The resurfacing works at Hagenauer's Reserve have been progressing well over the past weeks and are on schedule for completion prior to the start of the track season. Despite signs on the gate and notices in the newsletter, a number of athletes have continued to use the track for training and have even moved barriers and witches hats out of the way to enable them to use the track. While not causing any damage to the new work, they have spread dirt over areas of the track which have been cleaned ready for surfacing causing the contractor extra work to re-clean the track. As a result, we have had to install padlocks on all the gates which only a couple of club members have keys to which means that most club members will not be able to use the clubrooms and gymnasium for training until the resurfacing is complete. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, however we can not afford to have the resurfacing interrupted or any of the new work damaged.

To prepare for the start of the track season on 14 October, a Working Bee is to held at the club on SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER 1999 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. A number of tasks must be completed to enable the track and facilities to be prepared for the new season, including cleaning of clubrooms, cleanout of the office and re-arranging furniture to set up for input of results to the computer, miscellaneous painting tasks and general cleanup after completion of the track resurfacing works. Your attendance is required to enable the facilities to pass inspection prior to the new season.

All members are reminded that registration fees are now due. If you wish to compete this season you must submit your registration fees at least one week prior to the competition to allow time for the registration papers to be submitted to Athletics Victoria and registration numbers returned to the club. With the track season starting on 14 October 1999, you are running out of time to get registered to be ready to compete at the start of the season. Please return your registration money and competed club form to The Registrar, Box Hill Athletic Club, PO BOX 247, Box Hill 3128.

Over the past few years, there has been a gradual decline in the number of people prepared to help out with the administration and operation of the club which has meant the a bigger and bigger load has been heaped on to the hardworking volunteers who have remained. The Club desperately needs volunteers to help with managing teams on Saturdays, helping serve in the canteen, helping with officiating on Saturday afternoons and Thursday nights and helping on the committee or one of the sub-committees which help with the operation of the club. If you can help out in any way, no matter however small, please contact a member of the committee or write to The Secretary, Box Hill Athletic Club, PO Box 247, Box Hill Vic 3128.

Come along and catch up with the rest of the club at our new pre-season venue. We've chosen to get away from food that can be classified as confectionary and go for something a bit healthier, i.e. flame grilled chicken, real lettuce and tomato and potato in the chips. There will be door prizes on the night, and possibly an inspirational speech from our leader, Graeme "Bulldog" Olden.

We need to let the restaurant know numbers a few days in advance so contact Adam Pepper on 9803 9946 for more information.

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 being a grey singlet with a 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.

The Box Hill Athletic Club encourages all of its members to adopt a lifestyle that includes a well-balanced healthy diet. Athletes are encouraged to seek appropriate nutritional advice and include elements of the major food groups within their diet.

The Box Hill Athletic Club will endeavour to support its athletes through:

• Providing healthy food alternatives at the canteen
• Providing the option for healthy food at all social functions

The Box Hill Athletic Club encourages all of its members to protect their skin from the effects of ultra-violet radiation from the sun. Athletes are encouraged to wear sunscreen, long sleeve t-shirts, and a hat whenever they are likely to be exposed to the sun for any prolonged period of time.

The Box Hill Athletic Club will endeavour to support its athletes through:

• Providing meeting areas on competition days that are shaded
• Making Sunscreen available on competition days

The Box Hill Athletic Club encourages all of its members to adopt a responsible attitude towards the consumption of alcohol. Athletes are encouraged never to drive after consuming alcohol, and refrain from drinking alcohol at a competition venue.

The Box Hill Athletic Club will endeavour to support its athletes through:

• Providing social events that are supervised
• Providing non-alcoholic and low alcohol alternatives at all social events

The Box Hill Athletic Club encourages all of its members to adopt a smokefree lifestyle. Athletes are encouraged to avoid the harmful effects of smoking through choosing to socialize in a smokefree areas.

The Box Hill Athletic Club will endeavour to support its athletes through:

• Providing Smokefree clubrooms. Smoking is not permitted within the Clubrooms of the Box Hill Athletic Club. Any person, who is found to be smoking within the confines of the Box Hill Athletic Club Clubrooms, will be asked to leave the clubroom area.

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.

The Victorian Half Marathon Championships at Burnley on Sunday 12 September 1999 brought the winter season to an end on a disappointing note for Box Hill. Only three Box Hill male athletes completed the course, with no women running the event. This capped off a very disappointing winter season for the Box Hill men's team, which failed to finish any teams in the last three races of the season after such a promising start to the season. The Box Hill senior women's team dropped from second position that they had held for the whole season, to third overall for the season due to not scoring any points in this race.

The three Box Hill athletes that completed the race all took advantage of the cool, calm conditions and flat, fast course to run good times, with Graeme Olden (68:07) finishing 15th, Jeff McNeill (77:36) finishing 91st and David Boyd (80:13) finishing 128th. There was considerable discussion after the race about the accuracy of the course as the 3km northern loop seemed to be much shorter than the 3km southern loop!

Many thanks to all those who have helped with organising teams during the winter, in particular Ian Sloane, Dave Bullock and Rob Falkenberg. There have been many successes during the year by our junior athletes, which gives us all hope for a successful season next year. Thanks also to Megan and Ian Sloane for providing afternoon tea after most of the races this winter that is greatly appreciated by the athletes who stay to enjoy it.

A large contingent of Box Hill athletes ventured north in early August to tackle the hills of Sydney, joining 50000 other runners in the annual fun run from Sydney to Bondi. There was a lot of pre-race negotiation with the race organisers to try to secure starting positions near the front of the pack, with only limited success, so several of out runners had to venture out at 6:00am to sit on the road and secure their positions near the start. As a result there was a lot of motivation to run fast times and the Box Hill contingent was near the front in the early stages of the run. However Heartbreak Hill was true to its name and caused most of the Box Hill runners to slow their progress significantly. Marcus Tierney finished off strongly to finish in 39th position, closely followed in by Graeme Olden (50th), Scott Jackson (65th), Christian Ashby (87th), Tom Waters (143rd), Steven Dinneen (208th), Adam Pepper (290th) and Gabrielle Bombell (449th). Both Scott and Marcus were most reluctant to return to their hotel room that night as the door had been kicked in just before the start by a visitor looking for $1000 which he claimed was in their room so they dragged the rest of the team on a sightseeing tour of Sydney's' hotels until daybreak the next day when they deemed it safe to return to their room.

With seven Box Hill athletes in Sydney for the weekend, the Box Hill senior men’s teams were greatly depleted and failed to fill the A grade team for the first time in many years. Despite this absence, the four Box Hill runners who travelled to Ballarat all ran well around the course at Ballarat Uni. Chris O'Connor was the first Box Hill runner to finish in 68th position, closely followed by Tony Bird (86th) then David Boyd (146th) and Ian Sloane (205th).

For the second race in a row, the Box Hill senior men’s team failed to fill a team in the senior competition. With the 16km cross country being traditionally one of the weaker and less popular races for the winter, it was most disappointing that we were not able to muster 6 runners to complete the course as we should have been able to quite easily finish in the top three placings. The ground was surprisingly dry after a couple of days of heavy rain, but a stiff northwesterly breeze made the top section of the course quite challenging. Marcus Tierney started off quite aggressively and chased the leading group for the first lap but didn't enjoy the big hill too much and lost ground over the last half of the race to be passed by Graeme Olden who finished in 21st place. Marcus was not far behind in 25th place, followed by Chris O'Connor (54th) and Tony Bird (73rd). Tony was the 3rd runner to finish in the over 45 age group and collected a bronze medal for his fine performance. Christian Ashby continued his fine recent form with a good run in the under 20, 6km race to finish in second place in a time of 21:30. Christian challenged the leaders for the first half of the race but struggled a bit on the hills and lost touch with the leader on the second lap. With some good performances during the winter season, he can look forward to some fast times on the track this summer.

Team managers Dave Bullock and Julian Dwyer ventured to Harcourt with the team for the Coliban Water Long Road Relay Championships from Harcourt to Bendigo. Gabby Bombell started off the 6.3km opening leg and performed well to change to Emily Smith. Gabby had run 26.43 and kept us in the top 4. Emily performed well on a difficult leg, covering the 5.3km in 21.13. George Connell was next on the road, attacking the 7.3km and holding good ground to run 27.54, finishing in 4^th spot. Marion Gamble was next out and had a tough leg, but still managed to hold 4^th position. Marion covered the 6.6km in 26.29 to change to Anna Thompson. Anna immediately gained one place as Athletics Essendon’s final runner had got lost on the way to the change point, leaving us in 3^rd position. Anna made up enough time to overtake Doncaster’s Lauren Shelley, but Knox was way ahead. Box Hill finished with the Silver medal with Anna covering the toughest 7.9k of her career in 31.44. The men and women met at Jojoes restaurant in High Street, Bendigo for dinner and coffee before heading home.

The picturesque setting of Ballarat University was the backdrop for this tough race. As expected the weather was cold and windy, but no snow this year!! A hilly, muddy and twisting course greeted competitors. The senior women raced over 6km done as 2 x 3k laps. Running the race of her life, Anna Thompson refused to give in to World junior Silver medallist Susie Power and Atlanta 1500m finalist Marg Crowley. Susie pulled away in the final lap, but Marg and Anna exchanged places several times with the experience showing and Marg sneaking away to give Anna the Bronze. Rachel Johnson, recovering from foot soreness ran well to finish 32^nd in 26.01. Megan Sloane was 45^th overall and scored the bronze medal in the 45plus age group. New athlete Merissa Pickford, better known for her sprinting prowess showed enormous grit and determination to finish 61^st in 30.22.

1. Susie Power GHY 22.12

2. Marg Crowley ATE 23.12

3. Anna Thompson BOH 23.19

The U 20 team performed well, winning the Gold Team event with Marion Gamble 7^th, covering the 4km in 17.38. Hot on her heels was Rachel King, 8^th in 17.40. A good battle between Fiona Pickford and Katherine Lukey brought back scenes of the National 800 final, however Pickford gained the upper hand this time in 9^th position in 19.01, with Katherine 10^th in 19.20

The U 16 3km-race saw Charlotte Roberts fight hard and never give in despite numerous challenges. Charlotte was rewarded with her first Victorian Championship, winning the event in style.

1. Charlotte Roberts BOH 12.53

2. Kellie Williams BYC 13.11

3. Erin Gustus EKA 13.37

Several club athletes travelled far north to compete. In the Under 18 4km event, the performances of Emily Smith ( 11^th ) 16.02 and Jess DeBruin ( 12^th ) 16.03 gained them selection in the Australian Schools Cross-country team to compete in Morocco next year. A magnificent effort girls. In 22^nd position was Prue Healey in 16.32 with Jocelyn Keage 27^th in 16.56. Victoria won the team’s event.

In the 6km Under 20 event Anne Maree Scott finished 8^th in 26.10 while Kate Rosengren was 12^th in 28.03. Victoria also won the team’s event as well.

The following day saw athletes line up for relays and individual time trials. Emily Smith and Jess DeBruin collected Bronze for their team. Anne Maree Scott collected her second Gold Medal for the weekend in the Under 20 relay. The time trial lists also performed well – (( bit of guesswork with results here – sorry if incorrect!)) – Jocelyn Keage winning Gold in the 15yrs group with Prue Healey second, and Kate Rosengren winning Gold in the 18yrs. Well done to all who competed.

In the senior women’s race over 4km, Anna Thompson displayed her aggression again going with the front runners for 3km, but some days are diamonds and some days are stone, with Marg Crowley and Leah Rogers accelerating again, Anna was caught between groups and finished a creditable 6^th in 15.01. Kerri Jorgensen ran a strong race to finish 10^th in 15.23. George Connell and Rachel Johnson ran well to finish 16^th and 17^th both recording 15.59. Gabby Bombell was 20^th in 16.12, Merissa Pickford 47^th in 16.41 and Kerry Walker 51^st in 19.10.

The Under 20 race over 3km saw Marion Gamble finish 5^th in 12.39 with Fiona Pickford 8^th in 13.55.

The Under 18 and Under 16 raced over 6km, with Jess DeBruin finishing 2^nd in the U 18 in 25.27. Next was Emily Smith – 5^th in 26.33, Erica Sigmont -7^th in 26.45 and Elisabeth Bird – 12^th in 30.31.

The Under 16 division saw Charlotte Roberts claim the Bronze medal in 27.22 just ahead of Jocelyn Keage in 27.48.

Athletics Victoria has decided to schedule 5 rounds of interclub competition for under 16's and under 14's on Sundays this season. These rounds will be conducted at Olympic Park against all the other junior clubs in Melbourne between 2:00pm and 4:30pm on Sunday afternoons. Normal interclub competition for seniors and under 18's will be held on the Saturday afternoon on these weeks. Normal interclub competition for under 14's and under 16's will be held at Box Hill on Saturday afternoons on the other weekends during the season. The committee has many reservations about this new competition and is reluctant to support it, however double points will be awarded for these Sunday rounds at Olympic Park.

It has been suggested that we run junior competition as normal on the Saturday afternoons of the Sunday rounds if there is no interest in taking part in the Sunday competition. The teams for the new Sunday competition must be entered by 24^th October 1999, however Box Hill will not enter teams unless there is an indication of support for the new concept from athletes and coaches as we believe that it will place unreasonable demands on coaches, athletes and officials and will further undermine Saturday afternoon competition. If you have strong views on this matter, please contact a member of the committee by mid-October.

As you would have read in your Athletics Victoria News in the latest issue of "Australian Athlete" the pre-season Cup Competition has again been revamped. The first round is at Box Hill on Saturday afternoon 16/10/99. Details of the program and draw can be found at the clubrooms.

The second round, for the winning teams, will be at Doncaster Venue on Saturday afternoon 23/10/99. Winning teams from this round will then progress onto the final on Friday 29/10/99 at 6:30pm.

Events in the Cup and Junior Shield competition are slightly different to those of normal Saturdays. Running events are distances not normally run, throws will be judged from an average of your best two and pole vault and high jump will be a three strikes and your out format with any three fails ending your competition.

It is a great way to ease into the season and try out some different events.