Dates for
Your Diary

Sat  28 Jun   Coliban Relay
Wed   9 Jul   Annual General Meeting
Sat  12 Jul   Geelong cross Country
Sat  26 Jul   Bundoora Cross Country
Sat   2 Aug   Trivia Night - Ashburton PS
Sat   9 Aug   Sandown Road Relays
Sun   7 Sep   Burnley Half Marathon
Sat  20 Sep   Tan Relays

Last Edition of Club News?
Annual General Meeting
The Track is Back
Trivia Night
Barlow Fund
International Notes
Commonwealth Youth Championships
Winter Results
Grant Success
Australian Club Champions
Registrations Now Due
New Ground Manager
Training Rules for Hagenauer's Reserve

The committee would like to apologise that there has not been an edition of Club News published since last September. Our newsletter editor, Cameron Baker has been busy with other commitments and has decided to stand down from the position which means that we no longer have anyone to collect information about ongoing events and results and assemble it into the newsletter format.

While the majority of members now have access to email and receive the excellent weekly news bulletins prepared by Chris O'Connor, there are a number of current members and Life Members who either do not have email access (or have not informed us of their email address) and hence do not receive any regular feedback from the Club about upcoming events and competition results. In addition, the weekly bulletins tend to be focused on upcoming competitions and results, rather than focusing on longer term issues and other administrative and historical matters of interest which are provided much more emphasis in the bi-monthly newsletters.

Should we be unable to find a new volunteer to take on the task of assembling a newsletter once every two months, we will unfortunately have to cease production of Club News in its current format and this will be the last edition. If this is the case then we will continue to distribute information electronically on a weekly basis through the weekly bulletins, however there would be no hard copy distribution.

If you are interested in taking on the role of newsletter editor please contact Colin Organ at colin.organ@aanet.com.au.

If you currently receive a hard copy newsletter and would like to receive information from the Club in future in an electronic format, then please send your email address to Graeme Olden at golden@sprint.net.au.

The Annual General Meeting of the Box Hill Athletic Club will be held in the Club Rooms at Box Hill on Wednesday 9th July 2008, commencing at 7:30 pm.

The Club has had another most successful year both on and off the track which is in large part due to the efforts of the committee throughout the year. In recognition of these efforts, it would be fantastic if most of our members could attend the meeting which normally only lasts for less than half an hour to hear reports of the achievements of the Club over the past year and to vote in the committee for the coming year.

Supper will be provided after the meeting so you are most welcome to stay for a cup of tea and discuss any issues that you have with the operation of the Club with the current and new committee.

Being a large and successful club means that we are in need of volunteers to either join the committee or devote their time, talent or treasure to various activities around the club. So please don’t be spectator, put your hand up to lighten the load and give back to the sport you are passionate about. You can view a list of the various roles in the club at the following link: Club Roles.

To download an agenda for the AGM and committee nomination form, please click on the following link: Annual General Meeting Notice.

If you are interested in joining the committee or assisting the club in some way, please contact the President, Colin Organ on 0417 509 405 or by email at colin.organ@aanet.com.au or speak to any committee member.

After many delays, the "new" Box Hill Athletics Track is now open for training.

To view a series of photos showing progress of the works over the past six months as well as some photos of the finished track, please click on the following link:

Track Resurfacing Progress Photos.

Also a BIG THANK YOU to the 35+ people who turned out for one of the most productive working bees in many years on Saturday 14th June to help make our athletics facility the best in suburban Melbourne. Re-organisation and cleaning of the secure store, the equipment room and the gym, assembly of new training hurdles and repair of existing hurdles, mowing sector lines, trimming dangerous overhanging branches, removal of dead vegetation, clean up of the grounds, laying sections of the old track on the terracing in front of the canteen to reduce the dust in summer, reinstating umbrella stands and a number of other jobs were amongst those completed on the day.

Please remember to follow the club's training rules to help look after the new surface and for the safety of all users, in particular:

1. No training in lane 1
2. Do run throughs in the back straight
3. No starting practice on the 100m start line or the finish line
4. Use the outside lanes for warming up, cooling down and jogging
5. Use the outside lanes for hurdle practice and return all hurldes to the concrete slabs after use

A full set of training rules is included at the end of the newsletter for your reference. These rules are in place to protect the high wear areas of the track so we ask all track users to comply.

Also note that to use the track you need to be a financial member of the club or have paid training fees. Also, if you are the last to leave the track, please ensure that the clubrooms and main gate are locked.

See you at the track!

The annual Box Hill Athletic Club Trivia Night is being held on Saturday 2nd August 2008 at the Ashburton Primary School. So its time to get your table organised and start working on your trivia knowledge!

As the Club's major fundraiser for the year, it is important to ensure you support this event. We are making a significant financial contribution of $121,000 towards the cost of resurfacing of the track and it is most important that we maximise our fundraising efforts to repay the loan and maintain our equipment.

If you are able to attend or can assist in any way and have not already notified either Leana Tilley or Chris O'Connor, please contact Leana on 0402 264 503 or by email at leana@bambooblinds.com.au.

With only a few days left to the end of the current tax year, now is the perfect time to make a tax-deductible donation to the Barlow Fund.

All donations over $2 are tax deductible. Details on how to make a donation can be found at the Club's website:

http://www.boxhillathleticclub.org/barlow_fund.htm.

Congratulations to Club member, Andrew Letherby who was selected to represent Australia at the World Cross Country Championships which were held in Edinburgh on 30th March, where he finished in 108th position in a time of 38:35.

Andrew followed up with a strong performance in the London Marathon, recording a time of 2:13:50, however faded slightly over the last 7 km to just miss out on the 2:12 time required for selection in the marathon team for Beijing.

Congratulations also to Chris Hamer who represented Australia at the 16th Universiade Cross-Country Championships in Mauquenchy, France. Chris finished in 13th place which was a wonderful result in a strong event and helped Australia to claim the bronze medal in the teams event.

Congratulations to new club member, pole vaulter, Blake Lucas who has been selected to represent Australia in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India in October.

Over the last 12 months the club has been very successful in its application for grants, gaining support through the following grant schemes:

Thank you to all those involved in these grant applications

The senior men's teams have had our most successful start to the winter season for about 30 years with the Division 1 team winning 3 out of 4 races conducted to date to open up a clear gap at the top of the ladder. A summary of the race results are included below with links to the full reports with placings and photos for more comprehensive coverage of the magnificent performances to date.

LATROBE UNIVERSITY ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

In very cool, moist conditions, Box Hill AC again had a strong contingent of runners competing in the 15 K. road race around the La Trobe University perimeter. The Men’s Division 1 team performed brilliantly to outclass all other Division 1 teams. Our Division 3 team won their division by over 180 points, and our Division 5 team placed fourth. The Box Hill 40+ team was eclipsed by APS but finished second. And our Under 20 men had yet another win as well. Our Division 1 Women’s team performed competitively with a fifth placing, their best effort in 2008. Click here for more details: Latrobe University Road Race Results.

SANDOWN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

The road race at Sandown turned out to be another triumph for the Box Hill men’s team. In wet, cold conditions, Box Hill won the Division 1, Division 3, Division 5 and Under 20 teams events and finished 2nd in the Men Over 40 and Women Under 18 competition. Click here to a full report, with more photos and results: Sandown Road Race Results.

LARDNER PARK CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

Box Hill dominated the Men's 8 km cross country race at Lardner Park on Saturday 3rd May winning the men's Division 1, Division 3 and Over 40 teams races, with Chris Hamer finishing second and Steve Dinneen third. Click here to a full report, photos and results: Lardner Park Cross Country Results.

JELLS PARK CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS

Box Hill had our most successful result for over 20 years at the cross country relays when the Men's Division 1 team finished second at Jells Park on Saturday 19th April. Click here to a full report, photos and results: Jells Park Cross Country Relay Results.

5 km HANDICAP RACE

The winter season kicked off on Saturday 12th April with the annual 5 km Handicap Race along Gardiners Creek. In a closely fought race, Michael Dowell just held off Chris O'Connor to win the race in the fast time of 16:41. Click here to a full report, photos and results: 5 km Handicap Race Results.

Australian Club Champions

Click here for a report, full list of Box Hill performances, photos and team results:

Australian Club Championships Report.

If you wish to train on the new track at Box Hill or use the weights room, you must be a registered member of the Box Hill Athletic Club, or have paid an annual training fee. The Club has had to make a large financial contribution to the resurfacing of the track so it is critical that all users of the ground contribute towards this cost. However, more importantly, you will not be covered by the Club's insurance policy if you are not a financial member.

Membership forms can be downloaded from the Club web site at http://www.boxhillathleticclub.org/downloads/MemberForm.pdf.

If you have not already done so, please fill in the forms and return to our registrar, Vivienne Lee at PO Box 247, Box Hill 3128.

Please welcome our new ground manager Tony Marsh who will undertake both ground hire and maintenance tasks at Hagenauer’s Reserve. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to Tony and assist him wherever possible. Thank you to Elena Shevers and Julian Shuravetsky who performed the ground hire role since 2006.