Club News

Volume 21                                                                November 1999

Club captains have recently been appointed. They are Georgina Connell and Tim Cherry.

Team managers for this season are Val Armstrong, Chris O’Connor, Elissa Ward, Rob Falkenberg, Stewart Livingston and Cathy Tilly. Please give them your full support

At the recent Club Cup Championships, our girls showed a great display of team spirit on all of the days, culminated by easily winning the final, a result which again confirms Box Hill as the dominant club in women’s athletics.

Many girls competed in events which were not their preferred to gain points for the club.

The final points were:

Box Hill 527
Waverley 389
Knox 378
Eureka 325.5
Brunswick 313.5

The highlight of all the days were the relays, where the baton changes were far superior to other teams, and the parlouf relay, where the lap times were consistently under a minute.

The girls who competed in the finals were:

Sheridan Bishop, Kim Colter, Kerri Jorgensen, Cathy Marshall, Jenny Marshall, Wynona Nettielbeck, Sally Ogilvy, Fiona Pickford, Marissa Pickford, Georgina Power, Kate Rosengreen, Erica Sigmont, Anna Thompson, Leana Tilly, Kerry Walker, Andrea Weckmeister, Kate White-Spier and Danielle Wyke.

Cathy Marshall, acting club captain, accepted the cup and a cheque for $250 on behalf of the club.

The men’s team also made the final but were beaten into third place by the country sides from South Bendigo and Eureka. The highlight for the men was the record breaking parlouf relay team who took on all comers to dominate in the final.

After such a good pre-season competition Box Hill Athletic Club was looking to be in a good situation to take the next step up from last years second and third placing’s in State League and go all the way in both men’s and women’s. But we have not started the season well.

Both teams were undermanned during the first round and while the women’s team managed a crushing display during the second round the men’s team is suffering from a lack of sprinters and throwers.

Hopefully the next few rounds will see the return of some athletes from injury and the emergence of some others so as we can field a full strength side and give the display that we know we are capable of.

I mean c’mon guys. We were so short that even the club news editor gained a State League birth on the first week!!

After many months of waiting and lobbying the Council and then hassling the Council and Contractor to apply their efforts to the task, the track resurfacing was finally completed in time for the first round of Cup competition, but unfortunately was not ready for the PB meet planned for the previous Thursday. We apologise for any inconvenience that the cancelling of this meeting may have caused, however we were promised that the track would be ready and unfortunately the painters didn’t quite make it in time.

As well as completely resurfacing the circular track, a concrete spoon drain has been installed around the inside perimeter of the track which will assist with drainage and prevent weeds growing under the edge of the track, a new aluminium running rail has been installed around the inside of the track, the shot, discus and hammer rings have been ground down, the all weather shot impact arena has been relaid with fine gravel, the pole vault run up has been completely resurface with a new rekortan surface and two new stainless steel plant boxes installed and the javelin run up has been resurfaced. The Club is faced with a substantial contribution towards the cost of this works, likely to be in excess of $25,000 so all Club members are asked to take care when using the facilities to make sure that they last as long as possible. In particular, there is to be NO training in lane 1 and the 100 m start and finish lines are NOT to be used for practicing block starts.

The Council is very conscious of the large amount of money that has been invested in the track this year and in conjunction with the Club is taking steps to improve security at the ground and avoid overuse of the track. A dead lock is being installed on the main gate so that the ground will normally be locked when there are no members using the ground for training. Members who wish to apply for a key to open the gate should apply in writing to the committee. Keys will generally be issued to responsible, financial Club Members on payment of a $10 key deposit.

Locks will be placed on the barriers around the track and they will normally be locked across lane 1. Keys will be issued to a restricted number of members who will be given the responsibility for ensuring that they are normally kept closed, but may occasionally be opened to relieve congestion on busy training nights.

Would you walk out of your front door when going out for the evening leaving it wide open and free for anyone to wander in off the street? Unfortunately, several of our members are quite happy to do this when leaving the Club after training. If you are the last to leave, please make sure that you turn off the lights, lock ALL the doors and padlock the gate behind you. If you see someone running around the track, don’t just assume that they will lock up for you. Make sure that they are a club member and check with them that are planning to lock up when they leave. If you open the clubrooms for training, it is your responsibility to make sure that when you leave, that you lock up or else make sure that there is someone still at the ground training who will lock up when they leave.

After many years of opening up for schools during the week and coordinating bookings at the track, Alan Cross has decided to cut back on his workload a bit and spend some more time with his wife and family. As a result the Club requires someone to take over the role of Ground Manager. If anyone know of someone who doesn’t live to far from the track and is looking for a part time job to open the ground for schools, set up the equipment and then close up afterwards, please contact a member of the committee.

For those of you who have access to an internet connection, please take the time to check out the new Box Hill Athletic Club web page at www.boxhillathleticclub.org.

After a slow beginning, the site is slowly growing and becoming a useful resource for finding out information about the club, and in particular recent competition results. State League results for the Box Hill teams are currently being posted within 24 hours of the competition, while it is hoped to be able to publish all interclub results within a week of the competition.

If you have any information which you think might be appropriate to put on the web site such as photos, results, or historical information, please contact either Adam Pepper or Graeme Olden. Your feedback is most welcome.

YOUR HELP IS REQUIRED

The Committee is becoming very frustrated that more and more of the workload invloved in running the club is being left to a small group of dedicated volunteers who donate hundreds of hours of their time every year. With the start of the track season again there is a desperate need for help from parents, friend and club members to help out with the numerous tasks involved in running a club so that teams can compete each week. Some of the tasks which we need help for include:

• Helping in the canteen
• Officiating at competitions (teams lose points if we don’t have enough officials)
• Assisting with managing junior teams
• General maintenance tasks
• Setting up the ground for competitions
• Packing away equipment
• Assisting with fundraising
• Helping to chase sponsorship
• Serving on the committee or sub-committees (social, financial planning, sponsorship)
• Attending Venue and AV meetings
• Club Statistician
• Club Historian
• Selling club merchandise
• Coaching athletes.

If we don’t get more help with these tasks then you will find that teams will not be entered in relays, the facilities will gradually deteriorate, there won’t be anyone there on Saturdays to organise your team, your team will lose points for not supplying officials and we will no longer be one of the most successful clubs in Australia. Most of these jobs do not require much time or effort. Even an hour or two spent holding the tape at the long jump or serving in the canteen makes a huge difference and is greatly appreicated. If you can help in any way, please contact the Secretary, Julie Milner on 9428 7679.

Many thanks to Angela Robbie for the huge effort which she put in to run the canteen on Sunday 24 October for the Little Aths Relay day. Thanks to her efforts stocking the canteen, preparing food and then serving all day with crowds 4 deep waiting behind the counter, the canteen took over $2500 in the one day. Thanks also to Julie Milner who spent most of the day behind the counter, as well as Julie’s mum, Mary, her daughter Lauren, Susan Robbie and Adam Pepper who also helped out during the day. To those who complain about their fees being too high, they might like to volunteer to help out at next year’s relay day as events such as these are one way which the club can raise additional funds to help offset the need to continually raise membership fees.

Thanks to the generosity of those who have donated to the Barlow Fund over the past year, the Club is once again offering attractive incentives to State League athletes who compete regularly for the Club and accumulate points throughout the season. Once again there is a cash prize of $200 for the male and female athletes who score the most points in State League competition throughout the season. In addition, every athlete who scores over 100 points for the season (which is only 10 points per round) will have there membership paid by the Club next season. Next time you are asked to fill in the last spot in the relay or try to qualify to fill a spare spot in the team, remember that you will be adding points to your own season’s tally as well as helping out your team and your team-mates.

The administration of the Barlow Fund has recently been taken over by Colin Organ who was shown great diligence in his dealings with the Australian Sports Commission to extend the fund for the next year. Donations to the fund are fully tax deductible so please contact Colin or any of the members of the committee if you are interested in making a donation to the fund.

After being successful in gaining the nomination of the City of Whitehorse for a State Government Community Support Fund Grant, the Club was hopeful of gaining support from the government to help fund the upgrade of the clubrooms and construction of a new toilet and changeroom facility to the north of the existing club rooms. Unfortunately, it appears that very few grants were made this year and we were not successful in receiving the grant this year. However, we will apply again next year so we will need to make sure that we lobby out local State members of parliament to make sure that they help promote our application. Any assistance in writing letters to your local member complaining about the state of the changerooms and requesting support for their upgrade would be most appreciated.

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.

Athletics Australia has confirmed that it will again conduct the National Clubs Championships during the 1999/2000 Australian Track and Field Season. This is one of a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the club system, which is so vital for the future of our sport.

Member Associations and Athletics New Zealand will be asked to nominate to AA by no later than 1st February 2000, the clubs which will represent their State/Territory in the Final to be held at Stadium Australia, Sydney on Sunday, 27th February 2000 which is the morning session of the final day of this season’s open and under 20 Nationals.

This date has been chosen to reduce travel and accommodation costs for clubs which already have athletes competing in the Nationals. As a further incentive for clubs to participate in the this program, any athlete who is part of his/her club’s team for the Clubs Final but who is not qualified to compete in the Nationals, will be permitted to compete in one event at the Nationals as well. Whilst the timing means that some clubs may not be able to use athletes who are competing in the final session of the Nationals that afternoon, the choice of date does present a fantastic opportunity for club athletes to be able to compete in the Olympic Stadium.

Associations may select the clubs to represent them in any manner, including the following:

• the club which wins any existing clubs competition within the Association
• running a competition which mirrors the National Final format

However, we strongly urge Associations to use the latter option, where at all possible.

Our aim for 2000 is to have every state represented in both the men’s and women’s competitions. As with the first year we intend to be flexible in a number of areas to ensure that the program gets up and running and that a second successful National Final is conducted. However, to encourage the strengthening of clubs we will be insisting on representation by first claim athletes only and no combine clubs.

Further details are available at http://www.athletics.org.au/competition/tf1999-00/tt_clubs.htm or from your local association.

There is a lot of general background information here but all Box Hill athletes should keep this in mind.

The club has come to a sponsorship arrangement with Rebel Sport in which the both the club and members of the club benefit. When you make a purchase at one of the Rebel Stores quote our rebate code,

3418 and receive a 5% discount.

All members are encouraged to support arrangement where possible. Below is a list of all the Rebel Sport locations in Victoria.

The canteen now has a variety of healthy foods for you to choose from every Saturday. We now have fresh seasonal fruit, and tubs of fruit available for those hot summer days of competition. Guaranteed to provide you with an instant energy source.

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 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. 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.

Well done to all Box Hill Junior Athletes who competed in the Victorian All Schools Championships. The number of competitors is just too many to list individually (and I sure I would miss a few) but I did manage to see a bit of the competition and saw many Box Hill athletes performing extremely well. 

CHRISTMAS BBQ

The club is holding a Christmas BBQ after interclub competition on Saturday 18th December 1999 at the clubrooms. Food will be served from about 5:00 pm onwards. The cost will be $5 per head which will include meat, salad, fruit salad and a cold drink. Please let Adam Pepper know if you will be able to attend so that he can have some idea of numbers for catering purposes. Make sure that you stay around to celebrate your last competition of the millenium and enjoy the Christmas spirit of the festive season.