Editorial. June 2013 Newsletter

Transcription

1 June 2013 Newsletter Editorial During the month of May we have been lucky enough to experience an extended summer with some excellent weather for most of the presented events. The weather normally plays a role in the number of participating athletes at events, the thought of the nearly washed out events are still fresh in our memory. Winter is approaching but we need to squeeze some more good weather in order to host the planned activities on the WPA calendar. All four commissions are actively participating and our athletes are continuously turning out in good numbers. The past month was also host to the SA 10 km Championships in Durban. A very small WPA team competed at the event and the same trend was followed as in the past. Our senior athletes were totally outnumbered by our master athletes with the quality of performances. This is not healthy at all and an urgent appeal must go out to the clubs to assist with the current situation. The development of our junior athletes must continue and resources must be found to stop athletes leaving the province or choosing different sporting codes in which to participate. Jeromy Andreas is one of the latest athletes that prove that we are losing our future stars to the other provinces. With close to licences sold for 2013, WPA is the third biggest province in the country based on membership. WPA must continue to develop and produce junior athletes and improve the performances of these members for the future. The total opposite is true of our Master athletes. The performances are of an excellent quality and shows that we do have the ability and caliber to lead by example. The Cross Country season has witnessed a record number of participants across all four leagues. To date close to 5500 members have participated. Athletics is healthy if participation numbers were the only benchmark used at our Road Running and Cross Country events. We want to congratulate the three Track & Field athletes selected to represent South Africa at the Southern Region Youth Team competition in June, they are: Tamzin Thomas (100m), Robyn Haupt (200m) and Carla Johnson (Long Jump). We are looking forward to some of our other T&F senior athletes to represent the country in the upcoming events and championships. The outcry must surely be heard, we need to develop and nurture our talented athletes. In past years, WPA was one of the frontrunners when it came to producing top athletes; we need to reclaim our position. Mass participation is positively growing the sport but we must not underestimate the importance of individual top performances in order to maintain a healthy core of athletics within the province. The current athletes who are participating in school competitions and the clubs must be invested in for the future of our sport. Together we can make a difference in Western Province Athletics.

2 Commission News RACE WALKING The WPA Race Walking Commission hosted their 2 nd Race Walking Clinic on 5 May 2013 at Acsis VOB club house and sports field, which was targeted at long distance athletes, particularly those participating in the Two Oceans and Comrades Ultra Marathons, with the focus on using specific walking principles to get across the finish line in the most efficient way possible. The clinic was attended by 45 runners and walkers and the growing attendance, as well as the positive feedback received, indicates that there is a growing interest in the walking and running community. The discussion was hosted by Keith Reynolds who recently joined the WPA Race Walking Commission as a member and has completed 25 Comrades Marathons and currently competes in both running and race walking events. Keith used his past experience to focus everyone s attention on walking, after which, he moved everyone onto the fields, towards the end of the session everyone was well educated on the proper race walking technique. The highlight for WPA race walkers was welcoming Olympian and 50km African record holder Marc Mundell to Cape Town to participate in our WPA Grand Prix and Inter Club Championships which were held at Youngsfield on 18 May, in perfect conditions. Of course Marc won the 30km distance in a time of 2:19:40, a personal best for him and the 2 nd fastest time ever in South Africa over this distance, this after recovering from knee surgery after his Olympic performance. Wayne Snyman (South African Student Champion) also flew down from Gauteng to win the 20km distance in a time of 1:25:10 which is a new course record and which afforded him an IAAF B qualifier for the IAAF World T&F Championships later this year in Russia. Keith Reynolds was our first WPA walker in the 30km in a time of 2:57:05; there were no ladies in this years 30km event. The first WPA walker in the 20km was Patrick Wonfor in a time of 2:12:55 while Fundiswa Sandi took the ladies gold in 2:25:05. The Junior and Youth 10km boys did a superb race, all finishing in 60 minutes and under, with Carel van der Merwe and Malikhiwe Poni taking gold in their respective races. Finally, the 10km Masters Men gold went to Hannes Swanepoel in a time of 59:06, while Cindy Lange won the 10km Masters Women race in 61:42. A total of 57 athletes were present on the track, with the largest field being represented in the Masters Women 10km event, PLUS an additional 22 young aspiring development athletes took part in the 1km, 3km and 5km events showing some truly youthful walking talent and potential. We would love to see some new faces competing at these events, so look out for our next round of Race Walking Clinics and please contact WPARWC if your athletics club would like to be the host to a Race Walking clinic and watch your press for details! ROAD RUNNING May 2013 was a great month for Road Running; the WPA team competed at the ASA 10km Championships in Durban on 19 May 2013, producing excellent results. Well done to the athletes for their results and the WPA office and managers for making it possible for the athletes to participate. Chris Goldschmidt s article on the Championships below provides all the details. Glynis Bowie resigned from the Road Running Commission and as Chairperson thereof, for personal and work related reasons, and has been replaced by Chris Dooner of Defence WP AC as the Chairperson. Chris will serve until the AGM in October Glynis is thanked for the time and effort that she devoted to ensuring that WPA and its members were provided with the best possible service. Glynis has not given up on athletics and will continue to perform Technical Official duties.

3 A 3 hour Race Organiser s Symposium held after the Ravensmead 10km race on 27 April 2013 was attended by 27 members, representing 13 clubs, and the Road Running Commission. Reports from the delegates indicate that the event was successful. Many thanks to Ravensmead AC for providing the venue and the refreshments despite having to prepare it after the morning s races. The first of two Fixtures meetings was held on 16 April The resultant DRAFT fixtures list for 2014 has since been circulated to all clubs and associates for further comment and input at the second and last meeting on Thursday 29 August The list will then be presented to the Board and Council at the monthly and Annual General Meetings respectively. Clubs are requested to negotiate with other presenting clubs if they believe that they need to move their dates, this was explained at the meeting and in the covering that distributed the 2014 DRAFT list. Frikkie Kotze has been keeping statistics of participation at races over the past few years. It is interesting to note that so far in 2013 most events have been recording a net increase in participation, especially when multiple events are presented. The reasons why some events have had reduced participation must still be analysed; it is known that the weather plays a major role. To all those who are fit and fortunate enough to be able to make the trek to the Comrades: Have a great one and may your run be in accordance with your plan. Gert Thys leads WPA medal charge at SA 10k s Veteran runner Gert Thys (Maxed Elite) provided the standout performance for the WP team at the recent SA 10km Road Running Championships held in Durban. Taking the M40 gold medal and finishing in 19 th position overall he set a new provincial age group record of 30:33. His medal was one of an impressive 9 medals achieved by the small team of 13 athletes. Graham Katzen (Itheko) secured a WP 1-2 by finishing the M40 in second place in Pic: Gert Thys in 1 st Place, Graham Katzen 2 nd Despite battling with ongoing health complications the slightly built Annie Bothma (Helderberg) held off the challenges of the Labuschagne triplets from Gauteng North to win the Junior women s category in a time of 36:47. Still only 17 years old, we can look forward to even greater achievements from this dedicated young athlete. Not to be outdone by their male team mates, the ladies provided at 1-2 in the W35 category with Bulelwa Simae (Nedbank) victorious in 36:01 and Ulrica Stander (New Balance Multisport) runner up in 36:37. Elmarie Coetzee (New Balance Multisport) took gold in the W45 category in 40:21 and Helen Du Plessis (Tygerberg ) gold in the W60. Linley Holmes (Fish Hoek) secured silver in the W40 category 37:54. Our first four ladies Bulelwa Simae 36:01, Khanya Mateyisi 36:23, Ulrica Stander 36:37 and Annie Bothma 36:47 earned the silver team medal.

4 The other members of the team were Sityhilo Diko (Nedbank) 30:32; Nkosinathi Madyo (Nedbank) 31:19; Chris Mitchell (Celtics) 36:21 and Olga Howard (Celtics) 45:32. The team managers were Chris Goldschmidt (Celtics) and Charlotte Kettlewell (Acsis VOB). The championships took place at the Kings Park Athletic Stadium and the course was a two lapper with part of the route going through the parking area under the new Moses Mabida Stadium. A 10km mass participation race before the elite race attracted over 1000 participants and ensured that there were plenty of spectators to cheer our athletes on. Thank you to the selectors on a job well done and the WP office for ensuring that all arrangements went smoothly. Back Row: Khanya Mateyisi; Ulrica Stander; Graham Katzen; Olga Howard; Nkosinathi Madyo; Elmarie Coetzee Centre Row: Sityhilo Diko; Helen Du Plessis; Linley Holmes Front Row: Bulelwa Simae; Gert Thys; Annie Bothma; Chris Mitchell Coca Cola Road Running League Please find below the remaining Coca Cola Road Running League events. No Race Club Date Distance Area 8 Spookhill Helderberg Jun 15 East 9 Fairbridge Mall Easterns Jul 15 North 10 Atlantis Atlantis Aug 21 West 11 Cape Town WPA Sep 42 & 10 Central 12 Silver Queen SANDF Oct 10 Central Full details of the league are available on the WPA website: Running For any questions regarding the league please feel free to contact Chris Goldschmidt chris.goldschmidt@chep.com TRACK & FIELD WPA hosted a successful Special Open Track and Field Meeting, on Saturday 25 May at Bellville Stadium, to allow athletes a further opportunity to achieve qualifying standards for various Championships later this summer. The meeting was also sanctioned by the IPC (International Paralympic Committee), therefore providing South African IPC athletes an additional chance to gain qualifying standards for the IPC World Championships to be held in Lyon, France in July.

5 All the events contested were a mixture of able bodied and IPC athletes competing together, under the watchful eye of the WPA and IAAF technical officials, and a huge thank you to them for all their guidance and assistance. There were some outstanding performances on the day, including 5 SA National records, 15 A and 7 B IPC qualifying standards, plus numerous personal bests. New SA National records were set by Zanele Situ (F54) Javelin, Charl du Toit (T37) 400m, Kerwin Noemdo (F47) Discus and Reinhardt Hamman (F38) Shot Put and Javelin. Our congratulations go to all those athletes who took part, and we wish them continued success in achieving their goals for the remainder of the season. Ilse Hayes (T13) leading the 100m from Anrune Liebenberg (T47) Fanie van der Merwe (T37) starting the 400m On the left is Kerwin Noemdo (F47), who set a new SA record in the Discus, and on the right is Reinhardt Hamman (F38) who set new SA records in both the Javelin and Shot Put. MASTERS Before getting into the athletes performances, I would firstly say that this was the SA Champs that will be remembered for both quality of organisation as well as level of competition. The general quality of competition as well as the number of world class performances has increased substantially. Not many soft medals left in the crowded (35 60) age groups, other than jumps, 10000m and hurdles where participation is still relatively thin. The number of finals drawn for 100m and 800m events and their winning times are clear indicators of a greater level of competitiveness.

6 Some of the impressive performances: Ladies sprints with 5 contenders for medals at international level: Adri Schoeman GNA W40, Winnie de Winnaar CGA W45, Madelene van Rooyen GNA W50, Toy Ungerer SWD W65, Magdalena Tomlinson KZN W70 3 superb athletes that ran their opponents into the ground covering both sprint and middle distance events: Ulrica Stander WP W35 (4 out of 4), Shawn Abrahams WP M40 (4 out of 4), Len Claassen GNA M60 (too many to recall) The duel between Jakobus van Zyl and Monty Hacker for M75 100m and 200m titles Magdalena Tomlinson KZN W70 scoring 139% for her performance in the 200m hurdles, not much faster than the current World Record. WP Men dominating the sprint relays The start of the W m in Oudtshoorn Steve Johnston taking part in the javelin. COACHES WPA Kids Athletics Instructor Course May Chrysallis Academy, Tokai Western Province Athletics recently presented a two day Kids Athletics Instructor Course. The course followed the curriculum of the IAAF Level I School and Youth Coach, of which, Kids athletics is a key component. The course was attended by 11 potential coaches who are all already working with children coaching sport and physical education. Coaches gained a good understanding of growth and development of children and were equipped to be able to implement the IAAF Kids Athletics competitions and to conduct athletics training sessions that are fun and age appropriate for children. The course had a large practical component, which involved the coaches demonstrating everything they as coaches would expect the children to do. Coaches were evaluated practically on their implementation of competition and training situations as well as on their theoretical knowledge ensuring that would be able to implement a quality programme with their children.

7 Club News EDGEMEAD RUNNERS We are once again hosting our annual Jive Women s Day Challenge on Friday 9 August This race forms part of the Edgemead Runners annual donations and charity drive. All runners and walkers are welcome! Venue: This year s Women s Day Challenge will take place at the Bellville Stadium. Start Time: 10km run starts at 8:00am 5km fun run / walk starts at 8:15am Edgemead Runners have been proud hosts of this event for several years. Over the years this event has seen different title sponsors come on board and this year we are happy to have Jive as a title sponsor. Further sponsors/partners include the City of Cape Town, People s Post, Tyger Burger, Market Toyota Athlone, City Vision & Sportsmans Warehouse. Over the years many women of all ages have enjoyed this event and have come out in force to celebrate this day together. Many charities have benefited from this event in the past. Our 2013 charity is the Children s Hospital Trust. For more information or to register: Contact / / wdc@edgemeadrunners.org.za or visit To enter online go to All entries close on the 28th of July HELDERBERG HARRIERS ANNIE BOTHMA: WPA TOP JUNIOR ATHLETE Annie Bothma (Helderberg Harriers) won the Junior Ladies category at the recent SA 10 km Championships in Durban in a personal best of 36:47. This was a continuation of her success on the track earlier this year where she won the 5000m ASA Junior Championship title in 17:24. In the 10 km SA Champs Annie had to fend off a fierce onslaught from the Labuschagne triplets from Gauteng North who finished second (Alicia, 37:21), third (Olivia, 37:36) and fifth (Sindy, 38:40) respectively (see photo below). According to Annie she set herself the goal this year to focus mainly on road (10 km) and track (5000m). To her surprise she was called up in January this year to represent WPA at the ASA Cross Country Trials in Boksburg. She surprised everybody by finishing 3 rd in tough conditions (high altitude and blistering heat). Consequently she was selected to represented South Africa at the Southern African Championships in Lesotho where she finished 12 th. Her joy knew no limits when she was selected to represent South Africa at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championship in Poland.

8 Although she did not do too well in this event, it was an awesome experience. The conditions in Poland were totally opposite to the South African climate with snowy, icy and muddy conditions. Annie became known when she won the junior category in the 2012 SPAR Ladies Race Grand Prix series. The SPAR series remains a favourite as she continued this year to win the junior category in both the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth events. The 17 year old is a pupil at Bloemhof Girls High School (Stellenbosch). The peaceful surroundings and scenic nature is a perfect place to train. Running the Helderberg Harriers time trial in Die Boord on a Tuesday afternoon (18h00) and cross country forms an integral part of her training. Her coach is Bennie Stander, well known middle distance runner in the eighties (now representing Newton Running Shoes in SA with Zola Budd). The first 3 junior girls in Durban (ASA 10 km): Olivia Labuschagne (left), Annie Bothma (middle) and Alicia Labuschagne (right) WILD RUNNER Date: Saturday 20 July What: Trail Series GLB46 Ultra An exciting new addition to the Trail Series calendar! Starting at Paul Cluver, this "XXL" Ultra 46km trail race takes place in the Groenlandberg mountain range. This is an individual race, and is not scored as part the Cape Winter Trail Series. How much: R335 Where: Paul Cluver, Grabouw Distance: 46km Start Time: 07h30 ENTRIES WILL BE OPENING ON WEDNESDAY, 29 MAY AT 10H00 on Entries are limited and pre-entry is advisable. Visit for more information. WPA Development KIDS ATHLETICS We now find ourselves in the middle of the Cross Country season and the kids have put so much effort and dedication into preparing for the events. The coaches must be congratulated; you are doing an amazing job training these juniors! They have impressively progressed in their performances, they are so focused and disciplined and can quickly adapt to each venue s routes. The results from

9 League 1 to 4 support my previous statement impressively progressed in their performances. They are dominating in their age categories (U/8 U/13). WPA and the coaches are looking forward for positive results in the last league (WPCCC). It is so encouraging to see them warm up before the start of their event and stretch after. The coaches are doing a great job educating the kids on the basic fitness exercises which need to be performed before and after participating in any events. Please find below is the list of kids that came 1 st in their respective categories: LEAGUE 1 LEAGUE 1 Boys Girls U/8 Peters Carl (Easterns) Time: 5.13 U/8 Kruger Carmen (Eerste River) Time: 5.49 U/10 Barends Tylo,(Midas Spartans) Time: 8.38 U/11 Fikile Mogama (RCS Gugs) Time: 13:27 U/11 Edick Nacko (Eerste River) Time: LEAGUE 2 LEAGUE 2 Boys Girls U/8 Williams Glendrik (Ravensmead) Time: 5.09 U/8 Kruger Carmen (Eerste River) Time: 5.49 U/9 Simela Sipho (RCS Gugs) Time: U/11 Fikile Mogama (RCS Gugs) Time: U/10 Solomons Ajay (Eerste River) Time: 9.32 U/11 Giovanni Sampson (Ravensmead) Time: LEAGUE 3 LEAGUE 3 Boys Girls U/8 Martin Dwayne (Easterns) Time: 3.46 U/11 Fikile Mogama (RCS Gugs) Time: U/9 Simela Sipho (RCS Gugs) Time: 7.45 U/10 Solomons Ajay (Eerste River) Time: 7.42 U/11 Giovanni Sampson (Ravensmead) Time: Most of the WP Kids Athletics juniors have placed in the top ten on the results. The coaches and the juniors are doing an amazing job in making sure that they support the participating juniors on the route and at the finish, they are all working as a team. WPA will be hosting another Kids Holiday Camp during the school holidays, June; this camp is for all the kids that are currently on the Kids Athletics programme. The children will be transported on a daily basis to and from the hosting venue, they will be transported from the following areas; Athlone, Century City, Constantia, Eerste River, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Lavender Hill, Mitchells Plain, Parow, Ravensmead and Strandfontein. All WPA affiliated club members are welcome to come and witness this exciting action-packed programme.

10 The programme has showed a lot of positive results. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice to be part of the programme and the clubs that are currently on the programme are giving 100% commitment. WPA is continuously grateful to be working with these clubs, who are so driven and consistently work hard in order to achieve the desired goals of WPA Development. Keep an eye on the WP Kids participating in the upcoming leagues, you will never be disappointed to see them run. General ACCESS TO THE MOUNTAIN VIA KIRSTENBOSCH TOP GATE NOTICE FROM TRAIL WP It has been brought to the committee s attention that runners are no longer allowed to access the mountain through Kirstenbosch top gate. Therefore we have approached the Curator of Kirstenbosch regarding this matter. The Curator explained that he has declined access to runners into Kirstenbosch recently, because runners demand it as their right to enter and then spend the day in the gardens free of charge. Besides the fact that they should pay for enjoying the gardens, it also causes problems for people that are in the queues asking why runners can enter for free, but they can t. In the past runners were allowed free entry before & after certain hours, but they would also just pitch up in the middle of the day and demand entry. Because of this, runners are no longer allowed free entry into Kirstenbosch. The Curator suggested the following: Runners can use Kirstenbosch as an exit gate (rather than an entry gate) They can use a Botanical Society membership (R330/person/annum) to gain access on presentation of their membership card. ( info@botanicalsociety.org.za) No other memberships/cards are acceptable. The Curator is aware that some runners are abusive towards the gate staff and that as many as 80 people enter Kirstenbosch per day without paying some runners pretend to use the toilet facilities and then gain entry. Unfortunately with this kind of behaviour, no special concessions to runners will be made and it will only cause a very negative view of the sport we enjoy. Although Kirstenbosch can be accessed from both Cecilia and Newlands Forest it does not give any right to run in the formal Gardens area and runners should use the perimeter roads when existing from top gate. Let s lead by example so as to retain the privileges we currently have.

11 June Event Diary DATE DAY EVENT DIS TIME VENUE CLUB CONTACT PERSON CONTACT 1-Jun-13 Sat UWC 10 km Fast & Flat 10 7:30 UWC Campus Modderdam Road Bellville UWC Jerome Walters Jun-13 Sat UWC 10 km Fast & Flat Walk 10 W 7:40 UWC Campus Modderdam Road Bellville UWC Jerome Walters jwalters@uwc.ac.za 1-Jun-13 Sat UWC Fast & Flat Fun Run 5 7:50 UWC Campus Modderdam Road Bellville UWC Jerome Walters jwalters@uwc.ac.za 2-Jun-13 Sun Comrades 89 Durban 8-Jun-13 Sat Cross Country League 5 CC Koeberg Nature Reserve Eskom Russell Mehl russel.mehl@westerncape.gov.za 8-Jun-13 Sat Old Fisherman's Trail Challenge Trail Hout Bay Claire Ashwoth trailchallenge@sports4u.co.za 9-Jun-13 Sun New Balance Table Mountain 16 km 16 8:00 Constantia Nek Acsis VOB Charlotte Kettlewell vobsec@mweb.co.za 15-Jun-13 Sat Mamre 15 km 15 8:00 Mamre Primary School Mamre AC Lesley Daniels danielld@eskom.co.za 15-Jun-13 Sat Mamre Fun Run/walk 5 8:15 Mamre Primary School Mamre AC Enrico Daniels Enrico.Daniels@spar.co.za 22-Jun-13 Sat Eersterivier :15 Stratford Primary School Eersterivier AC Johannes Kamfer gpekeur@pgwc.gov.za 22-Jun-13 Sat Eersterivier Walk 10 W 7:30 Stratford Primary School Eersterivier AC Johannes Kamfer gpekeur@pgwc.gov.za 22-Jun-13 Sat Eersterivier Fun Run 5 8:00 Stratford Primary School Eersterivier AC Gert Pekeur gpekeur@pgwc.gov.za 29-Jun-13 Sat Spookhill 15 8:00 Beaumont Primary School, Somerset West Helderberg Harriers Marlon Valentine Marlon.Valentine@capetown.gov.za 29-Jun-13 Sat Spookhill Fun Run 5 8:15 Beaumont Primary School, Somerset West Helderberg Harriers Marlon Valentine Marlon.Valentine@capetown.gov.za Should you wish to share your club or event news please send the information to sue@wpathletics.co.za