A small number of Bacchus Marsh athletes competed at the Knox Cross Country Open Day this weekend.  The larger fields saw some quality opposition with top state runners in each age group.  Congratulations to  Lucas Shugg who with 200m to go, powered through the field to claim a gold medal in the Boys' Under 9 1500m.  Lucas along with teammates Jack Lalor & Hayden Thompson took out the gold in the team event while Thomas Presnell, Connor Shugg & Riley Dart were bronze medallists in the Boys' Under 7 1000m team event.

BMLAC Results:

U/13 - Mitchell Thompson 4th

U/11 - Nicholas Milton 8th

U/9 -Lucas Shugg 1st, Jack Lalor 5th, Hayden Thompson 6th

U/7- Connor Shugg 4th, Thomas Presnell 12th, Riley Dart 24th ?

Under 6 - Daniel Lalor 14th

The VLAA Board of Management announced this week the restructuring of the Regions effective as at 1 Sept. 2008.  In making a final decision regarding the redistribution of Centres the Board has taken into considerations the following important rational:

• Distance to venues

• Number of athletes within Regions

• Numbers of Centres within Regions

• Accessibility of all weather tracks for every Region (Current & Future)

• Maitaining 8 Regions

• Assisting weak Regions for future sustainability

Therefore, our Region (Western Metro) welcome the following Centres:  Keilor, Sunbury, Southern Melbourne & District.

New Region Restructure for 2008/09

Our home run this weekend was held at Lady Northcote Camp, Rowsley.  This venue is amongst the favorites with many athletes as well as spectators, with an open view to majority of the course.  Due to another function being held at the venue this week, the course was set out in a smaller area of the grounds resulting in a windy course.  The Under 6 athletes had a superb race with majority of the athletes recording PB's - well done kids!

Next Saturday a number of BMLAC athletes will be competing at the Knox Cross Country Open Day.  A reminder that entries will also be taken on the day, so why not get a team together to run on the day.

Next Sunday we will return to Peppertree Park, Bacchus Marsh for our Centre run with the first event scheduled for a 10am start.

A large number of Bacchus Marsh athletes have indicated an interest in attending the Knox Cross Country Open Day on Saturday 5th July at Nortons Park, Wantirna South.  The first event will commence at 10am.  Medals will be awarded to the first 3 placegetters and also for the first 3 teams in Under 7-15.  All Under 6 athletes will receive a special award. This is a great opportunity for your children to compete in a team event at cross country, so why not get together a team and join the Bacchus Marsh contingent at Knox.

This weekend our Cross Country athletes returned to the Eastern Gardens, Geelong for the Western Metro Region Cross Country Championships.  Although the clouds hovered above and looked quite threatening, the rain held off and another successful championship was held for Bacchus Marsh.  52 athletes represented our Centre with 13 top 3 placings.  The Under 7-15 athletes will now progress to the State Championships to be held on Sunday 3rd August at Lardner Park, Warragul (Under 7 and 8 will compete as invitational).

Best wishes to the following BMLAC athletes who will be competing at the Victorian Primary School Sports Association Cross Country Championships to be held at Bundoora Park this Friday - Lucas Shugg, Natalie Scott, Mikaela Hawken, Nicholas Milton, Hamish Coulton, Julian Bocock, Hayley McDonald.

This week we returned to St. Anne's Winery to be once again greeted with drizzly rain and cool temperatures.  The previous night's rain made for a heavy track and along with the windy hilly course, our athletes were put to the test.  Unfortunately we had problems with the timing clock and times for the open age athletes are unavailable.

The Queen's Birthday weekend saw Bacchus Marsh Cross Country athletes travel to Benalla to participate in the annual Benalla Cross Country Open Day.  Saturday night our kids enjoyed Traci's spaghetti bolognaise for tea prior to an early night in bed. Sunday morning we rose to be greeted with bright sunshine and perfect running conditions.  Once we arrived at Reefs Hill Reserve the athletes gathered to walk the courses along the gravel roads and then up and down the hilly bushlands.  The first event was underway just after 11am.

Our athletes had a fantastic day claiming 8 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals.  Several of our parents competed in the Open age events over 1500m or 3000m winning 2 gold and 1 silver medal.  Congratulations to the Bacchus Marsh Centre who reclaimed the Benalla Perpetual Trophy for the overall Champion Club ahead of the Benalla and Knox Centres.

This Sunday BMLAC will be participating in the Benalla Cross Country Open Day.   Those interested in joining the convoy we will be departing  Bacchus Marsh on Saturday morning at 10.30am from the service lane on Gisborne Rd just past Holts Lane.   Good luck to all athletes competing.

The caretakers of the Benalla Tourist Park have kindly offered to provide pancake breakfast for all campers on the Monday morning.  Please feel free to accept their kind hospitality before departing Benalla.

This week our athletes descended upon the Eastern Gardens in Geelong for the Annual Geelong Cross Country Open Day.  Although the foggy conditions hovered across Corio bay, keeping the temperature relatively cool, our athletes once again produced some outstanding results. Bacchus Marsh claimed 8 medals for the day. Gold medallists - Evana Miesen, Andrew Amor, Lucas Shugg, Mitchell Thompson.  Silver medallists - Dominic Miesen, Hayley McDonald, Hayden Thompson.  Bronze medallist - Zoe Osborn.  This event was a great opportunity for the kids to have a run at the same venue where the Western Metro Region Championships will be held on June 22nd.

Results - Click Here

Photos - Click Here (extra added 2/6)

In a venue which is renowned for freezing temperatures, rain, wind and even snow, this week we arrived at the Bostock Reservoir to be greeted with sunshine and calm conditions.  All races commenced with a down hill start which the athletes appreciated as they made their way out through the gravel bush tracks before finishing the last 150m up a long grueling hill climb. In the final event for the morning the open age athletes were certainly tested with a tough finishing 1km hilly loop.

The next JDS Coaching Day will be held on Sunday 25th May at Ruffey Lake Park, Victoria Street, Doncaster commencing at 12.30pm.  The session will involve Cross Country training in preparation for State Championships.

Photos from the BMLAC Cross Country Open Day are now available for viewing.

The Bacchus Marsh Cross Country Open Day was held on Sunday at Bullengarook Reserve.  After the heavy rains the previous day, the track held up quite well with over 165 athletes tackling the varying terrain through the bush settings. Congratulations to the Geelong LAC who took out this year's perpetual trophy ahead of the Werribee LAC. 

We had registered athletes from the following Centres -   Coburg, Diamond Valley, Essendon, Geelong, Gisborne, Keilor, Knox, Kyneton, Melton South, Werribee & Whittlesea.

Many thanks to all those who helped make the day such a success. Special thanks to our XC Co-ordinators Rod & Traci Bertram, the rabbits/turtles, the canteen helpers, marshals, administration officers, Andrea Lalor who sold raffle tickets and  to Trevor Dickson who was our MC for the day and added a special touch with an on-course commentary and after race interviews.

Full Results - Click Here

BMLAC XC Open Day Entries have ClosedWe have had a fantastic response to our Cross Country Open Day and we look forward to a great day this Sunday at Bullengarook.

The BMLAC Cross Country Open Day will be held next Sunday 18th May at Bullengarook Reserve, Bacchus Marsh/Gisborne Road, Bullengarook commencing at 11am.

* * * Entries close this Monday * * *

For our first run at St. Anne's Winery this season we were welcomed with the drizzly, misty rain as it crossed over the Pentland Hills.  Classified as one of our most challenging courses, this season proved even tougher for our athletes with two long grueling hills for our athletes to tackle amongst the winding 1500m course, although many enjoyed the challenge in preparation for Benalla, Region and State.

This week our athletes enjoyed the flat winding course through Peppertree Park at Maddingley.  The ideal conditions saw a number of spectators come and support their children/grandchildren as they participated in another week of cross country as Bacchus Marsh.

A few Cross Country reminders:

Congratulations to Team Vic on winning  the Australian Little Athletics Championships held in Melbourne on Saturday at the Nunawading athletics track. 

This week's Cross Country meet was held at Lake Dewar, Myrniong.  The tough course proved even more challenging due to the gusty conditions our athletes had to contend with.  Next week's run will be held at our new venue, Peppertree Park in Bacchus Marsh.  This should be a fast course as the kids wind their way along the Werribee River walking path. The first event will commence at 10am.  New athletes are most welcome to attend.

Results - Click Here

Photos - Click Here

The Centre is collating a list of Bacchus Marsh athletes who have individually medalled in any Under 9-15 State event (Multi, Track & Field, Cross Country) to publish in our Centre handbook. 

So far we have collated a  list, which we know is incomplete, with information from the 90's missing.  

The second week of Cross Country saw us travel to Bullengarook where our athletes tackled the various courses set in the bushy surrounds of the Bullengarook Reserve.  It was pleasing to see our new athletes return for another run while we once again welcomed several new families to their first season of cross country. 

Next week's run will be held on Saturday at Lake Dewar, formally known as Lake Burnbrae commencing at 10am. Directions - travel west along the Western Highway, turn left at the Pykes Ck/Greendale exit, follow the road past St. Anne's Winery, continue on this road (part gravel) and enter through the iron gates at Lake Dewar and follow our signs to the car park.

Results - Click Here

The 2008 Cross Country season commenced on Sunday at Mason's Lane Reserve with a fantastic turn out.  It was pleasing to see so many new faces as well as our past athletes returning for another season of Cross Country.  The athletes enjoyed their first run around the familiar surrounding of Mason's Lane, a venue that appeals to the spectators with open views of the athletes competing.

The day commenced with the open age athletes completing 2 laps of the 1.5km course followed up by our keen and enthusiastic under 6 athletes running over a 500m course.  The Under 7 & 8 athletes ran a 1km course while the Under 9 & 10 athletes wound their way around 1.5km of the flat and at times hilly course.  The Under 11 & 12 athletes concluded the day's program tackling the 2km course.

Many thanks to our Chefs, Derek Milton & Trevor Dickson for cooking up the snags for our hungry athletes.

Next week's venue will be at Bullengarook Reserve commencing at 10am on Saturday morning.

Results - Click Here

Photos - Click Here

The  BMLAC AGM was held last Thursday evening with the new Executive Committee elected as follows:

President - Trevor Dickson

Secretary - Bernie Walsh

Treasurer - Michael Roberts

Registrar - Paul Miesen

Education - Peter Dickson

Liaison - Kylee Roberts

Records & Ranking - Linda Thompson

Canteen - Sharon Dickinson

Fundraising & Sponsorship - Vacant

Track & Field - Craig Mayne

Technical Requirements - Robert Shaw

Assistant Technical Requirements - Paul Sullivan

Special Competition - Roger Croxford

Public Relations & Publicity - Kylie Bullard

Officials - Derek Milton

Mason's Lane Committee Rep - Trevor Denton

Region Delegate - Carolyn Bell

Many thanks to our outgoing members and congratulations to our newly elected Committee. 

The Bacchus Marsh Cross Country season will commence on Sunday 13th April at Mason's Lane Reserve at 11am.  Once registrations are finalised athletes will participate in their first run for the season in the surroundings of the Mason's Lane Reserve.  A BBQ lunch will be provided by the Centre.  For further information contact the Cross Country Co-odinators Rod or Traci Bertram on 5368 1672.

Full Results are now available from the State Track & Field Championships held in Bendigo.

Top 3 Results - Boys & Girls

Heat Results - Boys

Heat Results - Girls

Final Results - Boys

Final Results - Girls

Medal Tally by Centre

The Bacchus Marsh Centre was extremely successful at the State Track & Field Meet on the weekend at Bendigo, claiming an amazing 17 medals - 8 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze. 

Danielle Byrnes U/15 - Javelin, Shot Put & Discus.

Courtney Scott U/12 - 1500m, 800m

Ryan Shaw U/10 - High Jump

Gabrielle Byrnes U/9 - Shot Put

Lucas Shugg U/9 - 800m

Silver medallists -

Nicholas Milton U/11 - 80m hurdles, 60m hurdles

Gabrielle Byrnes U/9 - Discus

Matthew Sutherland U/13 - Long Jump

Nicole Taylor U/15 - 100m

Bronze medallists

Ashleigh Wallace-Arnold U/13 - Javelin

Luke Delahey U/11 - 200m

Nicole Taylor U/15 - 300m Hurdles

Bradley Croxford U/10 - 200m

All our athletes must be congratulated on their superb efforts on the weekend.  The extremely hot conditions certainly proved testing for athletes competing at field events for over an hour and the track events competing in temperatures close to 40^oC. 

A huge thanks to our Team Managers Roger & Lucy Croxford who clocked up the k's around the track getting athletes to marshalling on time and ensuring athletes were regularly kept up to date with final progressions etc.  Thank you also to Michael Roberts & Trevor Dickson who ensured our duties were successfully completed.  Many thanks to all the parents who willingly completed their duty over the weekend.

Photos - Click Here