After dominating all season and not losing a single round the Box Hill Women’s State League team capped of a brilliant season by capturing back to back titles.

Final scores were:

1 - Box Hill 376

2 - Bayside 341

3 - MUAC 327

The winning margin of 35 points was a reflection of the team’s dominance throughout the season.

Congratulations to team manager Val Armstrong for her tireless efforts in making sure that we have the strongest possible team each week and to the fine leadership shown by Club Captain, Cathy Marshall. There were many fine efforts by the team during the year represented by the large group of athletes that scored over 100 points for the season. There is no reason why this group shouldn't continue to dominate the competition next season with the great improvements shown by many of the members during the year.

After many meetings with the architects and City of Whitehorse officers, agreement has been reached on the final layout for the club room upgrade and detail drawings and specifications are being prepared ready for calling of tenders for the work later in the month. It is planned that work will start on the ground floor extensions late in April, with this section scheduled for completion some time in July, with the upstairs works continuing until some time in August.

Copies of the latest plans are on display on the notice board at the entrance to the club rooms and in the committee room. They are also posted on the Club website - click on the following links to view the drawings -

EXTENSION PLANS

The works are going to cause significant disruption to the club rooms which will be largely unavailable for use from May through to July. All equipment, photos, pennants, honour boards, trophies and other moveable fixtures will need to be removed from the club rooms by the end of April to enable work to start. Every room will have substantial structural modifications except for the canteen so storage will need to be found for all of these items outside of the club rooms. If anyone has a spare room in their house or an empty garage that could be used for storage of some of these items for a few months, the Club would be most grateful if you could provide this space for the Club's usage for a few months this winter. Please contact a member of the committee if you can help out.

The huge task of emptying everything out of the room will be undertaken at a working bee on 21 April. It is important that as many members as possible assist with this task so that work on the club rooms is not delayed. It is important that members remove any personal equipment from the rooms prior to this date as any non-club items left behind will be thrown out.

The Club will attempt to minimise the disruption to winter training by these upgrade works. We are currently negotiating to have the weights equipment set up in a member's garage close to the track for use by Club members, and we will try to keep access to toilets at all times for Club members, although there may be times when this is not possible. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this may cause, however we are sure that the end result will compensate for any disruption during construction.

Saturday 21^st April - 11am -- 'til you drop

Prior to the commencement of work on the clubrooms we need to organise packing up and storage of all banners, photos and equipment etc. - this is a major task and we will need all hands on deck. If you have any spare storage space that we could use for the duration (approx 4 months) it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Julie Milner or Graeme Olden.

Included in the night will be the launch of Buy a Brick and other fundraising initiatives organised by the Committee for the new clubroom extension. It is important to have the support of as many members as possible. A reply form is attached:

REPLY FORM

As we are getting ready for Presentation Night, would the winners of last years Perpetual Trophies please return them to the club or contact Julie Milner 9428 7679.

The annual Club 5km Handicap is to be held on Saturday 28^th April, leaving the club at 12.30pm for a 1.00pm start. The course will be the same as last year, commencing at Bennettswood Bowling Club. Ian Sloane will once again be the handicapper. Please fill in the attached  REPLY FORM and return it as soon as possible or contact Ian Sloane, Chris O'Connor or Graeme Olden if you are interested in running.

Angela Robbie will be available to take registrations for the coming season (form at the end of the Newsletter) Please note that there has been NO fee increase this year.

The 2000-2001 athletics season is drawing to a close and membership fees will be due on 1 April 2001 for the new season. A Club membership can be downloaded from the web page by following this link:

2001-2002 REGISTRATION FORM

Please fill out the details, sign the form and return it to the Club.

It is extremely disappointing the lack of interest in the clubroom redevelopment. Members were invited to view the plans and discuss any points raised - not one member turned up. The Committee must therefore presume that all members have complete faith in their decisions and we will expect, following the completion of the work, no complaints will be received about the design or cost!

Another disappointment for the Committee was the lack of support for the Lollie drive - 250 order forms were sent out and only 18 have been returned. Anybody who feels guilty can still send in their forms or attend a Fundraising Meeting on Monday 2^nd April 2001 at the club rooms. Contact Westly on 9890 3653 for more details. Your attendance at this meeting would be greatly appreciated to help show support for the redevelopment.

Sandra Nicholls 400m 56.50 7^th
Kerri Jorgensen 800m 2:06.86 4^th
                           1500m 4:24.16 5^th
Eliza Eddy 800m 2:15.51 7^th
                  1500m 4:44.85 10^th
Georgina Power 100m hurdles 13.93 1^st
Ashlee Hayes Pole Vault 3.50m 2^nd
Kym Lawson Pole Vault 3.10m 4^th
Fiona Buchanan Pole Vault 3.10m 6^th

Georgina Power 100m 12.30 2^nd
                        100m hurdles 14.30 1^st
                        400m hurdles 65.21 1^st
Sjaan Powley 100m 12.83 7^th
                     High Jump 1.55m 6^th
                     Javelin 22.99m 5^th
Jane Willersdorf 200m 26.60 8^th
Erica Sigmont 400m 56.71 3^rd
                     800m 2:10.99 1^st
                     1500m 4:35.92 1^st
Elisabeth Bird 400m 58.85 4^th
                     800m 2:17.35 3^rd
Kate Ackland 400m 59.03 5^th
Alethe West 1500m 4:39.57 2^nd
                     3000m 9:57.20 1^st
Charlotte Roberts 1500m 4:57.82 9^th
Emily Smith 3000m 10:24.90 4^th
Andrea Werkmeister 100m hurdles 16.46 3^rd
                           400m hurdles 70.99 6^th
Sarah Coghill 100m hurdles 17.13 4^th
                  400m hurdles 66.94 2^nd
Kym Lawson Pole Vault 3.20m 1^st

Ashley Rowan 100m 11.04 3^rd
Tim Williams 200m 21.79 4^th
Justin Clark 400m 47.24 2^nd
Michael Jones 800m 1:51.53 2^nd
Julian Dwyer 5000m 14:22.54 7^th
Graeme Olden Steeple 9:16.72 5^th
Adam Pepper Steeple 10:03.09 12^th
Steve Hooker Pole Vault  4.80m 2^nd
Cameron Baker Pole Vault  4.00m 5^th

Adam Remmers 100m 11.38 2^nd
James Fildes 100m 11.64 5^th
                     200m 22.58 4^th
                     400m 50.03 3^rd
Zachary Dowker 800m 2:05.15 5^th
Sam Hassett 1500m 4:15.37 7^th
                     5000m 16:14.79 4^th
Alan Cragie 1500m 4:26.36 9^th
                     5000m 16:29.33 5^th
Julian Yeoh Long Jump 6.43m 5^th
Geoff Challinger Triple Jump 13.18m 5^th

Under 17 Men

Andrew White 3000m 9:07.66 1^st
Kevin Craigie 3000m 9:47.96 5^th

Adam Pepper is organising to have a good quality club tracksuit top manufactured by Kea. Due to financial constraints it is necessary for orders to be accompanied by full payment. A picture of the design is in the change rooms and some jackets are available to try for size. Cost will be $85 each and an order form is included with this newsletter

Both the Men's and Women's teams have been selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Club Championships to be held in Brisbane Monday evening 26^th March following the National Championships. We did discuss the timing of the event with Athletics Australia, as it requires the athletes involved to take an extra day off work and pay for an extra nights accommodation but unfortunately nothing could be done.

The club appreciates the commitment of the athletes involved and wishes them lots of luck. The winning team will have the opportunity to compete in the inaugural Oceania championships to be held in Vanuatu in July

At the same time as the Open Victorian Championships the underage relay champs were on. Again, Box Hill dominated!!!

4x100m 53.92 3^rd
4x200m 1:55.14 3^rd
4x800m 9:54.83 1^st
Medley 4:18.46 1^st

4x100m 50.54 2^nd
4x200m 1:46.61 2^nd
4x800m 9:54.40 2^nd
Medley 4:13.39 1^st

4x100m 43.25 1^st
4x200m 1:29.73 1^st
4x400m 3:31.89 4^th

Box Hill athletics club was well represented at the recent National Underage Championships held in Bendigo during February. I am sure I have missed out on at least some of Box Hill’s performances but special note must be made of Mohamad Zeed with his amazing 13.48s run for the 110m hurdles. I believe this is a faster time then Kyle Vanderkype (excuse the bad spelling) has run this season. This, as well as Ronnie, Adam and Heidi with two golds each were the highlights of the meet.

Hayley Tomlinson 800m 2:15.68 2^nd
                        1500m 4:43.63 1^st

Michelle Fistric 100 Hurdles 15.03 4^th
Heidi Riordan 800m 2:06 1^st
                  1500m 4:22.7 1^st
Ashlee Hayes Pole Vault 3.55m 2^nd

Adam Remmers 100m 11.26 1^st
                        200m 22.57 1^st
Joel Pocklington Pole Vault 3.55m 1^st
Ronnie Buckley Shot Put 15.38m 2^nd
                           Discus 61.46m 1^st
                           Hammer 57.82m 1^st

Lane Harrison 200m 22.35 3^rd
Mohamad Zeed 110 Hurdles 13.48 1^st
Ned McLeod 400m 50.47 4^th
                     110 Hurdles 14.56 5^th
                     400 Hurdles 55.05 1^st

The Athletics Victoria winter season commences with the Cross Country Relays at Brimbank Park on 5 May 2001, with the first individual event two weeks later on 19 May 2001 at Flemington. Note that you must be registered to run in the winter events so please fill in the attached registration form and return it to the Club by mail or bring it along to the 5km handicap race on 28 April 2001.

WINTER ENTRY FORM

Included with this newsletter is an entry form for the individual winter events. If you wish to be entered for any or all of these events, please return your form with the appropriate fee to the club NO LATER than 5 May 2001 to enable entries to be lodged with Athletics Victoria in time for the first event.

Club member and coach, Westly Windsor is offering a great deal to Club members on the popular Casio ACL200 sports watch for runners.

The main features are full stop watch with 50 lap memory, time of day shown until start button pressed then screen changes to elapsed and split time, count back timer with two separate but linked screens, up to 50 repeats, ten pre set alarms that run concurrently with the main stop watch screen, a marathon time possibility calculator based on input of 10k race time, electro glow light that can be manually or automatically operated, water resistant and 3 years guarantee. The Casio recommended retail price is $199.00. Box Hill Club members price is $169.00 which includes a rebate to the Club. If you need a new watch, contact Westly on 9890 3653 and help support the Club.

"Survival of the Fittest" is the official cookbook of the Australian Institute of Sport and is available for sale through the Club at a cost of $20. Please contact Graeme Olden on 9885 0890 or golden@sprint.com.au if you are interested in purchasing a copy.

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).

Otherwise known as:

The Box Hill men performed well in the first round of finals with Steven Hooker equaling his PB off a short run in the pole vault in one of the best competitions seen on a Thursday night and we were in 4^th place going into the second round, or so we thought.

The scores at the end of the first week of finals indicated that we had finished in fourth place and thus qualified to compete in the second week of finals, however there were several errors made in the scoring. When the scores were fixed over the next couple of days, we were still in fourth place, however Eastside had moved one point in front of us and APS had gone from two points in front of us to one point behind and thus out of the finals.

It appears that APS then performed there own checks and discovered that their second runner in the steeple had recorded in late and was recorded as 7th when they claim that he finished 6th. AV checked the photo-finish results to confirm this and awarded them extra points thus relegating us to 5th. We were not advised of this until late Wednesday night, the night before the Final.

Chris O'Connor spent most of the day in communication with AV trying to convince them to change their mind, however they did not budge. They did agree to let Box Hill athletes compete by invitation tonight given the late notice but even then some of them were denied a run due to heats being deemed "full".

There is no provision in the rules for changing the result of races several days after the race has taken place.

Please feel free to communicate your disappointment directly to Athletics Victoria!

The eventual winner of the Men’s State League was Bayside, didn’t see that one coming. Scores were:

1 - Bayside 591

2 - APS United 442

3 - Eastside 426

4 - MUAC 385

A rather annoyed editor. Anyone who bore witness to AV’s incompetence in sorting out the mess that was supposed to be the pinnacle of club athletics in Victoria in the State League Final can’t help but wonder who is running the sport in the country.

It makes you wonder how many other times the scores have been added up wrong. How many other times our teams have missed out on finals due to addition errors. And how could AV let this drag out for a whole week so that half the Box Hill team was unaware that they were not running until the arrived at OP on Thursday evening.

But while I rant and rave do not let this detract from the awesome performance that the women’s team put in to dominate the season from start to finish and deservedly end up premiers again. Well done guys.

With just nationals to go, as not many of our teams made association finals, winter training starts next week and I’ll see you all in the gym. After I get my national medal.

The Box Hill Athletic 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. That includes little kids who are really cute as well.

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

The Moomba event was held on the banks of the Yarra and it was a great success. The girls mostly vaulted very well and they looked fantastic. The conditions were good and a very big crowd watched the entire event and really got into it. But Dave Jacobs was a real star. After leaving Box Hill on Saturday he went to work as a barman at Twister and then he showed up on Sunday with little sleep dressed like a porn star. He had shaved leaving a wraparound moustache and he vaulted in lycra flares and a body shirt.

It was awesome to vault with such a huge crown and everyone had to move their mark out at least two feet due to the atmosphere, and the downhill runway. A Ferris Wheel in the background provided the perfect setting and things are looking good for future promotions of our sport in this way.

Rachael Dacy did an unbelievable job getting this all happening. She had thought of everything, and the only trouble was a dodgy CD player. The vaulting culture in Melbourne is now as strong as it has ever been and this event really brought everyone together.

5.21 Dave Jacobs
4.40 Aisea Tukutau
4.20 Oscar
3.80 Cam Baker
3.20 Warren Hill

4.00 Irie Hill
3.50 Rosanna Ditton
3.50 Bridgid Isworth (7 steps)
3.50 Fiona Buchanon
3.20 Kym Lawson
3.20 Dawn Hartigan

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 please contact Colin Organ on 9813 3597 or via email (colo@bigpond.com)