AUSTRALIAN CLUB CHAMPIONS

On Saturday 5^th February, the Box Hill men’s team won the Australian Club Championships in Canberra after many years of close misses and disappointments. In a great weekend for the Club, the women’s team also a medal, finishing in 3^rd place to take away the bronze medal.

Congratulations to the 13 men and 10 women who travelled to Canberra to compete for the Club and take away senior National Championships medals.

President of Athletics Victoria, Max Binnington, was on hand to watch the competition and congratulated Box Hill on becoming the first Victorian Club to win an Australian Club Championship title. He issued the challenge to us to win 17 straight Australian Club Championship titles to match our 17 straight A grade victories from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Highlights from the meet included wins by Mohamad Zeed in the 100 m and 200 m hurdles, Joel Pocklington in the pole vault, David Featherston in the 200 m hurdles, Georgina Connell in the 800 m, Veronica Kirby and Melanie Adams in the high jump and Sarah Hewitt and Lauren Burns in the discus.

Mohamad’s effort was particularly impressive as just 4 hours later he backed up to win the 110 m hurdles at the Telstra A series meet in Canberra. This typified the wonderful Club spirit shown by Club members in Canberra which was the reason we were able to triumph over clubs form other states whose teams were weakened by the withdrawal of many of their better athletes who were competing in the A series meet.

After watching several Box Hill athletes competing in the Telstra A series meet in the afternoon, the team congregated in Manuka to celebrate winning Australian Championship medals and re-live the deeds of the morning.

To finish off a great weekend for the Club won both  the Open Men’s 4 x 200 m relay and 4 x 400 m relay at the Australian Club Relay Championships held on the Sunday morning.

Many thanks to Chris O’Connor, Julie Milner, Rob Falkenberg, Cathy Tilley, Bert Tilley, Lynette Kirby who travelled to Canberra to support the team and assist with team management.

With the men’s team having just secured our fourth straight State League Premiership, the Club now has a great chance to complete the clean sweep of victories - the Australian Club Championship, State Club Championships, State League and Athletics Victoria Shield Competition.

To view more photos and full results from the meet click on the following link: Results

State League Premiers Again!

A win in round 5 of state league competition at Box Hill gave the Box Hill men’s team an unbeatable 13 point lead on top of the ladder, with just one round of competition remaining this season. As there is no State League Final this year so the premier is the team on top of the ladder at the end of the season, so no matter what the result of the final round of competition, Box Hill will win our fourth consecutive state league premiership!

Congratulations to all the athletes who have competed in state league this year. Let’s hope we can win again in the final round of state league at Olympic Park on February 23 and be undefeated for the entire season.

Unfortunately, the women’s team has not had such a successful season and is currently in 7^th position. Hopefully we can finally get a full team together for the last round of the season and have at least one win for the season to finish the year on a positive note.

To celebrate the success of our men’s team again this year, the Club invites all members and supporters to join the men’s and women’s State League team at the Swan Hotel in Richmond after the final round of competition on Wednesday 23^rd February 2005. It is anticipated that celebrations will commence at about 9:30 pm.

Zatopek Meeting

The Telstra Zatopek Classic was held at Box Hill on Saturday 4 December 2004 and was an outstanding success. On a lovely warm evening, about 1500 spectators flocked to the track and spread themselves around the track on the grass banks creating a wonderful family atmosphere. After a slow start, the bar and BBQ proved to be a huge hit with the crowds on the back straight and helped add to the atmosphere on the night.

While the standard of competition was perhaps not as high as in recent years due to many elite athletes having a break after the Olympic Games, the closeness of many of the races made for a really exciting night of competition with one of the closest finishes to the men’s 10,000 m race for many years.

 Many thanks to all the Club members and friends who assisted with preparing for the night, serving in the canteen or bar on the night and then packing up afterwards. As a result of these efforts, the Club received praise from a wide variety of sources after the meet, with spectators, officials and athletes all complimenting the Club on conducting a most successful and enjoyable meeting. The chief official for the meeting, Lorraine Morgan addressed the officials prior to competition commencing and said that she had attended the track on the previous Tuesday and was worried that there was a lot of work to be done, but that the Box Hill people had put in a fantastic effort to have the ground and facilities looking great. Several others commented that it was the best Zatopek that they had attended for many years and that the ground looked in the best condition that they had seen.

 Hopefully the success of the Zatopek meeting has shown Athletics Australia and Athletics Victoria that Box Hill is one of the best spots in Victoria to hold track and field meetings and that we will have the opportunity to host such meets again in the future.

Stadium Sports Sponsorship – VIP Club Discount Night

The Box Hill Athletic Club’s new sponsor, Stadium Sports is holding a special members only discount night at their store in Box Hill on Tuesday 22nd February from 6:30 pm till 9:00 pm.

 For this night only, ALL items will be discounted by 25%, so this is a great opportunity to purchase discount sporting goods and clothing, and at the same time support your club.

  Stadium Sports are located at Box Hill Centro, Box Hill Shopping Centre, Box Hill. The store is only a few kilometres from the track. Corey and Scott who are the owners would like to develop a long standing relationship with the club. To enable this to happen all the members must embrace the sponsorship arrangement.

 Stadium Sports have provided 10% discount cards for all members which can be used at any time (apart from the 25% discount night). This discount is off everything in the store from runners to equipment, apparel and other footwear. If you have not yet received your discount card, please contact Julie Millner on 9818 1278. Please drop in and say hello to Corey or Scott and present your card if you are looking for any sporting goods. Ph. 9897 4563.

For more information, click on the VIP discount night, click here: Stadium Sports Discount Night

Whitehorse Gift

The fourth Whitehorse Gift meet was held on Saturday 11^th December 2004 at Box Hill and proved to be the most successful of the four meets held to date. This year’s event was run in conjunction with the Athletics Victoria Allcomers Meet which attracted competitors from all over Victoria. The number of athletes competing at the meet was well in excess of previous years. Many thanks to our sponsors for again supporting the event – The City of Whitehorse for sponsorship of the 400 m Whitehorse Gift race and Banksia Sports Clinic for sponsorship of the Pole Vault Handicap. Full results can be downloaded from the Club web site at Whitehorse Gift Results.

For more information about the services provided please follow the link to Banksia Sports Clinic.

Commonwealth Youth Games Representatives

Congratulations to Club members Ronnie Buckley and Joel Pocklington who both won gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Bendigo in the first week of December.

 In an exciting competition, Joel equalled his personal best in the pole vault, clearing 5.00 m to win gold, while Ronnie easily won the discus with a throw of 56.45 m. 

Shield Results

After 10 rounds of Shield competition, the Box Hill teams are in the following positions on the ladder: 

Men     -      Division 1 – 1^st
         -           Division 2 – 2^nd
         -           Division 3 – 7^th
            -           Division 4 – 7^th
            -           Under 18 – 1^st
            -           Under 16 – 4^th
            -           Under 14 – 6^th  

Women -     Division 1 – 1^st
         -           Division 2 – 4^th
            -           Under 18 – 1^st
            -           Under 16 – 3^rd
            -           Under 14 – 3^rd  

With only two rounds remaining before the finals, it is important that you compete in as many different events in these rounds as possible to ensure that you are qualified for the finals.

State Club & Relay Championships

Box Hill once again showed that we are the strongest individual club at the State Club and Relay Championships held in December at Aberfeldie.

 The Box Hill teams managed a clean sweep of all events entered in the State Club Championship – winning the Open men’s, the Open women’s and Under 18 girls events (we didn’t enter an Under 18 boys team).

 While the men’s team won quite comfortably, both the Open women’s and Under 18 girls events were not decided until the final Parlouf Relay. The Box Hill girls showed great team spirit to win the relays to secure a close win in both events. The Open women’s event was particularly exciting with Simone Carr sprinting past her opponent with only seconds remaining and managing to hold on to the lead until the gun sounded and she could collapse onto the track.

 The success of the Open teams qualified Box Hill to compete at the Australian Club Championships in Canberra on 5^th February (see separate report), with the $500 prizemoney won by each team being used to subsidise accommodation for the team in Canberra.

 The Box Hill teams also had great success at the State Relay Championships winning a total of 9 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, from 21 teams entered. The full results are:

 Women – Open
4x100                5^th        55.25
4x200                7^th        1:51.57
4x400                4^th        4:18.42
Medley              4^th        4:23.24 

Women – Under 18
4x100                3^rd        52.67
4x200                3^rd        1:50.65
Medley              5^th        4:23.38 

Men – Open
4x100                1^st         42.01
4x200                1^st         1:26.26
4x400                1^st         3:16.24
4x800                2^nd        7:42.20
4x1500  2^nd        16:34.72

Men – Under 20
4x800                1^st         8:02.32 

Men – Under 18
4x100                4^th        45.33
4x200                4^th        1:36.34
4x400                2^nd        3:32.62
4x800                1^st         8:08.40

Men – Under 16
4x100                1^st         45.54
4x200                1^st         1:34.78
4x800                2^nd        8:41.86 

Men – Over 40
4x100                1^st         49.24

Telstra Equipment Grant

Athletics Australia recently announced that we were successful with our application to receive support in the way of new equipment through the Telstra Equipment Grants Scheme. While final details of the new equipment that we will receive have yet to be announced, it is likely that we will receive equipment to the value of several thousand dollars which will enable much improved quality of equipment to be available for our members for both training and competition. Full details of equipment received through this grant scheme will (hopefully) be provided in the next newsletter.

Lolly Drive

Many thanks to all the members who supported the recent lolly drive organised by Leana Tilley and Cameron Joyce. As a result of your efforts, a total of $283 was raised which was used to purchase stretching mats which have been installed in the weights room at the club.

Presentation Night

This year’s annual Presentation Night will be held on Friday 6^th May 2005 at the Box Hill Community Arts Centre (the same venue used for the last three years). Further details will be provided in future newsletters, however please put this date in your diary now so that you don’t miss the chance to celebrate the successes of the past season.

Break-in to Storage Shed at Track

Just prior to Christmas we had a break in at the track.  Access was gained through the double gates near the shed and bolt cutters used to get into one of the sheds.  The mower, whipper snipper and blower were stolen - they obviously knew exactly what they were after.  This is a huge blow to the club as, you are no doubt aware, we are running on a very tight budget at the moment.

If anyone has any of the above equipment just sitting in your shed and would like to donate it to the club we would be extremely grateful.  We ask that all members be vigilant in making sure everything is locked when leaving - if you notice anything untoward please inform a member of the committee or Peter Robbie.

Club Room Upgrade Update

The frustration of having a wonderful new facility upstairs at the club continues. We were fortunate to be able to obtain a limited permit to enable us to make limited use of the upstairs area for the Zatopek meet which highlighted what a fantastic facility it will be for the Club when we finally get permission to use it. The current status is that we still can not use the rooms upstairs until we have installed an access ramp to provide access for people with disabilities. The Club has applied for a grant to assist with construction of this access through the State Government Department of Sport and Recreation Community Support Fund Minor Facilities Grants Scheme. These grants are awarded to local Councils on an annual basis so we are fortunate that the City of Whitehorse has agreed to back our application as one of the two projects that they applied for under this scheme this year. While this will still mean a substantial financial contribution is required from the Club, the cost of the project will be split evenly between the Council, State Government and the Club if our application is successful. We expect to hear in March or April if we are successful. Funds will not be granted until next financial year so no work can commence until July at the very earliest. If we are unsuccessful, then we will probably have to delay works still further until alternative funding sources can be found.  

 Athletic Scholarships

 The Trust for Young Australians Athletic Scholarships program is a joint initiative of the Trust for Young Australians and Athletics Australia. 

The scholarships are designed to assist young people aged 14 to 18 who have the potential to be elite athletes but whose families have some difficulties meeting the financial expenses. 

The Scholarships are for one year and comprise:  

·          A grant of $500 to assist with general costs;

·          A kit of clothing and equipment;

·          Assistance with travelling expenses to state and national competitions.

·          Opportunities to participate in functions conducted by Athletics Australia and the Trust for Young Australians

 For more information about the scholarships and how to apply for them can be obtained from the Trust for Young Australians Web Site at: http://www.tya.org.au/athletics.php?year=2003 

Athletics International also fund grants for athletes and coaches of athletes at or near international level and are currently inviting applications for funding. Application forms can be downloaded from the Athletics Victoria web site at http://www.athsvic.org.au/

 Distance Running Forum

Over the past few years, the number of senior athletes competing in distance races for the Club has declined alarmingly to the point that the Club now struggles to fill teams in winter competition. To address the issues that have led to this decline and plan actions to develop the distance running group within the Club, a Distance Running Forum is being held at the club rooms on Wednesday 2nd March, from 7:30 pm. All interested parties are invited to attend as we need as many people as possible to provide input and suggestions as to how we can reverse the recent trend.