As we have done in the last few winter seasons, SKAAC will focus their efforts on the following races:

1. Dyson Relay - Sat 15th May - 1:30pm - The Tan (APSOC Championship Race)
2. Geelong Relay - Sat 5th June - 2:30pm - Geelong (APSOC Championship Race)
3. Lodge Handicap - Sat 26th June - 2:00pm - St Kevins College
4. Alan Hooley Relay - Sat 24th July - 2:30pm - Gembrook
5. Williamson 6K - Sat 14th August - 2:30pm - Berwick
6. Cooke-McClelland - Sat 11th September - 1:30pm - Kew

The full winter season fixture can be viewed here.

The Dyson Relay is a fantastic club event and we hope to fill at least 3 teams.

For full details about the APSOC season, go to the APSOC website by clicking the follwing link:

www.apsoc.athsvic.org.au

All members are now able to renew their membershp by completing the 2010/2011 SKAAC registration form.

For the first time in many years, registration fees have been raised. Both Adult and Junior fees have been raised by $20 to incorporate a new "officials" levy. This levy has been introduced to enable the club to pay volunteers to assist with "officialing duty" during the summer season.

Anyone who competes in the summer season would well and truly be aware of the diffculty the club has providing the required number of officials for interclub (and state championship duties in particular).

The increase in fees is not all bad news however, as all athletes who are willing to officiate during the summer season at any of the interclub meets (the time required for this varies from 2 hours to 4 hours), will be paid $50 for their efforts. A roster will be distributed prior to the start of the season. If the club can't gather enough volunteers from the club, we will look to any friends or family willing to earn an easy $50.

The 2010/2011 SKAAC Registration Form can now be downloaded by clicking here.

Members who plan to run Athletics Victoria Winter of Summer Events must also complete an AV Registration Form which can now be downloaded by clicking here.

As announced a couple of weeks, the 2009/2010 SKAAC AGM will take place on Saturday 1st May. Details are below:

Date: Saturday 1st May
Time: 6:00pm sharp
Address: 1 Ventnor St Mitcham (Andrew Thomas' Home)

Despite low numbers representing SKAAC at APSOC's Brighton by the Sea race, a great effort by Mark De Luca by winning the scratch event. Results of SKAAC's three runners:

- Mark De Luca (30:31, Scratch 1st, H'cap 18th)
- Rob Neylon (38:42, 28th, 70th)
- Andrew Thomas (38:56, 30th, 34th)

Full results are available here.

St Kevin's has traditionally done pretty well in the 800, with quite a few national titles and state records in the solo event and 4x800m relay.

For an all-time team, taking the results from everyone who has come off the SKAAC production line and including post SKAAC times you get:

1:44.78 - Peter Bourke (post SKAAC time)
1:45.60 - John Higham (post SKAAC time)
1:47.06 - Simon Lewin (while at SKAAC)
1:47.56 - Alex Rowe (while at SKAAC)

7:05.00 - Total time
7:03.50 - (rough conversion to relay time, deducting 0.5 for each athlete with a running start)

Alternatively, doing the calculation only with times by people who were current, paid up SKAAC members on the day they ran the time, we get:

7:08.34 (Lewin: 1.47.06, Rowe: 1:47.58, Higham: 1:47.6, Rinaldi: 1:47.62)

For comparison:
World Record: 7:02.43 (Kenya, 25/08/06, Brussels)
Australian Allcomers: 7:20.0 (Queensland, 6/03/82, Brisbane)
Australian National: 7:19.0 (22/08/66, Clough, Doubell, Roche, Wheeler)

Now it might be said that comparing all-time results to actual race times is unfair. But in the history of SKAAC covering the athletes above, it has probably had a few thousand members. At any given time the population of the world (or Kenya or Queensland or Australia) is comfortably above this number, so on a per capita basis it is not an unreasonable comparison.

So depending on which St Kevin's/SKAAC time you accept (7:03.50 or 7:08.34), SKAAC is very close to world record status or at least well ahead of Australia. All we need to assemble the team is a Delorean, Doc Brown and 1.21 gigwatts to power the flux capacitor, and the record is ours.

(as an aside, putting together 4 athletes who can average 1:49.5, while not something that you see every day, has to be a pretty gettable national record - surprising that it has stood for 44 years!)

This season we will be meeting up for a few Sunday morning runs at different running spots, starting this Sunday 18 April at the Tan.

We will be meeting at 10.00am at Gate D, which is at the top of the hill near the corner of Domain Rd and Birdwood Ave/Park St. It won't be a race, just a Sunday run, so everyone is welcome. If they can't be persuaded to join you, significant others can be installed with a coffee across the road at a Domain Rd cafe and kids can be turned loose at the nearby Children's Garden, so come along and enjoy a run and autumn at the Tan.

For the directionally challenged, there is a map of the Tan linked here.

The Club Presentation Night and AGM will be held on 1 May 2010. Full details including venue will be posted soon.

Steve's full results (including a big new javelin PB and club record, plus the same for the overall score) are now available here.

It's now in the hands of the selection committee, but with both the national title and a B-qualifier secured, Steve should be pretty well placed for Delhi. Fingers crossed for now and we'll post more news as it comes to hand.

Jack Howard is a pretty handy thrower (top 10 in the club all time lists in all the throws).

He is also a pretty handy musician. It is hard to go past his years with Hunters & Collectors, but he has also performed with or featured on albums by a who's who of Australian music, including The Living End, Pete Murray, You Am I, Tex Perkins and others.

He is currently performing in Jack Howard & The Nightbirds and they have a gig on at Spenserslive on 1 May 2010.

Details from the venue (including ticket info) is available here.

Jack's website, including discography and some downloads can be found here.

A reasonable start to the APSOC season at the Jamieson, with SKAAC finishing 6th. Our #1 team was:

- Anthony Aloisio (16:22, 8th)
- Mark De Luca (16:32, 10th)
- Nick Murphy (17:17, 17th - great set of numbers)
- Peter Shearman (19:45, 63rd)
- Joe Lynch (20:04, 70th)
- Rob Neylon (20:18, 73rd)

Others running included:
- Nick O'Neill (21:07, 85th)
- Chloe Cornwall (22:59, 117th)
- Patrick Noonan (24:48, 137th)

Full results are available here.

Competing at the Commonwealth Games Combined Event Selection Trials this weekend, Steve Cain has achieved a Commonwealth Games B-Qualifier and finished as first Australian in the decathlon, improving his PB to 7541. Full details and results will follow as soon as they are available.