The Victorian Race Walking Club

VRWC ROAD RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2010

Signs were not encouraging on Saturday morning with the worst flooding for some 15 years forecast for Victoria but our luck held as the rain stopped and the skies cleared for our races. Yes, the wind was very strong and we were restricted to the bottom 1km of our course due to large pools of water on the top end of the course but, all in all, it was another great day of racing at Albert Park. 62 walkers contested this, the final racing day of our winter season and a lot more came along for our Winter Season presentations which followed.

This winter season has undoubtedly been our best ever on all measures. The competitor numbers were huge – we averaged just over 80 competitors per week over the 20 weeks of our winter season and the quality of racing was superb with so many of our walkers doing PBs week after week right through the season. The number of regular officials and judges who turned up every week was the best ever and we averaged 6 judges per week – something we have never been able to achieve before. We swept the pool in national competitions, taking overall honours in the Canberra Carnival and in the Brisbane Nationals and winning the RWA Interstate Challenge and the RWA Brennen Shield. Well done to everyone on contributing to a huge winter.

As usual, thanks to all our officials and helpers who keep the show on the road – sorry if I have missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Stuart Cooper, Paul Kozaris, Michael Brazel, Don McLaren, Matt Owen, Justin McLaren
Course setup: Craig Brill, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Tim Erickson
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Lloyd Nichols, Gordon Loughnan, Brenda Felton, Terry Knape, Michael Bodey
Race Results: Mark Donahoo
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Wendy Cooper, Marlaine Stanway
Photos: Terry Swan (see http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine), Stuart Cooper
Video: Frances Attard

And now onto our races. We finished the season with our annual 'Beat Your Season Best Time' day with prizes on offer for the winner of each division. So the results are a bit more complex than usual, showing the walker's time, his/her best time for the season, the difference and the placing in that competition. The 10km events saw PBs by Jmara Hockley Samon (57:54) and Jason Kozica (53:39) and great first up 10km walks by Nathan Brill (48:00 at 14 years of age!), Kyle Swan (55:18 at 11 years of age!) and Hilary Brazel (58:40). Wow, what a way to finish the season.

10km Open                   Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Jmara Hockley-Samon      57:10    57:53      -0:43    1
2. Hilary Brazel            58:40
   Chloe McNicol-Davidson   DNF

1. Nathan Brill             48:00
2. Jason Kozica             53:39    54:29      -0:50    1
3. Kyle Swan                55:18
   Bob Gardiner             DNF

The 5km events saw Georgia Gatens and Aaron McDonough take the honours in the 'Beat Your Time' competition while Stuart Kollmorgen and Pam Tindal were the fastest overall. Jasmine Irshad walked her first ever 5km race and her time of 28:13 was a great first up.

5km Open                    Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Pam Tindal               25:43    25:41      +0:02    3
2. Jasmine Irshad           28:13
3. Gwen Steed               31:48    30:21      +1:27    4
4. Robyn Shaw               32:08    32:51      -0:43    2
5. Celia Johnson            34:26
6. Georgia Gatens           34:40    37:02      -2:22    1

1. Stuart Kollmorgan        24:01    24:06      -0:05    2
2. Paul Kennedy             25:10    24:20      +0:50    6
3. Josh Dillon              25:11    24:00      +1:11    7
4. Mark Donahoo             25:32    24:52      +0:40    5
5. Aaron McDonough          26:18    26:31      -0:13    1
6. Alan Lucas               28:28    28:23      +0:05    3
7. David Armstrong          29:06
8. Barrie Wicks             36:20    35:44      +0:36    4
   Robin Wood               DNF
   Harry Summers            DNF
   Gordon Onley             DQ

In the 3km Open events, Kylie Irshad and Josh Kaiser took fastest times while Josh and Kirstin Shaw won the 'Beat Your Season Best' competitions. In the 3km U15 events, Connor McShanag took the double while the honours were shared between Paige De Lisen and Amelia Finnegan in the girls' event.

3km Open                    Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Kylie Irshad             14:53
2. Heather Carr             15:48    15:35      +0:13    2
3. Kirstin Shaw             16:24    16:53      -0:29    1
4. Bianca Attard            17:39    15:56      +1:43    5
5. Anna Wallace             18:36    17:28      +1:08    3
6. Donna Elms               18:44    17:31      +1:13    4

1. Josh Kaiser              15:10    15:20      -0:10    1

3km Under 15                Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Amelia Finnegan          15:15    14:54      +0:21    3
2. Megan Walker             17:23    16:54      +0:29    4
3. Paige De Lisen           17:33    17:34      -0:01    1
4. Stacey McLaren           21:08    21:03      +0:05    2
5. Anaya Hodges             23:26    21:09      +1:17    5

1. Connor McShanag          14:53    14:46      +0:07    1
2. Aaron Tam                16:19    15:46      +0:33    2
   Reese Walmsley           DQ

The U12 walks saw some fast times with Jemima Montag (10:08), Harry Hockley-Samon (10:41), Emily Hamilton (10:45) and Cooper Owen (10:45) all well under 11 minutes. The Season Best competitions were won by Emily and Harry. Jayah and Kurtis Mathews from RWCWA had their first walk with us since relocating to Melbourne from Perth – welcome aboard!. We hope you enjoy competing with us.

2km Under 12                Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Jemima Montag            10:08    09:44      +0:24    5
2. Emily Hamilton           10:45    10:44      +0:01    1
3. Lauren Collis            11:07    10:54      +0:13    3
4. Shelby Kay               11:19    11:07      +0:12    2
5. Jayah Mathews            12:17
6. Jessica Lillie           12:26    11:52      +0:34    6
7. Charlee Harrison         12:57    12:35      +0:22    4
8. Charisma Boothroyd       13:26    12:38      +0:48    7

1. Harry Hockley-Samon      10:41    11:01      -0:20    1
2. Cooper Owen              10:45    10:16      +0:29    2
3. Kurtis Mathews           13:35

The U9 walks saw Kathleen O'Mahony and Ethan Wright win the 'Beat Your Season Best' competitions while Mikhala Hodges and Hayden Walmsley were the fastest. We also saw first up walks by Justin and Caine Brill and I thought that the boys walked pretty well. Zara Irshad also had her first walk, no doubt watched by mum Kylie.

1km Under 9                 Time     Best time  Diff    'Beat Season Best' Place
1. Mikhala Hodges           05:45    05:23      +0:22    6
2. Chelsea Owen-Smith       05:48    05:40      +0:08    3
3. Brianna Lillie           05:52    05:31      +0:21    5
4. Kathleen O'Mahony        05:54    06:04      -0:10    1
5. Lee Taylor               06:30    06:05      +0:25    7
6. Payton Kay               06:36    06:34      +0:02    2
7. Frances Collis           07:07    06:50      +0:17    4
   Zara Irshad              DNF

1. Hayden Walmsley          06:10    05:59      +0:11    2
2. Ethan Wright             06:17    06:15      +0:02    1
3. Justin Brill             06:24
4. Caine Brill              06:37

VRWC ROAD RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 28 AUGUST 2010

With the season quickly drawing to a close, it was a low key racing date at Albert Park on Saturday with 46 walkers racing in absolutely perfect conditions. First thanks as usual to the many people who keep the show on the road every week. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Russ Dickenson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Jason Elms, Don McLaren, Matt Owen, Mark Donahoo
Course setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Tim Erickson, Craig Brill, Damien Elms, Justin McLaren
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Lloyd Nichols, Brenda Felton, Terry Knape, Gordon Loughnan, Zoe Bryson (SA) 
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Marlaine Stanway
Photos: Terry Swan (see http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine)
Video: Fran Attard

Ana now onto the races. Adam Rutter was the star of the show with a storming 10km performance of 40:34. Adam, down from the AIS for a hitout, went straight to the front with a 3:59 first kilometre and from then on, it was just a case of how well he could maintain the pace, and this he did in style. The other big performer of the day was Pam Tindal who won the 8km in a 54 sec PB time of 41:26. Others to walk well were Liz Feldman (34:28 for 6km), Kirstin Shaw (21:33 for 4km) and Michael O'Mahony (19:38 for 4km).

10km Open
1. Adam Rutter           40:34
 
8km Open
1. Pam Tindal            41:26
2. Heather Carr          43:41
   Celia Johnson         DQ

1. Bob Gardiner          50:20
2. Rudolf Skrucany       54:27
 
6km Open
1. Liz Feldman           34:28
2. Donna Elms            37:01
3. Gwen Steed            38:22

1. Alan Lucas            34:55
   Connor McShanag       DNF (2km in 11.37)
 
4km Open
1. Kirstin Shaw          21:33
2. Robyn Shaw            24:59
3. Jan Morrey            25:22
4. Michaela Attard       27:40
5. Georgia Gatens        31:07

1. Michael O'Mahony      19:38
2. Harry Summers         26:16
3. Gordon Onley          28:10
4.  Barrie Wicks         28:52
5.Robin Wood             29:59
6. Lindsay Harrison      30:51
 
4km Under 15
1. Jasmine Irshad        22:31
2. Megan Walker          24:12
3. Emily Swan            26:23
4. Stacey McLaren        26:56
   Caitlin Campbell      DNF (2km in 12.19)
   Beth Barbour          DNF (3km in 19.07)

1. Paul Tremigliozzi     26:38
   Matthew Felton        DNF (2km in 9.03)
 
Our U12 and U9 walkers were out in force as usual with outstanding walks from Cassandra Kay - a 16 sec PB of 11:52 - and Frances Collis - a 31 sec PB of 6:60.

Under 12 2km
1. Lauren Collis         11:00
2. Cassandra Kay         11:52
3. Shelby Kay            11:59
4. Jessica Lillie        12:01
5. Charlee Harrison      13:05
6. Charisma Boothroyd    13:48
7. Madeleine Feain       14:22
8. Anaya Hodges          14:23

1. Reese Walmsley        10:43
2. Lachlan Feain         12:50
 
Under 9 1km
1. Mikhala Hodges        05:52
2. Chelsea Owen-Smith    06:00
3. Payton Kay            06:49
4. Frances Collis        06:50

1. Hayden Walmsley       06:15
2. Ethan Wright          06:40 

AUSTRALIAN ROADWALKING CHAMPIONSHIPS, BRISBANE, SUNDAY 22 AUGUST

It was a big day at the University of Queensland at St Lucia in inner Brisbane on Sunday with Athletics Australia joining with Racewalking Australia to present the annual Australian Roadwalking Championships and RWA Second Carnival. The weather was warm (just below 20C) and sunny but not too hot and the course had significant sections of shade to aid the walkers. The course was a bit challenging, being only 1km in total and with a tough little hill up to the top turn and with a downhill start, but the walkers showed their fitness and preparation and most mastered it well. It was only in the shorter event groups that the DQs mounted as the younger walkers, perhaps more used to walking on the flat, obviously found it challenging to handle the ups and downs and keep within the rules. Overall I would rate the day a big success on all fronts. The organisation was first class, the venue was fantastic, the weather was great and the walking was of a high standard.

This was a shared carnival with Athletics Australia awarding Australian Championship medals to the placegetters in the Open 20km and the U20, U18, U16 and U14 events and Racewalking Australia awarding medals to the placegetters in the Masters, U12 and Open Women's 10km divisions as well as medals in all the Teams Events categories. RWA also awarded Handicap Place trophies and trophies in the Invitational events so it was a big presentation ceremony at the end and probably more than half the walkers ended up being recognised and rewarded in some way.

Athletics Australia provided all the major officials and QA / QRWC provided the many additional workers required to ensure that the carnival ran smoothly. A special mention for RWA President David Smith who took on much of the organisational work and brought it all together so successfully on the day.

In a dominant display, VRWC won 7 of the 12 Teams events on offer as well as snatching the Brennen Shield as the best RWA team performance over the two major carnivals for 2010.

The VRWC team was ably led by our many individual medallists

Gold      Chris Erickson       Open Men 20 km        1:24:45
          Pam Tindal           Masters Women 10km    0:55:59
          Beth Alexander       U20 Women 10km        0:50:29
          Nathan Brill         U16 Boys 5km          0:22:59
          Jmara Hockley-Samon  U16 Girls 5km         0:25:59
          Rachel Tallent       U18 Girls 5km         0:25:12

Silver    Kirstin Shaw         U20 Women 10km        0:55:52
          Georgia Bertrand     U12 Girls 2km         0:11:25

Bronze    Kelly Ruddick        U20 Women 20km        1:42:32   
          Hayley George        U12 Girls 2km         0:12:06
          Hilary Brazel        U18 Girls 5km         0:26:00

And now onto the results of all VRWC walkers.

Event 1: Men 20 km Race Walk Open, 8:00AM
1  Chris Erickson          29    AIS/VRWC  1:24:45
4  Rhydian Cowley          19    VRWC      1:35:47
6  Daniel Payne            20    VRWC      1:46:02
10 Aaron McDonough         38    VRWC      1:58:57

Event 2:   Men 10 km Race Walk Under 20, 8:00AM
10 Lewis Clark             16    VRWC      0:53:41
15 Cody McNicol - Davidson 12    VRWC

Event 3:  Men 10 km Race Walk Under 18, 8:00AM
4  Lewis Clark             16    VRWC      0:53:41
8  Cody McNicol - Davidson 12    VRWC      1:09:32

Event 4: Women 20 km Race Walk Open, 8:05AM
3  Kelly Ruddick           37    VRWC      1:42:32

Event 5:  Women 10 km Race Walk RWA Open, 8:05AM
   Kelly Ruddick #         37    VRWC      0:48:57
5  Kylie Irshad            39    VRWC      0:55:59
6  Pam Tindal *            51    VRWC      0:55:59
7  Caitlin Brunton         21    VRWC      1:01:17
12 Robyn Shaw *            49    VRWC      1:09:23
14 Celia Johnson *         63    VRWC      1:10:17

* These walkers, being 40+, are also eligible to contest the RWA Masters 20 km championship
# Walkers in the Open 20km event can use their 10km splits are eligible for Teams and Brennen Shield Points provided they finish their 20km event.

Event 6:  Women 10 km Race Walk Under 20, 8:05AM
1  Beth Alexander          18    VRWC      0:50:29
2  Kirstin Shaw            19    VRWC      0:55:52
5  Bianca Attard           15    VRWC      1:03:59
6  Chloe Mcnicol-Davidson  14    VRWC      1:06:41

Event 7:  Boys 2 km Race Walk RWA Under 12, 9:25AM
   Harry Hockley Samon     10    VRWC      DQ

Event 8:  Girls 2 km Race Walk RWA Under 12, 9:25AM
2  Georgia Bertrand        10    VRWC      0:11:25
3  Hayley George           10    VRWC      0:12:06
7  Chelsea Owen-Smith      10    VRWC      0:12:35
8  Tegan Miller             9    VRWC      0:13:04

Event 9:  Men 3 km Race Walk Under 14, 9:45AM
4  Cooper Owen             12    VRWC      0:17:18
5  Jeremiah Jones          13    VRWC      0:17:49
7  Cody McNicol - Davidson 12    VRWC      0:20:15
   Kyle Swan               11    VRWC      DQ

Event 10:  Women 3 km Race Walk Under 14, 9:45AM
5  Jasmine Irshad          13    VRWC      0:16:06
6  Emily Hamilton          12    VRWC      0:16:33
7  Megan Walker            13    VRWC      0:16:33
20 Rebecca Campbell        13    VRWC      0:20:45

Event 11:  Men 5 km Race Walk Under 16, 10:05AM
1  Nathan Brill            14    VRWC      0:22:59
5  Jared Walker            15    VRWC      0:24:56
6  Connor McShanag         14    VRWC      0:25:47
9  Lucas Taylor            14    VRWC      0:27:02
10 Joshua Savage           15    VRWC      0:34:02

Event 12:  Women 5 km Race Walk Under 16, 10:05AM
1  Jmara Hockley Samon     15    VRWC      0:25:59
4  Stephanie George        14    VRWC      0:27:13
5  Amelia Finnegan         15    VRWC      0:27:21
8  Sarah Burren            14    VRWC      0:27:57
10 Amanda Heard            15    VRWC      0:28:14
11 Ebony Whiley            15    VRWC      0:28:27
15 Carly Bertrand          14    VRWC      0:30:29

Event 13:  Women 5 km Race Walk Under 18, 10:30AM
1  Rachel Tallent          17    VRWC      0:25:12
3  Hilary Brazel           17    VRWC      0:26:00
5  Cassandra Raselli       16    VRWC      0:26:31
7  Caitlin Campbell        16    VRWC      0:32:16
9  Emily Payne             17    VRWC      0:35:50
   Amy Burren              16    VRWC      DNF

VRWC ROAD RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 21 AUGUST 2010

With some 50 walkers in Brisbane for the National Roadwalking championships, the weekly VRWC road races at Albert Park were a smaller affair than usual but we still had 35 walkers there, including Tasmanian visitor David Moore and there was some good walking on show. Thanks to Stuart Cooper for writing up the results and emailing them to me in Brisbane so that the newsletter could proceed as usual! The conditions were perhaps best summed up by Rudolf Skrucany who wrote: Before the start it was freezing and windy, I dressed up too much, we had bit of rain at the start and during the first lap, then suddenly the rain and wind stopped, the sun came out and I overheated! Ah, the Melbourne weather – how I miss it in Queensland!

A few walks deserve special mention – Heather Carr zoomed around the 3km in 15:19, some 11 secs faster than her own W60 World Track Record of 15:30.7, set earlier this year on the track at Frankston. Liz Feldman, also now in the W60 division, blitzed the 5km field with a time of 28:09, 34 secs faster than she has done over the last few years. With the girls in training for next year's World Masters Champs in Sacramento, the momentum is building. At the other end of the age scale, Gabriella Crea walked a 37 sec PB in the U12 2.5km, finishing with 14:56.

5km Open
1. Feldman, Liz            28.09
2. Thompson, Alison        29.36
3. Elms, Donna             30.04
4. Steed, Gwen             31.03
 
1 . Evans, Simon           26.31
2. Bennett, Ralph          27.30
3. Lucas, Alan             28.53
4. Skrucany, Rudolf        32.52
5. Jenkins, Lou            34.46  
6. Moore, David (Tas)      34.53
7. Wicks, Barrie           35.56

3km Open 
1. Carr, Heather           15.19
2. Wallace, Anna           17.51
3. Holmes, Janet           19.02
4. Gatens, Georgia         20.29
5. Harrison, Maryanne      21.42
      
1. Seid-Christmass, James  14.54
2. Barrow, Geoff           19.35
3. Onley, Gordon           20.26

3km U15 
1.  McLaren, Stacey        20.27
   
1. Tam, Aaron              15.50
2. Tremigliozzi, Paul      19.44

2.5km U12 
1. Crea, Gabriella         14.56
2. Lillie, Jessica         15.44
3. Hodges, Anaya           16.29
4. Boothroyd, Charisma     17.13
5. Feain, Madeleine        17.56
  
1. Feain, Lachlan          16.59
   Walmsley, Reece         DQ

1.5km U9    
1. Walmsley, Hayden         9.07
2. Wright, Ethan            9.51

1. Hodges, Mikhala          8.21
2. Lillie, Brianna          8.22
E3.DeLisen, Paige           9.14
E3.Harrison, Charlee        9.14
   

VRWC ROAD RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 14 AUGUST 2010

Our final point scoring day of the season saw walkers battling gale force winds as Melbourne battened down to a day of tempestuous weather. But it did not deter the 73 determined walkers who were after one final chance to add to their points in the Handicap, Actual Time and Style Award points. First thanks to our many officials and helpers who kept the show on the road. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Course Setup: Harry Summers, Peter Vysma, Damien Elms, Craig Brill
Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Stuart Cooper, Paul Kozaris, Matt Owen, Don McLaren
Judges: Peter Vysma (chief), Terry Knape, Graham George, Brenda Felton, Ralph Bennett, Lloyd Nicholls
Canteen: Joyce Summers, Marlaine Stanway, Wendy Cooper
Bike: Justin McLaren, Damien Elms
Video: Frances Attard
Photos: Simon Baker, Steve Lillie – see http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine 

Handicap Starts were used for our Open and Under 15 walkers with our slower walkers starting first and our fastest walkers starting last. The idea is simple – the first walker to complete the race wins the handicap event.  Thus the results show the walker's Start Time, Finish Time and Actual Time and the finishing results are in order of Handicap Placings. These events are a bit of work to organise but are always exciting events and Saturday was no exception.

Our longest event was over the 8km distance and the tough windy conditions took their toll with quite a few withdrawals as the race progressed. Chloe McNicol-Davidson and Jason Kozica walked excellent races and each won convincingly in their respective handicap events by over 2 minutes. Pam Tindal and Jason were also fastest times.
 
8km Open Handicap Start      Start Time  Finish Time  Act Time  Act Place
1. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe   00:00       52:50        52:50     3
2. Tindal, Pam               11:44       55:03        43:19     1
3. Thompson, Alison          06:38       56:44        50:06     2
 
1. Kozica, Jason             11:23       53:07        41:44     1
2. Summers, Harry            00:48       55:39        54:51     3
3. Evans, Simon              12:37       54:31        41:54     2
   Lucas, Alan               08:16       DQ
   Dickenson, Russ           07:16       DNF
   Felton, Matthew           14:33       DNF
   Brill, Nathan             17:20       DNF
   O'Mahony, Michael         15:14       DNF
 
Our 4km Handicap event was the big drawcard of the day with 25 walkers contesting it. Michaela Attard and Josh Kaiser were first to finish, Michaela holding on from a start near the front and Josh coming through from near the backmarkers. Fastest times went to Kirstin Shaw and Mark Donahoo. Special mention to Tony Doran who was hit by a golf ball while walking – and he still finished, even if a bit the worse for wear. Yes, walking is a sport for tough individuals!

4km Open  Handicap Start     Start Time  Finish Time  Act Time  Act Place
1. Attard, Michaela          01:33       28:08        26:35     11
2. Shaw, Kirstin             07:48       28:36        20:48     1
3. Harrison, Maryanne        00:46       28:53        28:07     12
4. Johnson, Celia            02:51       29:16        26:25     10
5. Carr, Heather             08:28       29:23        20:55     3
6. Morrey, Jan               04:22       29:30        25:08     8
7. Elms, Donna               05:46       29:34        23:48     5
8. Steed, Gwen               05:22       29:39        24:17     6
9. Holmes, Janet             04:37       29:39        25:02     7
10.Feldman, Liz              06:58       29:49        22:51     4
11.Gatens, Georgia           01:54       30:23        28:29     13
12.Irshad, Kylie             09:37       30:30        20:53     2
13.Wallace, Anna             06:13       31:39        25:26     9
 
1. Kaiser, Joshua            08:57       29:07        20:10     3
2. Onley, Gordon             01:32       29:15        27:43     9
3. Doran, Anthony            04:23       29:20        24:57     7
4. McDonough, Aaron          08:50       29:39        20:49     5
5. Wicks, Barrie             01:25       29:49        28:24     10
6. Seid-Christmass, James    09:56       29:57        20:01     2
7. Donahoo, Mark             10:23       30:06        19:43     1
8. Wood, Robin               00:00       30:08        30:08     12
9. Elms, Jason               06:56       30:33        23:37     6
10.Barrow, Geoff             04:11       30:36        26:25     8
11.Conboy, Bruce             01:52       30:38        28:46     11
12.Kennedy, Paul             10:39       31:14        20:35     4
 
Front marker Stacey McLaren held off all the chasers to convincingly win the U15 Girls' handicap event while in the Boys' event, Aaron Tam had to work hard to hold out a fast finishing Connor McShanag. Jmara Hockley-Samon and Connor were fastest overall

4km Under 15 Handicap Start  Start Time  Finish Time  Act Time  Act Place
1. McLaren, Stacey           00:00       27:01        27:01     7
2. Hockley-Samon, Jmara      07:51       28:23        20:32     1
3. Campbell, Rebecca         01:25       28:26        27:01     8
4. Walker, Megan             05:08       28:52        23:44     6
5. Finnegan, Amelia          07:50       29:17        21:27     3
6. Montag, Jemima            08:12       29:32        21:20     2
7. Bertrand, Carly           06:34       29:37        23:03     4
8. Attard, Bianca            06:17       29:47        23:30     5
   George, Stephanie         07:19       DNF
 
1. Tam, Aaron                07:07       28:20        21:13     2
2. McShanag, Connor          08:44       28:43        19:59     1
3. Owen, Cooper              06:45       29:01        22:16     3
   McNicol-Davidson, Cody    00:34       DNF
 
Our U12 and U9 walkers had normal start races but the results have been adjusted to show handicap placings. In the U12 events, Shelby Kay and Reese Walmsley took handicap honours while Paige De Lisen (who walked a PB in the wind!) and Reese were fastest overall. We put on a special 1500m for Charlee Harrison and she did a PB to record 9:15.

2km Un12 Handicap           Act Time  Act Place
1. Kay, Shelby              11:09     3
2. De Lisen, Paige          10:50     1
3. Kay, Cassandra           12:45     9
4. Lillie, Jessica          12:13     8
5. Hamilton, Emily          11:03     2
6. Crea, Gabbie             12:05     6
7. Bertrand, Georgia        11:47     5
8. Collis, Lauren           11:32     4
9. Hodges, Anaya            12:58     10
10.George, Hayley           12:08     7 
 
1. Walmsley, Reese          10:46     1
2. Feain, Lachlan           13:16     2
3. Davidson, Harley         16:39     3

1.5km Un12
1. Harrison, Charlee    09:15

Frances Collis and Hayden Walmsley were our U9 handicap winners while Mikhala Hodges and Harry Hockley-Samon were our fastest overall.

1km Un9 handicap             Act Time  Act Place
1. Collis, Frances          07:21     8
2. Miller, Tegan            06:08     4
3. Owen-Smith, Chelsea      06:01     3
4. Kay, Payton              07:07     7
5. Hodges, Mikhala          05:42     1
6. Lillie, Brianna          05:55     2
7. Taylor, Lee              06:34     6
8. O'Mahoney, Kathleen      06:16     5
 
1. Walmsley, Hayden         05:59     2
2. Wright, Ethan            06:15     3
3. Hockley-Samon, Harry     05:16     1

AV AND VRWC CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 8 AUGUST 2010

The annual Victorian roadwalking championships were held at Albert Park last Sunday in cold but sunny conditions with a breeze that picked up as the morning progressed. The depth of Victorian walking was in evidence with over 90 walkers competing in a variety of events under both the AV and the VRWC banners. First to our officials and judges without whom our events would not take place. Sorry if I have missed anyone.

Judges: Judy Mason (chief), Peter Vysma, Lloyd Nicholls, Gordon Loughnan, Terry Knape, Harold Boddy, Shane Bertrand, Michael Bodey (DQ Board)
Course setup: Tim Erickson, Peter Vysma, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers
Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Aaron McDonough, Stuart Cooper, Paul Kozaris, Matt Owen, Don McLaren, Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner
Bikes: Jim Leppik, Damien Elms, Bob Gardiner
Photos: Terry Swan (see http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine/)
Video: Fran Attard
AthsVic TV: David Armstrong, Tom Nickson

I'll hand over to Tom Nickson of AV for a description of the blue riband Men's 30km event

Commonwealth Games bound walkers Jared Tallent (Ballarat YCW Harriers Athletic Club) and Chris Erickson (Athletics Essendon) showed their Delhi preparations were well on track, claiming an emphatic one-two finish in the men’s 30 kilometre walk at the Victorian Race Walking Club (VRWC) meet at Albert
Park, this morning. While an assault on Nathan Deakes’ national record (2:05.06) didn’t eventuate, both Tallent and Erickson produced promising times, in one of their final competitive outings before the Games in October.
The Canberra-based duo showed their competitors a clean pair of heels from the outset, surging clear of the seven person field from the gun. Moving through ten kilometres in 42 minutes 41 seconds, the Australian Institute of Sports scholarship holders had established a margin of over two minutes on third place Tom Barnes (Melbourne University Athletic Club) .
Barnes, a national team member at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, earlier this year, withdrew from the race at the 12 kilometre mark due to hamstring soreness.
With the race doubling as the state title for the event, Erickson, 28, was the first to make a break, establishing a 10 metre gap over Tallent as the race approached halfway. The dual Olympic medallist responded to Erickson’s move, reeling him in, passing through the 20 kilometre mark in one hour 24 minutes 55 seconds, 13 seconds to the better of Erickson (1:25.08).
25 year-old Tallent extended his margin across the remainder of the event, stopping the clock at 2:08.27, 62 seconds clear of his training partner and national teammate Erickson (2:09.29), who slashed five and half minutes from his personal best. Box Hill Athletic Club’s Simon Evans, 50, rounded out the podium.
Yet to fine tune his preparations for Delhi, Tallent was nonetheless pleased with his Albert Park hit-out. “At the moment I’m still getting a lot of base work done, before we start getting into our speed work for Delhi, but it was good to come down here and race the 30k,” said Ballarat-born Tallent, who will contest the men’s 20 kilometre walk along with Erickson and New South Wales’ Luke Adams at the Commonwealth Games.
“The race] panned out alright, but it got tough towards the end. It was very windy in the last 10 kilometres – I dropped about a minute of time - but I’m still very happy with the result.”
Obliterating his previous best for the distance, runner-up Erickson was encouraged by his performance, but thought he had the potential to go faster.
“I tend to race myself into shape over 20k, so the target was to come down here and have a good hit-out,” said the Olympic and world championship representative. “I was hoping to go just a little bit quicker than that - training’s been really good – I was hoping to go sub 2:08, and I had that until maybe 12 kilometres to go when I tailed off.”
Both athletes will now return to their Canberra training base ahead of the 2010 Australian Road Walking Championships in Brisbane on Sunday 22nd August, in which they’ll contest the 20 kilometre event.
 
AV 30km Championship           10km     20km       30km
1. TALLENT, JARED       BYC    42:41    1:24:59    2:08:27
2. ERICKSON, CHRIS      ATE    42:41    1:25:12    2:09:29  (PB 3:05)
3. EVANS, SIMON         BOH    57:36    1:56:53    3:10:45
   BARNES, TOM          MUU    46:44               DNF
   KNOX, DUNCAN         ATE    59:02    2:01:04    DNF
   JAMIESON, ANDREW     OSC                        DNS
   DONAHOO, MARK        ATE                        DNS

And now onto the other AV championships which were for U20, U18, U16 and U14 men and women. 2010 World Cup reps Rhydian Cowley (U20 Men - 45:42), Beth Alexander (U20 Women - 49:05) and Rachel Tallent (U18 Women - 24:45) were all winners as expected with Beth only 2 secs outside her PB 10km time of 49:03. Lewis Clark (U18 Men – 49:19) rounded off the quartet  of winners in the U18/U20 sections with a huge PB of nearly 3 minutes. The U18 men were a particularly strong age group with all 5 finishers recording PBs.

AV 10km U20 Men
1. COWLEY, RHYDIAN      GHY    45:42
2. TAM, AARON           KNA    58:00
 
AV 10km U20 Girls
1. ALEXANDER, BETH      KNA    49:05
2. SHAW, KIRSTIN        WES    59:01
3. MCINNES, SIMONE      GHY    65:26
   ATTARD, BIANCA       KNA    DNF
 
AV 10km U18 Men
1. CLARK, LEWIS         CHI    49:19     PB 2:44
2. FELTON, MATT         KNA    50:29     First Time
3. SIMPSON, BRAD        KNA    51:08     PB 1:37
4. O'MAHONY, MICHAEL    KNA    52:38     PB 0:19
5. KAISER, JOSHUA       SCA    53:13     PB 1:16
   DILLON, JOSH         COR    DNS
 
AV 5km U18 Girls
1. TALLENT, RACHEL      BYC    24:45
2. BRAZEL, HILARY       ANW    26:14
3. RASELLI, CASSIE      SCA    26:29
4. PAYNE, EMILY         COR    30:34
5. CAMPBELL, CAITLIN    ATE    31:05
   BURREN, AMY          MAL    DNF

The U16 races saw some wonderful walking and some great battles. Nathan Brill 22:29 was dominant in the Boys' event while Jmara Hockley-Samon 26:08, Stephanie George 26:13 and Amelia Finnegan 26:37 staged a great battle in the Girls' event. The U14 Girls' event also saw another great battle, this time between Zoe Boldiston 14:37 and Jemima Montag 14:45 while the U14 Boys' event saw Kyle Swan a clear winner with 15:52.
 
AV 5km U16 Boys
1. BRILL, NATHAN        BOH    22:29     PB 0:05
2. MCSHANAG, CONNOR     ATE    25:17
3. WALKER, JARED        COR    25:29     PB 1:54
4. TAYLOR, LUCAS        SCA    25:33     PB 3:04
   SAVAGE, JOSH         EAG    DNS
   ANTIDORMI, RYAN      ANW    DNS
 
AV 5km U16 Girls
1. HOCKLEY-SAMON, JMARA CHI    26:08
2. GEORGE, STEPHANIE    SCA    26:13     PB 0:29
3. FINNEGAN, AMELIA     KNA    26:37
4. WHILEY, EBONY        EAG    27:04     PB 0:41
5. HEARD, AMANDA        EAG    27:38
   BURREN, SARAH        MAL    DNF
   CALLAWAY, JESSICA    KNA    DNS
 
AV 3km U14 Boys
1. SWAN, KYLE           KNA    15:52
2. OWEN, COOPER         DIV    16:47
   WALMSLEY, REESE      KNA    DQ
 
AV 3km U14 Girls
1. BOLDISTON, ZOE        SBE    14:37     PB 0:28
2. MONTAG, JEMIMA       MAC    14:45
3. HUNT, TAHLIA         TAS    16:24
4. WALKER, MEGAN        COR    16:54
5. CAMPBELL, REBECCA    ATE    20:01
   IRSHAD, JASMINE      SCA    DNF
   HAMILTON, EMILY      KNA    DNS
 
The carnival also included a number of VRWC Club Championships, the first being the Open Women's 10km. Ballarat based club member Kelly Ruddick produced a huge walk to win with 47:09, a 20 sec PB and a time that pushes her even further up in the current ranking lists. Second place went to AIS visitor and Commonwealth Games rep Claire Tallent who was content with an even paced training session of 48:33. Super masters walkers Pam Tindal 53:27 and Heather Carr 54:29 were next in with their usual high standard performances.

VRWC Open Women 10km Club Championship – Mabel Robinson Trophy
1. Ruddick, Kelly          47:09     PB 0:20
2. Tallent, Claire         48:33
3. Tindal, Pam             53:27
4. Carr, Heather           54:29
5. Hammond, Nardene        57:10
6. Feldman, Liz            59:27
7. Brunton, Caitlin        61:20     PB 1:05
8. Elms, Donna             63:08
   Irshad, Kylie           DNF
   Johnson, Celia          DQ

Our U12 and U9 walkers contested 2km Club Championships and large fields guaranteed some superb walking. Kyle Swan, Cooper Owen and Reese Walmsley backed up from their U14 3km walks to take the first 3 places in the U12 Boys' event while Jessie Eastwood, Lauren Collis and Shelby Kay were our U12 Girls' medallists. The U9 medallists were Harry Hockley-Samon, Hayden Walmsley, Ethan Wright, Mikhala Hodges, Brianna Lillie and Kathleen O'Mahony.
 
VRWC U12 2km Club Championship
1. Swan, Kyle             10:24
2. Owen, Cooper           10:45
3. Walmsley, Reese        11:35
4. McNicol-Davidson, Cody 12:08
5. Feain, Lachlan         12:39
6. Davidson, Harley       15:40
 
1. Eastwood, Jessie       10:48
2. Collis, Lauren         10:54
3. Kay, Shelby            11:15
4. Bertrand, Georgia      11:43
5. Eastwood, Jemma        11:49
6. Crea, Gabriella        11:49
7. Lillie, Jessica        11:54
8. Kay, Cassandra         12:09
9. Harrison, Charlee      12:35
10.Boothroydm Charisma    12:49
11.Feain, Madeleine       14:11
12.Hodges, Anaya          15:31
 
VRWC U9 2km Club Championship
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry   11:01
2. Walmsley, Hayden       12:39
3. Wright, Ethan          12:52
 
1. Hodges, Mikhala        11:50
2. Lillie, Brianna        11:57
3. O'Mahony, Kathleen     12:14
4. Miller, Tegan          12:29
5. Owen-Smith, Chelsea    12:45
6. Taylor, Lee            13:04
7. Peart, Jemma           13:04
8. Kay, Payton            14:24

Finally to two non-championship club races. The 3 Hour walk attracted a small number of entrants keen to test themselves over a longer timeframe and all were able to keep to the task and complete the full time allotment. Russ Dickenson was the best of them, completing 26.5km in his longest ever walk. In the Open 5km event, James Seid-Christmass 25:25 and Carly Bertrand 29:36 were our fastest male and female walkers.
 
VRWC 3 Hour Walk
1. Dickenson, Russ        26.5km in 3:02:27
2. Timms, John            24.0km in 3:00:07
3. Poore, Alex            22.5km in 3:00:25
4. Skrucany, Rudolf       22.0km in 2:59:20
 
VRWC 5km Walk
1. Seid-Christmass, James 25:25
2. Kozica, Jason          25:31
3. McDonough, Aaron       26:31
4. Bennett, Ralph         27:50
5. Bertrand, Carly        29:36
6. Irshad, Kylie          29:37
7. McLaren, Stacey        36:33
8. Onley, Gordon          37:23

VRWC ROADWALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 31 JULY 2010

First, a final note on last weekend's  IBTA Fundraising – our effort has now been acknowledged on their results webpage – see http://www.theibta.org/2010completedevents.html. And now onto this week which was a normal club points day which saw 77 walkers in attendance. Once again we struck it lucky with quite a good day weather wise – sunny but cool with a fair breeze. I'll start this report by thanking the many people who help to keep the show on the road – sorry if I missed anyone.

Judges: Peter Vysma, Gordon Loughnan, Terry Knape, Shane Bertrand, Lloyd Nicholls, Brenda Felton, Michael Bodey
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Craig Brill, Peter Vysma, Jason Elms, Tim Erickson
Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Michael Brazel, Paul Kozaris, Matt Owen, Don McLaren, Stuart Cooper
Results: Mark Donahoo
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Terry Swan – see http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine/
Video: Frances Attard – see last week's video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpOmdPOKiCs

The 10km Open saw a huge effort by 14 year old Lucas Taylor whose time of 55:59 was outstanding. Not to be outdone, Josh Kaiser and Jason Kozica walked their first ever 10km races, finishing together in 54:29. Further back, Cody and Chloe McNicol-Davidson walked their own PBs with 68:32 and 71:43.

10km  Open                           Handicap
1. Tindal, Pam              54:44    2
2. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe  68:32    1     PB 33 secs

1. Jamieson, Andrew         50:44    5
2. Kaiser, Josh             54:29    2     First ever
3. Kozica, Jason            54:29         First ever
4. Taylor, Lucas            55:59    1     PB 7:56
5. Mirarchi, Nicholas       59:30    7
6. Dickenson, Russ          59:44    4
7. McNicol-Davidson, Cody   71:43    3     PB 24 secs
8. Skrucany, Rudolf         77:22    6
   Dillon, Josh             DNF
 
The 5km and 3km Open events were well supported with large fields and PBs from Kirstin Shaw 26:47, Michael O'Mahony 13:41  and Brad Simpson 13:57. Not surprisingly, Kirstin and Michael were handicap winners. The other handicap winners were Annemaree Gerlich with 17:39 and Harry Summers with 32:48. We also welcomed Alex Garber who had his first ever walk in the 3km race, recording an excellent 19:59.

5km  Open                            Handicap     
1. Brazel, Hilary           26:33    8
2. Shaw, Kirstin            26:47    1     PB 58 secs
3. Irshad, Kylie            27:43    9
4. Feldman, Liz             28:43    3
5. Elms, Donna              30:43    6
6. Steed, Gwen              31:00    4
7. Morrey, Jan              31:49    2
8. Johnson, Celia           33:58    5
9. Shaw, Robyn              34:29    7

1. Donahoo, Mark            25:03    5
2. Bennett, Ralph           28:04    3
3. Lucas, Alan              28:23    2
4. Gardiner, Bob            29:57    4
5. Summers, Harry           32:48    1
   Wicks, Barrie            DQ     
 
3km  Open                            Handicap
1. Carr, Heather            15:35    2
2. Hockley-Samon, Jmara     16:21    7
3. Gerlich, Annemaree       17:39    1
4. Holmes, Janet            18:51    6
5. Campbell, Rebecca        20:22    8
6. Gatens, Georgia          20:33    4
7. Attard, Michaela         20:48    5
8. Harrison, Maryanne       21:15    3
 
1. O'Mahony, Michael        13:41    1     PB 16 secs
2. Simpson, Bradley         13:57    2     PB 11 secs
3. Seid-Christmass, James   14:33    3
4. Elms, Jason              17:22    5
5. Garber, Alex             19:59   
6. Onley, Gordon            20:51    4
   Barrow, Geoff            DQ     

The Under 15s walked 5km and the results were outstanding. Nathan Brill led the field out with a first kilometre of 4:03 and then settled into a steady rhythm to record a huge PB of 22:34. Matt Felton hung on well behind to record his own PB time of 23:36 and Aaron Tam also walked excellently for a PB of 27:17. For 4 of the girls, it was their attempt at the 5km distance and they also handled it well. Jemima Montag was first home with 26:41 and the handicap winner was Stacey McLaren with 35:20. Special mention to 12 year old Megan Walker who broke 30 mins in her first attempt, recording 29:58.

5km  Under 15                        Handicap
1. Montag, Jemima           26:41    4     First ever
2. George, Stephanie        27:28    3
3. Finnegan, Amelia         27:43    6
4. Walker, Megan            29:58    2     First ever
5. Bertrand, Carly          30:17    5
6. Swan, Emily              35:12    7     First ever
7. McLaren, Stacey          35:20    1     First ever

1. Brill, Nathan            22:34    3     PB 31 secs
2. Felton, Matthew          23:36    1     PB 13 secs
3. McShanag, Connor         25:15    4
4. Tam, Aaron               27:17    2     PB 31 secs
 
Like the U15s, the U12s also upped their distance this week and challenged themselves over 3km. For 6 of them, it was their first time over this distance and, of the other 7, we had 4 PBs. Emily Hamilton 17:02 and Kyle Swan 15:32 were our fastest while Cassandra Kay 19:36 and Reese Walmsley 15:53 were our handicap winners.

3km  Under 12                        Handicap
1. Hamilton, Emily          17:02    5
2. De Lisen, Paige          17:34    3     PB 11 secs
3. Kay, Shelby              18:07    6     First ever
4. Crea, Gabriella          18:37    2     PB 1:36
5. Lillie, Jessica          18:39    4     First ever
6. Kay, Cassandra           19:36    1     First ever
7. Segota, Bronte           19:39    7     PB 1:14
8. Boothroyd, Charisma      20:28    8     First ever
9. Hodges, Anaya            21:09    9     First ever

1. Swan, Kyle               15:32    2
2. Walmsley, Reese          15:53    1     PB: 3:26
3. Owen, Cooper             16:13    3
4. Candotti, Sam            22:14    4     First ever
   Davidson, Harley         DQ     

The U9s were also in great form with over half the field recording PBs. Brodie Richardson 8:23 and Harry Hockley-Samon 7:50 were our fastest while Payton Kay 10:09 and Harry took handicap honours. Others getting a special mention include Tegan Miller 8:54, Lee Taylor 9:40 and Livinia Mason 10:37.

1.5km  Under 9                       Handicap
1. Richardson, Brodie       08:23    7     Equal PB
2. Hodges, Mikhala          08:46    9
3. Miller, Tegan            08:54    2     PB 20 secs
4. Lillie, Brianna          08:57    8
5. O'Mahoney, Kathleen      09:09    5
6. Harrison, Charlee        09:25    6
7. Taylor, Lee              09:40    4     PB 33 secs
8. Kay, Payton              10:09    1     PB 28 secs
9. Mason, Livinia           10:37    3     PB 54 secs

1. Hockley-Samon, Harry     07:50    1     PB 20 secs
2. Walmsley, Hayden         09:24    3
3. Wright, Ethan            09:40    2     PB 3 secs
4. Candotti, Noah           11:17    4

VRWC – RWA INTERSTATE CHALLENGE, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 24 JULY 2010

Our annual Racewalking Australia Interstate Challenge day went of well with 74 walkers racing in perfect conditions at Albert Park on Saturday. With a large variety of events to be filled and with all our events running concurrently, walkers had to nominate their distance and age group and they all seemed to get it right as we had at least one finisher in every division – for the first time in a number of years. Once all the RWA clubs have submitted their results from their home States, Mark Donahoo will work out the final results – fingers crossed!

The Masters, Open and U20 walkers all contested 10km. The Masters performances will be rated on Age Graded Tables so I have added these figures into their results. On this basis, our top Masters were Heather Carr (94.93%) and Ralph Bennett (87.47%) but the standard was high overall with 6 of the 12 Masters finishers rating above 80% on their performances. Heather and Pam Tindal walked together to finish in a fast 54:33 while other women to do well included Liz Feldman (breaking 60 mins yet again) and Donna Elms (1+ min PB with 62:45). In the Masters men, Ralph Bennett 57:25 and Alan Lucas 58:41 both walked excellently as did Rudolf Skrucany who did a big season best with 66:59. Our Masters category continues to be perhaps our strongest division overall.

Masters 10km
E1 Carr, Heather             54:33     94.93%
E1 Tindal, Pam               54:33     85.04%
3. Feldman, Liz              59:12     88.59%
4. Thompson, Alison          62:30     79.94%
5. Elms, Donna               62:45     73.21%
6. Steed, Gwen               64:59     88.99%
7. Johnson, Celia            69:19     76.64%
8. Shaw, Robyn               69:49     65.80%
 
1. Bennett, Ralph            57:25     87.47%
2. Lucas, Alan               58:41     80.08%
3. Dickenson, Russ           62:46     76.46%
4. Skrucany, Rudolf          66:59     65.67%
   Summers, Harry            DNF
   McDonough, Aaron          DNF
   Wood, Robin               DNF

Kylie Irshad 53:41 and Mark Donahoo 51:30 were our fastest Open 10km walkers while in the U20 divisions, we were lucky enough to be able to count the overseas performances of Regan Lamble 47:55 and Rhydian Cowley 44:49 from Canada, both being walked in the same week. The U20 division also saw big PBs to Kirstin Shaw (a 90 sec PB with 55:55), Simone McInnes (a first ever time of 64:02) and Chloe McNicol-Davidson (a 1 minute PB with 69:05).

Open 10km
1. Irshad, Kylie             53:41
2. Hammond, Nardene          59:08
   Brunton, Caitlin          DNF
 
1. Donahoo, Mark             51:30
 
Under 20 10km
1. Lamble, Regan             47:55     (Canada)
2. Shaw, Kirstin             55:55
3. McInnes, Simone           64:02
4. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe   69:05
 
1. Cowley, Rhydian           44:49     (Canada)
   McNicol-Davidson, Cody    DNF
 
Our U18, U16 and U14 saw great times galore as our young walkers revelled in the competitive atmosphere – PBs and great first time performances noted below. It's hard to choose but special mentions to Jemima Montag a wonderful exhibition of sustained speed walking to blitz the U14 fields with 14:44, Nathan Brill 23:32 and Matt Felton 23:49 battling out the u16 5km, Michael O'Mahony 39:24 and Brad Simpson 39:33 walking huge U18 8km times and showing that they are now ready to break the 10km 50 minute barrier now, Hilary Brazel doing a 3 min PB to place us very competitively in the women's  U18 8km event, Connor McShanag a big PB in walking 25:05 in the U16 5km (this time would normally win this division but the competition is indeed hot this year!) and finally Kyle Swan who helped us out by walking the U14 event rather than the U12 and was rewarded with a great time of 15:46.

Under 18 8km
1. Brazel, Hilary            43:32      (3 min PB)
   Campbell, Caitlin         DNF
 
1. O'Mahony, Michael         39:24      (big first up time)
2. Simpson, Bradley          39:33      (big first up time)
3. Kaiser, Josh              43:09      (49 sec PB)
 
Under 16 5km
1. Finnegan, Amelia          25:36      (11 sec PB)
2. George, Stephanie         26:42      (62 sec PB)
3. Hockley-Samon, Jmara      26:44
4. Raselli, Cassandra        27:18
5. Attard, Bianca            29:03
 
1. Brill, Nathan             23:32
2. Felton, Matthew           23:49      (20 sec PB)
3. McShanag, Connor          25:05      (98 sec PB)
 
Under 14 3km
1. Montag, Jemima            14:44      (3 sec PB)
2. Hamilton, Emily           16:04      (68 sec PB)
3. Bertrand, Carly           16:31      (14 sec PB)
4. Walker, Megan             16:59
5. Barbour, Beth             18:18
6. Collis, Lauren            18:32      (first ever 3km)
7. Swan, Emily               20:07
8. Campbell, Rebecca         20:14
9. McLaren, Stacey           21:03
   Irshad, Jasmine           DNF
 
1. Swan, Kyle                15:46
 
The final RWA events to get underway were the U12 2km and the U10 1.5km and, once again, the walking was hot. Cooper Owen 10:30 and Paige De Lisen 11:18 were clear winners in the U12 while Hayley George 8:25 and Harry Hockley-Samon 8:16 were the best of the U10.

Under 12 2km
1. De Lisen, Paige          11:18
2. Bertrand, Georgia        11:51
3. Lillie, Jessica          11:58
4. Crea, Gabriella          12:24
5. Boothroyd, Charisma      12:41
 
1. Owen, Cooper             10:30
2. Walmsley, Reese          11:26
3. Feain, Lachlan           12:39
4. Davidson, Harley         16:30
 
Under 10 1.5km
1. George, Hayley           08:25
2. Hodges, Mikhala          08:35
3. Lillie, Brianna          08:37
4. O'Mahony, Kathleen       08:42
5. Owen-Smith, Chelsea      09:04
6. Miller, Tegan            09:14
7. Harrison, Charlee        09:17
8. Montag, Piper            09:45 
   Collis, Frances          DQ
 
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry     08:16
2. Walmsley, Hayden         09:03
3. Wright, Ethan            09:43
 
As usual, we scheduled a 3km club race for anyone who just wanted a hitout and a number of walkers availed themselves of the opportunity. James Seid-Christmass was back to his best with a very fast 14:27 ahead of Nicholas Mirarchi with 16:17.

Open 3km
1. Seid-Christmass, James   14:27
2. Mirarchi, Nicholas       16:17
3. Elms, Jason              16:38
4. Morrey, Jan              18:56
5. Onley, Gordon            20:54
6. Wicks, Barrie            21:03
 
Finally, thanks to our list of officials – we needed a lot of help on Saturday for such a big program and , as usual, lots of people put their hands up. Sorry if I missed anyone.
 
Judges: Gordon Loughnan (Chief), Peter Vysma, Terry Knape, Shane Bertrand, Kathleen Marsh, Brenda Felton, Lloyd Nicholls, Judy Mason (DQ Board), Graham George (DQ Board)
Officials: Harry Summers, Tim Erickson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Stuart Cooper, Paul Kozaris, Mark O'Mahony, Michael Brazel, Damien Elms, Justin McLaren, Don McLaren, Tina Miller, Craig Brill
Canteen: Kate Suich, Joyce Summers
Photos: Terry Swan
Video: Frances Attard

ATHLETICS VICTORIA ROADWALK CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, SUNDAY 18 JULY 2010

We travelled to Ballarat on Sunday for the Victorian Open 15km championship and the Victorian Country championships. Ballarat Racewalking Club President Daryl Biggin had sourced a course in a newly setup industrial estate in Alfredton and it turned out to be a beauty, dead flat with no sharp turns. The great times across the board tell the story; it was a freezing day but the walkers, once they warmed up, were up to the task and clocked some great performances. I am sure we will be keen to return to this course again if the situation permits.

Tom Barnes 1:09:07 and Kelly Ruddick 1:12:02 became our Victorian 15km champions with finely judged walks. In fact, Kelly did a 10km PB 47:29 on her way through. For Tom, it was his first hitout since representing Australia in the World Cup in Mexico in May and he was pleased with his form.Heather Carr, in second place in the women's race, set a new Victorian W60 record with her time of 1:24:48.

A.V. 15KM OPEN MEN     
1. Barnes, Thomas          MUU    1:09:07
2. Jamieson, Andrew        OSC    1:16:55
3. Knox, Duncan            ATE    1:24:54
   Payne, Daniel           COR    DNF
   Dickenson, Russ         SCA    DNF
   Evans, Simon            BOH    DNS
   Bennett, Ralph          INV    DQ
 
A.V. 15KM OPEN WOMEN
1. Ruddick, Kelly          BHA    1:12:02
2. Carr,  Heather          EAG    1:24:48
3. Hammond, Nardene        ATE    1:29:03
   Major, Annette          EAG    DNS
 
The Country championships saw small fields but the quality made up for the lack of numbers. Former Victorian Junior walk champion Daniel Payne showed that he is regaining his fitness with a good 49:12 to win the 10km Open alongside Kelly Ruddick who took the double with 47:29. Down the ranks, PBs were done by Joshua Kaiser 24:34, Carly Bertrand 28:45 (her first ever 5km), Josh Dillon 22:32 and Lewis Clark 22:51 (what a race that was), Joshua Savage 17:22, Stephanie George 14:34, Ebony Whiley 15:20, Megan Walker 15:58 and Shae Ohlsen 20:40. Very impressive!

A.V. 10KM COUNTRY OPEN MEN     
1. Payne, Daniel           COR    49:12
2. Dickenson, Russ         SCA    58:00
3. Blood, Andrew           BYC    60:54
 
A.V. 10KM COUNTRY OPEN WOMEN
1. Ruddick, Kelly          BHA    47:29
2. Carr, Heather           EAG    56:30
3. Hammond, Nardene        ATE    59:23
   Major, Annette          EAG    DNS
 
A.V. 5KM COUNTRY U20 MEN
1. Kaiser, Joshua          SCA    24:34
 
A.V. 5KM COUNTRY U20 WOMEN
   Bertrand, Carly         INV    28:45
   Raselli, Cassandra      SCA    DNS
 
A.V. 5KM COUNTRY U18 MEN
1. Dillon, Joshua          COR    22:32
2. Clark, Lewis            CHI    22:51
 
A.V. 5KM COUNTRY U18 WOMEN
1. Tallent, Rachel         BYC    24:02
   Stadus, Lauren          KNA    DNS
   Payne, Emily            COR    DNS
 
A.V. 3KM COUNTRY U16 BOYS
1. Savage, Joshua          EAG    17:22
 
A.V. 3KM COUNTRY U16 GIRLS
1. George, Stephanie       SCA    14:34
2. Hockley-Samon, Jmara    CHI    14:57
3. Whiley, Ebony           EAG    15:20
 
A.V. 3KM COUNTRY U14 BOYS
No Entrants
 
A.V. 3KM COUNTRY U14 GIRLS
1. Walker, Megan           COR    15:58
2. Ohlsen, Shae            INV    20:40
 
We also scheduled Racewalking Victoria championships for U10 and U12 and a number of walkers from VRWC and Ballaerat Racewalking Club availed themselves of the opportunity. Georgia Bertrand 11:07, Harry Hockley-Samon 5:15 and Hayley George 5:10 were the winners. An Open 5km walk was also scheduled and Simon Evans, who arrived late and missed the 15km start, at least did get a hitout for the day, recording 24:27.

RACEWALKING VICTORIA 2KM 12 GIRLS
1. Bertrand, Georgia       VRWC   11:07
2. Kay, Shelby             VRWC   11:23
3. Peart, Jemma            BALL   13:14
4. Lotherington, Katelyn   BALL   13:52
                 
RACEWALKING VICTORIA 1KM U10 BOYS                 
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry    VRWC   05:15
2. Wright, Ethan           VRWC   06:26
                 
RACEWALKING VICTORIA 1KM U10 GIRLS                 
1. George, Hayley          VRWC   05:10
2. Peart, Jemma            BALL   06:27
3. Lotherington, Katelyn   BALL   06:32
                 
OPEN 15KM WALK                 
1. Evans, Simon            VRWC   24:27

VRWC ROADWALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 17 JULY 2010

With a major Victorian Cross Country title on concurrently and with the Victorian Country roadwalking championships on Sunday, we did not expect to see a big turnout at Albert Park on Saturday but we were surprised by the large field of 81 walkers who turned out to contest our next round of club races. The weather wasn't too bad either with overcast cool conditions and a bit of wind.
 
The 10km events saw Kylie Irshad 53:05 and Aaron McDonough 56:39 take line honours while Kirstin Shaw 57:22 (a PB by over 2 minutes!) and Alan Lucas 58:52 took handicap honours. Liz Feldman 59:50 also walked excellently to break 60 minutes for the first time while Chloe McNicol-Davidson also took a big chunk off her PB with 70:03. Talk about a hard handicap to win!

10km  Open                         Handicap Place
1. Kylie Irshad           53:05    4
2. Kirstin Shaw           57:22    1
3. Gayle McIntyre         57:51    5
4. Liz Feldman            59:50    3
5. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 70:03    2
 
1. Aaron McDonough        56:39    4
2. Alan Lucas             58:52    1
3. Robert Gardiner        64:04    3
4. Harry Summers          88:22    2
 
The 5km events saw Pam Tindal 25:54 and Nathan Brill 23:23 the fastest in each division but Jason Kozica was my pick for walk of the day with a huge time of 25:10, a PB by over 90 secs. Jason has been a big improver this winter and he continued on today from his fine walk last week. Gwen Steed was also in great form to take the women's handicap with 30:10. We welcomed Tamara Attard back after some months off and she showed that she has not lost too much form with a good first up 27:07. Another back after a fair while off was Nicholas Mirarchi and his time of 28:03 was a good start back. Another to impress was Donna Elms who was only 3 secs outside her PB with 30:10.

5km  Open                          Handicap Place
1. Pam Tindal             25:54    3
2. Tamara Attard          27:07     
3. Donna Elms             30:10    2
4. Gwen Steed             30:21    1
 
1. Nathan Brill           23:23    2
2. Jason Kozica           25:10    1
3. Ralph Bennett          27:53    3
4. Nicholas Mirarchi      28:03     
5. Russ Dickenson         28:52    6
6. Barrie Wicks           35:48    4
7. Laurie Cato-Smith      36:56    7
8. Howard Gibson          37:44    5
   Bernie Keirl           DNF     
   Robin Wood             DNF     

Mark Donahoo 14:14, James Seid-Christmass 14:39 and Hilary Brazel were our fastest Open 3km walkers while Connor McShanag 14:46 (a 3 sec PB), Jemima Montag 15:13 and Amelia Finnegan 15:15 were the fastest of our U15 walkers. But the biggest improver had to be Aaron Tam who recorded a 36 sec PB with 15:46. Kyle Swan was another to impress with his time of 15:34.

3km  Open                          Handicap Place
1. Hilary Brazel          15:09    5
2. Heather Carr           15:46    6
3. Annemaree Gerlich      17:25    1
4. Janet Holmes           18:36    3
5. Jan Morrey             18:49    2
6. Celia Johnson          20:14    9
7. Georgia Gatens         20:45    7
8. Maryanne Harrison      21:21    4
9. Marlaine Stanway       21:28    8

1. Mark Donahoo           14:14    4
2. James Seid-Christmass  14:39    5
3. Rudolf Skrucany        18:59    1
4. Gordon Onley           20:53    2
5. Lindsay Harrison       21:23    3
6. John Morrison          21:40    6
 
3km  Under 15                      Handicap Place
1. Jemima Montag          15:13    3
2. Amelia Finnegan        15:15    2
3. Jasmine Irshad         15:58    4
4. Bianca Attard          16:38    6
5. Megan Walker           17:30    1
6. Carly Bertrand         17:46    9
7. Beth Barbour           17:53    5
8. Caitlin Campbell       18:53    11
9. Amy Ventura            19:16    7
10.Emily Swan             20:59    10
11.Stacey McLaren         21:40    8
   Rebecca Campbell       DNF     

1. Connor McShanag        14:46    2
2. Kyle Swan              15:34    3
3. Aaron Tam              15:46    1

Our youngest walkers contested their Intervals races this week with the U12s doing 5x500m and the U9s doing 3x500m every 5 minutes. With 26 walkers in total, it was certainly action packed. Emily Hamilton showed superb consistency to take the U12 section with 11:48 (wow!) after a good battle early on with Paige De Lisen. Brodie Richardson and Mickhala Hodges were the best of the U9s with top times of 7:25 and 7:57. Can all these young walkers move!

Under 12: 5x500m          Lap 1   Lap 2   Lap 3   Lap 4   Lap 5   Total
1. Emily Hamilton         2:15    2:21    2:26    2:24    2:22    11:48
2. Paige De Lisen         2:16    2:30    2:31    2:33    2:32    12:22
3. Lauren Collis          2:21    2:33    2:37    2:36    2:34    12:41
4. Shelby Kay             2:25    2:39    2:34    2:42    2:39    12:59
5. Jessica Lillie         2:35    2:45    2:48    2:49    2:53    13:50
6. Charisma Boothroyd     2:44    2:50    2:51    2:51    2:50    14:06
7. Lachlan Feain          2:45    2:52    2:53    3:03    2:58    14:31
8. Cassandra Kay          2:58    2:53    2:51    3:02    2:58    14:42
9. Charlee Harrison       3:02    3:07    3:11    3:06    3:07    15:33
10.Madeleine Feain        2:52    3:11    3:14    3:17    3:15    15:49
11.Harley Davidson        3:18    3:31    4:03    3:58    3:43    18:33
13.Georgia Bertrand       2:20    2:35    -       -       -        4:55
   Cooper Owen                                                    DQ
   Reese Walmsley                                                 DQ
   Crea Gabriella                                                 DQ
 
Under 9: 3x500m           Lap 1   Lap 2   Lap 3   Total
1. Brodie Richardson      2:22    2:28    2:35    7:25
2. Mikhala Hodges         2:33    2:44    2:40    7:57
3. Chelsea Owen-Smith     2:38    2:49    2:45    8:12
4. Hayden Walmsley        2:48    2:53    2:52    8:33 
5. Brianna Lillie         2:55    2:53    2:57    8:45
6. Tegan Miller           2:50    3:01    2:56    8:47
7. Ethan Wright           3:05    3:03    2:58    9:06
8. Lee Taylor             3:05    3:14    3:16    9:35
9. Frances Collis         3:06    3:23    3:18    9:47
10.Payton Kay             3:15    3:38    3:04    9:57
   Livinia Mason          3:02    -       -       3:02
 
And of course, thanks to the large group of people who help to keep the show on the road every week. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Michael Brazel, Stuart Cooper, Matt Owen, Don McLaren, Paul Davidson, Jason Elms, Damien Elms
 Judges: Peter Vysma, Terry Knape, Shane Bertrand, Michael Bodey, Lloyd Nicholls
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Damien Elms, Tim Erickson, Nathan Brill
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich, Joyce Summers

VRWC ROADWALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 10 JULY 2010

We tested a new type of event today – an Intervals Race – and 71 walkers turned out to brave what was forecast as storms and gale force winds. Luckily the rain held off but the winds were certainly strong and it made for a tough day's work. The 2km intervals were spaced every 16 minutes and the idea was to complete 2, 3, 4 or 5 intervals. The 36 walkers who chose the intervals workout certainly worked hard and seemed to enjoy the challenge. My picks for the best walks were Jason Kozica, Nathan Brill, Mark Donahoo, Aaron McDonough, Kirstin Shaw, Kylie Irshad, Matthew Felton, Bradley Simpson, Josh Dillon, Stephanie George, Connor McShanag, Aaron Tam, Chloe McNicol-Davidson, Rudolf Skrucany, Carly Bertrand and James Seid-Christmass. What, so many you say! Well, everyone walked so well.

5x2km Intervals             LAP 1    LAP 2    LAP 3    LAP 4    LAP 5    TOTAL
1. Donahoo, Mark            09:33    09:53    09:54    09:59    09:58      49:17
2. Kozica, Jason            10:10    10:18    10:21    09:48    11:13      51:50
3. McDonough, Aaron         10:12    10:16    10:33    10:29    10:25      51:55
4. Shaw, Kirstin            11:07    11:06    10:56    10:52    10:50      54:51
5. Hammond, Nardene         10:55    11:19    11:24    11:33    11:19      56:30
6. Bennett, Ralph           11:27    11:08    11:16    11:26    11:27      56:44
7. McIntyre, Gayle          11:16    11:44    11:31    11:41    11:35      57:47
8. Skrucany, Rudolf         12:52    13:30    13:16    13:43    13:43    1:07:04
9. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe  13:47    14:01    13:46    13:16    13:09    1:07:59
10.Summers, Harry           13:47    14:00    12:43    13:55    13:55    1:08:20
 
4x2km Intervals             LAP 1    LAP 2    LAP 3    LAP 4    TOTAL
1. Brill, Nathan            08:57    09:10    09:14    09:25    36:46
2. Irshad, Kylie            09:37    10:01    10:18    10:45    40:41
3. McShanag, Connor         10:14    10:18    10:21    10:32    41:25
4. Tam, Aaron,              10:13    10:44    11:04    10:39    42:40
5. Hockley Samon, Jmara     10:43    11:25    11:14    11:11    44:33
6. Attard, Bianca           11:08    11:11    11:10    11:23    44:52
7. Elms, Jason              10:58    11:26    11:31    11:12    DQ
8. Gardiner, Robert         11:44    11:52    11:57    12:08    47:41
9. Elms, Donna              12:04    12:12    12:34    13:03    49:53
10.Shaw, Robyn              13:24    13:55    14:19    13:53    55:31
 
3x2km Intervals             LAP 1    LAP 2    LAP 3    TOTAL
1. Felton, Matthew          09:31    09:30    09:34    28:35
2. Simpson, Bradley         09:34    09:41    09:43    28:58
3. Dillon, Josh             09:24    09:30    10:24    29:18
4. George, Stephanie        10:07    10:35    10:50    31:32
5. Walker, Megan            11:32    12:00    12:28    36:00
6. Owen, Cooper             11:26    11:59    13:31    36:56
7. Kay, Shelby              12:13    12:27    12:31    37:11
8. Steed, Gwen              12:14    12:37    13:00    37:51
9. Barrow, Geoff            12:51    13:00    12:56    38:47
10.Johnson, Celia           13:52    13:36    13:17    40:45
 
2x2km Intervals             LAP 1    LAP 2    TOTAL
1. Seid-Christmass, James   09:23    10:13    19:36
2. Irshad, Jasmine          10:14    10:38    20:52
3. Campbell, Caitlin        10:43    11:27    22:10
4. Bertrand, Carly          10:45    13:23    20:58
5. Stadus, Lauren           11:33    12:14    23:47
6. Stanway, Marlaine        14:57    -    -
7. Mason, Ella              11:48    -    -
 
We also scheduled 4km Open and U15 for those who just wanted a normal weekly walk and some did take up the offer. Amelia Finnegan (21:32) and Kyle Swan (21:39) were the fastest and certainly walked well. We also welcomed back Stacey McLaren (29:19) after a a long time on crutches with a broken foot and we also welcomed Laurie Cato-Smith for his first walk with us – and he did a good first up 28:40.

4km Open
1. Gerlich, Annemaree       25:00
2. Holmes, Janet            25:07
3. Morrey, Jan              25:56
4. Harrison, Maryanne       28:54
 
1. Wicks, Barrie            28:28
2. Cato-Smith, Laurie       28:40
   Onley, Gordon            DQ
 
4km Under 15
1. Finnegan, Amelia         21:32
2. Swan, Emily              27:17
3. McLaren, Stacey          29:19
 
1. Swan, Kyle               21:39
2. McNicol-Davidson, Cody   27:33
 
Our U12 and U9 walkers will contest their Intervals Races next week – this week they had 2.5km and 1.5km races respectively. Reese Walmsley and Emily Hamilton  were our fastest U12s while Mikhala Hodges and Harry Hockley-Samon were our fastest U9s. It was a big ask for our smallest walkers to battle the huge winds but some of them were actually faster than last week when we had ideal conditions – Lauren Collis by 48 secs, Lachlan Feain by 72 secs and Hayden Walmsley by 6 secs. Well done!

2.5km Under 12
1. Hamilton, Emily          14:02
2. De Lisen, Paige          14:06
3. Collis, Lauren           14:17
4. McCann, Tessa            15:53
5. Feain, Madeline          17:39
6. Kay, Cassandra           18:03
   Crea, Gabriella          DQ
 
1. Walmsley, Reese          13:52
2. Feain, Lachlan           16:59
3. Davidson, Harley         20:57
 
1.5km Under 9
1. Hodges, Mikhala           8:52
2. Owen-Smith, Chelsea       9:14
3. Miller, Tegan             9:41
4. Harrison, Charlee         9:48
5. Taylor, Lee              10:13
6. Kay, Payton              11:31
7. Collis, Frances          11:56
8. Mason, Livinia           12:12
 
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry      8:29
2. Walmsley, Hayden          9:23
3. Wright, Ethan            10:36
4. Candotti, Noah           11:32
 
As usual, thanks to the many officials and judges and helpers who keep the show on the road each week. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Natalie Laurie, Ian Laurie, Stuart Cooper, Paul Kozaris, Matt Owen, Don McLaren, John Morrison, Damien Elms
Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Craig Brill
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Terry Swan, Shane Bertrand, Gordon Loughnan, Brenda Felton, Michael Bodey, Graham George, Lloyd Nicholls
Canteen: Joyce Summers, Marlaine Stanway

VRWC ROAD WALKS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 3 JULY 2010

Yet another day of perfect racing conditions – cool, still and even some weak sun poking through the clouds. And 80 walkers made the most of the opportunity and put in some top times. As club media officer said when putting out his news release post-event:

Great results for the juniors at Middle Park today. Nathan Brill (14yo) raced his first 8km and won it in 37:18. Not far behind was Josh Dillon in 39:26. At last real depth is starting develop amongst our older boys, an area where we've been a little thin in recent years, but are now complementing the girls who've been a force for some time. It all augurs for an even stronger club and, therefore, a still stronger sport at national level. Keep it up, everyone!
 
Well said Peter.

It was great to see 25 walkers choose the 8km distance, a lot of our younger walkers amongst them. With World Juniors representative Rhydian Cowley having a hitout over 4km before he heads off for Canada, the pace was on from the start and young Nathan Brill was up to the task, going out with Rhydian and shadowing him for the 4km. From then on, he was on his own but he held on well, recording a great first up 37:18 to take fastest time. Stuart Kollmorgen and Josh Dillon (another one of our young stars) were not far behind him, finishing with 38:42 and 39:26 respectively. It was great to see Daniel Payne back after a big break from racing and his time of 41:59 was good under the circumstances. Kylie Irshad was the fastest of the women with 42:59 while youngsters Amelia Finnegan 42:55 and Stephanie George 45:19 put up very good first up 8km efforts.

8km  Open                            Handicap
1. Kylie Irshad             42:49    2
2. Amelia Finnegan          42:55    No previous time
3. Stephanie George         45:19    No previous time
4. Gayle McIntyre           45:25    3
5. Kirstin Shaw             47:48    4
6. Alison Thompson          49:10    5
7. Gwen Steed               50:54    1
8. Robyn Shaw               58:34    6
 
1. Nathan Brill             37:18    No previous time
2. Stuart Kollmorgan        38:42    3
3. Josh Dillon              39:26    No previous time
4. Mark Donahoo             41:12    8
5. Daniel Payne             41:59    12
6. James Seid-Christmass    42:38    9
7. Josh Kaiser              43:58    7
8. Alan Lucas               46:04    1
9. David Armstrong          46:42    No previous time
10.Robert Gardiner          50:44    11
11.Geoff Barrow             53:10    10
12.Harry Summers            53:17    2
13.David De Bondi           55:35    6
14.Rudolf Skrucany          56:25    4
15.Cody McNicol-Davidson    56:40    5
   Chloe McNicol-Davidson   Ab
   Jason Elms               Disq
 
Rhydian Cowley, who heads off on Thursday for Canada to compete in the World Junior champs, was the fastest over 4km with 18:04. Jason Kozica was a big improver with a very good 20:45 and showed that his decision to walk this winter rather than run cross country is definitely bearing fruit. Hilary Brazel 20:21 and Amy Burren 21:26 were the fastest women with Hilary winning out after a good battle. 

4km  Open                            Handicap
1. Hilary Brazel            20:21    2
2. Amy Burren               21:26    11
3. Sandra Geisler           21:53    No previous time
4. Liz Feldman              22:57    4
5. Anna Wallace             23:38    6
6. Emily Payne              24:19    5
7. Donna Elms               24:41    9
8. Jan Morrey               25:24    1
9. Janet Holmes             26:05    8
10.Annemaree Gerlich        26:24    10
11.Celia Johnson            26:34    3
12.Maryanne Harrison        29:13    7
 
1. Rhydian Cowley           18:04    7
2. Jason Kozica             20:45    4
3. Michael O'Mahony         21:30    3
4. Ralph Bennett            22:44    8
5. Anthony Doran            24:44    5
6. Gordon Onley             27:58    2
7. Barrie Wicks             28:24    6
8. Robin Wood               28:53    1
 
Matthew Felton 19:12 and Jmara Hockley-Samon 21:07 were the fastest of our U15 walkers while Aaron Tam walked a great PB time of 21:48.

4km  Under 15                        Handicap
1. Jmara Hockley Samon      21:07    4
2. Sarah Burren             21:25    1
3. Bianca Attard            22:11    3
4. Caitlin Campbell         22:16    7
5. Carly Bertrand           23:32    6
6. Megan Walker             24:12    2
7. Emily Swan               27:47    5
   Jasmine Irshad           Ab
 
1. Matthew Felton           19:12    1
2. Aaron Tam                21:48    2
3. Connor McShanag          22:11    3
 
The U12 walkers raced over 2.5km today and Kyle Swan proved the fastest of the youngsters with 12:30. Reese Walmsley was also in good form with 13:35 while Emily Hamilton took fastest time amongst the girls with 14:05 after a good battle with Paige De Lisen who finished with 14:16.

2500m  Under 12                      Handicap
1. Emily Hamilton           14:05    3
2. Paige De Lisen           14:16    1
3. Georgia Bertrand         14:59    2
4. Lauren Collis            15:05     
5. Selby Kay                15:12    E5
6. Gabriella Crea           15:40    E5
7. Bronte Segota            16:07    7
8. Cassandra Kay            16:52    4
 
1. Kyle Swan                12:30    4
2. Reese Walmsley           13:35    3
3. Sam Candotti             16:05    2
4. Lachlan Feain            18:01     
5. Harley Davidson          19:51    1
   Cooper Owen              Disq     

Harry Hockley-Samon 8:10 and Mikhala Hodges 8:37 were our fastest U19 walkers in their 1.5km race. Tegan Miller also walked very well for a big PB time of 9:16.

1500m  Under 9                       Handicap
1.Mikhala Hodges             8:37    4
2.Tegan Miller               9:16    1
3.Charlee Harrison           9:44    3
4.Payton Kay                10:37    2
5.Frances Collis            11:13     
6.Ella Segota               12:57    5
 
1.Harry Hockley Samon        8:10    1
2.Hayden Walmsley            9:29    3
3.Ethan Wright              10:27    4
4.Noah Candotti             10:56    2

Finally, thanks to all our helpers who keep the show on the road. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Stuart Cooper, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Karin Brazel, Matt Owen, Don McLaren
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Gordon Loughnan, Terry Knape, Brenda Felton, Shane Bertrand, Lloyd Nicholls
Course Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Craig Brill, Tim Erickson
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

VRWC, AV, VMA AND AMA CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 27 JUNE 2010

It was another big day of racing at Albert Park on Sunday with 95 walkers in action in a variety of championship events. The weather ended up picture perfect with blue skies and sunshine, the only issue being a few big puddles from all our rain over the past few days.

The first races to kick off were the 20km events and walkers had a choice of four options – the AV Open 20km, the VMA 20km, the AMA 20km and a club VRWC 20km for anyone left over! The Open championships saw Stuart Kollmorgen and Pam Tindal crowned as champions with time of 1:46:09 and 1:51:08 respectively. The Masters championships saw many of our older walkers testing themselves out over a distance that they rarely race and they showed that they were up to the task with a number of fine performances. But none were better than Heather Carr (a new W60 World Record of 1:56:42), Marlaine Stanway (a new W70 Victorian Record of 2:33:11) and Pam Tindal (a new W50 Victorian Record of 1:51:07).

Victorian Open Men 20 km Road Walk - and VRWC ALF ROBINSON TROPHY
1. Kollmorgen, Stuart         COL      61    51:25    1:46:09
2. McDonough, Aaron           PTN    1227    54:15    1:50:36
3. Donahoo, Mark              ATE    1407    54:31    1:55:07
4. Seid-Christmass, James     COR    1828    55:56    1:55:48
   Evans, Simon               BOH    1717    DNS     
   Jamieson, Andrew           OSC    1389    DNS     
   Knox, Duncan               ATE    1790    DNS   
   Van Dongen, Rupert         CCA    2293    DNS     
                     
Victorian Open Women 20 km Road Walk
1. Tindal, Pam                CDN    1217    54:15    1:51:08
2. Irshad, Kylie              SCA      51    54:53    1:55:50
3. Carr, Heather              EAG     415    56:25    1:56:42
4. Attard, Tamara             KNA    1365    DNS   
5. Hammond , Nardene          ATE    1784    DNS   
   Ruddick, Kelly             BHA      49    DNS   

Australian Masters Men 20km Championship                                   AMA  VMA
McDonough, Aaron             35 - 39    VIC    1227    54:16    1:50:36     1    1
Van Dongen, Rupert           35 - 39    VIC    2293             DNS     
Kollmorgen, Stuart           40 - 44    VIC    2021    51:24    1:46:09     1    1
Seid-Christmass, James       40 - 44    VIC    1828    55:56    1:55:48    2    2
Keirl, Bernie                45 - 50    VIC     243             DNF
Donahoo, Mark                50 - 54    VIC    1407    54:31    1:55:07     1    1
Skrucany, Rudolf             50 - 54    VIC     240    75:01    2:34:09     2    2
Heywood, Colin               55 - 59    ACT      13    51:53    1:47:11    1
Finn, Kevin                  55 - 59    SA      266             DQ     
Lucas, Alan                  60 - 64    VIC     388    60:56    2:04:38     1    1
Dickenson, Russ              60 - 64    VIC     561    59:49    DNF
Bennett, Ralph               65 - 69    VIC     640    55:56    DQ
Gardiner, Bob                70 - 74    VIC    2586    62:36    2:09:45     1    1
Summers, Harold              75 - 79    VIC      58    70:05    2:25:41     1    1
Silcock-Delaney, Colin       75 - 79    VIC     154             DQ

Australian Masters Women 20km Championship                                 AMA  VMA
Irshad, Kylie                35 - 39    VIC      57    54:53    1:55:50     1    1
Hammond, Nardene             35 - 39    VIC                     DNS
Elms, Donna                  45 - 49    VIC     194    68:36    2:21:04     1    1
Tindal, Pam                  50 - 54    VIC    1217    54:15    1:51:07     1    1
Ventris, Lynette             50 - 54    WA                      DNS
Thompson, Alison             55 - 59    VIC     154    60:19    2:01:52     1    1
Carr, Heather                60 - 64    VIC     415    56:25    1:56:42     1    1
Feldman, Liz                 60 - 64    VIC     155    60:53    2:02:51     2    2
Stanway, Marlaine            70 - 74    VIC     322    73:38    2:33:11     1    1

Victorian Schools championships were the next to kick of with U14 3km, U16 3km, U18 5km and U20 10km races scheduled. Times were superb right across the board – my personal highlights were Amy Burren 24:18 for 5km (2011 World Youth qualifier!), Josh Dillon 23:38 for 5km, Nathan Brill (13:38 3km), Jemima Montag (14:47 3km), Rachel Tallent (24:35 5km) and Beth Alexander (51:34 10km).  Well done to all our medallists. It it a big effort to take a medal when the fields are so strong.

Victorian Schools U/20 Girls 10 km Road Walk Championship
1. ALEXANDER, BETH        BRENTWOOD SECONDARY COLLEGE    51:34
2. RASELLI, CASSANDRA     PRESBYTERIAN LADIES COLLEGE    57:23
3. ATTARD, BIANCA         AQUINAS COLLEGE                58:02

Victorian Schools U/18 Boys 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. DILLON, JOSH           ST JOSEPHS COLLEGE GEELONG     23:38
2. CLARK, LEWIS           CHRISTIAN COLLEGE GEELONG      23:58
3. FELTON, MATT           AQUINAS COLLEGE                24:09
4. O'MAHONY, MICHAEL      SAINT JOSEPHS SECONDARY COLL   25:05
5. KAISER, JOSHUA         DROMANA SECONDARY COLLEGE      27:12
6. TAM, AARON             GLEN WAVERLEY SECONDARY COLL   27:48

Victorian Schools U/18 Girls 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. BURREN, AMY            KILLESTER COLLEGE              24:18
2. TALLENT, RACHEL        BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOL           24:35
3. BRAZEL, HILARY         EMMAUS COLLEGE                 26:11
4. CAMPBELL, CAITLIN      COPPERFIELD COLLEGE            27:51
5. PAYNE, EMILY           KARDINIA INTERNATIONAL COLL    33:30

Victorian Schools U/16 Boys 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. BRILL, NATHAN          ROSEBUD SECONDARY COLLEGE      13:38
2. ANTIDORMI, RYAN        EMMAUS COLLEGE                 15:03
3. MCSHANAG, CONNOR       ST BERNARD'S COLLEGE           15:22
4. TAYLOR, LUCAS          LILYDALE HIGH SCHOOL           15:48
5. SAVAGE, JOSHUA         EAGLEHAWK SECONDARY COLLEGE    18:28
   GARDNER, AARON         MARIBYRNONG COLLEGE            DNS

Victorian Schools U/16 Girls 5 km Road Walk Championship
1.FINNEGAN, AMELIA        MATER CHRISTI COLLEGE          14:51
2.HOCKLEY SAMON, JMARA    CLONARD COLLEGE                15:31
3.HEARD, AMANDA           GOLDEN VALLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL   15:46
4.GEORGE, STEPHANIE       YARRA VALLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL    16:03
5.BURREN, SARAH           KILLESTER COLLEGE              16:23
6.WHILEY, EBONY           CATHOLIC COLLEGE BENDIGO       16:48
7.BERTRAND, CARLY         SALESIAN COLLEGE               16:51
8.BARBOUR, BETH           NORTHCOTE HIGH SCHOOL          17:50
9.SOMERFIELD, KOBIE       MT CLEAR COLLEGE               20:44

Victorian Schools U/14 Boys 3 km Road Walk Championship
1. SWAN, KYLE             THE KNOX SCHOOL                15:11
2. ALLAMBY, BILLY         ST JOSEPHS COLLEGE             15:35
3. OWEN, COOPER           WATSONIA HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCH   15:54
4. JONES, JEREMIAH        SOUTH EAST COLLEGE             16:49
5. RICHARDSON, JACOB      KAROO PRIMARY SCHOOL           17:27
   WALMSLEY, REESE        KAROO PRIMARY SCHOOL           DQ

Victorian Schools U/14 Girls 3 km Road Walk Championship
1. MONTAG, JEMIMA         WESLEY COLLEGE                 14:47
2. BOLDISTON, ZOE         NOTRE DAME COLLEGE             15:10
3. IRSHAD, JASMINE        WANTIRNA COLLEGE               16:21
4. WALKER, MEGAN          CLONARD COLLEGE                17:03
5. EASTWOOD, JESSIE       MATER CHRISTI COLLEGE          17:31
6. VENTURA, AMY           BRANDON PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL    18:00
7. HAMILTON, EMILY        KAROO PRIMARY SCHOOL           18:53
8. COLLINS, CINDY         HALLAM PRIMARY SCHOOL          18:59
   CAMPBELL, REBECCA      COPPERFIELD COLLEGE            DNS

The final races to get underway were our VRWC U9 and U12 1.5km club championships. Kyle Swan backed up from his fine win in the U14 Schools championship to win the U12 championship in the fastest overall time of 7:23 and he was only 7 secs ahead of Cooper Owen with 7:30, backing up from his third place in the U14. Reese Walmsley also walked the U14 3km with the other boys and backed up well for his third palce with 8:14. Other winners included Georgia Bertrand, Hayden Walmsley and Brodie Richardson.

VRWC U12 1.5km Club Championship
1. Swan, Kyle          284      7:23
2. Owen, Cooper        334      7:30
3. Walmsley, Reese     255      8:14
         
1. Bertrand, Georgia   220      8:05
2. Kay, Shelby         419      8:13
E3.Crea, Gabriella     316      8:25
E3.Collis, Lauren     1229      8:25
5. George, Hayley       60      8:27
6. Segota, Bronte      345      8:30
7. McCann, Tessa       344      9:02
8. Eastwood, Jemma      49      9:13
9. Hodges, Anaya       421      9:22
10.Harrison, Charlee   260      9:31

VRWC U9 1.5km Club Championship         
1. Walmsley, Hayden    407      9:32
2. Wright, Ethan       396      9:45
         
1. Richardson, Brodie  377      8:23
2. Hodges, Mikhala     422      8:29
3. Owen-Smith, Chelsea 333      9:05
4. O'Mahony, Kathleen  403      9:08
5. Miller, Tegan       424     10:28
6. Kay, Payton         426     10:43
7. Peart, Jemma       1263     10:45
8. Segota, Ella       1289     12:20
   Collins, Kristina   226     DQ

We also had our usual selection of club non-championship races for anyone else who wanted a walk.

VRWC 20km
1. John Timms                485    1:18:53    2:31:41

VRWC 10km
1. Jason Elms                105    1:04:44
2. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe  1251    1:12:07
3. McNicol-Davidson, Cody   1004    1:12:30

VRWC 5km
1. Kennedy, Paul             272    24:19
2. Kozica, Jason             367    27:41
3. Doran, Anthony            134    32:22
4. Wicks, Barrie             241    35:29
5. Onley, Gordon             486    37:23
6. Silcock-Delaney, Colin    493    38:35

1. McIntyre, Gayle           199    27:52

As usual, thanks to the many officials who are needed to make such a big day run to time. I count 27 in the list below. Thanks to everyone for digging deep as usual .Apologies if I missed anyone.

Judges: Judy Mason, Peter Vysma, Shane Bertrand, Harold Boddy, Terry Knape, Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nicholls, Kathleen Marsh, Michael Bodey (DQ Board)
Officials: Tim Erickson, Natalie Laurie, Michael Brazel, Celia Johnson, Les Clark, Stuart Cooper, Colin Segota, Matt Owen, Don McLaren, Russ Dickenson
Course Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Craig Brill, Peter Vysma, Tim Erickson
Bicycle Marshals: Damien and Jason Elms
Canteen: Joyce Summers, Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich

VRWC ROAD WALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 19 JUNE 2010

Our annual 'Guess Your Finish Time' races were held on Saturday and 80 walkers took advantage of another day of excellent Melbourne weather and enjoyed some tough competition. No watches were allowed and no times were called – the idea is simple – the walker who gets closest to his/her time guess wins the prize. We also had two race videos playing in the clubrooms. Before our races, we played Peter Vysma's video of the Canberra carnival races last weekend. Then after the races, we played Fran Attard's video of the raceday of 5th June. This video started with a moving tribute to Ray Smith. Thanks to Fran and Peter for keeping the tradition going now that Ray is no longer with us. I am sure that he would be very pleased to see the baton passed on so well. And as usual, Terry Swan has uploaded a big selection of photos to http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine. Good work everyone!

Also, a few points for all our new walkers and families as I always get asked these sorts of questions

1.Competitors can stop and take a toilet break mid race as long as they exit and reenter the track at the same point. Toilets are located trackside near the tennis courts and in the clubrooms.
2.Water is available for all races and can be taken regardless of the distance. Sports drinks and such like can only be taken in events longer than 10km. These refreshment items can only be taken at the official drinks table and must be handed to the walker as he/she walks past. It is not permitted to run alongside a walker or pass them drinks from other positions along the course. These are the IAAF rules under which the sport works and we try to abide by them in our club  races to get walkers used to the correct regime so that in big races there are no surprises.

And now onto the race results. The 10km race was the longest on offer and Pam Tindal and Aaron McDonough showed that they were the best judges of pace  Mark Donahoo with 52:21 and Kylie Irshad with 55:22 were our fastest walkers. Young Cody McNicol-Davidson tested himself out over 10km for the first time and did a good first up 72:07. Well done Cody!
 
10km  Open                  Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
1  Pam Tindal               55:32    55:00    +0:32    2
2  Gayle McIntyre           58:25    56:46    +1:39    3
3  Kylie Irshad             55:22    60:00    -4:38    1
 
1  Aaron McDonough          55:36    55:00    +0:36    4
2  Mark Donahoo             52:21    51:40    +0:41    1
3  Bob Gardiner             64:03    63:00    +1:03    6
4  David De Bondi           70:36    69:15    +1:21    8
5  Harry Summers            68:37    67:10    +1:27    7
6  Russ Dickenson           59:07    57:10    +1:57    5
7  James Seid-Christmass    55:14    52:37    +2:37    3
8  Rudolf Skrucany          71:53    69:11    +2:42    9
9  Cody McNicol-Davidson    72:07    67:20    +4:47    10
10 Simon Evans              53:30    64:30    +6:00    2

The 5km races saw Heather Carr and Bernie Keirl win the prizes for best finish time guesses but Bernie only just got there by 1 second from Howard Gibson. Nathan Brill stormed through the race to take fastest time overall with 23:05, a 22 sec PB. Heather Carr was the fastest woman with 27:09 while Stephanie George did a 9 sec PB with her time of 27:44, Jason Kozica did a 9 sec PB with 26:49 and Cooper Owen took over 2 mins off his best with 27:41. Paul Kennedy was back in action after a fair layoff and walked very fast for 24:20 while Josh Dillon with 24:00 was also in fine walking form.

5km  Open                  Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
1  Heather Carr            27:09    27:20    -0:11    1
2  Liz Feldman             29:05    29:30    -0:25    3
3  Celia Johnson           34:24    33:56    +0:28    6
4  Gwen Steed              30:29    30:58    -0:29    5
5  Ella Mason              30:28    29:50    +0:38    4
6  Stephanie George        27:44    26:40    +1:04    2
   Caitlin Campbell        DNF
   Beth Barbour            DNF

1  Bernie Keirl            27:02    27:00    +0:02    6
2  Howard Gibson           37:27    37:30    -0:03    12
3  Nathan Brill            23:05    23:00    +0:05    1
4  Michael O'Mahony        25:44    26:00    -0:16    4
5  Alan Lucas              28:38    28:55    -0:17    8
6  Barrie Wicks            36:12    36:30    -0:18    11
7  Josh Dillon             24:00    24:20    -0:20    2
8  Geoff Barrow            32:28    33:10    -0:42    10
9  Jason Kozica            26:49    27:35    -0:46    5
10 Aaron Tam               29:49    29:00    +0:49    9
11 Cooper Owen             27:41    29:00    -1:19    7
12 Paul Kennedy            24:20    26:00    -1:40    3
13 Robin Wood              38:50    37:00    +1:50    13

The 3km events saw Donna and Jason Elms take the honours in the Open events while Amelia Finnegan and Connor McShanag had the best guesses in the U15 divisions. Fastest times overall went to Matt Felton with a 25 sec PB time of 13:55 and Amelia Finnegan 15:01. It was great to welcome back Sandra Geisler after a break of some years and she wlked a very impressive first up 16:44.

3km  Open                  Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
1  Donna Elms              17:36    17:16    +0:20    4
2  Kirstin Shaw            16:53    16:30    +0:23    3
3  Hilary Brazel           15:30    14:54    +0:36    1
4  Janet Holmes            18:33    19:10    -0:37    6
5  Sandra Geisler          16:44    16:00    +0:44    2
6  Robyn Shaw              20:01    19:00    +1:01    7
7  Emily Payne             18:30    17:10    +1:20    5
                         
1  Jason Elms              16:39    17:00    -0:21    1
2  Gordon Onley            20:13    22:30    -2:17    2

3km  Under 15              Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
1  Amelia Finnegan         15:01    15:00    +0:01    1
2  Megan Walker            18:12    18:00    +0:12    6
3  Bianca Attard           15:56    15:43    +0:13    3
4  Jasmine Irshad          16:14    16:00    +0:14    4
5  Jemima Montag           15:19    15:35    -0:16    2
6  Cindy Collins           18:27    18:04    +0:23    7
7  Carly Bertrand          17:17    16:45    +0:32    5
8  Amy Ventura             18:59    18:24    +0:35    8
9  Rebecca Campbell        19:46    20:27    -0:41    10
10 Emily Swan              19:30    20:30    -1:00    9

1  Connor McShanag         14:57    15:02    -0:05    3
2  Kyle Swan               15:21    15:30    -0:09    4
3  Ryan Antidormi          14:51    14:40    +0:11    2
4  Matthew Felton          13:55    14:10    -0:15    1
5  Paul Tremigliozzi       20:00    18:30    +1:30    5

We had a draw in the Under 12 girls' event with Jessica Lillie and Bronte Segota both within 2 secs of their guessed time while Sam Candotti won the boys' U12 event. Fastest times went to Shelby Kay (20 sec PB with 11:07) and Reese Walmsley. We also welcomed Madelaine and Lachlan Feain to Albert Park for their first races – their father Gerard was a walker with us for many years.

2km Under 12               Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
E1 Jessica Lillie          11:57    11:55    +0:02    4
E1 Bronte Segota           11:57    11:55    +0:02    5
3  Paige De Lisen          11:11    11:05    +0:06    2
4  Shelby Kay              11:07    11:19    -0:12    1
5  Brodie Richardson       11:25    11:43    -0:18    3
6  Cassandra Kay           12:49    13:10    -0:21    8
7  Gabbie Crea             12:18    11:55    +0:23    6
8  Anaya Hodges            12:25    12:00    +0:25    7
9  Charisma Boothroyd      12:52    12:20    +0:32    9
10 Madelaine Feain         14:35    13:00    +1:35    10
 
1  Sam Candotti            12:22    12:32    -0:10    2
E2 Reese Walmsley          10:47    10:20    +0:27    1
E2 Josh Tremigliozzi       15:27    15:00    +0:27    4
4  Harley Davidson         16:22    16:50    -0:28    5
5  Lachlan Feain           13:39    13:00    +0:39    3

Ethan Wright and Mikhala Hodges won the U9 events while Hayden Walmsley and Mikhala were the fastest overall.

1km Under 9                Time     Guess    Diff     Actual Place
1  Ethan Wright            06:31    06:30    +0.01    2
2  Hayden Walmsley         06:23    06:25    -0:02    1
3  Noah Candotti           07:34    07:23    +0:11    3

1  Mikhala Hodges          05:27    05:25    +0:02    1
2  Brianna Lillie          05:56    05:40    +0:16    2
3  Payton Kay              08:25    06:30    +1:55    4
4  Ella Segota             07:54    ?    ?    3

Thanks as usual to our many helpers who make our racedays so successful each week. Sorry if I missed anyone

Officials: Ron Miller, Tim Erickson, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Russ Dickenson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Damien Elms, Pauline McShanag, Matt Owen, Mark Davidson
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief) , Brenda Felton, Lloyd, Nichols, Terry Knape, Michael Bodey Gordon Loughlan
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

44th LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN CARNIVAL, CANBERRA, SUNDAY 13 JUNE 2010

The 44th annual Lake Burley Griffin walking carnival lived up to its reputation as Australia's best of class as we were treated to some fantastic quality walking by over 300 competitors in events ranging from Under 10 1km to Open 20 Miles. After a very frosty and cold morning, we enjoyed a warm and sunny day, our best LBG weather for many years. Full results can be viewed on the RWA website at http://www.rwa.org.au/LBG2010%20Official%20Results.htm

With over 80 VRWC walkers competing in a variety of events, we had our best ever Canberra result sheet, winning 30 individual medals and having 20 different teams winning medals. This is unprecedented! The VRWC honour list reads as follows:

Gold (11)   Open Men 20 Mile       Jared Tallent           2:26:55
            Masters Men 20 Mile    Stuart Kollmorgen       3:06:07
            Open Women 10 Mile     Regan Lamble            1:19:04
            Fitness 5 Miles Men    Damien Elms               56:06
            Fitness 5 Miles Women  Chloe McNicol-Davidson    57:22
            U10 Girls 1km          Brodie Richardson         05:06
            U12 Boys 2km           Kyle Swan                 09:42
            U14 Boys 2km           Cooper McShanag           09:49
            U14 Girls 2km          Jemima Montag             09:41
            U18 Girls 5km          Rachel Tallent            24:44

Silver (13) Open Men 20 Mile       Chris Erickson          2:27:59
            Masters Women 10 Mile  Heather Carr            1:33:23
            Masters Men 10 Mile    Ralph Bennett           1:33:01
            Fitness 5 Miles Men    Jason Elms                56:06
            U20 Men 10km           Rhydian Cowley            44:01
            U10 Girls 1km          Hayley George             05:19
            U12 Boys 2km           Reese Walmsley            10:17
            U14 Boys 2km           Billy Allamby             09:53
            U16 Boys 3km           Josh Dillon               13:12
            U16 Girls 3km          Jmara Hockley-Samon       15:05
            U18 Girls 5km          Amy Burren                24:55
            Open Women 5km         Regan Lamble              23:14

Bronze (7)  Masters Women 10 Mile  Kylie Irshad            1:37:20
            Masters Men 10 Mile    Daryl Biggin            1:38:34
            U10 Girls 1km          Mikhala Hodges            05:25
            U12 Boys 2km           Cooper Owen               10:40
            U16 Boys 3km           Nathan Brill              13:16
            U16 Girls 3km          Amelia Finnegan           15:09
            U18 Girls 5km          Hilary Brazel             25:06

Team Gold (10)    Open Men 20 Mile    Jared Tallent, Chris Erickson, Stuart Kollmorgen
                  U10 Girls 1km       Brodie Richardson, Hayley George, Mikhala Hodges
                  U12 Boys 2km        Kyle Swan, Reese Walmsley, Cooper Owen
                  U14 Boys 2km        Cooper McShanag, Billy Allamby, Kyle Swan
                  U14 Girls 2km       Jemima Montag, Jasmine Irshad, Emily Hamilton
                  U16 Boys 3km        Josh Dillon, Nathan Brill, Matt Felton
                  U16 Girls 3km       Jmara Hockley-Samon, Amelia Finnegan, Cassie Raselli
                  U18 Girls 5km       Rachel Tallent, Amy Burren, Hilary Brazel
                  Open Women 5km      Regan Lamble, Beth Alexander, Rachel Tallent

Team Silver (6)   Open Women 10 Mile  Regan Lamble, Heather Carr, Kylie Irshad
                  U10 Boys 1km        Harry Hockley-Samon, Hayden Walmsley, Ethan Wright
                  U10 Girls 1km       Brianna Lillie, Anaya Hodges, Chelsea Owen-Smith
                  U12 Girls 2km       Paige De Lisen, Shelby Kay, Mikhala Hodges
                  U16 Girls 3km       Stephanie George, Bianca Attard, Caitlin Campbell
                  U18 Boys 5km        Nathan Brill, Michael O'Mahony, Josh Dillon

Team Bronze (4)   U10 Boys 1km        Ethan McShanag, Noah Candotti, Harley Davidson
                  U14 Boys 2km        Lucas Taylor, Jeremiah Jones, Jacob Richardson
                  U16 Boys 3km        Connor McShanag, Aaron Tam, Jeremiah Jones
                  U18 Boys 5km        Matt Felton, Joshua Kaiser, Billy Allamby

33 of the VRWC walkers walked in two events – the list includes Billy Allamby, Bianca Attard, Nathan Brill, Caitlin Campbell, Josh Dillon, Matt Felton, Amelia Finnegan, Emily Hamilton, Jmara Hockley-Samon, Harry Hockley-Samon, Anaya Hodges, Mikhala Hodges, Jasmine Irshad, Jeremiah Jones, Shelby Kay, Regan Lamble, Katelyn Lotherington, Cody McNicol-Davidson, Jemima Montag, Shae Ohlsen, Cooper Owen, Brodie Richardson, Brad Simpson, Emma Smith, Kobie Somerfield, Kyle Swan, Rachel Tallent, Aaron Tam, Lucas Taylor, Anna Wallace, Hayden Walmsley, Reese Walmsley and Ethan Wright.

Like last year, Connor McShanag went one better and actually raced in 3 separate events – U14 2km, U16 3km and U18 5km.

The 20 mile event deserves particular attention .Robin Whyte finished his 41st, Bill Starr finished his 32nd and Duncan Knox finished his 30th – how's that for longevity. Jared Tallent won his fourth title in a row and his fifth overall while Chris Erickson added yet another silver to his LBG swag. Fellow World Cup team mate Ian Rayson was the standout improver, taking some 5 minutes off his best time to take third place – and give serious notice that he will be a strong 50km contender later this year.

And now onto the results for all VRWC walkers.

EVENT 1 OPEN 20 MILES
1  Jared Tallent            2:26:35    VRWC
2  Chris Erickson           2:27:59    VRWC
5  Stuart Kollmorgan (M)    3:06:07    VRWC
8  Duncan Knox (M)          3:27:42    VRWC

EVENT 3 AACT WOMENS & MENS 30 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  Jared Tallent            2:17:21    VRWC
2  Chris Erickson           2:17:45    VRWC

EVENT 4 OPEN WOMENS 10 MILES
1  Regan Lamble             1:19:04    VRWC
7  Heather Carr (M)         1:33:23    VRWC
10 Kylie Irshad (M)         1:37:20    VRWC
14 Emma Smith               1:46:16    VRWC
15 Anna Wallace             1:47:02    VRWC
20 Donna Elms (M)           1:53:15    VRWC

EVENT 5 OPEN MENS 10 MILES
5  Brad Simpson             1:28:46    VRWC
7  Ralph Bennett (M)        1:33:01    VRWC
8  Daryl Biggin (M)         1:38:34    VRWC
9  Maurice Prendergast (M)  1:38:57    VRWC
12 Robert Gardiner (M)      1:42:24    VRWC
16 Harry Summers (M)        1:57:30    VRWC

EVENT 7 FITNESS 5 MILES
MALES
1  Damien Elms                56:06    VRWC
2  Jason Elms                 56:06    VRWC
FEMALES
1  Chloe McNicol-Davidson     57:22    VRWC

EVENT 8 MENS U20 10 km
2  Rhydian Cowley             44:01    VRWC

EVENT 11 BOYS U10 1 km
4  Harry Hockley-Samon        05:09    VRWC
6  Hayden Walmsley            06:15    VRWC
7  Ethan Wright               06:21    VRWC
8  Ethan McShanag             06:45    VRWC
10 Noah Candotti              07:11    VRWC
11 Harley Davidson            07:33    VRWC

EVENT 12 GIRLS U10 1 km
1  Brodie Richardson          05:06    VRWC
2  Hayley George              05:19    VRWC
3  Mikhala Hodges             05:25    VRWC
5  Brianna Lillie             05:39    VRWC
6  Anaya Hodges               05:39    VRWC
8  Chelsea Owen-Smith         05:55    VRWC
11 Tegan Miller               06:09    VRWC
12 Piper Montag               06:09    VRWC
14 Lavinia Mason              06:10    VRWC
18 Katelyn Lotherington       06:22    VRWC
19 Lee Taylor                 06:22    VRWC
20 Jemma Louise Peart         06:44    VRWC

EVENT 13 BOYS U12 2 km
1  Kyle Swan                  09:42    VRWC
2  Reese Walmsley             10:17    VRWC
3  Cooper Owen                10:40    VRWC
10 Harry Hockley-Samon        11:35    VRWC
14 Samuel Candotti            12:30    VRWC
17 Hayden Walmsley            13:40    VRWC

EVENT 14 GIRLS U12 2 km
5  Paige De Lisen             11:15    VRWC
6  Shelby Kay                 11:23    VRWC
10 Mikhala Hodges             12:05    VRWC
12 Jessica Lillie             12:26    VRWC
22 Katelyn Lotherington       14:09    VRWC
25 Anaya Hodges               14:44    VRWC
   Brodie Richardson          DNF      VRWC

EVENT 15 BOYS U14 2 km
1  Connor McShanag            09:49    VRWC
2  Billy Allamby              09:53    VRWC
4  Kyle Swan                  10:10    VRWC
5  Lucas Taylor               10:15    VRWC
10 Jeramiah Jones             10:29    VRWC
12 Jacob Richardson           10:51    VRWC
15 Reese Walmsley             11:45    VRWC
19 Cody McNicol-Davidson      12:33    VRWC
20 Ethan Wright               13:37    VRWC
   Cooper Owen                DQ       VRWC

EVENT 16 GIRLS U14 2 km
1  Jemima Montag              09:41    VRWC
4  Jasmine Irshad             10:04    VRWC
9  Emily Hamilton             10:36    VRWC
25 Emily Swan                 12:12    VRWC
30 Cobie Somerfield           12:59    VRWC
31 Shae Ohlsen                13:22    VRWC
   Rebecca Campbell           DNF      VRWC

EVENT 17 BOYS U16 3 km
2  Josh Dillon                13:12    VRWC
3  Nathan Brill               13:16    VRWC
6  Matt Felton                14:07    VRWC
10 Connor McShanag            16:20    VRWC
11 Aaron Tam                  16:23    VRWC
13 Jeramiah Jones             17:30    VRWC
19 Cody McNicol-Davidson      20:59    VRWC

EVENT 18 GIRLS U16 3 km
2  Jmara Hockley-Samon        15:05    VRWC
3  Ameilia Finnegan           15:09    VRWC
4  Cassie Raselli             15:34    VRWC
5  Stephanie George           15:37    VRWC
8  Bianca Attard              15:53    VRWC
10 Caitlin Campbell           16:00    VRWC
17 Jemima Montag              17:21    VRWC
26 Cobie Somerfield           21:17    VRWC
27 Shae Ohlsen                23:01    VRWC

EVENT 19 BOYS U18 5 km
4  Nathan Brill               23:33    VRWC
5  Michael O'Mahony           24:37    VRWC
6  Josh Dillon                24:38    VRWC
11 Matt Felton                26:31    VRWC
12 Joshua Kaiser              27:12    VRWC
13 Billy Allamby              27:16    VRWC
14 Lucas Taylor               28:37    VRWC
15 Aaron Tam                  29:38    VRWC
16 Connor McShanag            31:45    VRWC
   Brad Simpson               DQ       VRWC

EVENT 20 GIRLS U18 5 km
1  Rachel Tallent             24:44    VRWC
2  Amy Burren                 24:55    VRWC
3  Hilary Brazel              25:06    VRWC
10 Ella Mason                 29:43    VRWC
11 Emily Hamilton             30:07    VRWC

EVENT 21 WOMENS 5 km
2  Regan Lamble        U20    23:14    VRWC
4  Beth Alexander      U20    24:35    VRWC
6  Rachel Tallent      U20    25:17    VRWC
12 Jmara Hockley-Samon U20    27:08    VRWC     
13 Ameilia Finnegan    U20    27:20    VRWC
15 Caitlin Campbell    U20    27:29    VRWC
17 Simone McInnes      U20    28:11    VRWC
22 Bianca Attard       U20    29:47    VRWC
26 Shelby Kay          U20    32:13    VRWC
30 Donna-Marie Elms    M      33:01    VRWC
   Emma Smith                 DQ       VRWC     

UNDER 20
1  Regan Lamble               23:14    VRWC     
2  Beth Alexander             24:35    VRWC   
4  Rachel Tallent             25:17    VRWC   
7  Jmara Hockley-Samon        27:08    VRWC     
8  Amelia Finnegan            27:20    VRWC     
9  Caitlin Campbell           27:29    VRWC   
11 Simone McInnes             28:11    VRWC
14 Bianca Attard              29:47    VRWC     
16 Shelby Kay                 32:13    VRWC

MASTERS      
8  Donna-Marie Elms           33:01    VRWC

VRWC ROAD WALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 5 JUNE 2010

It was yet another handicap day at Albert Park on Saturday with prizes for the winners of each event so I have presented the results in handicap finish order and show as a separate column how much each walker's actual time compared to their handicap time. The last column shows the actual places in terms of fastest times. The weather was cool and overcast for the most of the races so perfect for fast walking, but the rain started to come down towards the end of the day and the slower 10km walkers bore the brunt of the change.  A total of 97 walkers contested our various events so it was our biggest race day so far for the winter.

We stopped for one minute's silence before the first events to remember club Life Member Ray Smith who died unexpectedly on Thursday night. All walkers wore black armbands in remembrance of Ray – his  impact on so many of us was great and we mourn his passing and pass our condolences onto his sister Valerie and his extended family.

Thanks as usual to Terry Swan for his great photo selection – soon to uploaded to http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine. Thanks also to Fran Attard who put together a great video of last week's races – this was played both before and after our races today so that everyone had a chance to check out their techniques. Thanks for taking on this important club task Fran.

The 10km event saw three of our World Cup walking team in action – Chris Erickson flew out of the blocks with a 4:00 first kilometre and powered through to fastest time of 42:44. Behind him, Rhydian Cowley and Regan Lamble were out to show their fitness ahead of next month's World Junior Championships and they excelled with great times of 44:01 and 47:13 respectively. In fact, Regan's 47:13 was a 59 sec PB so was outstanding. Not to be outdone, Heather Carr bettered her own pending Masters W60 World Record by nearly 1 minute with her time of 53:56. Yet the handicap wins went to Gayle McIntyre and Russ Dickenson who kicked back into top form with 56:46 and 56:32 respectively. Other great walks were seen from Bob Gardiner 60:59 (M70!), Pam Tindal 53:56, Nardene Hammond 56:36 (1m+ PB) and James Seid-Christmass 52:38 (17 sec PB).

10km  Open Handicap      Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Gayle McIntyre        56:46    -1:58           5
2. Nardene Hammond        56:36    -1:16           4
3. Heather Carr          53:56    -0:57           3
4. Pam Tindal            53:19    -0:14           2
5. Alison Thompson       60:14    +0:15           6
6. Marlaine Stanway      72:30    +0:22           8
7. Margaret Beaumont     79:46    +1:08           9
8. Liz Feldman           62:36    +1:43           7
9. Regan Lamble          47:13    No h'cap        1

1. Russ Dickenson        56:32    -3:49           6
2. Bob Gardiner          60:59    -1:31           7
3. James Seid-Christmass 52:38    -0:57           3
4. Aaron McDonough       54:36    -0:50           4
5. David De Bondi *      69:30    -0:43           9
6. Duncan Knox           56:18    -0:35           5
7. Rhydian Cowley        44:01    -0:29           2
8. Harry Summers         68:59    +0:01           8
9. Chris Erickson        42:44    No h'cap        1

Anna Wallace 29:47 and Rudolf Skrucany 33:43 won the handicaps last week and they won again this week with more good walking. Fastest times went to Kylie Irshad 25:07 and Josh Dillon 24:31 while Cassie Raselli 26:21, Hilary Brazel 25:33, Donna Elms 30:07 and Josh Kaiser 25:52 all did good PBs, such was the standard of this event.

5km  Open Handicap       Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Anna Wallace          29:47    -2:00           4
2. Kylie Irshad          25:07    -1:57           1
3. Cassie Raselli        26:21    -1:09           3
4. Hilary Brazel         25:33    -0:35           2
5. Donna Elms            30:07    -0:35           5
6. Gwen Steed            31:25    -0:15           6
7. Karen O'Neill         34:55    No h'cap        7

1. Rudolf Skrucany       33:43    -2:09           8
2. Howard Gibson *       37:42    -1:18           10
3. Joshua Kaiser         25:52    -0:50           3
4. Josh Dillon           24:31    -0:43           1
5. Barrie Wicks          35:44    -0:34           9
6. Jason Kozica          27:25    -0:21           5
7. Alan Lucas            28:42    -0:06           6
8. Robin Wood            38:24    +0:09           11
9. Bernie Keirl          27:02    +0:15           4
10.Ian Beaumont *        40:16    +0:16           12
11.Geoff Barrow          32:51    +0:30           7
12.Mark Donahoo          25:38    +1:04           2

Janet Holmes 18:08 and Gordon Onley 21:05 took the honours in the 3km handicaps while Ella Mason 17:12 and Jason Elms 17:08 were fastest overall. We welcomed first time walker Ruth Nicholls who walked a very creditable 19:10.

3km  Open Handicap       Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Janet Holmes *        18:08    -0:58           2
2. Ella Mason            17:12    -0:33           1
3. Maryanne Harrison     21:06    -0:21           5
4. Jan Morrey            18:53    -0:11           3
5. Georgia Gatens        21:26    +1:01           6
6. Ruth Nicholls *       19:10    No h'cap        4
   Amy Burren            Ab         

1. Gordon Onley *        21:05    -1:52           3
2. Lindsay Harrison      21:55    +0:04           4
3. Jason Elms            17:08    +0:10           1
4. Llew Jenkins          20:30    +0:10           2

Caitlin Campbell recorded a 1:16 PB with 15:34 while Aaron Tam walked a 20 sec PB with 16:23 and this was good enough to win them the 3km U15 handicaps. Lucas Taylor also walked a big PB with 15:34 and was only 1 sec behind Aaron on handicaps. Amelia Finnegan is getting back into top shape and took the fastest time amongst the girls with 14:54 while Nathan Brill excelled with the fastest male time of 13:36.

3km  U15 Handicap        Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Caitlin Campbell      15:34    -1:16           3
2. Bianca Attard         16:13    -0:54           5
3. Amelia Finnegan       14:54    -0:44           1
4. Megan Walker          17:27    -0:39           7
5. Jmara Hockley Samon   15:03    -0:37           2
6. Amy Ventura           18:35    -0:30           9
7. Beth Barbour          17:33    -0:26           8
8. Jasmine Irshad        15:53    -0:13           4
9. Carly Bertrand        17:15    +0:05           6
   Rebecca Campbell      Ab
   Stephanie George      Ab

1. Aaron Tam             16:23    -1:19           6
2. Lucas Taylor          15:34    -1:18           5
3. Billy Allamby         15:04    -0:47           2
4. Nathan Brill          13:36    -0:19           1
5. Matthew Felton        15:31    -0:12           3
6. Adam Garganis         18:25    -0:11           7
7. Connor McShanag       15:33    +0:14           4

Charisma Boothroyd 12:38 and Harley Davidson 16:56 were our U12 handicap winners but the standard was superb with nearly every walker beating her/his respective handicap time. Emily Hamilton was the fastest girl with 10:44 while Kyle Swan 9:34 and Cooper Owen 10:16 were the fastest boys as usual. What fine walking we are seeing in this age group.

2km U12 Handicap         Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Charisma Boothroyd    12:38    -1:48           11
2. Mikhala Hodges        11:19    -1:05           4
3. Georgia Bertrand      11:17    -0:55           3
4. Bronte Segota         11:49    -0:45           6
5. Anaya Hodges          11:58    -0:39           9
6. Paige De Lisen        11:00    -0:36           2
7. Charlee Harrison      13:03    -0:36           13
8. Jessica Lillie        11:52    -0:30           8
9. Shelby Kay             11:27    -0:28           5
10.Emily Hamilton        10:44    -0:26           1
11.Cassandra Kay         13:08    -0:23           14
12.Hayley Brown          12:54    -0:21           12
13.Brodie Richardson     11:51    -0:11           7
14.Gabriella Crea        12:19    +0:15           10

1. Harley Davidson       16:56    -0:58           7
2. Reese Walmsley        10:40    -0:55           3
3. Sam Candotti          13:41    -0:48           5
4. Kyle Swan              9:34    -0:43           1
5. Cody McNicol-Davidson 12:21    -0:32           4
6. Cooper Owen           10:16    -0:28           2
7. Hayden Walmsley       14:46    +0:25           6
   Jacob Richardson      Ab         

Tegan Miller 6:13 and Noah Candotti 7:31 were our two U9 handicap winners while Kristina Collins 5:42, Brianna Lillie 5:50 and Chelsea Owen Smith 6:02 all showed great speed as the fastest overall. Ethan Wright was the fastest of the boys with 6:55. Finally, we welcomed Ella Segota for her first walk with us.

1km U9 Handicap          Time    Diff to H'cap    Actual Time Place
1. Tegan Miller          6:13    -0:27            4
2. Livinia Mason         6:32    -0:16            5
3. Kristina Collins      5:42    -0:09            1
4. Chelsea Owen-Smith    6:02    -0:03            3
5. Brianna Lillie        5:50    +0:02            2
6. Lee Taylor            6:34    +0:17            6
7. Ella Segota           7:43    No h'cap         7

1. Noah Candotti         7:31    -0:13            2
2. Ethan Wright          6:55    +0:09            1

Thanks as usual to the many people who work hard each week to keep the show on the road. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Michael Brazel, Matt Owen,     Stuart Cooper, Don McLaren
Judges: Peter Vysma (chief),  Lloyd Nicholls, Graham George, Shane Bertrand, Terry Knape, Judy Mason, Brenda Felton
Canteen: Kate Suich, Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers

VRWC ROAD WALKS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 29 MAY 2010

It was another big day at Albert Park with 79 walkers in attendance for the first of our Handicap Start races. Luckily, the forecast rain did not eventuate and conditions were almost perfect for fast walking. With the tradidional handicap start – slowest walkers heading off first and fastest walkers heading off last – it was very interesting for spectators – would the backmarkers come through or would the outmarkers hold on for a win? Of course, if everyone walked to their handicaps, they would all reach the finish line close together but in reality that never happens!

As usual, Terry Swan has produced his usual fine selection of photos for the VRWC Gallery (http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine/) - over 100 in total – and I have extracted a few for the newsletter. In addition, Fran Attard has had her video camera in action the last two racedays and has produced a superb 20 min video of highlights from our races on 23 May. Unfortunately, we did not have a DVD player on hand on Saturday to show it but this coming Saturday that will be rectified. In the meanwhile, I have extracted and uploaded 10 mins of the video from 23 May to Facebook – check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_bYY-k2sRk

And now onto the races where there were prizes for the 10 handicap winners. This week, all races are shown terms of handicap finish placings rather than actual times placings. The Actual Time placings are shown as an additional column. Club Rules walkers are shown with an *.

The 8km handicaps were won by Rudolf Skrucany (who sprinted off fellow outmarker Harry Summers with a good display of finishing speed) and Heather Carr who came through as one of the backmarkers. Heather's time of 42:58 was a superb one for a W60 walker and actually gave her the fastest time overall out of the ladies, ahead of usual winner Pam Tindal who walked an almost identical time of 42:59, but off a different mark. Andrew Jamieson was the lonely backmarker in the men's race and, although he walked the quickest time of 39:37, he could not catch everyone ahead of him. James Seid-Christmass walked a 2 min PB with 40:55 but this could only guarantee him second place!

8km  Open Handicap        Actual Time   Actual Time Place
1. Heather Carr           42:58         1
2. Anna Wallace           49:54         5
3. Celia Johnson          54:14         6
4. Alison Thompson        47:35         4
5. Pam Tindal             42:59         2
6. Gayle McIntyre         46:17         3
   Marlaine Stanway       DQ

1. Rudolf Skrucany        56:30         8
2. James Seid-Christmass  40:55         2
3. Harry Summers          53:04         7
4. Andrew Jamieson        39:37         1
5. Bob Gardiner           49:59         6
6. Joshua Kaiser          43:59         3
7. Russ Dickenson         48:31         5
8. Murray Dickinson       48:12         4
   Robin Wood *           DNF
   Bernie Keirl           DQ
   Simon Evans            DNF

The 4km Open handicaps were won by Maryanne Harrison and Gordon Onley, two of the outmarkers. Kylie Irshad walked a great race to take fastest time for the women with 19:59; she was not far behind Maryanne but could not bridge the gap. Club Handicapper Mark Donahoo was the fastest of the men with 19:21 but he could only take 4th place (good honest handicapping!).

4km  Open Handicap        Actual Time   Actual Time Place
1. Maryanne Harrison      28:08         8
2. Kylie Irshad           19:59         1
3. Georgia Gatens         27:24         7
4. Liz Feldman            23:03         2
5. Jan Morrey             25:38         5
6. Donna Elms             23:51         3
7. Gwen Steed             24:27         4
8. Janet Holmes *         25:58         6

1. Gordon Onley *         28:58         7
2. Alan Lucas             22:33         4
3. Lindsay Harrison       29:26         8
4. Mark Donahoo           19:21         1
5. Barrie Wicks           28:32         6
6. Hilary Brazel          20:58         2
7. Michael O'Mahony       21:33         3
8. Geoff Barrow           25:50         5
9. Rory Ogilvie *         34:31         9

Beth Barbour with a 45 sec PB of 23:56 and Matt Felton with a 2 min PB time of 18:53 (wow) were the handicap winners in the U15 event and it was not surprising that no one could catch them, given their fine performances. Matt was only just a few secs slower than Nathan Brill whose 18:47 was yet another top effort while Amelia Finnegan with 20:42 was the fastest of the girls and is getting back into racing shape again after a break overseas. The event was not without drama as Jess Callaway went down with a broken right fibula (ankle) that required evacuation to hospital via ambulance. Jess is now wearing the big space boot and it will be some weeks before we see her back in action – what bad luck! Recover quickly Jess.

4km  U15 Handicap         Actual Time   Actual Time Place
1. Beth Barbour           23:56         5
2. Emily Swan             27:28         7
3. Bianca Attard          22:41         3
4. Amelia Finnegan        20:42         1
5. Megan Walker           25:14         6
6. Stephanie George       22:25         2
7. Caitlin Campbell       23:51         4
   Jessica Callaway       DNF     
   Jasmine Irshad         DNF     

1. Matthew Felton         18:53         2
2. Aaron Tam              23:03         5
3. Paul Tremigliozzi      25:53         6
4. Connor McShanag        20:22         3
5. Nathan Brill           18:47         1
6. Billy Allamby          21:33         4

Our U12 2km events saw 20 starters and they were fiercely contested events with Bronte Segota (a 20 sec PB of 11:53) and Cooper Owen (a 16 sec PB of 10:17) taking handicap honours. This event also saw super fast PBs from Kyle Swan 9:41 and Jemima Montag 9:44 and I think that there were quite a few PBs elsewhere in the field. Just to pick a few out, Brodie Richardson jumped up from U9 again and did a 10 sec PB with her time of 11:58, Hayden Walmsley jumped up from U9 with his first ever 2km in 14:07 and Charlee Harrison did a big PB with 12:36.

2km U12 Handicap          Actual Time   Actual Time Place
1. Bronte Segota          11:53         6
2. Charlee Harrison       12:36         11
3. Jemima Montag          09:44         1
4. Shelby Kay             11:31         3
5. Hayley George          11:51         5
6. Jessica Lillie         12:02         9
7. Gabbie Crea            12:01         8
8. Anaya Hodges           12:35         10
9. Emily Hamilton         11:19         2
10.Brodie Richardson      11:58         7
11.Jade Sanders           11:36         4
12.Tara Xuereb            13:20         12
13.Cassandra Kay          13:31         13

1. Cooper Owen            10:17         2
2. Kyle Swan              09:41         1
3. Hayden Walmsley        14:07         5
4. Reese Walmsley         11:18         3
5. Cody McNicol-Davidson  12:56         4
6. Sam Candotti           14:30         6
   Harley Davidson        DNF

The U9 1km saw Mikhala Hodges (15 sec PB with 5:39) and Noah Candotti (24 sec PB with 7:18) take handicap honours. Mikhala was also the fastest of the girls while Ethan Wright was the fastest of the boys, finishing only 1 sec shy of his PB with 6:42.

1km U9 Handicap           Actual Time   Actual Time Place
1. Mikhala Hodges         05:39         1
2. Piper Montag           06:18         4
3. Brianna Lillie         06:01         2
4. Kathleen O'Mahoney     06:04         3
5. Tegan Miller           06:40         5
   Payton Kay             DQ

1. Noah Candotti          07:18         2
2. Ethan Wright           06:42         1
   Jack Sanders           DQ     

And finally, thanks to all our officials who keep the show on the road. Sorry if I have missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Russ Dickenson, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Michael Brazel, Matt Owen, Stuart Cooper
Judges: Peter Vysma (chief), Brenda Felton, Lloyd Nicholls, Graham George, Gordon Loughan, Terry Knape
Canteen: Kate Suich, Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers

VRWC CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 25 MAY 2010

Our major winter season club championships day was held on Sunday in perfect Melbourne weather – cold early but clearing into a beautiful sunny morning with temperatures in the mid teens. Terry Swan has posted over 90 photos from the day to our VRWC photo gallery at http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine/

Sunday saw a new race on the winter season fixture – our 4 Hour 'walk as far as you can' event - and with 15 competitors taking up the challenge, it has to be deemed a great first up success so we will definitely be holding another one next year. Michelle Thompson and Liz Feldman walked furthest overall, both completing 36km, with Karyn O'Neill not far behind with 33km. John Timms and Steve Jordan, both with 30km, were the best of our men. It was also great to see Ian Jack back on the road after many years. Ian was one of our best 50km walkers in the 1970s and still holds the Australian 100 mile record at under 18 hours!  The Ray Smith Trophy was held in conjunction with this event and is contested over 35km. Once we took out our Club Rules walkers (shown with an *), we had no one walking under the IAAF rules who could complete the requisite distance so unfortunately this trophy goes unpresented this season.

VRWC 4 HOUR RACE
1. Timms, John *          30km in 4:01:42
2. Jordan, Steve *        30km in 4:05:44
3. Skrucany, Rudolf *     28km in 4:00:00
4. McDonough, Aaron       27km in 2:43:43
5. Gardiner, Bob          20km in 2:09:00
6. Beaumont, Ian *        20km in 2:52:32
7. Jack, Ian *            18km in 1:59:21
8. Erickson, Tim          15km in 1:41:30
9. O'Neill, Terry         15km in 1:52:26
   Bennett, Ralph         DQ
 
1. Thompson, Michelle *   36km in 4:00:07
2. Feldman, Liz *         36km in 4:05:25
3. O'Neill, Karyn         34km in 4:07:12
4. Carmel, Julie *        24km in 4:10:31
5. Beaumont, Margaret     20km in 2:52:32
 
VRWC 35km CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP – RAY SMITH TROPHY
   O'Neill, Karyn         DNF
   O'Neill, Terry         DNF
   McDonough, Aaron       DNF
   Bennett, Ralph         DQ
 
And now onto our club championships. The first to kick off were the 15km events for Open Women and U20 men and women. In the Open Women's division, Pam Tindal was the winner with a superb time of 1:22:45 (a 6 min PB). And it got better from there with new Australian Masters records by Heather Carr (W60 – 1:25:43) and by Marlaine Stanway (W70 – 1:49:04). What fantastic walking by all three ladies. In our U20 divisions, Rhydian Cowley, fresh from his World Cup walk in Mexico last weekend, was the fastest overall with a zippy 1:11:23 while Bianca Attard, still only 14, won the women's event in a PB time of 1:37:45.

VRWC 15km OPEN WOMEN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP – ELSIE JACOBSON TROPHY
1. Tindal, Pam            1:22:45
2. Carr, Heather          1:25:43 (New Aust W60 record )
3. Hammond, Nardene       1:30:34
4. Elms, Donna            1:40:24
5. Stanway, Marlaine      1:49:04 (New Aust W70 record )
 
VRWC 15km UNDER 20 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Cowley, Rhydian        1:11:23
2. Simpson, Brad          1:20:55
 
1. Attard, Bianca         1:37:45
 
Our U12 and U9 1km club championships were next and the pace was frenetic from the gun. In the U12 division, Kyle Swan (4:44), Cooper Owen (4:54) and Emily Hamilton (4:56) all broke the 5 minute barrier while Jade Sanders and Paige De Lisen were not far behind, crossing the line together in 5:04. In the U9 divisions, Brodie Richardson (5:20) Mikhala Hodges (5:23) and Harry Hockley-Samon (5:25) were our fastest and once again, the walking was fantastic. We also welcomed first time VRWC walkers Charisma Boothroyd, Arabella Phillips and Chelsea McDonald (Chelsea is Heather Carr's grand daughter).

VRWC 1km UNDER 12 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Swan, Kyle             04:44
2. Owen, Cooper           04:54
 
2. Hamilton, Emily        04:56
E2 Sanders, Jade          05:04
E2 De Lisen, Paige        05:04
3. Kay, Shelby            05:24
4. Crea, Gabriella        05:30
5. George, Hayley         05:30
6. Hodges, Anaya          05:35
7. Lillie, Jessica        05:37
8. Xuereb, Tara           06:03
9. Brown, Hayley          06:04
10.Harrison, Charlee      06:17
11.Boothroyd, Charisma    06:34
 
VRWC 1km UNDER 9 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry   05:25
2. Wright, Ethan          06:45
   
1. Richardson, Brodie     05:20
2. Hodges, Mikhala        05:23
3. Lillie, Brianna        05:31
4. Owen-Smith, Chelsea    05:40
5. O'Mahony, Kathleen     06:04
6. Taylor, Lee            06:05
7. Phillips, Arabella     06:28
8. Mason, Livinia         06:29
9. Kay, Payton            06:34
10.McDonald, Chelsea      06:59

Our U16 5km and U14 3km divisions were our last championship events for the day and they also saw big fields and quick times. The U16 boys event saw a great battle between Nathan Brill and Josh Dillon. Josh lead through the first km in aound 4:15 and was still slightly in front at the 3km mark, passed in around 13:44. But then Nathan kicked up a cog and stormed home, taking over a minute off his best time with 23:27. Josh, who is mixing footy with walking so is probably a bit underdone at the moment, held on well for 24:16, a great time itself. Josh Kaiser did a 5 sec PB to take third in the high quality event. Jmara Hockley-Samon (26:48) and Amelia Finnegan (27:05) had a good battle in the U16 girls' event with Jmara claiming gold. In the 14 events, Connor McShanag (a big PB of 14:49) and Stephanie George (15:09) were our U14 winners while U12 walkers Kyle Swan (15:32), Emily Hamilton (17:12), Paige De Lisen (19:09) and Jade Sanders (19:09)  jumped up to the U14 event as a second event and all walked strongly.

VRWC 5km UNDER 16 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Brill, Nathan          23:27
2. Dillon, Josh           24:16
3. Kaiser, Joshua         26:23
4. Felton, Matt           32:20
5. Tam, Aaron             33:23
 
1. Hockley-Samon, Jmara   26:48
2. Finnegan, Amelia       27:05
3. Campbell, Caitlin      27:43
4. Mason, Ella            30:53
5. Callaway, Jessica      33:23
   Raselli, Cassie        DNF
 
VRWC 3km UNDER 14 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. McShanag, Connor       14:49
2. Swan, Kyle             15:32
3. Allamby, Billy         DQ
 
1. George, Stephanie      15:09
2. Irshad, Jasmine        16:01
3. Hamilton, Emily        17:12
4. Walker, Megan          17:34
5. De Lisen, Paige        19:09
6. Sanders, Jade          19:09
 
We also had a variety of club non-championship events on offer for everyone else. Just to highlight a few performances, Stuart Kollmorgen had an easy stroll over 20km in preparation for Canberra, recording 1:46:18, Michael O'Mahony took over 1 minute off his 10km PB with 53:57 and Kylie Irshad walked a very quick 25:35 for the 5km.

VRWC 20km Open
1. Kollmorgen, Stuart     1:46:18
 
VRWC 10km OPEN 
1. O'Mahony, Michael      53:57
2. Seid-Christmass, James 54:55
3. Armstrong, David       60:46
4. Lucas, Alan            61:36
5. Dickenson, Russ        62:58
6. Summers, Harry         71:53
   Wood, Robin            DNF
 
1. Wallace, Anna          64:18
 
VRWC 5km Open
1. Kozica, Jason          28:22
2. Onley, Gordon *        39:41
 
1. Irshad, Kylie          25:35
2. McIntyre, Gayle        29:01
3. Johnson, Celia         33:33
 
Thanks also to our many volunteers who keep the show on the road every week. Sorry if I have missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Russ Dickenson, Stuart Cooper, Ian Laurie, Natalie Laurie, Matt Owen
Judges: Peter Vysma (chief), Terry Knape, Judy Mason, Lloyd Nicholls, Gordon Loughnan
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

AV, VMA AND VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 15 MAY 2010

Saturday afternoon saw 94 walkers come together for one of our major championship days of the winter season with Victorian 10km and Victorian Masters 10km championships on offer for men and women.

With so many of our top walkers away in Mexico this weekend contesting the World Race Walking Cup, the 10km championships were open affairs and Stuart Kollmorgen and Kelly Ruddick made the most of the opportunity and recorded solid wins. Stuart, who won the Victorian 5km Teams championship 2 weeks ago, was never headed as he recorded 48:55 for fastest time overall and gold in the men's event. He was followed by Mark Donahoo and Simon Evans, all recording their fastest times for quite some time. James Seid-Christmass walked a 55 sec PB to take 4th while young Connor McShanag walked a 6 minute PB to take 7th.

In the women's event, Kelly Ruddick walked a 48 sec PB to break 50 minutes for the first time and take gold. Behind her, Pam Tindal took silver with 1 minute PB, setting a new a W50 Victorian record with her time of 52:19. Heather Carr took a strong third with 54:23 while further back two of our young walkers tested themselves over the longer distance. U16 State champion Jmara Hockley Samon finished 5th with a wonderful first up 57:53 while fellow U16 walker Caitlin Campbell took over 6 mins of her 10km time with 58:06.

Masters division of 40+ and 50+ were contested for the first time with medallists as shown below.
 
Victorian 10km Roadwalk Championship - Men
1. Kollmorgen, Stuart        M40    COL    0:48:55    40+ 1st
2. Donahoo, Mark             M50    ATE    0:49:48    50+ 1st
3. Evans, Simon              M50    BOH    0:52:00    50+ 2nd
4. Seid-Christmass, James    M40    COR    0:52:55    40+ 2nd
5. McDonough, Aaron          OPEN   PTN    0:55:11
6. Knox, Duncan              M50    ATE    0:56:53    50+ 3rd
7. McShanag, Connor          OPEN   ATE    0:57:49
8. Gardiner, Bob             M50    COL    0:59:43
9. Van Dongen, Rupert        OPEN   CCA    1:12:16
   Simpson, Brad             OPEN   KNA    DNF     
   Jamieson, Andrew          M50    OSC    DNS     
 
Victorian 10km Roadwalk Championship – Women
1. Ruddick, Kelly            OPEN   BHA    0:49:46
2. Tindal, Pam               W50    CDN    0:52:19    50+ 1st
3. Carr, Heather             W50    EAG    0:54:23    50+ 2nd
4. Hammond , Nardene         OPEN   ATE    0:57:52
5. Hockley-Samon, Jmara      OPEN   CHI    0:57:53
6. Campbell, Caitlin         OPEN   ATE    0:58:06
7. Brunton, Caitlin          OPEN   COR    1:02:25
8. Elms, Donna               W40    ATE    1:03:50    40+ 1st
   Irshad, Kylie             OPEN   SCA    DNF     

The Victorian Masters 10km walking championships were held concurrently and some of the older AV walkers were able to win a second medal for their day's work. Results are as shown below. Performances are rated against the Masters Age Tables as per normal Masters reporting standards. Heather Carr dominated with her 54:23 W60 performance which gave her 95.23% while others above the elite standard of 80% included Stuart Kollmorgen, Mark Donahoo, Russ Dickenson, Ralph Bennett, Murray Dickinson, Pam Tindal, Alison Thompson, Liz Feldman and Gwen Steed, confirming what we already know – that we have some of the best Masters walkers in the world here in Victoria.

Victorian Masters 10km Championships – Men
M35    McDonough, Aaron        1    0:55:11    69.13%
M35    Van Dongen, Rupert      2    1:12:16    52.25%
M40    Kollmorgen, Stuart      1    0:48:55    80.19%
M40    Seid-Christmass, James  2    0:52:55    74.71%
M50    Donahoo, Mark           1    0:49:48    85.37%
M50    Skrucany, Rudolf        2    1:14:25    58.60%
M55    Riddoch, Clyde          1    1:03:06    70.32%
M60    Dickenson, Russ         1    0:57:02    84.15%
M60    Lucas, Alan             2    0:59:34    78.89%
M65    Bennett, Ralph          1    0:56:02    89.63%
M65    Wicks, Barrie           2    1:15:36    67.23%
M65    Jenkins, Llew           DQ
M70    Dickinson, Murray       1    1:01:05    85.32%
M70    Summers, Harry          2    1:08:27    79.25%
M70    Beaumont, Ian           DQ
 
Victorian Masters 10km Championships – Women
W35    Hammond, Nardene        1    0:57:52     72.50%
W35    Irshad, Kylie           DNF
W40    McIntyre, Gayle         1    0:59:11    73.62%
W45    Elms, Donna             1    1:03:50    71.97%
W50    Tindal, Pam             1    0:52:18    88.70%
W55    Thompson, Alison        1    0:59:15    84.32%
W60    Carr, Heather           1    0:54:23    95.23%
W60    Feldman, Liz            2    1:00:53    86.14%
W60    Johnson, Celia          3    1:08:37    77.42%
W65    Steed, Gwen             1    1:06:53    85.16%
W70    Beaumont, Margaret      1    1:18:38    77.13%
W70    Stanway, Marlaine       DQ

And now onto our VRWC walkers. All those club members who were competing in the AV and VMA 10 km walks were also eligible to be recorded as VRWC 10km walkers, making a total VRWC 10km field size of 38. Now that's what I call impressive. I won't comment further on this race as the main performances have been discussed above.

VRWC 10km Open                       Handicap Place
1. Kollmorgen, Stuart        48:55   12
2. Donahoo, Mark             49:48   2
3. Evans, Simon              52:00   8
4. Seid-Christmass, James    52:55   5
5. McDonough, Aaron          55:11   11
6. Bennett, Ralph            56:02   14
7. Knox, Duncan              56:53   6
8. Dickenson, Russ           57:02   4
9. McShanag, Connor          57:49   1
10.Lucas, Alan               59:34   7
11.Gardiner, Bob             59:43   3
12.Dickinson, Murray         61:05   16
13.Riddoch, Clyde            63:06   10
14.Summers, Harry            68:27   9
15.Van Dongen, Rupert        72:16  
16.Skrucany, Rudolf          74:25   15
17.Wood, Robin               74:55   17
18.Wicks, Barrie             75:36   13
   Simpson, Brad             DNF
   Jenkins, Llew             DQ
   Beaumont, Ian             DQ
         
1. Ruddick, Kelly            49:46  
2. Tindal, Pam               52:19   5
3. Carr, Heather             54:23   3
4. Hammond, Nardene          57:52  
5. Hockley-Samon, Jmara      57:53  
6. Campbell, Caitlin         58:06   2
7. McIntyre, Gayle           59:11   10
8. Thompson, Alison          59:15   4
9. Feldman, Liz              60:53   7
10.Brunton, Caitlin          62:25  
11.Wallace, Anna             63:07   1
12.Elms, Donna               63:50   6
13.Steed, Gwen               66:53   9
14.Johnson, Celia            68:37  
15.Beaumont, Margaret        78:38   8
   Irshad, Kylie             DNF
   Stanway, Marlaine         DQ
       
We also had lots of walkers in our other VRWC Open races over 5km and 3km. In the 5km, 13 year old Nathan Brill continued his wonderful form, taking a further 2 secs of his PB with 24:39. Josh Dillon was also in good form, walking a brisk 25:40 and showing that you can mix footy with walking over the winter. Jason Kozica took over a minute off his PB with 26:58 – his decision to walk for the winter rather than run Cross Country is certainly paying dividends. Hilary Brazel also walked a blinder, taking 24 secs of her best time with 25:46.
In the 3km, Cassie Raselli continued her return to race fitness with an excellent 15:23 but she was matched by Josh Kaiser whose 15:20 was a 1:18 PB – wow! We also welcomed Pansy Tam to Albert Park for her first ever walk – welcome Pansy!

VRWC 5km Open                        Handicap Place    
1. Brazel, Hilary            25:46   2
2. Morrey, Jan               32:49   3
3. Shaw, Robyn               32:51   1
   Shaw, Kirstin             DNF 
       
1. Brill, Nathan             24:39   3
2. Dillon, Josh              25:40   2
3. Antidormi, Ryan           26:27   4
4. Kozica, Jason             26:58   1
         
VRWC 3km Open                        Handicap Place        
1. Raselli, Cassie           15:23   1
2. McInnes, Simone           17:18   3
3. Mason, Ella               17:32   5
4. Holmes, Janet             19:08   4
5. Harrison, Maryanne        21:22   2
6. Tam, Pansy                26:59  
         
1. Kaiser, Josh              15:20   1
2. Harrison, Lindsay         21:17   2
3. Onley, Gordon             23:19   3

Our Under 15 walkers are always a competitive lot and Saturday was no exception. At the front, Stephanie George 15:31, Amelia Finnegan 15:43, Jasmine Irshad 15:46 and Billy Allamby 15:44 were all close while further back the PBs were on show. Jemima Montag walked her first ever 3km with a fine 16:00, Carly Bertrand did a 50 sec PB with 16:45, Beth Barbour did an 18 sec PB with 17:41,  Aaron Tam did a 17 sec PB with 16:43 and Sarah Burren zoomed through a 2km time trial in 10:02.
         
VRWC 3km Under 15                    Handicap Place     
1. George, Stephanie         15:31   6
2. Finnegan, Amelia          15:43   7
3. Irshad, Jasmine           15:46   3
4. Montag, Jemima            16:00   2
5. Bertrand, Carly           16:45   1
6. Walker, Megan             17:35   5
7. Barbour, Beth             17:41   4
8. Swan, Emily               20:56   8
   Burren, Sarah             DNF (2km in 10:02)
         
1. Allamby, Billy            15:44   3
2. Tam, Aaron                16:43   1
3. Tremigliozzi, Paul        19:10   2

The Under 12 walkers were back to 2km this week and the good conditions ensured quick times. Kyle Swan was fastest overall with a 40 sec PB time of 10:01 (that's fast!) ahead of Cooper Owen whose 10:33 was a 7 sec PB. Emily Hamilton did a 38 sec PB to win the girl's race with 10:46, Shelby Kay did a 58 sec PB with 11:44, Jessica Lillie did a 20 sec PB with 12:08, Tara Xuereb did a 42 sec PB with 12:43 and Charlee Harrison did a 1 sec PB with 13:26. We also welcomed first time walker Anaya Hodges who did a good first up 13:21.

VRWC 2km Under 12                    Handicap Place       
1. Hamilton, Emily           10:46   2
2. De Lisen, Paige           11:31   11
3. Bertrand, Georgia         11:37   8
4. Kay, Shelby               11:44   4
5. George, Hayley            11:53   7
6. Richardson, Brodie        12:03   10
7. Lillie, Jessica           12:08   5
8. Xuereb, Tara              12:28   3
9. McCann, Tessa             12:43   9
10.Hodges, Anaya             13:21   1
11.Harrison, Charlee         13:26   6
   Crea, Gabriella           DQ
         
1. Swan, Kyle                10:01   1
2. Owen, Cooper              10:33   2
3. McNicol-Davidson, Cody    12:51   4
4. Tremigliozzi, Josh        15:36   3
   Walmsley, Reese           DQ

The Under 9 walkers were also walking fast. Mikhala Hodges who was second in the VLAA U9 champs last summer had her first walk at Albert Park and did a fantastic 5:54, just pipping Brianna Lille whose 5:55 was a 10 sec PB. Piper Montag had her first walk with us, recording a great 6:30 while Livinia Mason did a 37 sec PB with 7:07. Harry Hockley-Samon did a 37 sec PB to win the boy's event with 6:00 ahead of Ethan Wright (29 sec PB of 6:43)  and Hayden Walmsley 6:43..
     
VRWC 1km Under 9                    Handicap Place       
1. Hodges, Mikhala           5:54   1
2. Lillie, Brianna           5:55   3
3. Montag, Piper             6:30  
4. Kay, Payton               7:01  
5. Mason, Livinia            7:07   2
6. Vicendese, Lucy           7:23   4

1. Hockley-Samon, Harry      6:00   1
E2 Wright, Ethan             6:43   2
E2 Walmsley, Hayden          6:43   3
4. Vicendese, Anthony        7:23   4

Thanks to all those who help us out as officials each week. My apologies to anyone I have missed.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Natalie Laurie, Ian Laurie, Russ Dickenson, Paul Kozaris, Michael Brazel, Stuart Cooper, Matt Owen, Damiel Elms, Jason Elms
Judges: Shane Bertrand (Chief), Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nicholls, Peter Vyma, Judy Mason, Terry Knape, Kathleen Marsh, Brenda Felton, Michael Bodey (DQ Board)
Canteen: Barg Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 8 MAY 2010

Saturday was a perfect racing day at Albert Park with mild, sunny and still conditions and 83 walkers took advantage of the opportunity. Simon Evans 53:13 and Pam Tindal 54:29 were the fastest walkers in the 10km event, our longest race of the day while Alison Thompson and David De Bondi were the handicap winners. We welcomed Emma Smith down from Cobden and she walked her first 10km with us, recording a good 65:46.
 
10km Open                          Handicap Place        
1. Pam Tindal             54:29    3
2. Heather Carr           56:56    2
3. Alison Thompson        59:43    1
4. Emma Smith             65:46   
5. Bianca Attard          67:23    4
6. Karyn O'Neill          70:52   
             
1. Simon Evans            53:13    2
2. Mark Donahoo           54:29    5
3. James Seid-Christmass  55:15    4
4. Michael O'Mahony       60:26    7
5. Bob Gardiner           63:40    6
6. Harry Summers          69:46    3
7. David De Bondi         70:19    1
   Russ Dickenson         DNF     
   Murray Dickinson       DNF     
   Terry O'Neill          DQ

The 5km walk saw 13 year old Nathan Brill walk a real blinder with a 30 second PB time of 24:40. But amazingly it did not win him the handicap as Jason Kozica also moved up a knotch with his time of 27:59. Kylie Irshad was the fastest of the ladies with 25:47 while the handicap winner was Kirstin Shaw whose 28:37 shows that she is starting to regain her form of early 2009.
             
5km Open                           Handicap Place
1. Kylie Irshad           25:47    2
2. Jmara Hockley Samon    28:16    6
3. Kirstin Shaw           28:37    1
4. Gayle McIntyre         29:18    4
5. Michelle Thompson      31:06    3
6. Gwen Steed             31:46    7
7. Robyn Shaw             33:29    5
             
1. Nathan Brill           24:40    3
2. Ryan Antidormi         26:32    5
3. Aaron McDonough        26:46    2
4. Jason Kozica           27:59    1
5. Alan Lucas             28:58    4
6. Rudolf Skrucany        35:52    9
7. Barrie Wicks           36:10    6
8. Robin Wood             38:00    8
9. Howard Gibson          39:28    7

In the 3km event, Donna Elms was my standout walker with a 20 sec PB tiime of 17:31. She and Athletics Essendon team mate Anna Wallace finished only a few seconds apart with Anna taking fastest time of 17:28. It was a family affair with Jason Elms taking fastest time and handicap win in the men's event with 16:58.
         
3km Open                           Handicap Place     
1. Anna Wallace           17:28    1
2. Donna Elms             17:31    4
3. Annemaree Gerlich      18:40    2
4. Janet Holmes           18:46    6
5. Jan Morrey             19:07    5
6. Georgia Gatens         20:25    3
7. Maryanne Harrison      21:34    7
             
1. Jason Elms             16:58    1
2. Llew Jenkins           20:20   
3. John Morrison          21:09    2
4. Gordon Onley           23:03    3
 
Stephanie George and Connor McShanag were our fastest U15 walkers with 15:50 and 15:30 respectively. They were not the only ones walking well - Caitlin Campbell did a 9 sec PB with 16:52, Carly Bertrand did a 10 sec PB with 17:35, Beth Barbour did a 21 sec PB with 17:58, Aaron Tam did a 3 sec PB with 17:00 and Paul Tremigliozzi did a 35 sec PB with 18:57.

3km Under 15                       Handicap Place          
1. Stephanie George       15:50    9
2. Amelia Finnegan        16:33    11
3. Caitlin Campbell       16:52    2
4. Jessica Callaway       17:28    1
5. Carly Bertrand         17:35    3
6. Jade Sanders           17:45    5
7. Megan Walker           17:55    7
8. Beth Barbour           17:58    4
9. Cindy Collins          18:22    6
10.Amy Ventura            19:02    8
11.Emily Swan             20:52    10
   Jasmine Irshad         DNF     
             
1. Connor McShanag        15:30    1
2. Aaron Tam              17:00    3
3. Paul Tremigliozzi      18:57    2
4. Cody McNicol-Davidson  21:49    4

Our U12 walkers increased their distances this week to 2.5km and Kyle Swan was on fire, recording a superb 12:31. Cooper Owen also walked superbly for second fastest and second in the handicap with 13:32. Emily Hamilton 14:16 and Paige De Lisen 14:36 were the fastest girls while Bronte Segota won the handicap with her 15:56. The standard was uniformly high.
                 
2.5km Under 12                     Handicap Place          
1. Emily Hamilton         14:16    3
2. Paige De Lisen         14:36    8
3. Georgia Bertrand       15:12    9
4. Shelby Kay             15:20    5
5. Jessica Lillie         15:26    2
6. Gabbie Crea            15:33    6
7. Hayley George          15:33    7
8. Bronte Segota          15:56    1
9. Hayley Brown           16:40    10
10.Charlee Harrison       16:59    4
             
1. Kyle Swan              12:31    1
2. Cooper Owen            13:32    2
3. Reese Walmsley         14:36    5
4. Harry Hockley Samon    18:05    4
5. Joshua Tremigliozzi    19:34    3
6. Harley Davidson        22:41    6

Our U9 walkers also increased their distance to 1.5km, a hard ask but one which they handled well.  Our fastest overall were Brodie Richardson 8:43 and Kristina Collins 9:05 while Hayden Walmsley was our fastest boy with 10:32. Chelsea Owen-Smith and Ethan Wright were the handicap winners. And finally, we welcomed first time club walker Payton Kay who walked well with 10:52.
         
1.5km Under 9                      Handicap Place 
1. Brodie Richardson       8:43    6       
2. Kristina Collins        9:05    3
3. Brianna Lillie          9:10    5
4. Chelsea Owen-Smith      9:15    1
5. Kathleen O'Mahoney      9:27    4
6. Payton Kay             10:52   
7. Lucy Vicendese         10:54    2
            
1. Hayden Walmsley        10:32    3
2. Ethan Wright           10:43    1
3. Anthony Vicendese      10:49   

Finally, thanks to all those who keep the show on the road each week. Sorry if I have missed anyone

Officials: Tim Erickson, Russ Dickenson, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Ken Walters, Matt Owen, Ian Laurie, Damien Elms, Natalie Laurie, Mark Davidson, Paul Kozaris
Judges: Brian Williams (C), Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nichols, Micheal Bodey, Shane Bertrand, Fran Attard
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

AV AND VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 1 MAY 2010

Saturday saw 88 walkers in action at Albert Park in our second winter season walk. The sunny and mild conditions were mitigated by a stonger than needed breeze and a tight 1km course but the walking was high class and the atmosphere was great.

The first events to kick off were the inaugural Victorian 5km Teams Championships, open to any walkers who are current members of Athletics Victoria clubs. We saw 4 teams in action in each of the competitions and I am sure that the numbers will build next year. In the men's event, Stuart Kollmorgen was the fastst with 24:05 but, alas, Collingwood had only 2 starters so they did not feature in the teams competition which was won by the strong Athletics Essendon team of  Mark Donahoo, Connor McShanag and Duncan Knox. Knox was second, compliments of some fine walking by the young team of  Brad Simpson, Billy Allamby and Matt Felton while third went to the experienced Box Hill team with  Simon Evans, Bill Dyer and Harry Summers

VICTORIAN 5KM TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP – MEN    POINTS
1. Kollmorgen, Stuart     COL    24:05    -
2. Donahoo, Mark          ATE    24:27    13
3. Simpson, Brad          KNA    24:48    11
4. Seid-Christmass, James COR    25:17    -
5. Evans, Simon           BOH    25:29    10
6. McShanag, Connor       ATE    26:43    9
7. Kaiser , Joshua        SCA    26:52    8
8. Knox, Duncan           ATE    27:28    7
9. Allambym Billy         KNA    27:36    6
10.Dyer, Bill             BOH    27:57    5
11.Dickenson, Russ        SCA    28:05    4
12.Felton, Matt           KNA    28:19    3
13.Taylor, Lucas          SCA    29:05    2
14.O'Mahony, Michael      KNA    29:45    -
15.Gardiner, Bob          COL    30:03    -
16.Summers, Harry         BOH    33:07    1
   Jamieson, Andrew       OSC    DNS      -
   Tam, Aaron             KNA      DNS    -
   Elms, Jason            ATE      DQ    -

1. ATE    Mark Donahoo, Connor McShanag, Duncan Knox    13, 9, 7 = 29
2. KNA    Brad Simpson, Billy Allamby, Matt Felton      11, 6, 3 = 20
3. BOH    Simon Evans, Bill Dyer, Harry Summers         10, 5, 1 = 16
4. SCA    Joshua Kaiser, Russ Dickenson, Lucas Taylor    8, 4, 2 = 14

The women's Teams Championship was won by the South Coast team, ably led by Kylie Irshad who was fastest overall, with  youngsters Stephanie George and Cassie Raselli also in the top 5. The Eaglehawk team of  Heather Carr, Ebony Whiley and Annette Major took second while the Athletics Essendon team of  Caitlin Campbell, Nardene Hammond and Donna Elms took third. So 5 different AV teams featured overall in the 6 medal placings, a very good result.

VICTORIAN 5KM TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP – WOMEN POINTS
1. Irshad, Kylie         SCA    26:37    13
2. Carr, Heather         EAG    27:12    11
3. Campbell, Caitlin     ATE    27:37    10
4. George , Stephanie    SCA    27:53    9
5. Raselli, Cassie       SCA    28:30    8
6. Hammond , Nardene     ATE    28:32    7
7. Whiley, Ebony         EAG    29:52    6
8. Major, Annette        EAG    30:11    5
9. Attard, Bianca        KNA    30:21    4
10.Stadus, Lauren        KNA    30:34    3
11.Hamilton, Emily       KNA    30:47    2
12.Elms, Donna           ATE    31:15    1
   Attard, Tamara        KNA    DNS     
   Callaway, Jessica     KNA    DNS   
   Campbell, Rebecca     ATE    DNS     

1. SCA    Kylie Irshad, Stephanie George, Cassie Raselli    13, 9, 8 = 30
2. EAG    Heather Carr, Ebony Whiley, Annette Major         11, 6, 5 = 22
3. ATE    Caitlin Campbell, Nardene Hammond, Donna Elms     10, 7, 1 = 18
4. KNA    Bianca Attard, Lauren Stadus, Emily Hamilton       4, 3, 2 =  9

Our VRWC club races started 10 minutes later and soon the 1km loop was awash with walkers. Those walkers with an * against their names walked under 'Club Rules'.  Pam Tindal 25:28 and Nathan Brill 25:11 were our fastest 5km walkers and would have featured strongly in the AV Teams events if their clubs had been strong enough to have fielded teams. Next year! Club recruiters get busy! We also welcomed first time VRWC walker Howard Gibson to Albert Park – a good 38:32 first up.

VRWC 5KM OPEN
1. Tindal, Pam            25:28
2. Thompson, Alison       29:06
3. Shaw, Kirstin          29:19
4. Feldman, Liz           29:37
5. Steed, Gwen            32:02
6. Johnson, Celia         33:46
7. Shaw, Robyn            33:53
8. Gatens, Georgia        34:26
   Stanway, Marlaine      DNF

1. Brill, Nathan          25:11
2. Bennett, Ralph         27:41
3. Lucas, Alan            29:21
4. Dickinson, Murray      30:23
5. Skrucany, Rudolf       35:51
6. Wicks, Barrie          36:44
7. Wood, Robin *          37:07
8. Gibson, Howard *       38:32

The 3km races also attracted strong fields with Hilary Brazel recording a 5 sec PB of 15:01 to take fastest overall. Other strong walks were seen from Jasmine Irshad who was just outside her best with 16:31 and Cindy Collins who completed her first 3km with 18:23. Young Knox walker Jessie Eastwood also had her first VRWC walk at Albert Park and her first 3km to boot, and she recorded a good 19:00. We also welcomed Josh Savage of Bendigo to his first VRWC walk and he was the fastest U15 boy with 18:52.

VRWC 3KM OPEN
1. Brazel, Hilary         15:01
2. McIntyre, Gayle        17:17
3. Mason, Ella            18:16
4. Wallace, Anna          18:23
5. Morrey, Jan            19:11
6. Holmes, Janet *        19:18
7. Harrison, Maryanne     21:33
8. Beaumont, Margaret     23:03

1. Morrison, John         21:18
2. Harrison, Lindsay      22:19
3. Beaumont, Ian *        23:38
4. Onley, Gordon *        24:43

VRWC 3KM UNDER 15
1. Irshad, Jasmine        16:31
2. Collins, Cindy         18:23
3. Walker, Megan          18:25
4. Barbour, Beth          18:40
5. Gerlich, Annemaree     18:49
6. Eastwood, Jessie       19:00
7. Ventura, Amy           19:06

1. Savage, Joshua         18:52
2. Tremigliozzi, Paul     20:00
3. McNicol-Davidson, Cody 20:20

We had big Under 12 and Under 9 fields and the star performer was definitely Jemima Montag who powered through to take fastest time in the 2km with 10:57. In other performances of note, Bronte Segota did a 14 sec PB with 12:13, Jessica Lillie took over a minute of her best with 12:28 and Josh Tremigliozzi was the fastest U12 boy with 16:33. In the U9s, Kristina Collins took 23 secs of her best from last winter, winning overall with 6:02 to just pip Chelsea Owen-Smith who recorded as 12 sec PB of 6:03 and Brianna Lillie whose 6:05 was a 13 sec PB. Hayden Walmsley wsa the fastest U9 boy with 6:29, a 13 sec PB.

VRWC 2KM UNDER 12
1. Montag, Jemima         10:57
2. De Lisen, Paige        11:48
3. Segota, Bronte         12:13
4. McCann, Tessa          12:16
5. George, Hayley         12:22
6. Lillie, Jessica        12:28
7. Kay, Shelby            12:42
8. Harrison, Charlee      13:39

1. Tremigliozzi, Joshua   16:33
   Walmsley, Reese        DQ
   Davidson, Harley       DQ

VRWC 1KM UNDER 9
1. Collins, Kristina      06:02
2. Owen-Smith, Chelsea    06:03
3. Lillie, Brianna        06:05
4. O'Mahony, Kathleen    06:14
5. Taylor, Lee            06:30
6. Mason, Livinia         07:44

1. Walmsley, Hayden       06:29
2. Wright, Ethan          07:12
3. Candotti, Noah         07:52

Finally, thanks to all those who keep the show on the road each week. Sorry if I have missed anyone

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Stuart Cooper, Judy Walters, Mark O'Mahony, Matt Owen, Damien Elms, Jim Leppik, Natalie Laurie, Brian Hamer
Judges: Gordon Loughnan (C), Lloyd Nichols, Brian Williams, Kathleen Marsh, Brenda Felton, Terry Knape, Judy Mason, Micheal Bodey (DQ Board)
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Joyce Summers, Kate Suich

VRWC OPENING SEASON RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 24 APRIL 2010

Our Winter Season opening races went off successfully on Saturday with 87 competitors racing a variety of distances in mild and overcast weather with a slight breeze. Due to ongoing Australian Grand Prix Motor Racing cleanup, we used the 1km loop south of our clubrooms but the smaller and tighter course actually made for exciting racing conditions and added to the atmosphere.

We also welcomed a lot of first time walkers to Albert Park (Michelle Thompson, Lew Jenkins,Nathan Brill, Josh Tremigliozzi, Josh Lucy and Anthony Vicendese, Brodie and Jacob Richardson and Ethan Wright), welcomed back an old member (Dave De Bondi) and took lots of registrations. So we are off to a great start.

Note that the results below include a handicap placing as calculated by our club handicapper Mark Donahoo. Provided he has a previous time to put against you, he calculates what he thinks you should walk and rates your performance accordingly. The handicap points accumulate each week towards the end of season presentations. If you did not get a handicap place, it means that eitehr Mark did not have a time to put against you or else you are not a financial member of the club.

The results also include an * against the names of walkers who walk in yellow numbers, designating that they are walking under 'Club Rules' rather than the normal IAAF rules. This concept allows older or new walkers, who feel they might not be able to satisfy the rigid racewalking rules, to still have a race with us. The judges judge them on contact and fairness of walking but do not judge them as rigorously on the straight knee rule.

Thanks to Sabby George for the photos which have been uploaded to our VRWC photo gallery – point your browsers to http://vrwc.org.au/coppermine/ and choose the top gallery.

The longest distance on offer was the 8km and Rhydian Cowley, in his last hitout before leaving next weekend for the World Racewalking Cup, was in a class of his own, weaving past the massed walking fields, to record an excellent 35:12. We welcomed Dave De Bondi back for his first walk in some time – Dave was a regular in the sixties and early seventies! He actually won the handicap with his even paced 55:41. Pam Tindal was the fastest of the women with a 6 sec PB of 42:20 – not bad on such a tight course. Not surprisingly, she also won the handicap.

VRWC 8 KM OPEN                      Handicap Place
1. Cowley, Rhydian         35:12    2
2. Kollmorgan, Stuart      40:32    7
3. Evans, Simon            42:02    3
4. Seid-Christmass, James  42:58     
5. McDonough, Aaron        44:14    4
6. Dickenson, Russ         47:53    5
7. Gardiner, Robert        50:34    6
8. Summers, Harry          54:46   
9. De Bondi, David *       55:41    1

1. Tindal, Pam             42:20    1
2. Thompson, Alison        48:28    2
3. Elms, Donna             52:30    3
4. Stanway, Marlaine       57:17   

The 5km event was added several weeks ago when we were approached to host a timetrial for Rachel Tallent. The task for Rachel was to better 25:00 to prove her fitness so that she could be added to the World Racewalking Cup U20 10km team to fill the one remaining spot. Although qualified, she has missed the trial with injury and hence the need for another performance. And beat it she did, recording 24:54 in fine style. Mark Donahoo 24:52, Brad Simpson 24:53 and Beth Alexander 24:53 walked very similar times and it was great to see the four of them powering towards the finish line. Handicap winners were Jason Kozica and Celia Johnson. First timer Michelle Thompson, fresh from winning the Coburg 24 Hour Run last weekend (when she ran 172km in 24 hours) did a fine first up walk, recording 32:32 for the 5km. Rudolf Skrucany was also back only a week after doing the 24 Hour walk at Coburg. Talk about tough competitors!

VRWC 5KM OPEN                       Handicap Place
1. Donahoo, Mark           24:52    3
2. Simpson, Bradley        24:53  
3. Dillon, Josh            27:27    5
4. Kaiser, Joshua          27:33    2
5. Kozica, Jason           29:00    1
6. Lucas, Alan             29:08    4
7. Skrucany, Rudolf        35:55    6

1. Alexander, Beth         24:53    4
2. Tallent, Rachel         24:54    3
3. Carr, Heather           26:42    2
4. Feldman, Liz            30:05     
5. Thompson, Michelle *    32:32     
6. Johnson, Celia          34:03    1

Our most popular distance was 4km with Open and Under 15 divisions on offer. The Open walks were won by Clyde Riddoch 22:14 and Amy Burren 20:06 (Amy is in the National Youth Squad and is one of the top Under 17 walkers in Australia) while the handicap winners were Anthony Doran and Kirstin Shaw.

VRWC 4KM OPEN                       Handicap Place
1. Riddoch, Clyde          22:14    2
2. Barrow, Geoff           25:18    4
3. Doran, Anthony          25:32    1
4. Wicks, Barrie           28:44    6
5. Morrison, John          29:42    7
6. Harrison, Lindsay       30:14    5
7. Wood, Robin *           30:26     
8. Onley, Gordon *         31:15    3
9. Beaumont, Ian *         31:57    8
   Jenkins, Lew            DQ

1. Burren, Amy             20:06    2
2. Irshad, Kylie           20:45     
3. Brazel, Hilary          20:53    5
4. Raselli, Cassie         22:06   
5. Laurie, Natalie         22:58    6
6. Shaw, Kirstin           23:03    1
7. Mason, Ella             24:10    9
8. Steed, Gwen             25:13    7
9. Holmes, Janet *         26:12    4
10.Morrey, Jan             26:18    3
11.Shaw, Robyn             27:34    10
12.Harrison, Maryanne      30:14   
13.Beaumont, Margaret      31:14    8

The Under 15 walks are normally high quality affairs and Saturday was no exception. 13 year old Nathan Brill, the son of former international walker Craig Brill (see http://www.vrwc.org.au/tim-archive/wv-craig-brill.pdf) had his first hitout on the road and impressed greatly with a wonderful 19:48. 13 year old Connor McShanag was not fare behind with 20:56 while Jmara Hockley-Samon 21:07 and Sarah Burren 21:17 were equally impressive as the fastest of the girls. Not surprisingly, Connor and Jmara won the associated handicap races.

VRWC 4KM UNDER 15                  Handicap Place
1. Brill, Nathan          19:48   
2. McShanag, Connor       20:56    1
3. Garganis, Adam         25:44    3
4. Tremigliozzi, Paul     26:26    2
5. McNicol-Davidson, Cody 27:57     

1. Hockley-Samon, Jmara   21:07    1
2. Burren, Sarah          21:17    2
3. Montag, Jemima         23:42   
4. McInnes, Simone        23:46    3
5. Campbell, Caitlin      24:38    5
6. Walker, Megan          24:42    6
7. Barbour, Beth          24:44    4
   George, Stephanie      DNF     2km in 10:28
   Guy, Rebecca           DNF     3km in 19:12
   Stadus, Lauren         DNF     3km in 17:25
   Campbell, Rebecca      DNS

The Under 12 2km and the Under 9 1km saw a number of first timers in action and most walked well. There were a couple of disqualifications but I am sure that there is nothing serious here that can't be fixed with a bit of extra concentration.Harry Hockley-Samon and Gabriella Crea were our U12 winners while Ethan Wright and Brodie Richardson were our U9 winners.

VRWC 2KM UNDER 12                  Handicap Place
1. Hockley-Samon, Harry   13:27    1
2. Tremigliozzi, Joshua   15:14   
3. Vicendese, Joshua      15:19     
4. Davidson, Harley       17:20     
   Candotti, Sam          DNF
   Richardson, Jacob      DQ

1. Crea, Gabriella        10:56    1
2. De Lisen, Paige        12:00    8
3. Guy, Rachael           12:14    6
4. Segota, Bronte         12:27    2
5. McCann, Tessa          12:48    5
6. Brown, Hayley          12:52    7
7. Xuereb, Tara           13:17    4
8. Harrison, Charlee      13:27    3

VRWC 1KM UNDER 9                   Handicap Place
1. Wright, Ethan          07:18   
2. Candotti, Noah         08:04    1
   Vicendese, Anthony     DQ

1. Richardson, Brodie     05:41   
2. Owen-Smith, Chelsea    06:17    1
3. Vicendese, Lucy        07:22   
4. Mason, Livinia         07:50    2

Finally, it takes a lot of manpower to keep the show on the road so thanks to the following for their help on Saturday. Sorry if I missed anyone – it was a big day!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ron Miller, Stuart Cooper, Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Michael Brazel, Ian Laurie, Paul Kozaris, Simon Baker, Alison Baker, Matt Owen, Mark Davidson, Damien Elms
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Michael Bodey, Ralph Bennett, Terry Knape, Lloyd Nicholls