Sponsors
Presentation Night
RSVP now! Final numbers need to be in on Monday for catering purposes!
The Courtview Function Room of the Wollongong Tennis Club will be the venue for our 2025/26 Presentation Night. Join us on Saturday May 2nd, from 6pm, for a fun farewell to the season of track and field. Celebrate the achievements of your clubmates - and give your clubmates the opportunity to congratulate you on yours.
There will be a short break with a few nibbles during the Presentation to keep energy levels high. If you miss the cut-off to RSVP, you're still welcome to attend: we may just ask you to be patient when the food is served.
Note that the event listing shows eligibility for some of the awards. For example, all athletes who attended a Wednesday meet will receive a certificate detailing their Season Bests in each event, but only members who met minimum attendance requirements have earned a club pointscore award. Also noted are those who will be presented a broken record certificate, along with those who participated in the Open or Junior Nationals. Included as well, are members celebrating a 5 year-block of continuous membership.
What isn't listed are winners of the best Age-graded performances in each event, nor those receiving clubperson awards. Similarly remaining a surprise until the night will be those taking home the major awards (for outstanding achievements in Para, Junior, Masters, Track, and Field categories) - though we have been announcing the nominees for each of these in the lead-up to build the hype.
Our Presentation is a great opportunity for all members to come together and celebrate Season 2025/26. We strongly encourage you to come along for what will surely be a great night.
For those with a more substantial hunger, we have tables booked in the downstairs bistro both before and after the event.
Lucky Door Prizes & Optional Contribution
It’s free to attend Athletics Wollongong’s Presentation Night, but if you’d like to help with the costs of the evening, you’re very welcome to make a small voluntary contribution on the night.
When collecting your lucky door prize ticket, you’ll have the opportunity to chip in a couple of dollars. If you’re unable to attend, but would still like to support the club, donations can also be made in advance.
Our lucky door prizes include Athletics Wollongong merchandise, along with two $100 gift vouchers from Run Havoc (maximum one voucher prize per family).
Run Havoc have given us tremondous support this season and we encourage our members to check them out. You’ll find them in Wollongong’s Lower Mall, where AW members receive a 5% discount, or online HERE. If you’re after shoes, running gear or nutrition, they’re well worth a visit.
Winter Competition
Current memberships last until August 31st, so registered athletes will have the opportunity to contest many events over the coming months.
All competitive members are encouraged to participate in AW's Winter Distance Pointscore. The competition is based around parkrun: community 5km runs, held worldwide, each Saturday morning. There are local chapters at Helensburgh, Bulli, North Wollongong, Bowral, Lake Illawarra and Shellharbour - though some members have run further afield, even internationally.
During the competition window of May through August, your age-grade percentage is tracked and your six best performances averaged to find your score. Only six runs out of a possible eighteen are needed to be eligible for the end of season awards - though more than six efforts will surely see your score go higher as your slower runs get dropped from your average. There are more details regarding the competition HERE.
At this stage, all you need do is sign up with parkrun - for free - and ensure that your profile reflects your association with Athletics Wollongong (otherwise you'll have to manually inform our Winter Season Coordinator of your participation each week).
The first Saturday within the comp window is May 2nd - best of luck!
NSW Athletics Winter Season
In addition to AW's competition, NSW Athletics also hold cross country events and Championships. Just like those held within the track and field season, to participate in these you need the appropriate level of membership: a Community registration will generally not suffice.
The NSW Athletics Winter program begins in May, with the first event being the NSW Short Walks Championships. In addition to individual events, there is also team-based competition. Of this latter type, the NSW Cross Country Relays Championship has particularly sparked a deal of interest: maybe because the club will pay the team entry fees!
We are now calling for nominations from those who would like to join a Cross Country Relay team. We're also seeking an on-the-day event coordinator who will collect and distribute bibs to runners. Go HERE to submit your details for either/both.
The place to find out info regarding upcoming events is the NSW Athletics Events Calendar.
Australian Open Championships Results
All Aussie Champs have now been completed, with Athletics Wollongong members having had some terrific results.
There were 7 members contesting the Open Nationals, with full results available HERE.
Perhaps the most thrilling performance came from Delta Amidzovski, who leapt 6.84m in the qualifying round of Long Jump. This was both a Commonwealth Games qualifier and saw Delta move to #5 on the Australian All-Time List. In the final, she would finish 2nd: pipped by national record holder and long jump legend Brooke Buschkuehl (nee Stratton), by just 2cm with her final jump.
Australian Junior Championships Results
Medals weren't in as short supply at the Junior Nationals, with the 24 AW members there proving a formidable force. Bringing home bling from Brisbane were:
Full Junior results from all of our representatives are available HERE.
Australian Little A's Championships Results
The Australian Little Athletics Championships use a controlled team format, with athlete numbers limited across events. Through her Little Athletics Centre affiliation, AW’s Harlow Pate gained NSW selection and produced a remarkable campaign.
Harlow claimed gold in both the 200m and 400m, setting records in each event with times of 24.95s and 56.46s respectively. She then added a third gold medal as part of the Sprint Medley Relay team.
Incredibly, at just 11 years of age, Harlow's times this season would have qualified her for Open Nationals. Next year, she’ll be old enough to participate on the senior athletics pathway.
Oceania Championships Team
The domestic season of track and field may have concluded but there are some big international competitions on the horizon.
First up will be the Oceania Championships, to be held in Darwin May 18th - 23rd. While Para and Master athletes are free to enter as individuals (with entries closing April 27th), those in the Open and U18 divisions can only be selected to participate via their member federations. Australian Athletics recently announced their Open team, with two from AW excited to make the cut:
Best of luck!
Commonwealth Games
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. While not included in the first team announcement, Delta Amidzovski remains firmly in contention for selection. An overall Australian team cap across all sports adds another layer to the process, but she appears well placed.
The qualifying standard - which Delta has already achieved - is demanding, with only limited numbers having met it. The selection criteria also place value on emerging athletes who have shown they can perform strongly in international competition, an area in which she has already built an impressive record.
A further strong performance in Darwin would only strengthen her case.
World Athletics U20 Championships
Chase Grant and Maiya Hewitt are going to Oregon! Both AW athletes were automatic selections in the Australian team for the World Athletics U20 Championships in early August. Having each produced multiple performances bettering the qualifying standard, they then punched their tickets by taking out the Australian title.
They may yet have further company from Athletics Wollongong, with Chelsy Wayne and Mackay Jones in contention for discretionary selection. We look forward to hearing good news on that front shortly.
Participation at the World U20s comes at significant personal cost, so the club will endeavour to assist our representatives through fundraising efforts. Further details to come.
Best on Record Updates
As anticipated, the Australian Championships brought out the very best from our athletes with some historically good efforts. The new Athletics Wollongong Best on Record performances are:
Annual General Meeting
Athletics Wollongong's AGM will be held on June 9th, in the boardroom of Wollongong City Tennis Club from 7pm.
This season we have had several members of the Committee pulling double and triple duty - or more! - covering multiple positions to ensure that our members receive the best possible club experience. It's not a sustainable way of doing things though - and there is a risk of burnout among those who have put their hand up.
I encourage everyone to give some thought as to whether they may be able to assist the club away from the track.
A number of officebearer and support positions are required to be filled. Some of these require frequent attendance at Committee Meetings (held the second Tuesday of each month), whereas others do not.
If you'd like further information, have a chat with a current Committee Member regarding their experiences, pop along to a meeting to have a peek at what it's all about, or send an enquiry to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
Note that we don't need you to have amazing qualifications, we're just after people that want to work towards the best outcomes for the club and its members.
Official Meeting Notice will be sent to all members via email early next month.
Athletics Wollongong Hoodie
Winter is coming! Protect yourself from the cold and purchase an Athletics Wollongong hoodie. We have sizes available from Junior 14 through to 3XL. Buy a hoodie HERE, then see us at Presentation or a mutally agreed parkrun to collect.
Coming Dates