Athletics Australia – News – Canberra set to host Australian Junior AWD Championships this weekend

Australia’s best junior athletes with a disability are headed to Canberra this weekend, with the nation’s capital playing host to the Australian Junior AWD Championships on November 20-21, 2010.

Bringing together more than 100 athletes from across the country, the two-day event will coincide with classification opportunities tomorrow (Friday, November 21) and an International Paralympic Committee endorsed Officials Seminar that includes practical training at the meet itself.

“The AWD Junior Champs are an important stepping stone in the Paralympic development program,” Rohan Short, Athletics Australia’s Paralympic Preparation Program Manager, said.

“It’s a great opportunity for athletes that don’t always get the chance to compete at a national level, with Australian championship medals available in the under 14, 16 and 18 age groups.”

Providing what could be the highlight of the meet, the under 18 ambulant 100m features three athletes bound for the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships with Rachael Dodds, Georgia Beikoff and Jamie McInerney all taking to the start line.

Selected to compete in the T35 100m and 200m in Christchurch, Dodds is the T35 200m world record holder after stopping the clock at 36.08 (w: +1.2) at the Australian Athletics Championships in April. Equally talented on the track as they are in the field, Beikoff will this weekend also compete in the under 18 ambulant javelin throw with McInerney a starter in the under 18 ambulant long jump.

Joining the trio are fellow Christchurch-bound athletes Mitchell Pink and Erinn Walters, with Pink lining up in the boy’s under 18 ambulant 100m and Walters in the girl’s under 16 ambulant 100m as they continue their countdown to New Zealand.

“These five athletes are the youngest of the team headed to NZ in January and it’s great to see them competing at every chance they get leading into the World Champs,” Short said.

“Interestingly though, we have a number of open age athletes also competing this weekend, with organisers opening the fields to senior athletes on an invitation basis to give them a chance to test their limits too.”

With Commonwealth Games medallists Louise Ellery and Hamish MacDonald amongst the senior athletes taking up the offer, the mixed age events will provide a rare chance for aspiring junior athletes to compete alongside their heroes.

“It’s not every day that those developing can compete alongside Commonwealth Games medallists and I’d encourage the juniors to take the chance to learn from those that have been so successful on the world stage,” Short said.

The Officials Seminar will be held this Saturday, November 20 in the Silver Room at the AIS from 10:00am, with competition at the Australian Junior AWD Championships to follow at the AIS Track from 2:30pm.

For more information on the 2010 Australian Junior AWD Championships, please follow this link to the event subsite.

 Athletics Australia – News