Box Hill hope to have both men’s and women’s teams in the Club Championships to be held in Brisbane on Monday 26^th March, following the Nationals. Anyone intending traveling to Brisbane for the Nationals or who wish to be involved the Club Championships please contact Julie or Graeme.

The winnings teams will be invited to form a combined team of 5 men and 5 women to represent Australia in the inaugural Oceania Cup to be held in Vanuatu on 14^th July. Air tickets and accommodation will be provided for team members, a manager and a technical official.

After months of negotiation, agreement has been reached with staff at the City of Whitehorse on plans for redevelopment of the clubrooms at Hagenauer's Reserve. Formal approval of the plans will be sought from the Council within the next month, during which time the Club will have our last chance to modify our requirements for the layout of the clubrooms and to confirm the level of funding which we are prepared to commit to the project.

The current plans allow for renovation of the existing change rooms, showers and toilets and construction of new public toilets and showers immediately to the north of the existing clubrooms. It also includes construction of a new circuit training area and committee room / social room above the existing building overlooking the track. Preliminary plans will be available for review in the committee room in the near future, however key elements of the redevelopment include:

• Extension of the existing equipment store to incorporate the existing office to provide a secure storage area and work bench within the store room
• Conversion of the existing men's change room into a weights room / gymnasium
• Conversion of the existing weights room and adjacent toilet/shower into the men's change room with a new entrance to the existing men's toilets and showers which will be rejuvenated
• Conversion of the PA/officials room into the women's change room. The existing women's public toilets will be modified to become the new women's toilets and showers for club members.
• Conversion of the existing women's change rooms into a first aid room and officials room.
• Construction of new public change rooms, toilets and showers for the public to the north of the existing women's change rooms, including a separate disabled toilet.
• Installation of a stair in the George Stringer room (foyer) to lead up to the new development above the existing rooms.
• Construction of a new circuit training area above the existing men's change room
• Construction of a new committee room / social room overlooking the track above the existing weights room and men's toilets.

The estimated cost to complete these works is $350,000, of which the City of Whitehorse has committed to contribute $200,000 by 30 June 2001. This leaves about $150,000 to be raised by the Club. Through the hard work of several club members over the past five years in preparation for this time, the Club is very fortunate to have financial reserves of about $110,000 to contribute to this project. This is mainly due to the diligent efforts of Angela Robbie keeping tight control as treasurer, to Stewart Livingston for coordinating street collections over many years and to Alan Cross and Adam Pepper for the coordinating the hire of the ground to schools.

However, this still leaves a shortfall of about $40,000 which the Club must raise to fund the rest of the works. The Club has the option to borrow this money from a bank as the Council has agreed to be guarantor for the loan, however it is clearly in the Club's best interest to raise as much of this money as possible to minimise the amount borrowed and interest to be paid. Another option is to defer development of the upstairs section of the project for several years until additional funds have been raised, however the project will cost more to build in two stages than one so the committee wishes to progress as far as possible this year.

The current plan is to start work in early April with the project to be competed by some time in August. There will be a requirement for ongoing works by the Club after this date to fit out the upstairs sections as the budget only includes for construction of the building shell upstairs and no fitout works.

Given the large commitment which we are proposing to make to this project and the possibility of creating a large debt for the Club to repay, the committee would like feedback from Club members on the proposed development and whether or not members are in favour of borrowing money to fund the project. All members are invited to submit their thoughts to the committee and to attend the next committee meeting on Wednesday 21 February 2001, at 7:30 pm in the club rooms when the project will be discussed in detail and a final decision made as the commitment to be made from the Club.

A number of fundraising ventures have been discussed as a means of raising some of the additional funds including:

• Selling chocolates and lollies
• A raffle
• Selling bricks in the new clubrooms for $100 for which the donor will have their name engraved on a plaque on the brick
• Holding a car-boot sale in the carpark.

If you have any other ideas, or are willing to help with any of these fundraising ventures, please contact a member of the committee. The club has held very few fundraising drives over the past few years so ALL club members will be required to contribute enthusiastically to helping raise funds over the next six months.

The Victorian Underage Championships for 2000/01 were held at Olympic Park on January 20-21, 2001. Well done to all the box Hill Athletes who competed there.

By the looks of the results below there will be a number of young Box Hill Athletes running around with wreaths around their numbers next year.

Under 14 Women

Sarah Moulton 100m 13.97 1^st

200m 28.05 2^nd

Katherine Winckworth 100m 14.76 1^st

200m 29.93 2^nd

Sarah Evans 200 hurdles 37.25 2^nd

High Jump 1.35m 5^th

Javelin 31.41m 1^st

Under 15 Women

Juliet Thornton 800m 2:35.25 3^rd

Under 16 Women

Georgie McCallum 800m 2:31.49 3^rd

Under 17 Women

Tania Adderley 800m 2:26.94 5^th

Kate Thornton 800m 2:30.87 8^th

1500m 5:12.64 4^th

Natalie Crow High Jump 1.56m 2^nd

Under 18 Women

Jane Willersdorf 100m 13.42 2^nd

200m 26.49 3^rd

Michelle Fistric 100m 13.90 7^th

100 Hurdles 15.53 2^nd

Heidi Riordan 800m 2:11.56 1^st

1500m 4:27.01 1^st

Cecilia Azcurra Discus 30.58m 1^st

Cecilia Azcurra Hammer 31.69m 2^nd

Under 14 Men

John Doan 400m 1:03.14 1^st

800m 2:23.77 2^nd

Under 15 Men

Imran Zeed 100m 12.64 4^th

Long Jump 5.04m 4^th

Triple Jump 10.60m 5^th

Shot Put 10.23m 5^th

Grant Hodges Triple Jump 10.25m 8^th

Under 16 Men

Adam Remmers 100m 11.65 1^st

200m 22.67 1^st

Joel Pocklington 100m Hurdles 15.42 2^nd

200m Hurdles 28.62 1^st

Pole Vault 3.30m 1^st

Ronnie Buckley Shot Put 14.69m 2^nd

Discus 59.52m 1^st

Hammer 56.56m 1^st

Under 17 Men

Michael Saunders 400m 51.82 2^nd

800m 1:59.56 2^nd

Andrew White 1500m 4:13.00 1^st

Kevin Craigie 1500m 4:30.12 6^th

Luke Mowat Long Jump 5.77m 3^rd

Mathew Lukaczynski Shot Put 12.47m 2^nd

Discus 37.18m 2^nd

Under 18 Men

Lane Harrison 100m 11.37 1^st

200m 22.58 3^rd

Mohamad Zeed 100m 11.39 2^nd

110 Hurdles 14.56 1^st

Long Jump 6.39m 2^nd

Ned McLeod 400m 50.84 3^rd

110 Hurdles 16.10 3^rd

400 Hurdles 55.51 1^st

Lachlan Aspinall Steeple 7:22.28 6^th

With both the men's and women's State League teams well positioned near the top of the ladder, we are in a great position to win premierships in both competitions this year. To do so, it is imperative that we have all of our athletes qualified for the finals and available to compete on both nights of the final - 8^th March 2001 and 15^th March 2001. We have been successful so far this season despite having holes in many of our teams, however to win the premiership we will have to have athletes qualifying in virtually every event which means we need to have all our athletes available. Please make sure that you have competed at least 4 times during the season and have confirmed your availability with the team managers Chris O'Connor (men) or Val Armstrong (women).

All Club members will soon be receiving a fundraising form to sell lollies as our first fundraising venture to raise funds for the new club rooms. Please collect as many orders as possible and return these forms to Angela Robbie or Julie Milner by Saturday 3 March 2001. If you will not be down at the track in this time, please mail the form with a cheque enclosed to PO Box 247, Box Hill 3128.

You support is required to help us get the club rooms off the ground.

OPEN AND U20 RELAY CHAMPS

The Victorian Open and U20 State Relay Championships were held on the same weekend as the underage state titles. It was a gold mine for Box Hill with a very impressive list of results and what could have been a few more if not for some dropped batons.

Under 20 Women

4x100m 50.48 1^st
4x200m 1:49.04 1^st
4x800m 11:09.38 1^st

Open Women

4x100m 48.68 3^rd
4x200m 1:41.46 3^rd
4x400m 3:38.40 3^rd
4x800m 9:12.46 1^st
4x1500m 19:08.27 1^st
Medley 4:14.06 2^nd

Open Men

4x400m 3:16.88 1^st
4x800m 7:42.25 1^st
4x1500m 16:22.27 4^th
Medley 3:33.07 2^nd

Applications for this year’s grants are invited from athletes engaged in T&F events or from others engaged in the coaching, promotion or sponsorship of such athletes. Grants will not be made to anyone already receiving financial support from sponsors, institutes etc.

Applications close on 31^st March 2001 and forms are available from the Secretary of the Trust or from Athletics Victoria.

Relay for life is a 24hr run / walk to raise funds for the Anti Cancer Council. Box Hill entered a team for the 1^st time last year and those present were surprised a level of involvement by so many different community groups. The infield of the Nunawading track became an actual tent city – one group even had a couch and TV. We were a little under-prepared, although we did have a tent with a massage table. With a few more people involved and a little more preparation, it could be a great event for the club to be a part of. We are calling for Volunteers to coordinating this years event to be held in November 2001. Contact Julie 94287679 or Graeme 98850890 if you’re interested.

If you find any errors, omissions or additions for the club record board please contact Dale Bickham on 9890 5150 (ph) or bickham@deakin.edu.au (e-mail).

After 8 of the 10 rounds of state league competition have been completed Box Hill is sitting in second place on the ladder. After the disappointments of last season it is great to see the team back in the premiership hunt.

We started the season with Justin Clark in fine form in the sprints and Steve Hooker scoring points in the vault, jumps, sprints and hurdles. With juniors James Fildes, Lane Harrison and Mohammed Zeed also performing well in the sprints and Tim Cherry, Michael Jones and Tim Heron scoring lots of points in the 800m, we were able to win the first four rounds of competition. Unfortunately we have only managed to finish second in each of the last four rounds, but our position on the ladder seems secure and we will undoubtedly be involved in the finals competition this year.

Premiership Ladder (after round 7)

CLUB              %            PTS.

Bayside            71.8         28

Box Hill            54.6         25

Glenhuntly        47.3         22

Ath. Eastside     44           22

APS United      42.9        22

Ringwood United 40.6     21

MUAC                42.9       20

Ath. Essendon     39.9       20

Ballarat/Bendigo   38.1     19

Geelong                   36       17

Western Suburbs    31.6   14

Doncaster               26.8     13

Ivanhoe                  24.9      12

Yarra                     18.8       11

The Australian Allschools Championships were held in Adelaide in December 2000 and Box Hill was well represented. Some of the results were:

Under 14 Women

Hayley Thomlinson 1500m 4:40.25 1^st; 800m 2:15.30 2^nd

Under 18 Women

Beth Bird 400m 57.41 6^th ; 800m 2:11.46 3^rd ; 400 Hurdles 67.75 8^th
Michelle Fistric 100 Hurdles15.22 7^th

Under 20 Women

Georgina Power 100m 12.53 2^nd ; 100 Hurdles 14.12 1^st; 200m 25.51 2^nd
Erica Sigmont 800m 2:11.61 1^st; 1500m 4:40.87 2^nd

Under 14 Men

Moses Levy 400m 56.21 5^th; 90 Hurdles 13.11 2^nd

Under 16 Men

Adam Remmers 100m 11.15 3^rd; 200m 22.54 4^th
Michael Saunders 800m 1:59.25 8^th
Andrew White 3000m 9:10.10 2^nd
Ned McLeod 100 Hurdles 13.44 3^rd

Under 18 Men

Lane Harrison 200m 22.09 6^th
Ned McLeod 400 Hurdles 54.97 3^rd
Zac Dowker 800m 1:56.72 2^nd

Long time club member Brett Randall has taken a job working for the United Nations in Holland, and he and his family are currently in the process of moving. They will be away for at least 12 months and so he will not be able to vault, throw the javelin and run for the club for this time. He is planning to keep competing when in Europe (probably not on the GP circuit), but at least he will be in shape to wear the white horse again when he gets back.

The club thanks Brett for his efforts over many years and wishes him and his family all the best for this new adventure. We will all miss Brett and his dodgy achilles down at the track. And who is going to tell the entertaining stories of legendary past pole vaulters now that he is gone?

The Box Hill Athletic Club 10 Mile Championship for the year 2000 was held along the bike paths adjacent to the Eastern Freeway on the morning of Sunday 17 December 2000. There was just a small field due to the late notice, lack of publicity and very hot conditions forecast for the day. Despite the hot weather, the race was very competitive from the moment that Ian Sloane sent the runners on their way with Scott Jackson setting a very fast pace with Graeme Olden and Chris Bunney hanging on behind him. Dale Bickham started out at a more conservative pace, running with a group of runners incorporating the first 10 km of the course into their Sunday morning run. Unfortunately after about 3 km, Scott suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury which had been restricting his training and he was forced to withdraw from the race leaving Graeme Olden in the lead which he was able to maintain until the end of the race finishing with a time of 55:53. Chris Bunney produced a very fast finish over the last 3km to finish second in a time of 57:24 while Dale Bickham also completed the course in a respectable time of 69:55.

Many thanks to Ian Sloane for timing the runners, to Chris O'Connor for marking out the course and marshalling the runners on the day, to Julie Milner and Doug and Michael Bourne for providing moral support for the runners and to Westly Windsor for coordinating breakfast at the Club afterwards.

The pole vault club has recently bought a new pole vault pit and covers. The new pit is very bouncy and perfect for backsaults but the covers are not. If anyone at the track sees anyone else jumping on the pit when the covers are still on could they please tell them to get off.

Pole vault pits are expensive and jumping on the covers makes holes in then and lets the pits rot in the rain.

Box Hill Athletic Club operates the Barlow Foundation as a registered project with the Australian Sports Foundation for the purpose of supporting elite athletes and coaches in state league interclub competition. The project makes grants to athletes and coaches from tax-deductible donations made to the foundation.

Proposed distribution of Barlow Foundation grants for 2000/01 season

• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the leading Female State League points scorer
• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the leading Male State League points scorer
• $200 Reimbursement of expenses to the coach whose athletes (including both male and female) score the greatest combined total of State League points.
• Payment of Athletics Victoria membership for the following season for any athlete who scores 100 or more State League points.

All donations are tax deductible.

If you have any questions about the Barlow Foundation, Colin can be contacted on 9813 3597 or via email (colo@bigpond.com)

Results, results and more results. Our juniors and our relay teams have been winning medals left right and centre since the last club news and now it is time for the seniors to follow suit. It is the business end of the season with open state titles on this weekend and finals for interclub and state league coming up fast. Now is the time to put in that little bit extra for the club and throw that javelin if your team manager asks you to.

Good luck to all our athletes and teams and I will see you in Vanuatu.

To submit articles either see Cameron Baker or el Presidente Graeme Olden down at the track or email Cameron on cbak2@student..monash.edu.au

NO MORE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

In recent months, the Club has spent considerable sums of money purchasing a new pole vault pit, medicine ball, mat for the gym, high jump and pole vault bars, constructing new shade structures and repairing hurdles and equipment. The money has run out and all our reserves have been allocated to funding the new club rooms so the committee is extremely unlikely to approve applications for funding of new equipment in the next nine months or so. If individual training groups require new equipment, they are encouraged to raise the funds themselves through their own initiative.

When you are at the club you will notice the new large yellow recycling bins around the track. These bins can take Glass or Plastic Bottles, and Aluminum Cans. The small bins are there for general rubbish.

Club sponsor Banksia Sports Clinic has moved to 1062 Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe (Just next door to Pizza Hut we are told). Could all athletes please take note of their new address and phone number: 9499 8887.