Monthly Newsletter – April 2026

Community connect

The Ballarat athletics community is built on support, teamwork, and a shared love of the sport. Whether you’re competing, coaching, volunteering, or cheering from the sidelines, you’re part of something bigger — a network of people who show up, help out, and celebrate each other’s efforts.

Our Awards Night celebration on 27th March was a fantastic way to close out the summer season and celebrate the commitment of our athletes, officials, and clubs.

March saw athletes take to the track and field for the State Championships at Lakeside, and coming up during April are the Australian Athletics Championships in Brisbane.

Looking ahead, the focus now shifts to the Cross Country season, kicking off on 10th May. This brings a new challenge and a great opportunity to reconnect as a community in a different setting. Whether you’re continuing on from AVSL or joining for the winter season, we look forward to another year of participation, development, and shared success across Athletics Ballarat.

This newsletter is here to share highlights, recognise efforts, and keep everyone connected across our local athletics family. If you or your club would like to share achievements or updates, please email these to admin@athleticsballarat.com.au

For all things XCR this 2026 season, please visit our Cross Country Page.

Follow the action

Volunteer highlight

Nev Down has been involved in Athletics for more than 40 years in which he has been an athlete, coach, coach educator, official and administrator.

Nev is a level 4 AA coach with a wealth of knowledge and experience in Sprints, Hurdles, Relays and Middle distance. He has personally coached 10 International representatives, 18 National Champions who have amassed over 40 National Gold medals, and more than 150 State titles. He has guided athletes to World records, Australian records and numerous Victorian records.

Nev’s administrative work includes Coach Education with Athletics Australia, Coach Development with Athletics Victoria, Coach mentor, AV Competition committee representative, Board member of Athletics Ballarat, and Chairing the Track committee. He is a tireless worker and committee member of the Wendouree Athletic Club in which he is a life member.

While Nev considered himself a decent all-round athlete, he admits he was far below the level of the athletes he trains. Some of his PBs include: Lap of the Lake 18:35, 400m 50.40s, 800m 1:55, 1500m 3:53, HJ 1.75m, LJ 6.05m.

It is as a coach that Nev has made the greatest impact and contribution. Some of the positions he has held include:

Victorian Institute of Sport coach for 7 years
National Coach at the World School Games (France 2002, Greece 2006)
School Sport Victoria coach for 16 years at the National Cross Country Championships
Distance Coach at Pacific School Games 2000, 2005, 2008.
Team coach for 30 years on many International trips including: USA, Canada and New Zealand
Head Coach Bendigo Academy of Sport
Coach West Vic Academy of Sport

Nev is currently a primary school Physical Education teacher (5 years) and prior to that was a secondary PE / Maths teacher (12 years) and university lecturer (15 years).

What do you love about athletics?

I love athletics because it’s a simple and pure sport that anyone can do. I like it because it’s a friendly, family-oriented sport where you compete as an individual in a team environment. I love the way athletics provides objective measurable results. It’s a fun sport that is inclusive, challenging, and doesn’t discriminate. It’s one of a few sports that every country in the world participates in, hence making it very competitive at the international level. Athletics showcases peak human physical performance, blends competition with personal goal setting, fosters mental toughness, and has a strong sense of community. I enjoy the simplicity, diversity of events, and thrilling pursuit of personal bests.

It is a fun but tough sport that reveals character.

What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?

I enjoy collecting Australian pre-decimal, decimal, and special coins. I was and still am quite adventurous as I have done a lot of parachuting, SCUBA diving, and rock climbing. I am a hang glider pilot and in my spare time (that I don’t have much of) I enjoy adventure motor bike camping.

I love traveling and learning about the history and culture of places I go to.

Most people know this already, but I enjoy the challenge and art of photography.

If you could give one tip to athletes (or parents), what would it be?

a). Running is a skill! Just like hitting a golf ball or throwing a javelin, running is a complex skill that is rarely taught. It needs to be taught before it is practised. That’s why you see me regularly doing drills, mini hurdles, and a variety of dynamic movement activities to teach the correct mechanics. Running with good technique is crucial because it directly affects your injury risk, running economy (efficiency), and overall performance.

b). I’m not a fan of giving out ribbons, certificates or medals for trying their best or simply just participating. Unfortunately, society praises too much and rewards mediocrity. If we want our young sports people to succeed, they must learn to work for it and earn it.

c). The best athletes are those who train hard and smart. They are committed, consistent and don’t take short cuts. Sport at the elite level is ruthless, so if you want to achieve and succeed at the top level, you must adopt a GOLD standard, train with intent, and give attention to detail. Other habits of successful athletes include: driven towards goals, disciplined, recovery, nutrition, S&C, willingness to learn, time management, confidence.

d). And a final one I learnt from my high school coach. “If you jog around all day, you’ll become a good jogger.” The last time I looked, there was no event at the Olympics called ‘jogging’. If you want to run fast, train fast! I value quality over quantity.

What’s been your most memorable moment as a volunteer?

I’m proud of all the athletes I’ve coached, particularly the ones that have shown commitment and consistency. Yes, it’s exciting and memorable to see athletes represent Australia and win National titles, but for me, it’s all about PBs.

It would be unfair of me to pinpoint one memorable moment, but I will share with you a success story. In 1997, I was teaching at St Arnaud Secondary College, a small country school with about 200 students. After doing well at the school’s athletics carnival I encouraged four young year 9 girls to start training to represent the school in the 4 x 100m relay. They embraced the idea and started training after school. They showed great commitment and a willingness to learn, while enjoying the training and each other’s company.

They won the interschool 4 x 100m against the surrounding schools and then again at the district level. After more training, they won at the regional level to progress through to the state final. With a few more weeks to improve their technique and hone their changeover skills we travelled to the big smoke to compete in the School Sport Victoria 4 x 100m state final at Olympic park.

Racing against much larger schools, including Box Hill, Frankston, Ballarat High, and Wodonga, the girls stuck to the process, executed perfect relay changes, and won the race. Cumulatively, their individual 100m times would not have been as fast as the other teams, but with their clean and fast relay changes, their finishing time was faster. State Champions!

This story is a great example of what you can achieve if you put your mind to something, practise regularly, and commit to the process.

I enjoy studying philosophy and I’ll conclude with a quote. “We all have goals, but life is pretty hollow if you don’t enjoy the journey along the way.” Enjoying the journey ensures sustained motivation, personal growth, and presence.

All the best to each of you and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of athletics as I do. I look forward to seeing you around the tracks enjoying your journey.

Athletics Ballarat Awards Night

Let’s celebrate – Friday 27th March

Celebrating some moments from the Awards Night thanks to @marked_moments. NOTE: The photos of the award winners will be shared on Social Media over the next few weeks.

Capture the Spirit

IT’S VOTING TIME

Vote for your favourite Capture the Spirit photo! Look out for a Post on FaceBook & Insta and comment to vote i.e. Photo 1 or Photo 2.

Getting to know our athletes

How did you first get into athletics, and what keeps you coming back to the sport?

I first got into athletics when my parents took me to Ballarat YCW Friday night athletics. I keep coming back to the sport because I love to push myself and see personal growth in my times. I have a supportive training group that always has my back, and we love to see each other succeed.

What’s your favourite event – and why does it stand out to you?

My favourite event is the 1500m because it is fast and short at the same time. It is the middle distance between the 800m and the 3000m, so it can be tactical and challenging.

Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions?

The night before a race I eat pasta cooked by Mum for dinner. On race day I always have a ribbon in my hair that colour matches my club uniform.

What’s been your most memorable moment in athletics so far?

I am lucky to have many moments that I can think of. It would probably be winning the Little Athletics States 1500m Championship event a couple of weeks ago. This was a breakout run for me as I lowered my PB to be 4:37. This was a big achievement. In 2025 I was in the top 8 at the Perth Nationals for both the 1500m and 3000m.

Who inspires you the most – either in athletics or in life?

I feel like a lot of women running distance events at the moment but would have to say Abbey Caldwell and Jessica Hull. They both show great resilience in running and inspire me to see what I could achieve in years to come.

What do you love most about being part of the Ballarat athletics community?

I feel like we are such a tight group of athletes that are encouraging, supporting, and pushing each other to perform better.

What’s your go-to meal or treat after a big meet or training session?

It would have to be acai with pistachio sauce and a chocolate milkshake.

Athletics makes me feel...

Lucky

What does a typical training week look like for you?

I train 6 days a week. A normal week is:

Monday – gym plus a 30-45mins long run, Tuesday – speed or endurance session, Wednesday – gym plus a 30-45mins long run, Thursday- speed or endurance session, Friday – rest, Saturday – race or session and Sunday – 50-60mins long run.