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February 2Tuesday throws programme for February

The Tuesday throws programme at WAAS has been confirmed as follows:

February 7 - wt throw 6.45 and discus 7.30

February 14 - shot put 6.45 and javelin 7.30

February 21 - wt throw 6.45 and hammer 7.30

February 28 - shot put 6.45 and discus 7.30

Please note also that the throws results from last Tuesday are now on the T&F results page. Click here

February 1MAWA members can get discounted tickets for the Perth Classic on February 11

The Perth Track Classic is being held on Saturday 11th February at the WA Athletics Stadium, featuring Australia’s best athletes taking on some of the top international performers in what should be an exciting night of Track and Field. Headlining the meet are Olympic Gold medallist Steve Hooker, World Champion Sally Pearson, World Championship Silver medallist Mitchell Watt, and Commonwealth Games Gold medallists Alana Boyd, Ben Offereins, Sean Wroe, Kevin Moore and Ben Harradine.

The Perth track has the reputation as the fastest track in the country and we want to pack the Stadium and ensure that the Grass Banks are full. As an Athletics WA Club, we have been offered tickets at a heavily reduced 40% off price - $6 tickets to see some of the world’s best in action only months out from the London Olympics!

To obtain this discount, members must use the discount code masters in the “Enter promotional code” field. To go to the ticket website Click here

Please note that this discount only applies to tickets purchased online prior to the event on Saturday 11th February.

January 31MAWA has public pages on Facebook and Twitter

In addition to the members' group on Facebook that we started in November, we now have a public page accessible to the virtual world. The public page will aim to promote our club with notices about events and pertinent news items. The purpose is to widen the image of the club. This page is linked to Twitter, so that each entry is repeated there - capturing two audiences via these social networking sites with a single entry.

The Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com then use the top search box with MASTERS ATHLETICS WESTERN AUSTRALIA (not case sensitive); the Twitter tag is @MastersAthWA.

January 30Lauren Shelley runs 2h35 in Osaka Marathon

Niamh Keane reports "News just came through that Lauren Shelley ran 2.35.57 in the women’s only Osaka marathon in Japan held yesterday. The Australian A qualifying time is a sub 2.32 to be run before July 8th, however the IAAF Olympic A standard is sub 2.37. If Lauren was running for Ireland, she would be lining up in London! However I am sure some other Australian girls are also through that sub 2.37. We always wish more for our friends!"

Lauren graced us with her presence as a visitor at some track races in her pre marathon training. She is also well-known to many of us through her physiotherapy!

January 29Runner's World is closing down

Everybody's favourite running and sports shop - Runners World - is closing down at the end of February. Bob and Jan Braid, and Phil Ingpen have announced a closing-down sale. It's sad news to all of us, but we at MAWA wish them well in their retirement. For the details, see Bob's letter Click here

January 26Additions to Tuesday programme at WAAS

Two throws are added to Tuesday's programme at WAAS. The short throw (6.45pm) will be the shot put. Long throw is the hammer at 7.30pm. In addition, subject to organiser Barrie Kernaghan's approval, there will be a 4x100m relay, probably around 7 to 7.15pm, depending on the availability of the track. Turn up on the night and we will organise the teams. The high jump returns after its two week break, so there will be a very full programme of 5 track and 4 field events.

January 26Nationals' billeting

V.M.A. is providing a billeting service for some visitors at the 2012 Championships. Interested parties should contact Russ Dickinson. An email would be best, but his phone contacts are 03 9870 8103 or 0418333569. If they can advise me of age and events they will participate in, I may be able to match them with someone they can travel with. While we cannot be sure we will be able to fulfill all requests, we will do our best.

January 25Worlds 2013 in Porto Alegre moved to October

The date of the World Masters Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil has been changed. Porto Alegre is on roughly the same latitude as Perth, so the original July date is mid-winter. WMA Council has approved a date change to the Spring. The new dates are 15-27 October next year. Happy days for your webmaster, that's 10 days after he turns 70! For full details Click here

January 23Interim Club Tops to January

At the three-quarter stage of the athletics year, the 2011-12 Club Tops has been updated on the track results page. There are usually lots of changes as we approach the championship season, with the Oceania regionals next month, states in March and Nationals in April, so this is a good opportunity to see where you stand so far. Click here

January 19Scott Tamblin breaks 4 minutes for 1500m

At the Strive meet last night Scott Tamblin became the first MAWA member to dip under four minutes in a 1500m race. It is a new M30 state record. In perfect conditions he led all the way in the feature race of the evening, towing two other athletes through under the magic 4 minutes. Scott is preparing for the Open Nationals in Melbourne, the week after our Masters Nationals. He is hoping to go lower still with three more months of preparation. For full results and report, see the T&F results page.

January 17Throwers throng to WAAS

The throwers came back to Tuesday meets in force tonight. 13 competed in the 6.45pm shot put, with 11 staying to take part in the 7.30pm discus. Full results and analysis can be found on the T&F results page. Next Tuesday there will be a weight throw competition at 6.45, followed by the javelin at 7.30pm. The long throws can only take place from 7.30 to 8.30 for safety reasons. The track competition is unchanged, commencing at 6pm as usual.

January 13Throws return to Tuesday evenings at WAAS

As many of you know, we have been negotiating with VenuesWest to reintroduce throws to our Tuesday evening meets at WAAS. A very generous offer of a trial period means that we can announce the return of throws from Tuesday January 17. VenuesWest is very keen that this marvellous venue is used to its maximum whilst ensuring safety. This trial will continue through to the state championships in March. There is a change in the timing of throws. Next Tuesday there will be a shot put competition at 6.45, followed by discus at 7.30pm. The long throws can only take place from 7.30 to 8.30 for safety reasons. The track competition is unchanged, commencing at 6pm as usual.

January 13Tom Gravestock joins Masters world elite (revised)

Tom Gravestock set a new M55 state discus record last night. Tom raised his own record by more than a metre to 40.66m, putting him over the standard required for a place in the Masters’ world rankings. These rankings are maintained by Martin Gasselsberger (mastersathletics.net) in Austria. Tom joins Kate Glass, Bev Hamilton, Lajos Joni, Matt Staunton, all of whom have recently appeared in the world rankings. For full results, including the pentathlons and report Click here

January 11Record turnout for the Tuesday meet at WAAS

46 athletes attended the WAAS meet last night. This is the highest that any of us can remember on a Tuesday evening. New members Danielle Baldock and Leonie Edwards, plus US member Mark Phillips, joined debut track appearances for Karl and Sandra Stockman. The 2000m steeplechase was a feature event, pushing the number of track events to five for the evening. For full results and report Click here

January 9Bronze medal for Paul Hughes in AMA half marathon

The AMA half marathon took place in Hobart yesterday with three MAWA entrants. Paul Hughes took the bronze medal in the M55 age group with a time of 1:34.05. Our other two entrants, both M50, were Roscoe McDonnell (4th, 1:31.27) and Ross Keane (5th, 1:38.50). Congratulations to all three.

January 9Dorothy Whittam wins the Stone Trophy

In a tight finish, it was Dorothy Whittam edging out Lorna Lauchlan to take the Stone trophy at East Perth. The trophy is awarded to the best female in the handicap 7km walk. Handicaps are sealed, so that no-one knows during the race where they stand. The run handicap, with times declared in advance so it is a "first past the post wins" race, was Kim Cook. Full results are available in the road results section (use the menu above).

January 8Online entry open for Bunbury marathons

The Bunbury "3 Waters" Marathon, 50km run, half marathon, half marathon walk and relay half is on May 13 this year. Online entries are now open click here.

January 7Javelin state record raised by Paul Jeffery

Paul Jeffery returned to competition at WAAS last night with an impressive long jump, but stole the show with a new M35 state javelin record. His 54.33m throw eclipsed his own record by more than 4m. Full results are available in the T&F results section click here.

January 6Hamersley/Rockingham gifts coming soon

Paul Edmiston suggests that members may wish to enter the Hamersley or Rockingham Gifts, coming soon. 120m, 550m handicapped races with big prizes. For details click here.

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