Official Newsletter of the N S W Masters Athletics Association WWW.NSWMASTERSATHLETICS.ORG.AU January, 2015 Photo taken by Andrew Atkinson-Howatt The Most Thrilling Finish of the Season – State Relays 2014. Those of us lucky enough to be at the State Relays early on Sunday afternoon witnessed a stunning last leg to the Women’s 200+, 4 X 200m relay. Former Olympian and World Champion 400m hurdler, Jana Pittman, running for UTS Norths, and Gianna Mogentale, running with the South Coast team, battled it out from the final change, Jana narrowly beating Gianna to the line in 1:55.18 to 1:55.95. I was in front of the stands watching NSWMA, who came fifth, when I heard frenzied screaming closer to the finish. Hearing both ‘Jana’ and ‘Gi-Jana’ at once, it took some interpreting skill to determine who was cheering for whom. But after a glance at the track, I was caught up in the tension of the final gripping seconds. As the photograph shows, Jana was ahead at the change, initiating a furious pursuit from Gianna around the curve and into the straight. I would be keen to know what Gianna’s 200m split was. “We were screaming for Gianna and our team, of course,” said Valmai Loomes, Gianna’s coach. “But you got caught up in the hype – it was fantastic.” ‘It was very exciting, and such an honour and privilege, running against one of Australia’s best ever track athletes, and what an awesome feeling Two weeks later, I tracked down Jana at Treloar Shield #6. “That was my hearing the cheers from the crowd!’ Gianna. first race in five and a half years,” she told me. “And my first with UTS Norths. It was wonderful to be part of an enthusiastic team.” The South Coast team members in order of running were: Lynda Douglass, Giola Motti, Elise Moore, Gianna At Epping Athletics we have more than enough women Mogentale. to make a team, but only two of us are registered with Athletics NSW, so it was a relief to be able to run with UTS Norths Team in order were: Jackie Bezuidenhout, NSW Masters again. From nine women, we managed to Maria Cimino, Janet Naylon, Jana Pittman. compose two 100m teams, two 200m, one 400m, one ∞ 800m, a shot put team and another in Open Long Jump, I love relays. I love watching them at all ages, from an achievement I credit to the superb networking and primary school to the Olympics. I love running in them. I organizational skills of the ladies involved. love cheering them on. Occasionally I stop to wonder how passing a piece of coloured metal from one runner Below is the medal tally. to the next can be so exciting, but not often. MASTERS TEAMS Gold Silver Bronze UTS North 7 3 3 Sydney Pacific 6 6 4 Mounties 6 1 1 Athletics East 3 1 1 Hills 2 5 2 Illawarra Blue Stars 2 2 Athletics Wollongong 2 1 1 NSW Masters 1 2 2 South Coast/St George 1 1 1 Randwick B/Asics W 1 1 Sydney Uni 1 Mingara 6 4 Balmain 2 Camden 1 2 Campbelltown 1 Bankstown 2 Sutherland/Illawong 1 If I’ve counted wrongly, I’m happy to be corrected. The forward slash indicates a tie. Remember that some Masters athletes and teams also competed in Open events, and these are not shown here. Congratulations to Mingara, who came twelfth but with an excellent tally of six silver medals and four bronze. Had the table shown total medals, they would have come third. Another way of looking at the maths could be by dividing total gold by total number of teams entered, in which case, Mounties is starting to look very good indeed. Remember also that country clubs have the option of forming regional teams that city clubs east of Blacktown don’t. All these things should be taken into account when looking at the medal tallies – Editor. NSWMA 4 X 100m, 200+ relay team Margaret Fowler, Margaret Walker, Ellena Cubban, Kathleen Cook Contents: 2 State Relays 2014, medal tally 3 NSWMA Committee Members 2014/2015 3 New Members 4 Presidential Address 5 Articles of Interest from the Australian Sports Commission 6 2014 Pan Pacs Report and results 10 A Tribute to Vic Townsend 12 Combined Event Championships 12 NSWMA at the Treloar Shield 14 Congratulations 15 Ideas for contributions to the Waratah 16 Looking after Your Best Asset 19 Photos from the State Relays NSWMA COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2014/2015 Position Name Phone Official email President Stuart Gyngell 0415 249 088 [email protected] Vice President Jill Taylor 0409 607 384 Secretary Mark Johnston 0419 914 915 [email protected] Treasurer/Public Officer Anatoly Kirievsky 0413 710 216 [email protected] Registrar Audrey Thomson 0434 233 514 [email protected] Records Peter Murray 0416 216 771 [email protected] Uniforms Belinda Westcott 0438 278 360 [email protected] Website Janie Carter 0408 699 185 [email protected] Waratah Editor Margaret Walker [email protected] Track Rep Chris Brack 0412 211 660 Field Rep Jamie Muscat 0438 636 617 Walks Rep Distance Rep Garry Womsley 0459 436 660 LOC Convenor Jill Taylor 0409 607 384 [email protected] Welcome to our new NSWMA members: Timothy Armstrong Catherine Bylett James Barrett Lennard Lynette Clark Michael Chapman Jessica Clifton Ric Chapman Rowena Hastings Robert Clark Amanda Ingleton Laurie Downing Amanda Jordan Hasharn Singh Grewal Dorothy Siepmann Bob Martin Rita Webster John McCumstie Kylie Wilmott Dean Park Adrian Wade Neil Pearson Shaun Wearne 3 NSWMA Presidential Address for the Waratah – December 2014 Welcome to the latest edition of the Waratah. It has been a great start to the 2014-15 season for NSWMA athletes. The Treloar Shield has seen large numbers of athletes competing in the Masters events with some impressive results. Many of them are NSWMA athletes but there are also a significant number who have not yet joined. If you know someone in this category, please encourage them to get registered as soon as possible so they can compete in Masters events and be able to break Masters records. There have also been several Masters Games in which our athletes have competed. In particular, the Alice Springs Masters Games and the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. The Pan Pacs saw probably the largest ever contingent of NSWMA athletes competing and we were dominant both on the track and the field. You can read about the exploits of our athletes inside this edition of the Waratah. Unless you have been hiding in a cave somewhere for the past six months you should now be well aware that we are hosting the AMA Nationals at Easter time next year at Bankstown. Planning and organisation is well on the way and we are on track to deliver what we believe will be the best and most innovative Masters Nationals on record. This is largely due to the wonderful organisational efforts of Jill Taylor who is the LOC Co-ordinator. The 2015 AMA Champs website is now live and looks great and we largely have to thank Janie Carter for this. If you have not seen it yet, then head over to it ASAP – (http://www.amasydney2015.com.au). You will find all the information you need to keep abreast of what is going on as well as being able to register for the championships. Due to the dedicated work of Adriana van Bockel, the range of merchandise associated with the AMA Champs is also the most comprehensive of any Nationals so far. There are all sorts of clothing items from polos to bucket hats as well as different types of bags. The quality of the gear is very good. Some of these are only available by pre-ordering, so make sure that you inspect all the items on the website and order them when you register to ensure that you get exactly what you want. I look forward to catching up with many of you as we meet at the various ANSW and NSWMA competitions in 2015 and hearing your stories of success, participation and injury woes as we get deeper into the season. And if anyone has a good quality left Achilles Tendon that they don’t need any more, I would love to hear from you! Finally, remember the NSW Masters and the 2015 AMA Champs Facebook pages. These are great ways to keep up to date with what is happening and communicate with your fellow members of NSWMA. So, please, enjoy the journey and the friendships that Masters Athletics provides! Stuart Gyngell 4 Articles of Interest, provided by kind permission of Jill Taylor, National Coaching Development Manager Athletics Australia The articles come from the Australia Sports Commission. Below is the link for those Masters athletes who may be interested in registering to become a member of the Clearing House. https://secure.ausport.gov.au/clearinghouse Running: The key to staying young http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/running-the-key-to-staying-young-20141124- 11susq.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nc&eid=socialn:twi-13omn1677- edtrl-other:nnn-17/02/2014-edtrs_socialshare-all-nnn-nnn-vars-o%26sa%3DD%26usg%3DALhdy28zsr6qiq The secret of fast runners: symmetry https://student.societyforscience.org/article/secret-fast-runners- symmetry?utm_content=buffer292ca&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Running Might Protect Against Knee Osteoarthritis http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/running-might-protect-against-knee- osteoarthritis?adbid=534481160567394304&adbpl=tw&adbpr=14882900&cid=social35749207 Eating and running – what works best? http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/the-long-run/eating-and-running-what-works-best- 20141103-11g8on.html Exercise or face rapid health decline in old age, expert warns gerontology conference http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-27/exercise-or-face-rapid-health-decline-in-old-age-experts-