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Manly Warringah Athletics Centre Inc. Annual General Meeting

Manly Warringah Little Athletics

Sydney Academy of Sport, Wakehurst Parkway, Narrabeen

Sunday 24 May 2020 Commencing 4:00pm

Virtual Meeting

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Congratulations to our

King & Queen of The Track 2019/2020

Lucy Scholtens and Dylan Charlier

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Contents

Committee Members 4

Life Members 4

Age Managers – 2019/2020 5

2019/2020 Colbert Shield winners 5

President report 6

Treasurer report 10

Registrar report 12

Manager for Age Managers report 13

Manager of Championships report 14

Manager of Officials report 19

Manager for Track & Field report 20

Manager for Information Technology report 21

Manager for Publicity & Communications report 22

Manager for Records report 23

Thank you 25

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Committee Members

President Nik Ehnbom Vice President Jeffrey Wrightson

Secretary Michael Treeby Treasurer Mark Atherton

Registrar Shanna Colver Tonia Berglund

Manager for Age Managers Ken Carter

Manager for Canteen

Dennis Northey

Manager for Championships

Shane Polikowski Tania Williams

Manager for Coaching Dennis Northey Manager for Equipment Peter Laytham

Manager for Health & Safety vacant Manager for IT Mark Jeremy

Manager for Member Protection/Grievance

vacant Manager for Officials Ken Carter

Manager for Publicity & Communications

Michael Mapstone Manager for Records & Results

Andrew Davis

Manager for Sponsorship vacant Manager for Track & Field Ken Carter

Manager for Uniforms Mikalae Elkins Manager for LANSW Co-ordination

(Centre Delegate)

vacant

Life Members John Allen

Di Cheetham

Shirley Connolly

Stewart Dowling

Aidan Hayes

Barbara Horwood (d)

Mal Jaye (d)

Chris Malcolm

Marg Neville (d)

Ross Selvage (d)

Terry Arnold (d)

Mike Christie

Anka Cveticanin

David Evans

Rhonda Hayes

Len Horwood (d)

Ray Jones

Alan Mountfield (d)

Dennis Northey

Brian Smythe

Bob Blinkhorne

Bruce Cleary

Loretta Dolly

Laurie Hamilton

Paul Hughes

Bev Jaye (d)

Colin Lund

Gary Malcolm

Jan Pearson

Darryl Welch

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Age Managers – 2019/2020

U6 Girls Vacant U6 Boys Vacant

U7 Girls Sam Lane U7 Boys Tanya McNaughtan

U8 Girls Abbey McMillen & Maddie Owen U8 Boys Hannah Creelman

U9 Girls Ben McLean U9 Boys Adam Bateman & Darren Wood

U10 Girls Ashleigh Carter U10 Boys Andrew Davis & Anthony Sanbrook

U11 Girls Mike Christie U11 Boys Daniella Gedz & Melinda Greenaway

U12 Girls Anthony Pulis & Ryan Dunstan U12 Boys Sarah Hendry & James Tizzard

U13 Girls Robyn O’Reilly U13 Boys Martin Benson

U14 Girls Monica Villacorta U14 Boys Wayne McDougall & Dominic Hatfield

U15 Girls Natalie Norris U15 Boys Andrew Blewman & Michael Gedz

U17 Girls Andrew Smith U17 Boys Maya Bakker

2019/2020 Colbert Shield winners

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President report It has been a challenging season with a number of unusual events taking place across the season. These include prolonged periods of poor air quality from bushfires, flooding including the forced postponement of our Regional Championships which sadly impacted some families with other sporting commitments. All this was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic which saw the cancellation of State Track & Field Championships and our own Presentation Day.

All that aside, it has also been a very rewarding first season as President and I am truly grateful to my fellow committee members for their support and also their dedication to our great Centre, our amazing athletes and their families.

The challenges we faced were overcome through true team spirit and I want to thank our athletes and parents for their understanding and support for the tough decisions that had to be made by our Centre and LANSW. I firmly believe that these experiences will help us grow and learn as a Centre and be ready for future challenges as they arise.

As one of the oldest and largest LAC’s in Australia, we have many tried and tested ways of working but there is always room for improvement. This season we implemented a few changes with a view to delivering a better experience for our athletes and supporting families. These included the introduction of EFT facilities in the canteen, changes to the parent duty format and some internal process efficiency changes to better manage some of the high workload roles in the committee such as Championships and Registrations.

This year it was great to see our athlete registration numbers grow slightly by 25 or 3%. Traditionally Olympic years see high growth with numbers declining each subsequent year so growth in numbers, albeit small, in the 3rd year after the Olympics is a real positive. It will be interesting to see how the postponement of Tokyo 2020 impacts registrations next season.

We are sadly losing 2 members of our committee in Mikalae Elkins (uniforms) and Mark Jeremy (IT) and I want to thank them both for their service and all the work that comes with that. Your dedication, passion and experience will be missed but please don’t forget you’re always welcome as a “friend of the committee” at any time if you get bored.

As we enter the off season, we continue to face uncertain times and how the 2020/21 season will look is still unknown. Rest assured we will be working closely with LANSW to monitor the situation in the hope of a season ahead with few or no material impacts.

The off season also allows us time to assess how we can continue to grow the centre and enhance the experience for all.

I look forward to seeing all our athletes back having fun at the track later this year and also look forward to welcoming new athletes to our great Centre for the 2020/21 season!

Nik Ehnbom President

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Vice President Report Summary

In my sixth year as Vice President it certainly was a season to remember. It increasingly became one unprecedented event after another, which meant adaptation was key, although extremely difficult when there is little history to draw on for guidance. How to deal with the smoke from bushfires; how to prepare and conduct competitions when you are up to your ankles in water, surrounded by electrical cables; how to select representative teams when numerous athletes are unavailable due the flood postponing the Region Championships; and finally overcome the disappointment of COVID-19 causing our best athletes to miss competing at the pinnacle event, the State Championships and forcing the cancellation of our end of season awards ceremony.

The camaraderie of the Committee and their ability to diffuse the stress under such extraordinary circumstances, all in the pursuit of caring for our talented athletes made it a season we should be very proud of. To all of them, I extend my appreciation, for without your endeavor, but more importantly your smiles and good humor, the fun of being involved in Little Athletics would be lost.

Highlights

1. Electronic Recording & Reporting of Results

The electronic recording of results improved immensely, although as in the past there were periods of frustration. Being at the forefront of technological improvement for Little Athletics to cater for our large number of athletes, inevitably means we are having to solve technology issues ‘on the run’ (pardon the pun). This was certainly made easier with the track events this season, due to the fantastic operation of the timing systems on the front and back track by Peter Norris, Brianna and Holly. We are extremely grateful for their weekly dedication to this crucial but stressful duty, particularly as they are purely volunteers.

Also, if it wasn’t for Mark Jeremy, Peter Laytham, Vel Vujnovic and Sam Williams, competition each Saturday would take far longer and results would not be available to much later in the day. Keep up your terrific work as the pursuit of a better sporting experience for our athletes and their families is progressing well.

2. King and Queen of the Track

As most of you know, the King and Queen of the Track races comprising the fastest eight boys and fastest eight girls at the Centre over 100m, was held at the end of the season.

This annual showcase event which was founded seven years ago by Darryl Welch is an engaging spectacle, particularly with the loud pre-race music and individual introductions. It was unfortunate that several our best athletes were unavailable this year, nevertheless, Dylan Charlier and Lucy Scholtens put on a great show for the crowd with both of them winning tight races. We look forward to seeing whether they can repeat their success next season.

3. Selection of Manly Warringah Representatives.

Following the release of the OneSport - The Future Course Report and Recommendations by the Australian Sport Commission in February 2015, there was the announcement in October 2019 of the proposal to merge Athletics Australia and Little Athletics Australia.

It is no coincidence that over the last few years we have seen a decline in the level of participation of the U15 and U17 age groups in our weekly competitions and the absence of some of our elite athletes from the U13 – U17 age groups. More and more of these ‘dual registered’ athletes are sacrificing Saturday morning competition at

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Narrabeen to selectively compete in ANSW competitions. As a result, we refined the representative selection criteria for the likes of Relays to ensure strong teams and the points criteria for end of season awards.

This, together with the need to select representatives early in the season for the NSW State Relay Championships and our Zone Championships continues to create challenges for the Selection Committee. Having said that, the dynamic duo of Shane Polikowski and Tania Williams as your Managers of Championships continue to amaze with their advanced spreadsheet skills, proactivity and particularly their diplomacy in managing parents! When you add their input and co-ordination of the parent duties for the representative championships, they take on a huge amount of work and responsibility with relative calm and grace. Next time you see them, please make them aware how brilliant they are.

It’s becoming evident that facilitating and encouraging a pathway from junior athletics to senior athletics will become a priority as the state associations of both Little Athletics Australia and Athletics Australia vote in October 2020 to merge. As a significant athletics centre with a proud history, due to commemorate 50 years next season, we should and need to be at the leading edge of this transformation to ‘OneAthletics’. I look forward to contributing to this historic advancement of our sport and nominating, to again be part of the fabulous Committee in 2020/21.

Jeffrey Wrightson Vice President

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Treasurer report Overall Revenue for the FY2020 was $230,081.90 (+ $12,783.98 (6.0%)), with Revenue in all income streams available to the Club showing an increase on FY2019.

Registration income was slightly higher than FY2019, being $113,214.79 (vs. $113,087.78), and after Levies of $38,483.64, represented Gross Profit of $74,731.15 (GP Margin of 66%). Registration comprised 49% of overall Revenue.

Canteen Revenue of $54,525.42 was a 9% increase of FY2019, and with no increase in prices from the previous year, saw a pleasing increase in overall volumes sold. Gross Profit from Canteen Sales was $24,092.33 (GP Margin of 44%). Canteen sales represented 24% of overall Revenue.

Electronic Timing Hire Income of $39,200 was a 12% increase on FY2019 (+ $4,169.09), whilst Field Equipment Hire Income of 17,509.07 was a 128% increase on FY2019 (albeit only an increase of $2,770.00 on $2,167.00). Overall Hire income represented 17% of overall Revenue, and the payment of outstanding accounts.

Uniform sales (including Christmas Tree Spikes) were up by 4% on FY2019, and the GP Margin of 4% was reflective of a “cost recovery” sales basis to keep uniforms affordable to athletes. Uniform sales contributed 8% of overall Revenue.

Overall Gross Profit Margin increased from 58% in FY 2019 to 65% in FY2020.

Compared to Budget, actual Revenues were higher by 6%, and actual Gross Profit higher by 18%.

Overall Expenses of $141,139.11 represented an increase of $2,932.57, or + 2% on FY2019. The following Expense increases are worth noting:

• Bank Charges – Merchant Fees: $1,361.39 vs $791.85 – 2 x EFTPoS machines were used in the Canteen for the first time, allowing the use of Credit & Debit Cards for all purchases;

• Equipment Replacement Charges: $5,442.50 vs. $4,614.98 - the Club continues to both purchase additional equipment and replace older equipment as necessary;

• MV Expenses – Cart: $1,505.00 vs. $92.40 – FY2020 saw the necessary replacement of batteries for the cart at a cost of $1,600;

• Rent – Canteen & Track: $21,385.45 vs. $25,663.50 - this represents the first year payment under the current Lease with NSW Office of Sport & Rec – please note $13,507.00 of the FY2019 rent expense had been set aside as an accrual for Zone and Regional Canteen Hire over the period 2013 – 2018, and after utilizing this, resulted in a FY2019 expense of $12,156.50;

• Zone Competitor’s Costs: $2,509.42 – the first year that Sydney Met NE Zone charged for athletes’ entry into the Zone competition.

• Presentation Day & Trophies: $530.31 vs. $14,332.31 (FY2019 included an accounting duplication of $5,843, with true cost of $8,489) – we note Presentation Day & Trophies expenses have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Presentation day postponed. Trophies expense ($6373) without Entertainment expenses this year will see a 19% reduction against last year.

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Net Profit for the years was $9,343.01 (vs. loss of $9,699.23 for FY2019).

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2020 saw a healthy Equity position of $307,011.54, with the following Assets & Liabilities noted:

• Cash $268,968.83 (74% of overall Assets): funds held across 3 Westpac accounts, being an increase of $40,895.11 over FY2019;

• Inventory $50,615.25: primarily Uniforms, with an overall increase of $7,582.75; • Plant & Equipment $33,383.53 (vs. $46,169.51 (FY2019)): Purchases of $11,664.02 (including 3 new Laptops

for Track timing use) offset by an increased Depreciation cost. • Trade Creditors $39,956.76 being outstanding Payments not processed as at balance date, including Rent,

Presentation Day & Trophies expenses, Reimbursements and some Coaching payments.

Other aspects of the FY2020 financial performance:

• Canteen EFTPoS machines: 2 additional EFTPoS machines were obtained from Westpac for the 2019/20 season and were used exclusively in the Canteen. It was extremely pleasing to see a strong level of use of the machines in the first year, with between 40 – 60% of Sales transacted electronically each week, including the use of phones and smart watches.

• CapEx: as noted earlier, the Club has invested in additional equipment throughout the year, including new Javelins, Discus, starting blocks and trolley, Measuring tapes, 5 new Marquees for sun & rain protection, and 3 new Dell laptops, with screens that are suitable for use in a high-glare environment.

• Uniforms: Uniform stock on hand includes: a number of items in smaller sizes that are unlikely to sell within a reasonable period; older stock that has been superseded in design and material; and miscellaneous stock that does not sell. It would be prudent to review stock held and undertake appropriate steps to reduce stock to an acceptable level of lines that will sell within the season.

In my first year as Treasurer, may I thank the Committee for the support they have provided and the patience they have shown throughout the year. In particular, I would like to thank Ken Carter for his help and guidance.

Mark Atherton Treasurer

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Registrar report Our new Registrars, Shanna and Tonia, saw a slight increase on registration numbers this season with a 3% climb. It was good to see these numbers trending up after the last two seasons of disruption; 2017/18 track resurfacing and 2018/19 changes to age groups.

REGISTRATION NUMBERS

• 783 registered athletes (up 3%) • 541 families • Six age groups clicked over 50 athletes - U9G – 51 Athletes - U9B – 63 Athletes - U10G – 53 Athletes - U10B – 54 Athletes - U11G – 59 Athletes - U12B – 56 Athletes

In continuing the trend from past seasons, the chart again shows our largest age groups range between under 9 through to under 12 in both Girls and Boys.

The surprise age group increase this season was the increase in numbers in our Under 15s and Under 17s age groups. There is a great culture in our seniors and we’re seeing the positive impact of numbers increasing in these older age groups.

U15s in total increased by 21% (up 7 athletes) and U17s in total increased by 23% (up 9 athletes)

Age Group 15s 17s

Season 2019/2020 2018/2019 2019/2020 2018/2019

Boys 19 15 21 17

Girls 22 19 28 23

Total 41 34 49 40

NUMBERS COMPARISON ON LAST SEASON

Detail 2019/2020 2018/2019 Variance

Total athletes 783 758 Up 25 (3%)

Total families 541 521 Up 20 (4%)

Returning athletes 453 (58%) 435 (57%) Up 18 (4%)

New athletes 330 (42%) 323 (43%) Up 7 (2%)

Looking forward to continued registration numbers growing. Shanna Colver & Tonia Berglund MWLAC Co-Registrars

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Manager for Age Managers report All age managers started the season with an updated version of the Age Managers’ Handbook thanks the previous work of former AM Officer Peter Laytham. It is a valuable source of information that I strongly recommend all to continue to use and reference throughout each and every season.

Accompanied by the handbook our Centre’s policy is to encourage each age manager to undertake as a minimum the Introduction to Coaching course run by organisations approved by LANSW. Whilst I failed to organise a course day in our area during the year, an invitation to attend the North Metropolitan Zone run ITC at Barton Park, Paramatta at season commencement was largely ignored by our AMs. This is an area that will need improvement in 2021.

On the whole our age managers this year were an exceptional bunch who selflessly provided guidance and management of the weekly programme for their age group week in week out. Some of these groups consist of over 30 athletes so the task of keeping their group entertained is a significant commitment. I can’t recall any occasions of disagreements or unacceptable behaviour throughout the year. To the contrary communications be it by email or in person at the track were always timely, informative and in good spirit.

Timing issues again plagued Saturday morning competitions, most notably in the first weeks of the season and it is a credit to our age managers that they remained calm and patient when some of our parents were not.

I am particularly pleased to say a very promising sign is the interest shown by some of our outgoing U17s athletes to take on the roles of age managers in 2021. They will be great ambassadors for our Centre.

To each and every age manager I personally wish to thank you for contribution and effort this year. I hope to see as many of you as possible again next year.

Special thanks must go to Tania Williams. In her role as Joint Championships Officer with Shane Polikowski she was in regular communication with me throughout the year on a myriad on age group related matters, always ensuring issues were handled in a prompt and very professional manner.

Finally, it would be amiss of me to not provide special mention to outgoing U17 girls age manager Andrew Smith. Andrew who has been an age manager since the U8s, epitomises what is expected of an MWAC age manager. He was generally always in good spirits and very clearly adored and well respected by his age group athletes. Andrew you will be missed. Please don’t be a stranger.

Ken Carter Manager of Age Managers

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Manager of Championships report Manly Warringah had a few challenges out of our control this season, with an extreme weather condition that postponed our regional carnival for the first time ever and COVID-19 pandemic that cancelled the State Championships. Despite this, Manly Warringah had another successful season with a large number of athletes representing the club at various championship events.

STATE RELAYS

State Relay Championships had more teams compete than previous years. It reflected the many athletes who were willing to don the prominent Maroon & White in events, which may not have necessarily been their best, simply to ensure the best team was available on the day. There was great team spirit on show, when athletics is often regarded as an individual sport.

109 Junior athletes competed in 46 teams winning the following medals:

Gold 7

Silver 3

Bronze 3

TOTAL 13

108 Senior athletes competed in 56 teams winning the following medals:

Gold 5

Silver 8

Bronze 1

TOTAL 14

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ZONE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The table below shows the number of MWLAC athletes that entered the zone championships:

Athletes Entered Events Entered

Junior (U7-U11)

Selected

178 559

Senior (U12-U17)

Self Nominate

189 627

TOTAL 367 1186

20 athletes withdrew either prior to the event or over the weekend for various reasons and therefore did not compete.

The table below shows the breakdown of medals won at the Zone Championships by U7 MWLAC athletes:

Gold 12

Silver 6

Bronze 3

TOTAL 21

89% of eligible athletes who competed at the Zone Championships progressed to the Region Championships.

REGIONALS CHAMPIONSHIPS

289 athletes qualified to represent MWLAC in 751 events at the Region Championships. In addition 4 multiclass athletes were entered in 15 events. Due to the rescheduling of the Regional Championships a significant number of athletes had to withdraw from the Regionals Championships due to clashes with other commitments on that weekend:

Number of Athletes

Competed at Region Championships 252

Withdrew (prior to original date) 9

Withdrew (due to change of date) 32

TOTAL 293

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The table below shows the breakdown of medals won at the Region Championships by MWLAC athletes:

Gold 62

Silver 50

Bronze 77

TOTAL 189

60% of eligible athletes who competed at the Region Championships progressed to the State Championships.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

State Championships were cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

AUSTRALIAN LITTLE ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS – HOBART

Australian Little Athletics Championships were cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

TRANS TASMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

The following athletes were selected to compete at the Trans-Tasman Championships that were held in New Zealand in January 2020:

Addison Driver

Sofia Ehnbom

Angela Preston

Elisabeth Pulis

ATHLETE PERPETUAL TROPHIES

The following stand out athletes were recognised at our end of season presentation:

Junior Athlete of the Year Octavia Williams

Junior Athlete of the Year Ludvig Persson

Senior Athlete of the Year Lucy Scholtens

Senior Athlete of the Year Zachary Flynn

Junior Encouragement Award Abbie Dunstan

Junior Encouragement Award Leo Robinson

Senior Encouragement Award Alejandra Blanco

Senior Encouragement Award Tom Parkes

Terry Arnold Sportsmanship Award Byron Bakker

We are looking forward to another great season in 2020/2021.

Kind regards, Shane Polikowski and Tania Williams Managers for Championships

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Manager for Equipment report

Year highlights

• Completion of the Zone and the delayed Region Carnivals - massive efforts and a job well done by the whole Manly team with many thanks for all the willing helpers around the equipment management aspects.

• New staring blocks and a new trolley to hold one set of them. • Through the year a significant amount of stored gear has been dumped including

- Parts for tents, - Rotten tent canopies, and - Old/obsolete timing gear, all tested as no longer working anyway

We reduced holding of items we no longer need through selling them, mostly in return for assistance in the field - Old Javelins (we disposed of about 20 in this way) - Old Shot Put (probably disposed of around 20 of these also) - Old Discus (maybe 10 of these) - Old starting blocks (5 sets)

New Equipment

• One that falls in both IT and Equipment – 3 new laptops with good outdoor displays were sourced thanks to efforts from Sam Williams, Vel Vujnovic and Mark Jeremy.

• 5 new tents were purchased for the season. Extreme Marque’s continue to honour their original 50% off RRP deal struck for MWLAC. I strongly recommend we continue to source from them.

• A number of New Javelins have been purchased to backfill some which seem to be short in number for some reason. Additional (spare) units are currently housed in the case in the Eastern Shed. Note there are now two bagged sets of Javelin thanks to Johan Ekstein (U12B) who made the sets up. These are both stored in the Eastern shed in red Javelin bags. Each bag is clearly labelled “Training Javelin” and “Saturday Competition Javelin”.

• A quantity of new Discus and Shot puts were purchased to backfill gaps in our catalogue, particularly for Zone where additional equipment needs are sometimes driven by event locations (eg shot put).

• A complete set of new Olympic starting blocks were purchased (18 of) along with 1 new 10-unit trolley. • We started the year with a complete set of new (or nearly new – one use) tape measures for Age Managers,

including a Stainless Steel 100m tape. Unfortunately, we did not finish with the full complement, missing a number of tapes including the stainless steel one.

Repairs and Maintenance

• New batteries were sourced for the Golf Cart (Gel filled to avoid the constant need to add water). • There is also an isolation switch on the Gold Cart which we now use to preserve the batteries over the off

season, or any time of extended idleness. This switch is under the seat on the driver’s side of the cart. If you’re using the cart and it appears flat, this is most likely the issue.

• The start device assembly used for circular track has been significantly reworked and repaired. The device itself is now powered by the same large capacity 12V battery that powers the speaker, all wiring has been repaired and the device tested extensively – it no longer powers itself off.

• The barrow for the junior shot puts has been repaired. • Two tyres were taken away for repairs at the start of the season (hurdles and sandbag trailers)

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Future Equipment and Initiatives to be planned for Next Year. • Need new Pig Tails for Javelin fence. • Ongoing equipment replacement and disposal of field gear

- Improved storage for shot puts will provide for a longer life, but will also depend on correct use by Age Managers and Coaches.

• New trolleys for the discus/shot/skills requirements • Plans should continue to budget for replacement Discus Cages with a co contribution effort with the SAS.. • Continue clean out and reorganise the storage area for safety, ease of access etc. • Work with NSW OS&R to have the roller doors on the shed replaced, and get the lights repaired in the Western

shed. • Investigate viability of alternate timing gear for the track events to avoid the constant issues with a system that

relies so heavily on wireless technology (Timing Solutions) and also to have fall back mechanisms against ongoing systemic issues with determining correct placings in faces through use of video technology.

- Eagle Eye Pro looks promising Peter Laytham Manager for Equipment

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Manager of Officials report We again had our core group of starters and walks judges that consistently volunteered week in week out. Of the starters Jamie McMillen and Ray Osborne were available almost every week. Jacqui Charlier, a former long-standing age manager accepted the challenge to become a starter this year and excelled. She too made herself available for most of the weeks during the season.

They were regularly joined by Nicky Solomon and Sophie Scamps who both happily assisted throughout the year. Ben Sinclair & Damian Gorman as the Centre’s most experienced starters helped out whenever they could and on occasions continued to provide mentoring as did Jamie to the newer brigade. When we were short Peter Laytham, Nik Ehnbom & Jeff Wrightson filled the void admirably. Even I stepped in and helped out on the odd occasion. To all those mentioned thank you very much for bringing your happy disposition with you each and every Saturday morning. You made it such a pleasure for me.

The walk judges have been well organised again this year with Carmel Parker managing and mentoring the team. I am thrilled to say that this year we saw former athletes Hannah Parker and Abbey McMillen give back to the sport by officiating as walks judges. Their selfless act throughout the entire season was truly inspiring. I note that Little Athlete Tara Laytham helped out on occasions too.

To all the walk judges a very big thank you for always being punctual and in good spirits.

To our regular front and circular track timing operators in Holly Atteridge and Brianna Seale many thanks for always being there, even on some occasions when your kids were not. I can’t begin to say how much I appreciated that.

A big thanks to Jeff Wrightson who managed these timing areas, and as the creator of the front track finish chicane was always looking for ways to make improvements.

A special thanks to back track stalwart Peter Norris who had is last year with us. Peter remained cool calm and collected each and every week whether it be at back track timing or overseeing the weekly pack up crew. Peter thank you for your many years of service. You will be missed.

To Michael Treeby thanks again for managing and communicating the hurdles programmes most weeks and always remaining calm and in good humour. Thanks too to Michael Mapstone who assisted on several occasions.

The IT crew consisted of Mark Jeremy, Vel Vujnovic and Sam Williams with Darryl Welch assisting when he could. Peter Laytham was never far from the scene and always helped out when a crisis hit us. A special thanks to regular attendees, Sam & Vel who were often my “go to” guys to fix our weekly problems.

You all rock! Hope to see as many of you as possible back again next season.

Ken Carter Manager of Officials (acting)

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Manager for Track & Field report This year was a particularly tough season for all associated with Little Athletics.

Firstly, electronic timing issues persisted and on one occasion at the beginning of the season there were delays of over an hour during morning competition. Then there was the smoke and heat from the fires that seem to persist for weeks on end.

It was mainly dry throughout the season but when it did rain it became apparent that the track drainage was incapable of handling any continual downpour. This resulted in club competition being cancelled twice, something that with an all-weather track has rarely happened in the past.

In February the rain arrived with a vengeance culminating in the track flooding on two occasions and the postponement of the regional carnival. High jump mats that require four to lift floated from one end to the other of the track infield. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic saw the last-minute cancellation of the state championships and deferment of our annual presentation day. Suffice to say next year must surely be a better year.

Use of the 6-week programme continued to work well with minor adjustments made. Flooding of sandpits in particular was challenging for competition but age managers and athletes were patient and overall sympathetic to our dilemmas.

The key to the programme is communication amongst age managers, officials & athletes. Most age managers now use the walk talkies to effectively communicate what event locations are available, how they are progressing and also to queue middle distance events. Officials use them to co-ordinate hurdles and front track sprints each week with the aim of keeping to our tight schedule.

On most occasions the weekly programme was forwarded to every age manager and official in advance of that week’s competition. I understand that many age managers would in turn disseminate it to their athletes. The programme was prepared with mandatory first event and proposed second and third events with a view to efficiently coordinating the movements of twenty age groups on any given morning.

To run well it is vital that all 20 groups work as a team rather than competing for the same event.

Age managers in general continue to dislike the Skills Drills component which is in conflict with the proposed plans of LANSW. Malina Weinhold was contracted to manage it for the period until the Xmas break and from all accounts made the drills entertaining. Martin Smellie reappeared after Xmas and maintained his high standard of ensuring athlete enthusiasm for the remainder of the season.

Whilst most were still home in bed Peter Laytham as the Equipment Officer continued to be on hand first thing for almost every week to ensure that competition started on time. When he could not be there his weekly co-pilot Jamie McMillen filled in admirably. They were regularly joined by Michael Treeby & Jeff Wrightson and to all of them we owe a debt of gratitude.

To the starters, officials and age managers a big thank you for giving up your time each week to help run our athletics competition. I hope to see as many of you as possible back again next season.

Ken Carter Manager for Track & Field

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Manager for Information Technology report

With hard work from Sam Williams, Vel Vujnovic and Peter Laytham we were able to provide IT support for the Club and get through what was a difficult Season at times, and ensure the athletes were able to compete at their best. The Season started perfectly with a new computer room fitted out with dedicated power points, cupboards and cable ports. During the season we had some real highs with the full Timing Solutions Software and Equipment working brilliantly, but then falling very short of expectations on other days. The 3-year battle with Timing Solutions’ gates and software maybe coming to an end. As our 4 laptops had passed their use by date, Sam Williams kindly identified the perfect laptop replacement, which we were able to use in the second half of the year. In addition, Sam set up each laptop with its own dedicated purpose; Front Track Sprints, Back Track Sprints and Circular Track. The new laptops are also set up for remote connectivity. Highlights

• New Computer room with dedicated computer area and cupboards. • Purchase of 3 new laptops, with exceptionally screen brightness. • Utilising the Bullet, eliminating many WiFi blackspots around the track. • Identifying many of the shortcomings of Timing Solutions – this helped ensure that competition could

proceed, and also the stark realisation that an alternative robust system is needed. The Future In 2020/21 the plan is to;

• Invest in Hawk-Eye as a replacement to the Gates & CompHQ, whilst retaining ResultsHQ and the tablets. • Move from Apple iCloud to the Cloud. • Utilise some cloud-based Applications;

- Zoom for General Meetings - Trello for managing Projects

This will be my last year as the IT Manager and would like to think we have progressed in many areas and thank all those dedicated volunteers that have enabled our athletes, in some case sons and daughters to compete at such a high level in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Mark Jeremy Manager for Information Technology

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Manager for Publicity & Communications report Summary

The nature of the role has changed to one which focuses on clear and timely communication of information to members, rather than a “publicity officer” role as it was previously known.

• Focus on digital content • External publicity no longer a priority • Website content relevant and up to date, particularly in relation to major disruptions faced during the season

In detail

When I took on the communications/publicity officer role three years ago, I had hoped to generate greater external publicity regarding the achievements of our athletes.

In the past two years opportunities to obtain exposure through the Manly Daily were limited, but its demise from a five-day-a-week to smaller twice-weekly print edition in 2019 effectively ended such opportunities (at the time of writing this report, the Daily has since become an online-only subscriber publication). The primary role of the Communications Officer has switched to the centre’s own digital content.

Prior to the commencement of the season it was decided I would focus on website content and Nik would update the centre’s Facebook page. This tandem approach has worked well, ensuring Nik, as President, is aware of information being posted and when; without having to update both sources. Often he was able to use the copy I produced for the website.

Clear communication via website and Facebook has become increasingly important as members now look to these sources for information about upcoming events or, for example, changes to centre training times. It also proved vital when events were disrupted.

The photos I took and posted on the website of the inundated track on the afternoon the decision was made to cancel the Regional Carnival, for example, were able to demonstrate clearly why the carnival could not be run.

There was a similar scenario when one of our regular Saturday morning meets was also cancelled a few weeks later. During the season I also updated the website front page photos with an array of pictures from Zone and regular Saturday competition.

Unfortunately, the website design only allows for long horizontal photos to be displayed, so this is something that should be looked at if and when a further update of the website takes place.

The importance of clear communication was also highlighted when the season was brought to an abrupt halt by the COVID-19 outbreak, forcing the cancellation of the State Championships and our end-of-season presentation day. While the news was certainly unwelcome, we were able to advise members as soon as possible.

I’d like to thank my fellow committee members for all their countless hours of dedication.

Michael Mapstone Manager for Publicity and Communications

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Manager for Records report 2019-20 was a challenging Season for competing as the athletes were disrupted by weather - rain, floods and smoke haze. Down from 25 Records in 2018-19, twelve (12) new Centre Records were created across throws, sprints and middle distance disciplines. While Jumps are a notable absence, we had a particularly strong throws Season, with a new Javelin standard, and Discuss records set five (5) times.

• The standout event was Under 11 boys Discuss as their Record was broken three (3) times. • The Under 13 boys 1500m record was broken twice. • The Under 15 girls continue to hone their speed skills with the 100m and 200m records falling and

the 1500m walk record was bettered by almost 5 seconds. • Perhaps the most impressive record is the Under 17 boys 3000m. Run on a Monday night, few were

there to see the run from one of our outgoing athletes. Congratulations go to the following athletes for their outstanding, record achievements in Season 2019-20:

Gender Age Group Athlete Event Record Club Girls 14 Isabel Harris Javelin 38.51 m Wakehurst Girls 15 Gabriella Taylor 100m 12.37 sec Manly Girls 15 Olivia Inkster 200m 25.13 sec Manly Girls 15 Tara Laytham 1500m Walk 6:59.99 min Wakehurst Girls 17 Ciara Sinclair 800m 2:28.28 min Wakehurst Boys 9 Ludvig Persson Discus 500g 31.04 m Manly Boys 11 Alberto Jordan Discus 500g 30.65 m Peninsula Boys 11 Zac Gedz Discus 500g 27.23 m Manly Boys 11 Alberto Jordan Discus 500g 26.16 m Peninsula Boys 13 Oliver White 1500m 4:29.39 min Manly Boys 13 Freddie Benson Sparkes Discus 750g 37.79 m Manly Boys 17 William Collinson 3000m 10:49.73 min Manly

Little Athletics is about fun, fitness and learning new skills. More important than the Centre Records were the weekly Personal Bests. Nearly every athlete improved their results from last Season in at least one event, with over 17,200 personal bests recorded. Amazingly, 192 athletes recorded 30 or more PB’s, with one athlete recording 52. We congratulate all these athletes for improving in their skills and results. The top 5 most improved athletes for the Season were:

Gender Age Group Athlete PBs Girls 9 Caitlyn Power 52 Boys 17 Dale Mapstone 50 Girls 13 April Billington 49 Boys 14 Alejandro Briones 48 Boys 8 Emerson Ayres 46

I look forward to the 2020-21 Season. Andrew Davis Manager for Records

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Financial Report for the Year ended 31 March 2020 *See full Financial report attached

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Thank you

Thank you to everyone that contributes in any way to ensure our centre runs smoothly for the kids of our community to participate, have fun and strive to be their best.

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In Memory

Life Members

Mal Jaye