Athletics NSW have done a tremendous job to cater for over 1700 young student athletes who will take to the track this Thursday for the NSW All Schools. With very strict programming, the event is one of the largest on the calendar, and will see a showcase of the junior talent NSW has at the present moment. With very strict programming, the association has assured all athletes they are being catered for, with this event to be the first major title event to be held this summer.
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Among the 1700 athletes, Blue Stars will be well represented with just on 30 young members making the trip to Homebush. Some are vying for qualifying times/distances for the Australian All Schools and the Australian Under titles to be held the second phase of the summer program. Others are going for the experience, and some are going for the joy of competing. Regardless, the All Schools gives all athletes the opportunity of competing in a major athletic event.
Blue Star athletes have a mixture of old and new members and it is great to see the new members to our club taking part. Talented young sprinter Lauren Percival ran well in the interclub meet and has to be a strong contender in the sprints, while under 14 female athlete Brodie McCluskey impressed at the interclub meet in both the 100 and 200m.
Chelsea Ezeoke made her return to the track at interclub, after a series of injuries and showed it wont be long until she is back to her best over her favourite 400m. The hurdling sisters, Grace and Ashlyn will be in the hurdles and both athletes will be among the leading contenders. Javelin thrower Charlotte Smith will return after sickness and injury and she will use this meet as a stepping stone to later major meets. She is joined in the javelin event by vastly improving Alex Del Popolo who pulled out a personal best at interclub heaving the javelin a great 54.74m.
Sprinters Alex Harris and Callem Brown had impressive runs at Interclub and are heading into these titles with strong runs behind them. They will be joined by newcomer Ethan Thickett who will use this major meet as a guide to his progression. Star sprinter Jonty Faulkner will only run the 400m, after illness, but is looking sharp and competitive for this event. All-rounder Rhys Barnes will also use the meet as experience, along with young javelin thrower Joshua Smith. Overall the event promises to produce some outstanding athletics with athletes travelling from all over the state to take part in this top line student meet.
Athletics NSW has now released the second tier of events for the summer track and field program and they have done a great job in being able to present a program that is not missing a major event. The state relays are still up for discussion, with the event usually held in November but due to Covid-19 had to be postponed/cancelled. Not too sure on this event, but all other events will go ahead including our own Illawarra Track Challenge on Saturday, January 16, 2021.
This event will have a few changes but will bring athletics to the people in short fast action that will again include the state 60m state title along with the state 1 mile title. From the success of the Interclub meet held two weeks ago, the Illawarra track challenge is expected to draw strong fields in all events.
This will be followed by the country titles to be held in Mingara, and hosted by one of the biggest and strongest clubs in the association, Mingara Athletics Club. It is a fair while since the Mingara club hosted the country titles due to improvements made on the ground, but this season's country promises to be a very successful meet.
To be held over three days, the country titles will commence on Friday, January 29, and go through to Sunday, January 31, 2021. All members of IBS will be notified of these events in the next week through newsletter and on the website www.illawarrabluestars.com.
