President’s Address

Achilles Running Club’s 15^th Anniversary

Portrait of an Achilles Member – Ben Phillips

The 2011 Annual General Meeting

Disabled Athlete of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

Special Awards

“Thank you, Mr Ambassador”

Out and About

2012 Season

Volunteers

“The past year has been most positive and productive for Achilles in a number of areas, thanks to the wonderful input by many individuals, groups and donors. There have been a number of highlights which I will mention briefly.

As was the case last year, record numbers of people have consistently attended Sunday training and participated in organised runs and walks and social get-togethers. A large number of new members (volunteer and disabled) have joined this year, which has been very pleasing.

Also, there are a number of people who have been part of Achilles in the past, who no longer attend Sunday training as their circumstances have changed. However, they stay connected with Achilles and take interest in what is happening with the Club, mainly through emails and Club newsletters. I frequently get emails from them, so, even though they may not presently be financial members, the true number of “interested members” is far greater than the number of paid up members.   Although we do not insist that those involved in Achilles have to be paid up members, we do encourage it. We continue to keep the annual membership fee low ($20 for employed people and $10 for those without full-time employment) to encourage joining. The membership fee, although certainly helping with Club funding, is very much a “commitment fee” for members to get and stay involved with Achilles.

I want to mention two members in particular.

Firstly, Marg Collier, our oldest member at 93 who hasn’t been able to attend training for health reasons, but nonetheless stays interested in Achilles.

Secondly, Michael Bassil, who passed away earlier this year. He was one of the first and most frequent attendees at training over the last 15 years.

The financial status of the Club continues to be extremely sound. Besides funds received via membership fees, bank interest and the sale of clothing, we have had a significant boost to our Club bank balance thanks to donations via the Everyday Hero scheme, a wonderful $5000 donation of their prize by a group of runners who won the team event in the Sydney Tower Run Up, $1000 from the Ravine Foundation. A government grant of $3800 from the NSW Department Sport under its Grants for Disability Groups scheme was received. Not included in the financial statement to 30 June 2010, but since received are very generous donations of $1000 and $350 from Andrew Fox and Shirley Bassil.

As mentioned in my report last year, special mention is made of Brian O’Dea who spent an enormous amount of time and effort in compiling the grant application and led a grants sub-committee comprising of Martin, Ben and myself. Besides being successful in obtaining the grant, we learned valuable lessons and facts which will be used when applying for other grants in the future should they be offered. Brian is keeping a keen eye on this.

Thanks as well to Ian Cohen, our Treasurer, for his excellent work in keeping the books.

“The main events for Achilles are the Sunday morning training sessions which aim at getting our members fit and healthy in a social, friendly and encouraging atmosphere.

“Members participated in various other events during the year, including the following: SMH & Blackmores Half and full Marathons (Ben), the Mothers’ Day Fun Run/Walk, Orange Running Festival, Six Foot Track Marathon, Walk for Shirley (the Foresight Foundation guys), City2Surf, Canberra Fun Run and walk (Helen & John Simon), Oxfam Trailwalker (Ben) and Sutherland to Surf. Social events included the end of year picnic and social breakfasts after Sunday training as well as the 15^th anniversary celebration to be mentioned later.

“Special thanks go to Charlie who was the force behind organising the entries for City2Surf , the Orange weekend and various other events.

Special mention is made of John Simon who is still part of a select group “The Legends”, those select few who have completed every single City 2 Surf event.

A number of members got together to train during the week and outside of Club training times. Some of our members also participated in events (swimming, golf, dragon boat racing, cycling, and hiking) outside of Achilles. Of particular note is the trek to Everest Base Camp by Brian O’Dea, Charlie McConnell, Rozanne Green and Nick Gleeson. Although this was a self-funded event, they represented Achilles in spirit and deed.

Part of the reason for our success in getting record numbers of enquiries about Achilles must be the high visibility of the club singlets at training and during formal events. We have finally managed to get similarly high visibility T-shirts to match our singlets in colour, design and special Microtech material, thanks largely to the special efforts of the Australian Fashion Group.

As mentioned above, there have been record numbers of both members with disabilities and volunteers attending Sunday training. The majority of volunteers who turn up each Sunday are not on the roster but have been very much needed. Everyone is encouraged to come to training as often as possible. If there are more guides than disabled members, then they can operate in groups of guides with a disabled person, a great way to socialise and network, which is a definite aim of Achilles that is being achieved.

 Special thanks go to Trevor Heaslip from the Botanic Gardens Trust for organising and supplying the parking permits which are working well.

 

I am very keen to get a formal training program up and running for guides. At present, new guides are giving introductory instructions and then they “learn on the job”. We have asked our members with disabilities not to be shy to request different guiding techniques. Each disabled person has their own preferences in being guided, so guides should expect to vary their guiding techniques accordingly. Overall, however, things are generally working very well.

The Andrew Bristow Memorial Awards were once again presented to a member with a disability and a volunteer at the end of year picnic last year. The recipients were Bronwyn Fitzpatrick and Michael Levy. Criteria for the award include the member’s contribution to Achilles, participation in the Club in general and the achievement of personal goals. The next award will take place today.

The design of the new Club logo and unification the brand name and brand collateral of Achilles is complete.

The new logo retains the generic figure of an athlete but we have changed the design of the Opera House and have included the international disability sign of a person in a wheelchair. This will immediately suggest that Achilles includes those with physical disabilities. We will be getting a free-standing Club banner in the near future.

The Achilles website is fully functional and in constantly being updated and upgraded. There has been a large increase in the enquiries being received through the contact email on the website and we can now monitor various aspects of our website usage, e.g. numbers of visits and average time spent viewing. There is no doubt that the website is one of the major factors for the large increase in numbers of people at Achilles.

Once again, special note is made of the massive and invaluable contribution that Martin Ruane has made in managing the website.

To commemorate 15 years since the Sydney chapter of Achilles started a very successful and momentous function was held last month. Besides having lots to eat and drink, those present had the privilege of hearing an address by our guest of Honour, Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum. Special thanks to Majella, who missed the function due to work commitments, organised all of the catering.

Thanks go to individuals and groups:

There are exciting times ahead for Achilles.

The website is such an integral part of Achilles and will constantly be updated and added to.

More disabled members are needed. The marketing committee are addressing this.

The Orange Running Festival will again be earmarked as a Club weekend away event. This will once again be heavily subsidised by the Club

The Auckland Running Festival in New Zealand is being targeted as a possible special Achilles event which we can attend as a Club. Contact has been made with Achilles New Zealand with the likelihood of collaboration between the two Clubs for this event.

The bushwalking events will be considered for the coming year

I know that there are a large number of people who have derived an enormous amount of benefit from their involvement with Achilles. For this reason I feel very positive about the place Achilles has in the community and the contribution it makes.

I wish Achilles every success, and positive growth in the future.

On November 6^th, about 60 people gathered at the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club to celebrate the 15^th Anniversary of the founding of the Achilles Running Club. As about half of those present had attended the usual Sunday training session, it was not a morning for a “dress code”. The smartly dressed mingled happily with the less elegant.

In welcoming past and present members and their guests, Club President Ellis Janks pointed out that Achilles was not alone in celebrating its 15^th Birthday. The nearby Sculpture by the Sea was also in its 15^th year. But, Ellis pointed out, the Achilles athletes were better sculpted.

In the 15 years that Achilles had existed, many people had been involved with the club. The uncontrollable changes in life had seen people come and go, and sometimes, return.

The common thread was the commitment of these people. Ellis told of the comments of a new member who had been involved in a number of community organisations. This person had seen Achilles as being unique in the way that it was inclusive of people of all levels of ability.

Ellis had seen people grow and to achieve things of which they had never dreamed. The driving force of the club and its members was the simple commitment to “Give it a go”. This was the greatest motivator in the club.

Ellis welcomed past and present members, paying tribute to those founding members, some of whom were present, including the first Club President, Leonard Greis and the first Club Secretary Rodney Muller. Leonard’s company, the Australian Fashion Group had been a supporter from the outset, producing the distinctive yellow singlets and T-shirts that were such an important part of Achilles’ success. Other stalwarts from the early days included Ray Chaitow, Marjory Roberts and Rozanne Green.

 The man who had thought of establishing Achilles in Sydney, Richard Shakenovsky, was in Melbourne for his daughter’s wedding and had sent his best wishes. Greetings had also been received from overseas and other parts of Australia.

Ellis also thanked his family: Avril, Sally Ann and Donny. They had made his long involvement with Achilles possible. When younger, Sally Ann and Donny had earned the dubious distinction of each falling into the Botanical Gardens duck-pond on separate occasions.

Ellis thanked the Committee, with a special mention of Majella Knobel, who had arranged the catering for the celebrations before work commitments had taken her to Cairns. Charlie McConnell was also not able to attend but had left a typically cheerful greeting that was screened at the celebration.

Detailed records of attendance at the Sunday training sessions had started in 2007 and it had been decided to introduce certificates to honour those members who had attended 50 or more training sessions since the beginning of 2007. Certificates were awarded to:

Members with Disabilities: Peter Beileiter, Charlie McConnell, Michael Bassil*, Shane Woodbridge, Nick Gleeson, Joe Habib, Shayne McDonagh, Helen Simon, Sue McLeod, Bronwyn Fitzpatrick, Mathew Levy, Annette Collier.

*The late Michael Basil had been a long-standing and popular Member of the Cub, his certificate wa presented to Michael’s widow Shirley, who used to accompany Michael to each of the training sessions and who is a great friend of the Club.

 At the completion of the presentation, Ellis was “ambushed” by Club Vice-President, Martin Ruane. Ellis was awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the Achilles Running Club. This is the first such award and it surprised Ellis but delighted everybody else.

Martin presents Ellis his lifetime membership award.

The Guest of Honour was Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum, the 2011 Senior Australian of the Year. Ron’s talk gave an amusing and at times poignant account of his life’s journey to date. He described how his birth had been part of a global epidemic of children born prematurely and suffering from retrorental fibroplasia (RLF) in places such as USA, Canada, U.K., Europe and Australasia in the 1940s and early 1950s. Over 10,000 premature babies were born without sight before the cause was identified: too much oxygen in the incubators. Among the more than 10,000 of Ron’s contempories born with RLF was Stevie Wonder.

In describing his childhood in straitened circumstances and his determination to succeed, Ron said that he had decided at the age of 13 to “lock his blindness in a cupboard”. A string of amusing anecdotes illustrated his passage to university (intending to become a history teacher), his switch to law, specialising in industrial relations and becoming the first totally blind person to be appointed to a full professorship in any discipline in any Australian or NZ university. He achieved a similar “first” when made a Dean of Law. While carving his exceptional career, Ron married Mary, the daughter of Australia’s first Professor of Opthalmology, Gerard Crock. Ron told the story of arriving at the professor’s home to meet Mary. A party was in progress and Ron answered a curious guest’s question with the statement, “I am here as one of the doctor’s failures.”

Whether he was discussing his 39 years as a leading labour-law specialist, or as a member (and now Chair) of the first United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it was clear that Ron is a passionate advocate for the rights and advancements of people with disabilities. In his championing of “inclusiveness”, Ron has sought to change people’s perceptions of disabilities, and counted his teaching of past and current cabinet ministers as being particularly useful in this regard.

 

Ben Phillips features frequently in Achilles Heel. In the last edition, we told the story of Ben’s first marathon. Earlier stories featured Ben as an actor in a Beyond Vision production, a competitor in the Oxfam Trailwalker, and as a cricketer representing Australia. Further afield, Ben has recently been the subject of a story in Men’s Fitness magazine.

Before Ben disappears into the world of Reality TV, we decided find out more about him.

Born in Penrith in 1980, Ben has had to cope with failing eyesight from his first years. He was born with a condition called aniridia; that is, without irises. Though legally blind in his childhood years, Ben was encouraged by his parents to get involved in life to the full. With a builder for a father, Ben was taken to projects and was often scrambling on roofs or running round the nearby bush looking for lizards and collecting cicada shells.

He spent his school years in Kiama, where he developed a love for beach sports, competing in surf-boat races and developing his swimming and body-board skills.

At school, his slowly deteriorating eyesight made his attempts to compete in athletics increasingly difficult. Ben found it necessary to switch to competitions designed for blind school-aged children. This resulted in him representing NSW Country at the Pan Pacific Games (now known as the Southern Cross Games). He won a number of silver and bronze medals in swimming, running and tug-o-war.

Ben was introduced to Blind Cricket at the age of 10. He was soon traveling to Sydney every second weekend to compete against adults in what he describes as “the ferocious” Sydney Blind Cricket competition. [Editor: Club members Charlie McConnell and Nick Gleeson were veterans of this competition and we can understand how the ferocity developed.]

In winter, Ben would ski at Thredbo, occasionally using trees and fences as course correctors more often than he would have liked.

Defying his declining vision, Ben maintained a vigorous outdoor life of hill-climbing, kayaking fishing and water-skiing. He also joined the SES for what proved to be “demanding physical work, cutting up cars and jumping off cliffs.” [We think Ben might have confused his volunteer stint with random acts of hooliganism but he assures us that it was all in a good cause.]

On the sports field, Ben attempted a whole range of team and individual activities. He was finding this increasingly difficult and had to abandon most of these pursuits. One notable exception was his involvement in a successful rugby union team that finished in the Top 8 in New South Wales. This successful schoolboy side also played Rugby League for the Kiama Red Devils (now the Kiama Knights). They appeared in four consecutive Grand Finals, losing the first but winning the other three. Ben describes himself as being “the biggest kid in the year”. They put me in the front row, would hand me the ball, and I would charge into the defence as a battering ram.” He scored a number of tries and kicked a few goals. Things became a little tougher when opponents would notice that Ben and impaired vision and he became a target for high kicks and planned running moves.

In his last season, Ben was made captain of the team and he still fondly remembers the guard-of-honour that applauded him from the field at the end of his last game.

In 2000, Ben moved to Sydney and started playing Blind Cricket seriously. His efforts were rewarded in 2005 when he was selected to play for New South Wales.  Ben has now played several times for Australia, including on a tour to the West Indies. He also resumed volunteer work with the NSW Police (2003) and the Children’s Hospital (2007).

Ben’s eyesight continued to deteriorate and in 2009, Nick Gleeson persuaded Ben to join Achilles. That year Ben ran his first City to Surf and signed himself out of the Sydney Eye Hospital to do so.

After running 10K races at Homebush and Orange, Ben, under the guidance of Club member and ultra-runner Markus Schar, tackled the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, completed the 100K Trailwalker and, again with the help of Markus and Ellis, completed the Blackmores Marathon. And that, as they say, is where we came in.

But while most of us were winding down at the end of the year, Ben was heading to Brisbane on December 27^th to take part in an interstate cricket tournament. This will be followed in January by a training camp and, shortly afterwards, the announcement of the team that will contest The Ashes in England in June.

If he makes the team, he has promised to wear his Achilles shirt at some of England’s historic landmarks. [Just don’t wear it in the nightclubs, Ben.]

Ben finishes his first marathon

On December 11^th, the petulant Sydney weather was on its best behaviour and allowed 40 members of the Achilles Club to enjoy the last training session of the year and then to move to the Domain to hold the Annual General Meeting.

Initial attention was on the wide selection of food and drink brought by the members. Club President Ellis Janks recounted the activities of the year. The main points are covered in the President’s Address at the beginning of this Newsletter.

The Financial Report was read by Treasurer Ian Cohen and his report will be posted on the Achilles website.

As is the custom, all official positions were declared open and a new committee was elected. The 2012 Committee will consist of:

President: Ellis Janks

Vice President: Martin Ruane

Treasurer: Ian Cohen

Secretary: Brian O’Dea

Charlie McConnell

Diane McEwin

Majella Knobel

Nicole Tillotson

Nicholas Gleeson

 

The AGM is also the time and the place to present the Andrew Bristow Awards to honour an Athlete with a Disability and a Volunteer who had epitomised the values of the Club throughout the year. As is always the case, many people merited the awards. After considerable discussion the Committee selected:

During her two years or so with the Cub, Majella used her considerable talents to help the club in many ways. At the same time, she has set herself a number of personal challenges. From her first competitive event at the Orange Running Festival, Majella has striven to improve, tackling the City to Surf and the Bridge Run. She has also joined the cycling ranks, joining other Achilles members in community cycling events. Whatever her role with the club, Majella brings enthusiasm and an infectious good humour.

Like Majella, Renata has been a mainstay of Achilles in 2011. She has been happy to splash about the Botanical Gardens as a guide in the pouring rain, and has also been available for mid-week training sessions, notably with Majella. Renata has been quick to volunteer her services in a number of events and was one of the behind-the-scenes organisers of the 15^th Anniversary Celebration.[ Lastly, she has shown remarkable patience when the Club Secretary has found several new ways to spell Renata’s name.]

Congratulations to Majella and Renata!

Majella and Renata

 

Our 4 legged friends enjoy the AGM!

At the AGM, Ellis presented Recognition Awards to two of the clubs stalwarts of many years: Doug Ritchie, Ted Magen and Karen Parker. Ellis spoke of their “above and beyond” contribution on the Committee from the early days of the Club.

From the NSW Government Department of Family and Community Services Home Page:

Don’t DIS my ABILITY continues to support the aims of Stronger Together funding by raising community awareness of the needs of people with a disability and their ability to make life choices relating not only to their care, but their career aspirations, relationships and social activities.

The 2011 UN theme is Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.

 

In 2010 and again 2011, Achilles member Nick Gleeson has been an Ambassador for the “Don’t Dis My Ability” campaign. On November 23^rd, The Bankstown Torch ran this story about Nick.

 

Nick and the other Ambassadors were present at the launch of the campaign on December 3^rd. Also in attendance from Achilles were Ben Phillips, Martin Ruane and Brian O’Dea.

·         Charlie McConnell and Ellis Janks have climbed Kilimanjaro together, hiked the Kokoda Track together and run marathons together. So, it’s hardly surprising that they would swim in an ocean together. They teamed up aquatically for the first time when they swam the 2.4K race from Coogee to Wedding Cake Island and back. Charlie also swam the race last year and was pleased that this year he finished four places ahead of last year’s placing.

·         Charlie also featured in the Sydney Spring Cycle event from North Sydney to Homebush. He and other Achilles members Majella Knobel and Nicole Tillotson completed the 55K on tandems guided by volunteers. We know that they had a lot of fun training and riding, and we urge other Achilles members to consider doing this event.

·         When vision-impaired Nastasia Campanella joined Achilles, she was a trainee journalist with the ABC. These days she can be heard regularly on the ABC News on such flagship programmes as The World Today.

·         It was great to have Fay Pisier back with us after her recent foot operation. She is keen to join us again in 2012.

·         We also received other good news from one of our long-time members who had been out of action for a couple of seasons because of an injury. Phillip Cook has been in and out of hospital in the last year or so. We were delighted to hear that he thinks he is ready to resume his training with Achilles.

We will be off and running (and walking) on Sunday 29^th January. Please mark it in your calendar. [The only other events of interest on that day are the Ayrshire Wedding Show, A Pig and Poultry Course (including PowerPoint) in Llanyndd - Wales, and the Chernobyl 10K.]

As usual, we will be looking for Volunteers to act as guides at our Sunday training sessions. If you are available, even if only infrequently, please send us an email.