Round 1 of AVSL commences Saturday 11th October.
Put a note in your calendars – entries open Wednesday 1st October. If you would like more information on AVSL, please visit our AVSL Page.
The XCR season at the time of writing draws to a close with the running of the Tan Relays. The season has been successful at a State level with several individual team successes. The season began with the launch of the new Puma Ballarat Uniform. This was not only well received by local members but by all Athletics Victoria Clubs. Katherine Dowie was outstanding with 3 Open XCR wins at Hanging Rock, Myrniong and Ballarat. Ballarat’s Open Men’s team placed in the top 3 with many other sides placing in the Top 10. The U16 Ballarat girls dominated and took out the Premiership with Aria Violini taking out the U16 Champion athlete. Ruth Bartlett also won the 50+ Short Course title. The National Cross Country was conducted in Ballarat and received overwhelming positive response. Eureka’s win in the Open 4x2km Mixed Relay was a highlight. Ava Macgowan won Bronze in the U13 Girls 3km, and Eleanor Downey won Silver in the Para U20 3km.
Locally Athletics Ballarat conducted 3 individual events and 1 Relay event. Eureka’s Open men dominated the season with the unique occurrence of supplying 3 different winners for the 3 individual races, Ben Stevens (Lake), Ben Mornane (Wal Brown) and Josh Johnston (Suffren). Katherine Dowie (Eka) narrowly missed breaking her Lake Record whilst YCW supplied the winners of the other 2 races with Chris Hutchinson winning the Wal Brown and Gretta Ashley the Charles Suffren. Eureka took out the Division 1 Premiership whilst YCW won the Division 1 Women’s title.
I love the friendship and camaraderie that athletics brings. Some of my closest friendships that I have today began all the way back in my Little Athletics days.
I could run 18:30 around the Lake.
Enjoy yourselves.
Meeting and questioning Usain Bolt one-on-one (for an event) whilst his security and crew watched on.
Volunteers Needed – Can You Help?
Our athletics community runs with thanks to the time and energy of our amazing volunteers. We’re urgently looking for more hands to help with upcoming events — whether it’s setting up, helping on the day, or packing away.
If you can spare a little time, we would love to have you on board.
A standout for Ballarat Harriers Club is the qualification of their athlete, Cooper Sherman for the World Championships. Over the last year he has represented Australia at three global meets making the semis at the World Indoors, helping Australia qualify for two relay teams for the 2025 World Championships and winning a global medal.
In a month of many highlights for Eureka Athletic Club over the past month, the National Title Win by the Club in the mixed 4x2km relay was a definite standout. The team of Ben Stevens, Katherine Dowie, Josh Johnston and Lucy Jones have all been members of the Club since they were juniors and train together. The final Athletics Ballarat event saw the Club win both the Men's and Women's Division 1 section with Josh Johnston and Katherine Dowie running the fastest leg times of the day. One of our youngest runners, Olivia McConchie, competed with distinction in the Australian School Sport Associtaion's U13 National Cross Country title. Olivia placed 7th in the individual race and gained a silver team medal. She gained another silver medal in the relay event. Pauline Graham and Emma Werner took part in the Oceania Track & Field Championships in Brisbane. Emma had a wonderful meet taking Gold in the weighted throw with a record 13.96m. She also took silver in the Hammer, throwing 36.48m and bronze in the Throws Pentathlon with 2283pts. In the Disus Emma placed 4th 27.02m and 6th Shot Putt 9.45m. Pauline recorded 4 PB's in the 6 events she took part in. Bronze in the Shot Putt was a PB 10.78m was followed with 5th placings in the Hammer (34.28m PB), Weighted Throw (11.70m PB) and Throws Pentathlon (2814pts PB). Pauline also threw the Javelin 18.74 to place 6th and Discus 21.82m finishing 7th. The Club farewelled the XCR season with the Shevlin Lap of the Lake. The event was conducted with all 4 Clubs and Eleanor Downey ran a PB to win the Frank Shevlin Lap of the Lake. The Club will now shift its focus towards the AVSL season which promises to be exciting.
At the recent World Athletics Championships in Toyko, Japan, Wendouree athlete Yual Reath had his strongest result yet at his third world major event (after the World Athletics Championships in 2022 and the Paris Olympics in 2024). Yual jumped a seasons best of 2.25m in the qualification round before fighting hard in the final to come away with equal 11th with a jump of 2.20m, despite battling a knee injury, Yual persevered and will surely be back bigger and better. Make sure you congratulate him if you see him down at the track.
A highlight for Ballarat YCW is Sam Rizzo's performance in the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, India. Australian Athletics quoted "Wheelchair racer Rizzo (VIC, Fred Periac, T54) will gear up for the 5000m final where 12.5 laps of the track will open his New Delhi schedule, with the experienced campaigner building a solid resume on the world stage. Finishing 10th in the event at his last World Championships appearance in 2023, the 25-year-old owns a personal best of 9:53.70 over the distance but will be focussed on tactics and positioning in order to let his fitness flourish."
The 2025/26 season opens on 11 October 2025, and we can’t wait to welcome our athletes back to the track. This year, our club has an almost entirely new committee, with a group of dedicated volunteers who are keen and eager to deliver an outstanding season for all our athletes and members. Their energy and focus will help create a supportive, exciting environment for everyone involved. In a bid to enhance the competition experience and keep families informed, we are transitioning to digital results entry. We’ve invested in Team Managers tablets to streamline results capture and publishing. This means results will be uploaded on the day of each round and available for viewing by athletes and parents at the conclusion of every meet. A special shout-out and best of luck goes to one of our star athletes, Eleanor Downey, who will be competing at the 2025 Virtus World Athletics Championships in Brisbane in early October. Eleanor’s dedication and talent embody the spirit of Ballarat Little Athletics Centre, and we’re all cheering for her as she represents our club on the world stage. We look forward to a fantastic season ahead and can’t wait to see our athletes thrive on and off the track.
September Board Meeting
Saturday 11th October
Entries Open: 5pm Wednesday 1st October Entries Close: 12pm Wednesday 8th October
Saturday 18th October
Entries open: 5pm Wednesday 8th October Entries close: 12pm Wednesday 15th October
Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th October
Registrations close: Monday 13th October
Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd November
Registrations close: Monday 13th October
Saturday 8th November
Entries open: 5pm – Wednesday 29th October. Entries close: 12pm - Wednesday 5th November
Saturday 15th November
Entries open: Wednesday 5pm – Wednesday 5th November. Entries close: Wednesday 12pm - Wednesday 12th November.
Saturday 22nd November
Entries open: 5pm - Wednesday 12th November. Entries close: 12pm - Wednesday 19th November.
Saturday 29th November
Entries open: 5pm - Wednesday 19th November. Entries close: 12pm - Wednesday 26th November.
