The SA Athletic League's Mission Statement:
"To promote athletics as an enjoyable, healthy sport for people of all categories and abilities."
Latest News
2016 WOMEN’S CAMDEN CLASSIC WINNER – KATHERINE DINI
Growing up in Sydney, I started little athletics at the Northern Suburbs Little Athletics club at Rotary Field. Like many little athletes I competed in every event, but hated anything longer than 200m. As was the norm in those days little athletics finished around the age of 14. Although I continued to participate in school athletics carnivals I did not do any formal training.
At the age of 25, I moved to Adelaide and decided to give athletics another go. I started training in September 1999 and although I concentrated more on amateur running I entered my first ever pro race, the women’s 400m at Colley Reserve in February 2000. With no expectations and no idea what I was getting myself into I managed to make the final. As I lined up for the final as the back marker, I remember thinking just have fun you have nothing to lose. Surprisingly I won, and received my first sash. Unfortunately, I didn’t win many sashes after that. I managed a few podium finishes, but the one that I distinctly remember is coming second in the 2002 Camden Classic. I was bitterly disappointed as I was running well that year and never thought I would actually have a chance to contest another. I do have a fond memory of competing in the invitational 400m races the league held at the Adelaide Oval during the break in the cricket. Having won my heat I went on to compete in the final at the SCG. It was a fantastic experience and although there was no sash awarded, I was very satisfied with a third.
In 2002 I exceeded all my expectations by setting a PB in the 400m of 55:03s and by winning both the 400m and 800m State Championships. I subsequently went on to compete in the 2002 Australian Championships in Brisbane, where I made the 400m final. As ecstatic as I was to have made a national final, finishing second at Camden lingered on my mind.
For the next 10 years whilst raising four children, running was purely for fitness as family life took over. It wasn’t until joining the Henley Runners Group that my love of running and subsequent desire for competition was reinvigorated. Although my training was centered around longer distances and after having completed my first half marathon, my coach John Anderson encouraged me to have another go at sprinting. I subsequently entered and won the Team Townley invitational over 35’s women’s 300m at Hectorville in 2015. That win gave me a confidence boost which led me to, after almost a 14-year hiatus and being 41 years old, entering the 2015 Henley Gift. I entered my first race at Henley with trepidation; all I thought was “just finish the race without pulling a muscle” and “don't embarrass the kids!” It was the over 35’s 120m and I surprised myself; although I didn’t progress to the final I finished it without any injuries and pride intact. After winning the women's 400m on the same night, I knew I had made the right decision. It wasn’t until after later racing at Brighton where I finished 3rd in the 300m that both my coach John and I thought maybe I could have a chance at the Camden Classic again.
The morning of the Camden Classic was hectic. A little athletics meet at Santos with the kids was first on the cards followed by a quick dash over to Camden with enough time to do a warm up and get ready for the heats of the women's 120. Again I surprised myself by almost progressing beyond the heats, so I knew I was running well and turned my focus to the heats of the 400m. At this stage I tried not to think too far past the heats, underestimating any opponent I knew was dangerous and thinking about final tactics was pointless if I didn’t make it through the heats. So my strategy was simple, win my heat. I didn't let the fact that I had the fastest heat time get the better of me, I knew all the girls in the final would go harder and faster as they too had only one goal and that was to win.
Lining up in the final was nerve racking so I just stayed focused by going over my race plan in my head. When the gun went so too did the nerves, however my race plan did not count on Karen Long still being on my shoulder at the 300m mark. I knew she must have gone out very hard and knowing the quality runner that she is, meant I had to change my strategy. I decided to try and stay with her, however I found myself having to regroup mentally and physically and wait for the best moment to take the lead. As I rounded the last bend I thought there is only 20-30m left and this is really going to hurt. The hunger to win and the thought that it is going to hurt so much more coming second again, gave me the lift I needed. I just gritted my teeth, lifted my knees and kicked. As I crossed the finish line I felt the pain and lactic take hold and just collapsed, soon the pain turned to one of pure relief and joy with the realisation I had won.
I can genuinely say I have enjoyed competing this time around so much more especially as my children have been able to see me run. I feel so privileged to have my name go down in history in such a prestigious race alongside some of South Australia's best 400m runners.
I would like to thank my coach John Anderson, my friends in the Henley Runners Group and the Coastal Districts Athletic Club for their support. Thank you to the Camden Athletic Club and sponsors for hosting such a fantastic event, and making it the one I will truly cherish.
2016 CAMDEN CLASSIC WINNER – JAKE STANGEWITZ
My athletics began when I was quite young competing in Little Athletics at Aldinga Primary School and Hallett Cove. I eventually gave up when I started playing cricket. It picked back up when I was in high school and was selected to take part in interschool competitions. It was my good friend Alex Saliu who saw these performances and asked if I was interested in taking up pro running. I laughed, initially telling him it was cricket season but, after heading to Colley Reserve one day to see Alex compete, I quickly became interested and thought it would be worth a go.
In 2012 I had my first go at running in the Camden Classic. I remember being in good form and I was quietly confident going into the race. It wasn’t until after running my heat that I understood that this was no regular 400m race. I managed to scrape my way to the final and I genuinely didn’t think I was going to be able to take my place at the start. I managed to get around in horrible fashion but I have strong memories as I was heading down the home straight running next to Matt Cousins while he was screaming at stablemate Brad Schutz cheering him across the line. I then understood how much work needed to go into winning this event and just how prestigious it was.
I managed to make a couple more finals, one in 2014 when I didn’t think I was moving particularly well and finished towards the back of the field again and another in 2015 where I managed to run fourth with Clay Watkins absolutely flying home to take the win.
During the 2015-16 season my form had been good and I was moving well. I ran an agonisingly close second at the Bay over 550m and then managed to get a win over 200m at Tee Tree Gully leading up to Camden so I had some winning form.
The day of the race I felt relaxed and confident but knew I had drawn a tough heat with Jack Harvey who had been in superb form all season and also Victorian Jack Doderico who had also been moving well. I had decided that this year I would change my tactics and go out a bit harder early, whereas in previous years I had sat back and tried to kick over the top but had come up short.
The gun went and I got out quickly to the front of the pack where I settled in and pushed hard to the line. Much to my disappointment, Jack Doderico went back past me on the home straight and I ended up running second. I quickly forgot my disappointment as I knew that the heat had been fairly quick and sure enough I had run the second quickest time of the day allowing me to get through as a next fastest qualifier, something I was no stranger to having done so twice previously.
After I managed to get my heart rate back to something normal, I took a slow stroll around the oval enjoying the moment and having a chat with a few people who all wished me well and before I knew it the time came to warm up again. During the warm up I watched on as a two stablemates got wins, first Salvador Jurado in the O35’s and then Meg Bentley in the U17 girls. This was the best way to get pumped up for a race and I was itching to go at the start line.
The final had a few of us bunched up within a few meters of each other and when the gun went I started out even harder than in the heat and for a little bit longer. I again found myself out in front managing to clear away from the field a little. Coming into the bend I felt a bit of pressure up on my shoulder but I knew I just had to stay relaxed and hold my inside line then when I hit the straight I gave it everything. It wasn’t until about 2 metres from the line that I realised nobody was going to get me. After crossing the line and being swamped by everyone the smile could not be wiped from my face.
There are always many people who contribute to special moments like these. Firstly to Gary Thompson and everyone I trained with at Reynella, I thank you all for helping me start my journey in the sport. To Frank and the entire Camden athletic club along with all the SAAL officials, the passion and professionalism provided every year at this fantastic meet is second to none. To all my family and friends for their constant support and encouragement. Finally to Ali Saliu and my Southerns stablemates, I appreciate every second of time and effort that you have all put in to help me.
FLINDERS NOMINATION LIST
Flinders nominations can be checked here
If your name is not on the lsit and you beleive you have entered please contact the office.
saal@internode.on.net
HENLEY NOMINATION LIST
Please view the nomination list for the Henley here
HENLEY GIFT
Nominations are now open for the Henley Gift.
Enter here
1000m Foodbank Time Trial
The SAAL are helping run a 1000m time trial in conjunction with AV Jennings and the Garville netball club, to raise funds for Foodbank.
Race Categories and prize money are.
More >Open Men $750.00
Open Women $750.00
Under 18 Boys $100.00
Under 18 Girls $100.00
Under 14 $50.00
Where: St Clair Sports ground
When: 21st August 2016
Cost: $15 (part proceeds going to Foodbank)
Enter at http://shop.saal.org.au/
Early Bird Registrations Now Open
Early bird registrations are now open online for the 2016/17 season.
More >
Rules of Competition
Just a reminder that all athletes and coaches are expected to have read or be familiar with the rules of competition.
More >They are available under the "About the league" tile above - under FAQ.
Kind regards,
Michelle and Deb
Declare times and personal bests
It is the athlete's responsibility to declare their personal bests, as well their 10 most recent performances outside the SAAL.
More >Times can be submitted via email, and the office will forward them to the handicappers.
Re-registration and password retrieval
If you have been a member of the SAAL before please note you should re-register, rather than create a new membership. To do this you will require a password.
More >A password retrieval system is now in place for those who have forgotten/lost their password from previous seasons. If you select “Athlete Tools” and scroll down to “Retrieve Password”, you can follow the prompts to reset your password.
Registrations now Open!!!
Registrations for season 2015 / 2016 are now open.
More >Fees are slightly cheaper in the early bird period, which runs through until 31 July 2015.
Hope to see and hear from you all soon.
Kind regards,
Michelle and Deb
