Good luck to all Sandy athletes competing over the next 2 weekends at the AV State Championships.  Please remember if you have been allocated a duty that you report in at your duty and take over from another Sandy helper.  Keep your eyes posted to facebook for some results as they come to hand and please feel free to post photos of our athletes competing on the page as well.

With one more round of Shield to go for Season 201/2017, lets get the green and black out in force and head down to Casey Fields on Saturday 21/1.

We now appear to have 3 teams into the shield final – Open Men (who still need to be strong this Saturday), U20 Men and Womens team who are both in first place and should hold that lead and our U14 ngirls are currently in third, who may or may not make the finals.

This Saturday will be the same as the finals program so make sure you do an event this week if you havent already, so you can compete in that event at finals.

A special thanks to Kathy who has been team manager for the season – i’m sure you would all agree that she has done a fantastic job.

Saturday 3 December sees Round 7 of Shield take place at Frankston. With a number of athletes away in Canberra and it being the beginning of “Silly Season”, it may be the perfect opportunity to try an event you havent done before with the possibility of some of the events not fully filled.  So have a go at something different!

Thursday 8 December is Zatopek at Lakeside.  If your free on this night, go along to cheer on our Open Women in the 4x400m Relay.  In addition on this night, our very own Nancy Emblim will be awarded a very special award for her services to both Sandringham and AV over the years.  I’m sure she would love to see some familiar faces (both young and old) at the track to cheer her on.  We thank you Nancy for everything you have done for SAC over the years.

What a great turnout last Saturday at Lakeside for State Relays.  Both athletes and spectators were dressed to impress in the green and black and cheer on the teams we had entered.

Special mention to our Open Women going back to back along with qualifying for the 4×400 relay at Zatopek on Thursday night.

Our junior teams were magnificent, with a number of medals to add to our tally along with the junior athletes who stepped up age groups to give all athletes an opportunity to run.

Check out our facebook page and watch some of the relays in action, thanks to Justin Lewis.

A big congratulations and welcome to all the athletes and families who put on the green and gold for the first time on Saturday.  From the results so far, it looks like this season will be a ripper and will see Sandringham competitive throughout the season.

Don’t forget to register for events each week by the Wednesday night and also put down on our board, the events you plan to do.

Thank you to the families who completed duties last weekend – let’s hope this can continue – the more families that complete a duty will mean yoiu may only get a couple of duties for the season.

Please remember that our uniform is our singlet/crop top with plain black shorts.  You may find that some officials may stop you from competing if you are not in correct uniform, so make sure you come dressed correctly.  The AV Vic shorts are not part of our uniform, so please don’t wear them.

Looking forward to a big turnout at Casey this Saturday.

Are you Ready – Have you registered yet? Are you Set – Have you got your uniform ready and purchased your singlet and maybe a hoodie as well? Go – Don’t miss the welcome BBQ this Sunday 2 October at the Sandy Clubrooms.  Please reply through the facebook invite if you are coming to assist with catering.  If your not on our facebook page – Sandringham Athletic Club – send a request to be added to the group as rosters and important information will be posted to the page.

12 Noon – BBQ and meet and greet.  

12.45pm – Meeting to discuss the season ahead, ask questions and elect our Captains.

1.00pm – Purchase uniforms.

Don’t forget the first round of Shield is on Saturday 8 October at Frankston.  Sandy usually sit around the bend near the high jump.  A number of committee will be tied up with APS competitions on this day and week 2, so it would be great if some of our older athletes could assist on this day with helping new members in explaining the procedures and what to do.

It’s not long now till the Summer Competition is upon us.  Athletics Victoria have now released dates and venues for Shield competition, along with dates for Championships and other events on the calendar.

To make sure you are ready to compete, please register, make sure you have your uniform ready and direct any enquiries to either Kathy our Secretary or Detsy our Registrar.  At Sandringham we encourage members to participate in Shield as well as individual competitions and become a true Sandy athlete.  Have a go at two or three events each week and get to know your fellow athletes.

Upon registering you are also asked to complete a couple of duties over the season.  Usually 2-3 hours and most likely twice throughout the season.  A roster will be posted to our facebook page closer to week 1 of Shield, so please check this weekly and ensure you complete your duty.  Without family assistance, weekly competitions can not take place.

Shield Competition Dates:

Sat 8/10 – Frankston; Sat 15/10 – Casey; Sat 22/10 – Frankston; Sat 29/10 – Knox; Sat 12/11 – Nunawading TBC;

Sun 20/11 – Casey; Sat 3/12 – Frankston; Sat 10/12 – Nunawading; Thur 15/12 – Knox (twilight);

Sat 7/1 – Knox; Sat 14/1 – Aberfeldie; Sat 21/1 – Casey