opening the canteen and serving as ordering of stock and banking of proceeds would still be performed by Angela. If you would be interested in helping out, or know someone that could help, please contact Angela Robbie on 9898 3052.

To mark the start of another athletics season and catch up with the rest of your Club members before the start of the season, the Club is holding at dinner on Wednesday 6^th October 1999 at the Nando’s Restaurant, 958 Doncaster Road, Doncaster East starting at 7:30 pm. The cost will be $6 for juniors and $8 for seniors. Please contact Adam Pepper on 9803 9946 if you can attend. Additional details will be provided closer to the night, however please write this event in your diary and make sure that you turn up to help get the season off to a positive start.

Following many years of confusion regarding the correct shorts to be worn by Box Hill male athletes, agreement has been reached with Athletics Victoria that for the next 12 months, either plain black shorts or the grey shorts with black and white stripes on each side may be worn. Following this transition period, the official uniform will revert to plain black shorts. There is no change to the rules with regard to the singlet – a grey singlet with black trim and white horse on the front. There have also been no changes made to the female uniform. We hope that this will make it easier for ALL athletes to be attired in the correct uniform every week.

The Committee is interested in reviewing the design of the male and female singlets to attempt to come up with a design which is cheaper and simpler to fabricate and can also be worn by both male and female members of the Club. The design should be essentially similar to the present design with a grey singlet and white horse on the front. If there is anyone with suitable skills or interest in helping create a new design, please contact Tom Waters on 9803 2565.

With the cold winter months now upon us, there is no better time to purchase a long sleeved Box Hill T-shirt to help protect you on those cold evening training sessions. Tom Waters still has a good supply available for sale. They can be purchased from him for just $25. Tom can be contacted on 9803 2565.

The winter race reports contained in this edition of Club News do not contain a full list of results due to space restrictions in the newsletter, however a full list of results will be published as soon as possible after each race on the club web page at:

http://www.boxhillathleticclub.org

Please contact the web page editor Adam Pepper on 9803 9946 if you have trouble finding the results.

Very wet, cold and windy conditions made a tough course even worse. Box Hill’s athletes performed at their usual best in the bad conditions. Congratulations to Jess De Bruin and Megan Sloane who collected individual medals and to the under 16 team who won the teams event.

In the warm climate of the Northern Gold Coast hinterlands, a few of our club athletes found themselves amongst the nations best. Jess De Bruin ran a strong race finishing 9^th in the Under 18 4k with 16.17. Jess was also a member of the Victorian team that collected the silver medal in the teams event. Rachel King found conditions tough, but managed to finish 9^th in the Under 20 6k in 28.31. Senior runner Anna Thompson running in her first national event performed very well finishing 11^th in the 8k with 32.26.

Club runner Louise Oakley was representing Melbourne University at these championships, but had recently contracted a virus and managed to finish 12^th in the 6k event in 27.46. Well done Louise on a brave effort.

Anna Thompson incorporated this race as part of a holiday in the sun and battled the tough headwinds and rain to finish 6^th in a classy women’s field in 36.59. Anna also won her age group. So much for fun in the sun!!

Congratulations to Brigid Isworth who’s name appeared as being ranked 2^nd in the Pole Vault at Under 18 with her Novermber 1998 performance of 4.15m at Olympic Park. Well done Brigid – Fantastic effort.

Georgina Power, in her first International competition, was very unlucky to miss the final of the 100m Hurdles, running a time of 13.86 finishing second in her heat. Georgina missed out by 1 one hundredth of a second. Georgina had to wait until the 5^th and final heat to race.

Box Hill has maintained a very consistent record in the 15 k Men’s Road Race, over recent years. This year, however, we struggled to field a senior team The 15 k. race was run for a second consecutive year on a Sunday morning, rather than the usual Saturday afternoon. This year’s course was different to that of 1998, being a four lap course, utilizing a sort of figure 8 configuration.

In the senior race, an extremely large pack of runners, around 20 or so including our leading athlete Marcus Tierney, separated from the rest of the field quite early. Other Box Hill runners on course included Kynan Dawes, Glenn Tooze, Adam Pepper, Tim Conrad, and Dave Boyd. Ian Robertson and Graham Crouch were running by invitation.

The large pack of leaders shrank to 15 or so after one lap. Marcus Tierney was still in contention, at this stage. The same group was still leading after two laps, but Marcus Tierney and a number of others had slipped off a fraction to be sixty or seventy metres behind the leading bunch, now numbering eight.

Coming up to the finish, Rod de Highden and Julian Paynter battled it out with Paynter leading in de Highden by about 8 metres, and Julian Marsh following them in about six seconds behind. Marcus Tierney held on for 15^th position.

Of better news for Box Hill were the Junior races. We had three placegetters and a winning team. Michael Bourne followed up a second place in the AGS Cross Country last weekend with a third placing in the U/14 5000. Sam Hassett placed 2^nd in the U/18 5000 m, with Simon McGuinness placing 10^th. In the U/20 5000 m road race, Tim Renowden was 3^rd, Ben Bissett was 4^th, Christian Ashby was 7^th and Tim Tyler placed 10^th, with Box Hill winning the U/20 team’s race.

Box Hill had mixed results at the Road Relay Championships at Sandown Race Course on Saturday, 17 July. Marcus Tierney and Sam Hassett were the two standout performers in their respective races.

Runners were faced with the usual howling wind, but at least it wasn’t raining or really cold. Our Section 1 team was sent off to an excellent start with Marcus Tierney handing over in seventh place overall, and sixth in Section 1. Graeme Olden ran the second leg, in typically tenacious fashion recording the team’s second fastest performance for the day. Two other teams briefly caught us at the end of this leg, although both were later to fade, meaning were in a close up eighth position, just behind Nunawading and Essendon

Tom Waters ran a serviceable leg, in conditions which were deteriorating, moving ahead of his Essendon and Nunawading opponents. Kynan Dawes maintained Box Hill’s relative position, as did Graham Crouch, in the fifth leg, and John Vaitkunas in the final leg. Graham Crouch’s time of 20 m. 44 s. was an exceptional effort for a runner who competed in A Grade in the 1960s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. With these athletes completing their respective legs in similar times, we were able to hold onto sixth, the same placing as we had in 1997, but not as good as last year’s position.

Our Section 3 team performed really well, taking second place behind Ballarat Club Eureka after an excellent first leg from Chris Bunney, which surpassed four A grade times. Chris benefited from running the first leg, which is always competitive. Other team members included Glen Tooze, who maintained third place, Phil Pelgrim, Steve Dinneen,

who moved the team into second when Ringwood dropped off and then out, and it was anchored by Barry Lynch, running for Box Hill for the first time. Barry ran a particularly promising first leg

The Section 6 team won, which was very satisfying, with an excellent opening effort from Tim Heron. Adam Pepper took over, maintaining the strong position, with David Boyd running strongly, and Tim Conrad bringing Box Hill home in first position. Tim also ran a promising leg with a negative split.

The Junior teams were both in contention for medals. Our Under 20 team was in a prominent position for the whole race. David Tyler opened up, with Christian Ashby running second. Christian ran a very impressive time with Box Hill in second place. Simon Bromley was the third runner. Simon had the misfortune to collapse 60 metres short of the finish whilst in second place and was unable to complete the lap.

Our Under 18 team placed second in their event, a most pleasing performance. Sam Hassett ran first and ran a really impressive sub-10 minute leg, as did Matthew Spain. Simon McGuinness also ran well and secured second place for Box Hill. Well done to all team members on your success. Thanks to Rob Falkenberg for his usual guidance and management of these teams.

We had some difficulty in getting officials on course, to do mandated jobs. Thanks to Les Armstrong who made himself available and has given Box Hill superb service as an official over many years. The assistance provided at short notice by Megan Sloane, before running her leg, Steven Dineen and Barry Lynch, who did the same was greatly appreciated. Tim Heron and Chris Bunney also assisted by relieving these athletes when they had completed their legs. Runners not competing are strongly encouraged to act as officials; people shouldn’t need to be asked. They should volunteer for these necessary tasks. Tim also relieved Rob Falkenberg in managing Section 6 after one of our athletes needed medical treatment, and is thanked for his thoughtfulness.

A head wind as runners went up the hill in the back straight made tired legs heavier. The open women running 2 x 3.1k laps were lead off by Gabby Bombell who ran well to clock laps of 11.05 and 11.55 for 23.00 mins and cahnged to Kerri Jorgensen in 4^th position. Kerri ran two very consistent laps with 11.35 and 11.45 for 23.20 which moved the team into 3^rd place. George Connell opened with 12.04 and 12.52 for the second lap to hold the team in 3^rd place. Anna Thompson began the final leg 68 seconds behind Essendon and 2mins 10 behind Knox, and moved Box Hill into the silver medal position after 1 lap of 11.00 mins. A second lap of 11.14 consolidated her run of 22.14 as the 5^th fastest for the women and a silver for the team.

The under 20 team comprised of Katherine Lukey, Rachel King and Marion Gamble. Running only the one 3.1k lap, the team was in 4^th position after Katherine – 13.26 – and Rachel – 12.12 – Marion ran the Keilor athlete down in the last few corners to hold on for 3^rd by only 7 seconds.

The under 18 teams were lead off by Elisabeth Bird – 12.50 – and Kate Ackland – 13.26 – changing in 1^st and 3^rd positions respectively. Emily Smith – 11.58 – and Erica Sigmont – 12.05 – ran very well to hold the teams in the same positions. Jess De Bruin – 11.45 – the 5^th fastest junior of the day, and Prue Healy – 12.35 – grabbed gold and bronze for the club.

The under 16 faced tough competition at every change from Doncaster. Charlotte Roberts – 12.25 – finished the first leg in second place, 29 seconds ahead of Doncaster. Kate Thornton showed experience and courage to run solo with 12.02, still holding on to a slim 21 second gap. Jocelyn Keage had a tough assignment with the in form Kim Crow closing the gap fast. Jocelyn dug deep and held on to win by 4 seconds with 12.07.

A special thank you to Val Armstrong, Hilary Roberts and David Smith for help with team timing during the event.

Simple to cook and great tasting, Potatoes are one of the best sources of complex carbohydrates available. Potatoes are also an excellent source of vitamin C, and unless they are cooked in oils or have sauces added to them, they contain virtually no fat.

This means that most of the energy that is in potatoes is used by your directly.

In order to get the best nutritional value out of potatoes, Microwave, steam or bake them in their jackets, and use low fat alternatives such as yoghurt instead of sour cream or olive oil instead of other frying oils.

The following organisations provide valuable support for our Club and help us to provide excellent facilities for our members. By supporting these sponsors, we will be encouraging them to continue to support us.

If you know of any other organisation that may be interested in supporting the Box Hill Athletic Club in return for exposure in Club News or other means, please contact Ian Sloane on 9459 4486, or Jamie Strudley on 9859 2347.