20Th AMA WINTER THROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

REPORT

20th AMA WINTER THROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANBERRA, OCTOBER 3,4,5 2015

INTRODUCTION The weather was kind for the three days of the 20th AMA Winter Throwing Championships held at the Masson St ground over the three days of the Labour Day weekend. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) – Ray Green/Convenor, Sharon Gibbins/Treasurer, RayleaRudov/Publications, Jayne Hardy/Logistics-Equipment – had foreshadowed 12 months prior that the 2015 Championships would be the last it would organize. For Ray and Raylea it was their twentieth, for Jayne and Sharon it was their eighteenth and seventeenth respectively. Providing 12 months notice gave the opportunity for other states to apply for the event, with New South Wales Masters Athletics being awarded the Championships by AMA for the next three years.

DAY 1 Following tradition, Day 1 opened with Ray introducing each competitor to the crowd, each receiving their Competition Medallion and Participation Certificate. Additionally the LOC had developed a booklet describing the first 20 years evolution of the Championships. The booklet provided background information, statistics and photos from most of the previous 19 Championships.

Robin Whyte and Lajos Joni received their complimentary 10 years participation T shirt, while RayleaRudov and Ray Green were the first recipients of a complimentary windcheater for 20 years participation.

Prior to the Championships, Sharon Gibbins and Ray Green had made 55 Championship T shirts (three manual silk screen processes), a record. All were sold. Over the years Sharon and Ray printed over 650 T shirts and windcheaters.

In spite of Oceania Master Athletics holding Championships at the same time as the Canberra event, Canberra hosted a record 67 entries.

Day 1 caters for all the conventional throwing events for men and women in all age groups. 30 women (45%) and 36 men (55%) participating meant a day of non-stop action. Melissa Holahan (NSW 30)performed well all day with a dominant 48.31m hammer(the best throw, male or female), a 10.87 shot for a Championship Record (CR) and a 14.94 weight throw. Audrey Muscat’s (NSW 35) 42.43 hammer was a good effort. The women’s 50 years age group provided the closest contest. Jayne Hardy (ACT 50) and Glenys Whitehead (NSW 50) threw: in the hammer – Jayne 41.47 to Glenys 39.11; in the shot – Jayne 9.76 to Glenys 9.57; in the discus – Jayne 30.76 to Glenys 26.09; in the javelin – Glenys 25.02 to Jayne 24.05; in the weight – Jayne 12.80 to Glenys 11.83. What a competition! Sharon Gibbins (ACT 55) was behind most of her recent Lyon World Championship results, particularly her 12.58 Bronze Medal Weight throw result managing only 10.51, although her 27.65 discus was very good. Irene Mitchell (ACT 70) and RayleaRudov (ACT 70) had some close competitions. Hammer: Irene 23.80, Raylea 21.87; shot: Raylea 5.68, Irene 5.15; discus: Raylea 12.55, Irene 12.50; javelin: Raylea 13.74, Irene 9.75; weight: Irene 9.03, Raylea 8.66. Mary Wahren (ACT80) took the day’s honours with two CRs – hammer 14.51 and weight 5.85. Great to see Mary so competitive.

Jamie Muscat (NSW 35) dominated his age group with some very good throws – hammer 45.80, shot 13.75, discus 40.75, javelin 36.47, weight 14.32. A terrific series. Todd Davey (WA 45) threw an excellent 14.37 CR weight throw. Paul Olsson (NSW 55) won the two events he contested against Robert Hanbury-Brown (NSW 55) – hammer 36.77 to 35. 42 and weight – 14.12 to 13.82. Andrew Farr (Vic 65), also fresh from the WMA Championships in Lyon, achieved a 40.91 CR in the javelin. Ray Green (ACT 70) and Graeme Rose (Vic 70) had a tight contest in the two events they competed against each other. Graeme won the hammer 38. 44 to Ray’s 37.61, and Graeme won the weight 15.40 to Ray’s 15.12. Ray was untroubled to win the shot 10.80 and discus 37.19 while David Wookey (Vic 70) 28.45 won the javelin from Robin Whyte (ACT 70) 26.21. The best male thrower of the day was Ron Simcock (NSW 80) with three CRs – hammer 37.28, discus 27.26, and javelin 30.68. All these results were close to Australian records as were his shot 11.09 and weight 16.82. ARs seemed inevitable over the next two days!

Day two’s Throws Pentathlons on a warm, very windy Sunday provided some exciting competitions and individual throws. Again Jayne Hardy and Glenys Whithead were locked in a fierce battle for supremacy. Except for the discus, Jayne 28.99 to Glenys 27.79 all other events were won by less than a metre with Jayne eventually winning 3510 points to 3451. Christine Shaw (NSW 55) had an unexpected victory over Sharon Gibbins 3217 points to 2417 when Sharon fouled all three of her weight throws, the event for which she won Bronze in Lyon at the World Championships! Astrid Rose (Vic 70), RayleaRudov and Irene Mitchell were neck and neck throughout their competition. Astrid 2843 points won from Raylea 2784 and Irene 2668. The highest women’s score on the day was achieved by Helen Searle (Qld 75) with 4318 which include three CRs – shot 9.79, discus 21.00 and javelin 17.47. Her hammer at 30.67 gained 1112 points and her shot 1059. Mary Wahren created two CRs with a weight throw of 5.85 and a total of 1914.

Jamie Muscat’s 3215 was only 200 points from the CR while Todd Davey broke his own CR with 3584. Gavin Murray (NSW 60) was well ahead of the field with his 3564 total. Ray Green’s 3348 was fair, suffering from poor hammer and weight throws. Again the standout male thrower was Ron Simcockwho threw an AR 11.29 shot and recorded a 4272 CR total.

Sunday night is the Official Dinner evening. This year Helen Searle generously offered to pay for the total cost of the dinner. Her offer was accepted by the LOC and Jayne Hardy did the work of hiring a catering firm to provide a spit roast meal and a dessert. 66 people attended the dinner. The hall was colourfully decorated, with Glenys Whitehead, Lesley Dawson and RayleaRudov leading the way with balloons, streamers, photos and an example of all Championship T shirts hung on two walls of the Masson St Scout Hall. Sharon Gibbins supplied a continuous loop on her computer of people and events from the past 20 years’ Championships. Wendy O’Brien supplied the projection equipment. Shown during dinner, the images elicited a plentiful supply of laughs, cheers, claps and groans. Ray Green thanked everyone who had supported the Championships over their 20 years. In particular he thanked Sharon, Jayne and Raylea for their untiring work in bringing the Championships to fruition each year. The cheers from the audience were deafening. Helen Searle was presented with a beautiful display bowl in thanks for her generosity. On behalf of AMA, Brett Kingston, Vice President, thanked Ray and his team for their commitment to the athletes of Australia.

On the Monday, the third day of the Championships, the Heavy Weight Pentathlon (HWP) and the 56lb and 100lb super heavy weights complete the events.Two women managed to score over 3000 points in the HWP, Melissa Holohan with 3643 and RayleaRudov with 3176. The event continues to confound many athletes with its progressively heavier weights causing technique adjustment difficulties. The men fared marginally better with twelve scoring over 3000 points. Jamie Muscat’s 3377 was good as was Paul Olsson’s 3288. Gavin Murray and Lajos Joni (NSW 60) had a very competitive series, Lajos winning 3725 to 3616 points. Graeme Rose 4036 was well ahead of Ray Green 3481 and John Reynolds (ACT 70) 3416. Kevin Blewitt’s (ACT 75) 3528 was a good score. But, yet again it was Ron Simcock taking the honours with a 5034 CR.

During lunch Brett and Sharon Kingston arrived at the ground with a dozen pizzas and a few dozen spicy chicken pieces which they provided free to all at the ground. Both delicious choices should ensure the success of their business. Many thanks from all at the ground Brett and Sharon.

The women saved their best performances for the final two events, the 56lb and 100lb super heavy weights. Melissa Holahan threw a magnificent 5.87 AR with the 56lb, further than any other Australian woman, beating the record four times during the event. Audrey Muscat (NSW 35) wasn’t far behind with an excellent CR of 4.48. But Audrey saved her best for last with a wonderful AR 2.27 100lb throw. Good throws came from Samantha Latanis (NSW 40) with a best of 2.20, not far behind her own AR.

For the men Jamie Muscat’s 100lb 4.68 was good as was David Haggith’s (Qld 60) 2.52 100lb. The closely fought 100lb competition for the men 70 was a highlight of the day. Eventually Ray Green prevailed with 2.35 from Don Quinn (Qld 70) with 2.33 and John Reynolds on 2.32. Noel Donohoe’s (NSW 75) 100lb 1.94 was only 5cm from the AR.

The Ray Green Champion Male Thrower Award was clear cut and made to Ron Simcock. The LOC chose Ron for his outstanding results with one AR and five CRs. In a close result the LOC awarded the Len Childs Champion Female Award to Melissa Holahan for her wonderful series of throws in the 56lb weight in which she broke the AR four times as well as achieving a CR in the shot.

The 2015 Championships were an outstanding success. Many records were broken, athletes enjoyed their experience and a record 67 athletes competed across the diverse program. To conclude the Championships and farewell them from Canberra, Ray Green thanked all athletes and officials who had ever participated in the Championships and wished NSWMA every success when they present the Championships in Wollongong in 2016.

RAY GREEN CONVENOR AMA WINTER THROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS 1996 – 2015

OCTOBER 9, 2015