The Bunbury Regional Athletics Club has launched into the 2017/18 training and competition season.
The club currently has 30 members, while it had 30 to 40 members come on board last season.
The members are typically aged between 13 and 80 years old and participate in events like:
- Sprints – 60 metres, 100m, 200m and 400m
- Hurdles between 60m and 400m
- Middle distance – 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10000m and up to 3000m steeplechase
- Long distance – 5 kilometres, 10km
- Throws - Javelin, Shot put, Discus, Shot Put, Hammer Throw and Heavy Weight throw
- Jumps - Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump and Pole Vault
- Walks - 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10000m
BRAC president Paula Kennedy has been with the club for the past five years and took over the top position this season.
Ms Kennedy said the club was an important to Bunbury’s sporting prowess.
“You compete against yourself looking at trying to get personal bests each time,” she said.
“We’ve got a number of members who hold state records, we’ve also got a few of our members who have competed with the Bunbury Regional Athletics Club since the 70s.
“In fact, we’ve got a couple of people members who still hold records from when they were juniors, and their records are still there now.
“We’ve actually got the best facilities outside of the WA Athletics stadium, and we’re very proud of that.”
Four to six events are staged during the competition slots, held on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Training sessions are held on Thursday afternoons from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Saturdays from 3.00pm to 5.00pm and Sundays from 8.00am to 12.00pm.
The club is sending competitors to the Australian Masters Athletics Championships in Perth next year.
BRAC will also support next April’s Bunbury Geographe Gift.
You compete against yourself looking at trying to get personal bests each time.
- Paula Kennedy.
Ms Kennedy said the club has a tight-knit family of competitors, coaches, board members and volunteers.
She said athletics was “inclusive” and focused on helping people beat their personal bests.
“It’s not about where we are, it’s actually about competing and trying to improve yourself,” she said.
“We’ve got people striving to break records but we’ve also got the fun, fitness and a bit of camaraderie.”
She noted the club also featured family members competing against one another in multiple events.
“It’s competition but it’s fun competition, it’s something you can do over generations and still compete at the same time,” she said.
Visit BRAC’s website, http://bunburyregionalathleticsclub.weebly.com/, for more information.
Contact the club on 0419 441 126 or at bunburyregionalathleticsclub@gmail.com
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