09.01.2008

New year, next squad

Athletics Australia is pleased to announce its Under 17 Development Squad for 2008, providing a talented group of junior athletes with some valuable opportunities.

It was just six months ago that the 2007 squad was confirmed, however, the activities of the new group will be geared to the first half of this year given the sport’s commitments to the World Junior Championships (July) and Olympic Games (August), among other meets.

Importantly, the squad will undertake a three-to-four day educational and training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra next month before travelling up to Sydney for the grand prix meet on Saturday, February 16.

Athletics Australia’s team of national youth event coaches, headed by coaching co-ordinator Glynis Nunn-Cearns, worked in talent identification roles to select the new group, which admittedly was a difficult task.

“It’s never easy to select a group of kids because there’s always a talented athlete that you’re going to miss out on,” she said. “The coaches in the various areas have selected athletes that they feel have achieved the necessary standards and we just go from there.

“Hopefully, if we miss out on anyone, they get picked up the following year maybe in the under 19 program.”

Nunn-Cearns, who won gold in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympic Games, considers that the 47 athletes selected can only benefit from the program.

“It gives them an opportunity to go the next step and be educated a little bit more in the entire sport of athletics,” she said. “(We hope) that they continue to be involved in the sport and hopefully that they can take a little bit of information back to their personal coaches who can then extend it on to the rest of their squad.

“That will help other athletes around the country as well.”

The squad consists of 18 from Queensland, 11 from New South Wales, 10 from Victoria, four from Western Australia, two from South Australia and one from the ACT and Tasmania.

“Queensland always has a very strong group in that young age group because the team they take down to All Schools is always the biggest,” Nunn-Cearns said. “When you’ve got a huge team, then hopefully you’ll always get a bigger group at the top end.”

And as personal coach of two of the athletes, hurdler Rory Williams and sprinter Alex Beck, their selection is reward for Nunn-Cearns too.

“They were tickled pink,” she said. “They were very excited. They do all of the work and for both of them to make their first national final and to then be selected in the under 17 program was amazing.

“It just shows that a little bit of hard work and determination can go a long way.”

Congratulations to the members of Athletics Australia’s 2008 Under 17 Development Squad:

Josie Dwyer (ACT) - walks
Melissa Prior (NSW) - hammer throw
Michael Todd (NSW) - distance
Andrew Neville (NSW) - high jump/combined events
Kurt Jenner (NSW) - long jump/triple jump
Carly Rodger (NSW) - hurdles
Mitchell Tysco (NSW) - hurdles
Alix Kennedy (NSW) - discus throw
Liam Speers (NSW) - shot put/discus throw
Gabi Simpson (NSW) - combined events
Bradley Sharne (NSW) - combined events
Jake Hammond (NSW) - 100m/200m
Josh Sugden (QLD) - hammer throw
Kate McEachen (QLD) - hammer throw
Tara Whitehead (QLD) - long jump/triple jump/high jump
Kertisha Thompson (QLD) - long jump/triple jump
Jessica Gilfillan (QLD) - distance (pictured)
Chloe Parker (QLD) - distance
Daniel McClean (QLD) - hurdles
Rory Williams (QLD) - hurdles
Chloe Hirst (QLD) - hurdles
Taylor Voglar (QLD) - hurdles
Lauren O’Sullivan (QLD) - 100m/200m
Matthew Bailey (QLD) - 200m/400m
Alex Beck (QLD) - 100m/200m/400m
Joshua Beveridge (QLD) - shot put/discus throw
Dane Bird-Smith (QLD) - walks
Rian Suter (QLD) - javelin throw
Luanga Andria (QLD) - javelin throw
Shelley Tuicakau (QLD) - combined events
Paige Hooper (SA) - walks
Rebecca Morgan (SA) - javelin throw
Huw Peacock (TAS) - hammer throw
Mitchell Fontaine (VIC) - long jump/triple jump
Brooke Stratton (VIC) - long jump/triple jump
Bronte Gange (VIC) - distance
Alex Rowe (VIC) - distance
Denise Snyder (VIC) - high jump
Molly Grau (VIC) - high jump
Rebecca Marchant (VIC) - pole vault
Alexandra Pocklington (VIC) - pole vault
Sam Jewell (VIC) - 100m/200m
Jessica Kaufman (VIC) - shot put/discus throw/javelin throw
Ellen Pearce (WA) - pole vault
Andrew Emsavana (WA) - 100m/200m
Sean Fitzsimmons (WA) - walks
Samantha Fenwick (WA) - javelin throw