Old Carey is a cross country club catering for all male and female athletes. Established in 1963 as a summer track club, the cross country club had its beginnings in the late 1960’s. Initially catering for past students of Carey Grammar School it has since become an inclusive club welcoming athletes from all schools and clubs.
Old Carey Cross Country Club competes in the Associated Public Schools Old Collegians Association. This is a competition of 10 clubs over 13 events, held between April and September each year. Between 100 - 200 athletes compete for team points and individual trophies for men and women, both fastest times and handicaps. Distances of the events include 5km, 8km, 10km and 16km. There are also three relay events.
Events cater for all ages and standard of runners, from the elite to the fun runner. Athletes can compete both in the Athletics Victoria (AV) cross country season as well as the APSOC season, as the two associations run their events on alternate Saturdays. The APSOC competition is renowned for its informality, friendliness and big afternoon teas held at the conclusion of each race. We extend a warm welcome to old and also new members and look forward to seeing you at one of the events.
It is a requirement of the APSOC Association that all athletes wear their club uniforms. Old Carey’s uniform consists of a gold singlet with black and navy blue hoops.
Those of you present will know the outcome, but for those absent I hope you are pleased. In a remarkable performance, Old Carey athletes took home most of the major team and individual trophies at Brighton last Saturday.
In the teams handicap trophy, Old Carey Teams came 1st, 4th and 12th. Our 1st place is a repeat of our 2004 win. Our 2008 winning team consisted of Hamish Beaumont, Chris Kiddle, Natasha Hampson, and Peter Pang.
As to individual honours, our resident club doctor and kit model, Hamish Beaumont, won both the fastest time and the handicap trophies, one of the few occasions that an athlete has won both events. Hamish literally burnt up the course, powering over the final 800m on Brighton Beach to be first over the line. Hamish set a course time of 30.42 with Chris Kiddle not far away in 31.34. Reflecting the Clubs depth of talent, OC athletes filled 5 of the top 10 places in both the individual handicap and fastest time categories. Old Carey athlete and backmarker, Andrew White set the fastest ‘unofficial’ time for the 9km course with a sizzling 29.43. As an ‘invitation athlete’, Andy was ineligible for the team and individual prizes, but his outstanding run should be noted.
The above results are testimony to the growth of our Club and the enthusiasm of our athletes. The majority of our regular athletes were present on Saturday to enjoy our team and individual triumph.
In a final note, special mention goes to Brian Spurrell. One of our regulars over the last 3 years, Brian is taking up a position as Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt Uni in Wagga. Although we expect to see him from time to time, his contribution to OC XC Club has been enormous. He has contributed as an athlete, official and also as a coach of a number of our athletes. Most importantly, he has become a great friend to the OC crew. We wish Brian well in his new career and look forward to hearing his news from Wagga. You are a great role model for us all Brian.