Sponsors
2025/26 Registrations
It's not too late to sign up for Season 2025/26!
To join us, simply go to the Registration page on the club website.
Wollongong Aquathon Volunteering
Athletics Wollongong will be lending assistance at the Aquathon. We've been an event partner for many years, assisting entrants at check-in. The event chief is a former AW member and shows his appreciation for our help with a donation to the club. It's a fun morning and we still need a couple of helpers to round out our squad.
It's a 6:15am start, so - to sweeten the deal - athletes who assist will become eligible for club funding to participate in the Junior or Open National Championships. Our Treasurer says it may stretch to $250 this year - which is pretty good for three hours' work!
To express your interest, or ask for further information, send an email to athleticswollongong@gmail.com.
Wollongong Aquathon
Special offer for Athletics Wollongong members: 20% off their 5k entry using the code 'AWBM526'.
Illawarra’s legendary MMJ Wollongong Aquathon and Blue Mile 5 Fun Run are set to celebrate 26 awesome years, come Monday 26th January, in 2026.
The action and all-age fun kicks off with the Blue Mile 5k fun run at 8am, with four swim-run aquathons afterwards. The Fun Run takes in a spectacular coastal course from Wollongong harbour, along the blue mile and back for a thrilling finish on Cliff Road. Awesome vibe, professional services, finisher medals and loads of fun to be had.
Run, walk, stroll or try the Aquathon events and be part of this amazing community event.
Athletics Wollongong Club Meets
We're now into the latter half of our Summer Season of Weekly Wednesday meets. At the 2025/26 Season Presentation, you'll be awarded a certificate with your best performances noted, so be sure to have a red hot go in everything these next couple of months. This Wednesday (21/1) sees our very first 'last time' event: it's your final chance to get a 5000m performance noted - or to improve on your existing best.
Aside from the regular track events, we still have some interesting things coming up on Wednesdays to keep it fresh. The knockout 60m Skins and the 800m Chocolate Run will complete our season, and we'll also have another steeplechase night. Between those two, we're going to trial a new event.
Our March 4th meet will feature a handicapped mile BUT to earn your place on the startline, you'll need to participate in three lead-up races. Those races are:
One of the issues with handicapping longer races is that people can improve massively if they don't make a proper effort in the events the handicap is based upon. To somewhat guard against this, athletes who improve 'too much' in the mile will be DQ'd, so it makes sense for athletes to ensure the handicapper's estimate is as accurate as possible by running genuinely in the lead-up races. We're very interested to see the support for the handicapped mile and the final standings.
Finally, a reminder: our results each Wednesday are sponsored by React Facility Solutions.
React's range of services includes:
Give them a go if you have a need!
Run Havoc Vouchers
Run Havoc's sponsorship of Athletics Wollongong this season continues to be a great success, with our members earning $100 gift vouchers at our pointscore meets. Each month we give away one voucher for participation and one for achievement.
The participation voucher is awarded by lucky draw. All you need to do to gain entries in the draw is to enter a programmed event on a Wednesday. The more weeks you attend - and the more events you participate in - the more entries you gain and the better your chances of winning. Our December voucher winner was Hannah Curtis. Make sure you're maximising your chances in the January draw by contesting each and every event this month.
The achievement voucher is awarded by best performance in a nominated event each month. The December voucher went to the Athletics Wollongong Gift winner (see below).
The January achievement voucher reverts back to determining best performance as per age-scaled, multi-event scoring. The nominated event for this month is the 2000m on Jan 28th.
Note that the February event will be up very soon afterwards: the 400m on February 4th.
Show your appreciation of Run Havoc's support by giving them a visit. You'll find them in Wollongong's lower mall - where AW members can receive a 5% discount - or online HERE. If you're looking for shoes, running gear or nutrition, then check out Run Havoc.
The Athletics Wollongong Gift Results
The Athletics Wollongong Gift celebrated its 10th running this season! It's a handicapped 100m race, with headstarts based on members' previous performances in sprint events. It might not quite have the status - or prize purse - of the Stawell Gift, but it is no less hotly contested.
This season we had a genuine, real-life backmarker with the man adjudged the club's fastest, Mitchell O'Neill, in attendance and running from scratch. He gave a 33m headstart in his heat and ran down all those starting ahead of him, finishing in a club record time of 10.51s. He then graciously gave up his lane in the final, with the other starters no doubt very glad of it!
Taking out the final was Keiran Bartle who had 9m start (and 30 years!) over second place Maiya Hewitt. Rounding out the podium was Harlow Pate who, starting from the back, had the whole field in view.
Turkey Run Results
Judging pace is a valuable running skill and we put it to the ultimate test in our annual Turkey Run. Participants ran two 80m races back-to-back, at whatever pace they felt best. The winner was the competitor who had the least difference between their two times. You can get lucky, or you can be good. Maybe Peter Kidd can tell us which one he is! Pete took out this year's race with a difference of 0.11s between his two runs. You can see how everyone else fared on our Results page (see Jan 14th).
Starter (& Other Officials) Roster
Our volunteer/helper stocks are in a bit of a trough for the moment. This is particularly the case with the starter role, where we've recently had to scrabble on the night for someone to take up the electronic gun these past few weeks. Taking our lead from parkrun, we're going to trial having a sign-up list where people can volunteer ahead of time. Note that full training will be provided, though there's not really much to it!
Other roles include recorder (writing down names/results at the finish line) and helpers for the distance race (lap counting, bell ringing and handing out tokens).
Illawarra Track Challenge Postponement
The largest all-aged event scheduled for our home track this season was the Illawarra Track Challenge. Due to intense heat forecast on the day, it was unfortunately postponed. The new date is now February 28th.
Entrants who now can't make that date can request a refund. Those entrants still keen to contest the State 60m & Mile Champs on the 28th, along with the supporting events, are good to go.
The event listing appears to imply that new entries will be accepted from early next month.
NSW Country Champs Results
Well done to those who contested the 2026 NSW Country Championships that were held in Dubbo this weekend. Full results will be up on our website soon, but there were medals galore, records broken, and a fun time had by all. Thanks for representing the club colours so well.
Treloar Shield Final Results
Athletics Wollongong's 50+ Masters qualified for the Treloar Shield Final for the second year running, with their performance in the final also matching that of last season's: second place. Congratulations, team!
Committee Vacancies
We are very keen to have a chat with anyone who can fill the remaining open positions on the Committee. Note that we don't need you to have amazing qualifications, we're just after people that want to work towards the best possible outcomes for the club and its members.
Some of the tasks within the roles are nice-to-haves, but others are definite must-dos. Without people in these roles, those already on the Committee will have to spread themselves even thinner to ensure that the must-do's happen.
If you have some time to donate, please consider lending your club some assistance.
Donate to Athletics Wollongong
If you can't donate your time, perhaps you can donate your money! This season, all clubs have been encouraged to set up a portal on the fundraising website provided by the the Australian Sports Foundation. If you support our mission and would like to assist us in reaching our goals, please feel free to make a donation. Thank you to those who have already donated!
Athletics Wollongong Hoodie
There's still time to purchase an Athletics Wollongong hoodie for Christmas! We have sizes available from Junior 14 through to 3XL. Buy a hoodie HERE or see us on a club night.
SMART Treatments deal
Athletics Wollongong members can receive $15 OFF their first massage treatment at SMART. That means you’ll get 60 minutes of premium, sports-focused care for only $100. Give them a call on 0433168151 for the deal.
Coming Dates