A History of Masters/Veterans Athletics in Australia This page, from top: 3km steeplechasers proving age is no barrier; Karyne Di Marco; Don Quinn; Tom Hancock; Hugh Coogan; Tony Baker. Front cover, from top: Cliff Bould, Jack Pennington, John Gilmour; Peggy MacLiver, Marg Allison; Lyn Ventris; Heather Doherty; Kevin Solomon (yellow singlet, in Lahti field); Marie Kay. AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page I Age is no Barrier A HISTORY of MASTERS/VETERANS ATHLETICS in AUSTRALIA by Bryan Thomas AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page II Age is no Barrier A History of Masters/Veterans Athletics in Australia Author: Bryan Thomas © Australian Masters Athletics Inc, 2011 ISBN: 978-0-9803191-1-8 Material in this publication may be reproduced for the purposes of marketing and promoting Masters Athletics, provided acknowledgement of author and source is given ‘Age is no Barrier – A History of Masters/Veterans Athletics in Australia’ is published by Australian Masters Athletics Inc. 13 Sevenoaks Street, Alexandra Hills, Qld 4161 www.australianmastersathletic.org.au Further copies of this book can be obtained from the AMA Secretary email: [email protected] Printed by: Vanguard Press 26 John Street, Northbridge WA 6003 www:vanguardpress.com.au Edited and designed by: Victor Waters, Presswise Publications Formatting and typesetting: Kathy Nicholas, Elite Typesetting AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page I Age is no Barrier CONTENTS Foreword II Introduction and acknowledgements III Abbreviations VII Pre 1970s: A FAVOURABLE ENVIRONMENT 1 The ‘Running Boom’ that infected western society during the seventies was thriving in Australia where there existed a healthy jogging and fitness environment 1971 – 75: A FEW ENTHUSIASTS SOW THE SEEDS 7 A hectic era for Aussie veterans - a tour of Europe, two World Championships, five clubs and a national association established 1976 – 80: THE MOVEMENT SPREADS ACROSS THE NATION 28 By 1979 all states and ACT had established veterans’ clubs and women win their battle for recognition 1981 - 85: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 41 First opportunity for many Australians to experience a World Championships and Oceania gets off the ground 1986 – 90: MELBOURNE CHAMPIONSHIPS – FIRST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR MANY 49 An exciting era of international competition and growth 1991 – 1995: NEW STRUCTURE FOR AAVAC 60 AAVAC’s new constitution was the beginning of doing things differently 1996 – 2000: TOWARDS THE OLYMPICS 87 AAVAC develops a Strategic Plan and most Aussies enthusiastically look forward to the Sydney Olympics 2001 – 2005: MASTERS versus VETERANS 97 World Championships return ‘Down Under’ and debate over whether we should be Masters or Veterans had almost run its race 2006 – 2010: STAN’S OUR MAN – AND RUTH IS 100 NOT OUT 111 Stan Perkins is elected WMA president and Ruth Frith sets the standards for W100 throwers Appendices 140 Sources 143 Index 145 Page I AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page II FOREWORD As Australian Masters Athletics Inc (formerly Australian Association of Veteran Athletic Clubs) moved towards its 40th year of providing sound administration and competition at all levels for mature-aged athletes, it was agreed by the AMA Board at its meeting in March 2008 that its history needed to be consolidated and preserved whilst the memories of the founders of our great organisation were still sharp and the records from the early are still available. Over the years several versions recounting the history of AAVAC have been produced and for these we are indebted to Jack Pennington OAM and the late Gloria Seymon. A further work by Jack Pennington has recently been published outlining ‘The Evolution of Veteran Athletics 1966-1981’ and with Jack’s kind permission some of his material and several photographs have been included in this version of AMA’s history, compiled by Bryan Thomas of ACT. It has been a mammoth task and our thanks go to Bryan for the work he has done. He has researched and compiled the achievements of our state clubs and our national activities so that we now have a comprehensive and fascinating view of the growth of veterans/masters athletics in Australia. We are inspired too by the achievements of many of our notable athletes whose outstanding performances have made Australia one of the top countries in world competition. Bryan also regularly contributes articles on Masters athletics activities in Australia to Vetline, the national magazine of New Zealand Masters Athletics, which reaches affiliates throughout the Oceania region. As President of Australian Masters Athletics, I commend Age is no Barrier to you as a fascinating read. Steve Lance President Australian Masters Athletics Inc January 2011 Page II AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page III INTRODUCTION Age is no Barrier is my attempt to record the evolution of athletics for mature-aged persons within Australia. Therefore, it takes a national view and its main focus is on how the Australian Association of Veteran Athletic Clubs (AAVAC) (later Australian Masters Athletics) has influenced our sport. This history seeks to describe how decisions made by our national association have affected the sport in general, and all of its participants. It describes major national and international competitions in which Australians have been involved and in so doing mentions some remarkable or significant performances by individual athletes and administrators. As this history concentrates on the ‘big picture’ within Australia it does not dwell on the grass roots past of individual clubs, except where some special feature or activity at the local level has had, or could have had, an impact on the national scene. Each state and territory club probably has a person or persons with the corporate knowledge and an enthusiastic interest in the history of their club and may have already written its history, or plans to do so in the future. That is the place for recording our grass roots history. THE AUTHOR My initial contact with veterans’ athletics occurred in the early 1970s in the City of Hamilton, Canada when I was invited to volunteer as an official at the Ontario Masters Track and Field Championships held at McMaster University. I was assigned the long jump for older men. During the warm-up it was obvious most competitors could not reach the sand by jumping from the take- off board, so I called them together and suggested they might prefer to jump from the edge of the pit. All agreed, and the general comment was that it was ‘a bloody good idea’. The performances and camaraderie of these mature aged runners, jumpers and throwers left an indelible and lasting impression on me. Over the next few years I watched a couple of Canadian friends, several years older than myself, participate in cross-country and road Page III AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page IV races and even in special indoor track races for men over 40 years- of-age at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. It was during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games that on a platform of Munich Railway Station I accidentally met a couple of members of the Australian Veterans’ team then touring Europe. Amongst the group, proudly wearing their bottle green blazers, I recognised Dave Power, Olympic medallist and world-class distance runner. I was thrilled to have a brief chat and wished him well for his new athletics career as a veteran athlete. Dave had been a hero of mine during my high school days in Wollongong, NSW. At the time I was an enthusiastic young middle distance runner and often witnessed and was inspired by Dave training on a local football oval or running along beaches. Since returning home in 1974 I have enjoyed a long involvement with our sport, both as a participant and administrator at local and national level. I have been an active member of the ACTVAC since 1981. I was a committee member from 1982 to 1985, club president for 14 years (1986 – 1999) and granted life membership in 1999. I was AVAAC president in 1991 and 1992, and served as a national delegate at the WAVA General Assembly in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993. As a competitor I have participated at six WAVA/WMA Championships, all three World Masters Games conducted in Australia, five Oceania Championships and at all but three national championships since 1983. Since standing down from the ACTVAC executive I have maintained a keen interest in the development, history and traditions of our sport. I have long been a regular contributor to the ACT club’s monthly magazine Vetrunner, and since its beginning the annual AMA Handbook and more recently to Vetline, the official magazine of NZ Masters Athletics. In 2009 I accepted the challenge of writing this history. Page IV AMA History Book 164pp:AMA History Book 164pp 16/03/11 7:16 PM Page V JACK PENNINGTON’S CONTRIBUTION In November 2007 the AMA Board of Directors accepted an offer by Jack Pennington to write a history of the beginning of the Masters/Veterans athletics movement in Australia. Ray Green, then AMA Director of Marketing, said in a letter to Jack: ‘You are well positioned to undertake this role given your long involvement with the movement going back to its inception, your editing and writing of a masters journal for a number of years and your participation as an athlete, mentor and patron’. Jack Pennington OAM, born December 1922 and Patron of the ACTVAC since 1994, has excellent credentials to record the early evolution of our sport.