About the club

Old Carey is a cross country club catering for all male and female athletes. Established in 1963 as a summer track club, the cross country club began in the 1960’s. Initially catering for past Carey Grammar students, it has since become an inclusive club welcoming athletes from all schools and clubs.

Old Carey competes in the Associated Public Schools Old Collegians Association. This 13 event, 10 club competition is held between April and September each year. Between 100 - 200 athletes compete for team points and individual trophies for men and women, both fastest times and handicaps. Distances range from 5km - 16km including three relays.

Events cater for all ages and standards. Athletes can compete both in the Athletics Victoria (AV) cross country season as well as the APSOC season, as the two associations run events on alternate Saturdays. The APSOC competition is renowned for its informality, friendliness and big afternoon teas held at the conclusion of each race.

Monday, February 16, 2009

2007 Season Summary

For those that participated this year, I hope you enjoyed your involvement with the APSOC cross country competition and Old Carey Cross Country Club.

There were record entries at many of the major APSOC races, reflecting the popularity of the competition on the winter running calendar. Old Carey made a major contribution to the success of the APSOC season with a strong club presence at all the events.

The seed for Old Carey’s improvement came at the start of the year when a group of OC athletes got together to plan for the 2007 season. This resulted in the development of a mission statement and a five year vision for the club. The key action underpinning our goals was recruitment. There were a number of people who contributed to this activity, but a special mention goes to the OC team at Doncaster Aquarena who encouraged so many of their running group to join us.

Our specific goals for the 2007 season were:

  1. To increase mens and womens participation ACHIEVED
  2. To score points in all team events 75% ACHIEVED
  3. To have teams in each division ACHIEVED

We gave ourselves to 2008 to secure a “podium finish” in one or more races, but we secured our podium finish this season with our men’s team securing its first ever win for the club in a team points event and our women securing two 3rd placings at relay events.

At the end of the season, our Mens Div 1 Team and our Womens Team finished in 5th position and our Div 2 Team in 7th position. These results reflected a strong OC presence at all races and show that, at full strength, we can challenge the top clubs for the major prizes.

Highlights

  • Our mens team historic win at the Cooke-McClelland Shield, a great victory for the Club and all OC athletes.
  • A record turnout of 42 OC athletes during the season, resulting in consistently high attendances at all races.
  • A record number of 22 new athletes competing for the club over the season.
  • Four OC athletes became “APSOC Spartans” by running in every event: Peter Pang, Hamish Beaumont, Erin Carter and Steven Griffin. For Peter this was the 8th season that he has run all events, a remarkable feat of consistency and endurance. As “new” athletes to the Club in 2007, Hamish, Erin and Steve's efforts were notable. Also consistent performers were Andrew Beath, Matt Poulton, Fu Heng and Chris Papadakis who ran in 10 or more events.
  • The increased number of OC women competing for the club, giving us the 3rd best female participation rate amongst the clubs. Success also came with the womens relay team securing two 3rd places at relay events. Particular mention goes to Natasha Hampson, Erin Carter and Norma Gonzalez for their consistent contributions over the entire season, which included Natasha’s handicap win at the Orchard 10km.
  • Alan Rowe’s appointment as President of the APSOC 2007-2008, only the second OC athlete to be elected to this position.
  • Special mention goes to Brian Spurrell who despite a season crippling new injury attended most events to help with timekeeping and lend club support.

It has been terrific to see the growth of club membership and the club’s increased competitiveness this season. Just as important has been the enthusiasm and friendships generated amongst our group of athletes. An important core value for the club has been to maintain a friendly and relaxed environment so that athletes can enjoy their running and test themselves in competition without feeling “pressured” to run.

As we have seen this year the lifeblood of the club is the recruitment of new members. So for those athletes that have competed this year, keep fit and come back in 2008. For athletes that have been on our email list but not made it out this season, we hope to see you in 2008. But for all of you, please “spread the word” to friends to come and join us in 2008.

2007 Season Award Winners:

  • Richard Wilcox Trophy: Natasha Hampson
  • Best Male Athlete: Andrew Beath
  • Best Female Athlete: Erin Carter