PO Box 240, Randwick,2031:
info@achilles-sydney.org.au
www.achilles-sydney.org.au

September / October 2010 Edition

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The 2010 AGM was held on Sunday morning outside the Achilles Clubhouse (Aka Art Gallery of New South Wales). Club President Ellis Janks opened the meeting by thanking the members that had attended in what as the highest turn-out for an AGM. He then gave the following address.

 

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.

 

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 are not presently 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 have kept the annual membership fee low ($20 for employed people and $10 for those without full-time employment) to encourage joining. The membership fee, although it certainly helps with boosting Club funding, it is very much a “commitment fee” to Achilles to get and stay involved.

 

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, and $1000 from the Ravine Foundation.  Not included in the financial statement to 30 June 2010, but since received are a wonderful $5000 donation of their prize by a group of runners who won the team event in the Sydney Tower Run Up and a government grant of $3800 from the NSW Department Sport under its Grants for Disability Groups scheme.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

Special mention is made of John Simon who is still part of a select group “The Legends”, 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.

 

Our best wishes to our group of Himalayan adventurers, Brian O’Dea, Charlie McConnell, Rozanne Green and Nick Gleeson who soon leave for Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp. Although this is a self funded event, they will be representing Achilles in spirit and deed.

 

Part of the reason for our success in getting record numbers of enquiries about Achilles must be attributed to the high visibility of the club singlets and t-shirts and now our caps. We are starting to research the possibility of getting high visibility t-shirts to match our singlets.

As mentioned above, there have been record numbers of both disabled members and volunteers attending Sunday training. The majority of volunteers who turn up each Sunday are not on the roster and 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. This is another aim of Achilles that is being achieved.

Thanks too to Rozanne Green for keeping the Sunday volunteer roster in order.

 

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 disabled members 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 disabled member and a volunteer at the end of year picnic. The recipients were Michael Bassil and Rael Cohen.  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 at this year end of year picnic in December.

 

 

The Achilles website is fully functional. 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.

 

Next year will see 15 years since the Sydney chapter of Achilles started. We will be having a function during 2011 to celebrate this momentous occasion and to connect with those members who have been part of Achilles through the years. 

Thanks go to individuals and groups:

Karen Parker and Doug Ritchie who resigned earlier this year from the committee after serving for many years. Happily, they will still be around as active Achilles members.

New Horizons Learning Centre and in particular Carol Cooke and Mark Davis, who have most generously continued to provide the venue for our meetings.

Ravine Foundation for a very generous cash donation.

To the Committee for the excellent work they have put into the running of Achilles, and the time and effort they have generously given. As always it has been a pleasure working with you.

To my family for allowing me to devote the time and in supporting me in my involvement with Achilles.

And of course thanks to all Achilles members for their excellent contributions and their enthusiasm.

 

      There are exciting times ahead for Achilles.

-          With  the new website up and running and soon to be added to, there is likely to be more information readily available to the public and members and hence increased enquiries about Achilles and increased participation in Club events by the members.

-          More disabled members are needed. The marketing committee need to get some of their ideas actioned.

-          The Orange Running Festival will again be earmarked as a Club weekend away event. With the availability of the funds obtained from the government grant, this Club event will be heavily subsidised.

-          The bushwalking events, which have been so popular, need to be pursued. At present we are in contact with the Department of Parks and Wildlife regarding further bushwalks and new venues and getting them involved as well.

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.

After all positions had been declared vacant, the Members elected the following Committee:

President – Ellis Janks

Vice-President – Martin Ruane

Treasurer – Ian Cohen

Secretary – Brian O’Dea

Member – Charlie O’Connell

Member – Nick Gleason

Member – Dan Barnett

Member – Markus Schar

 

Helen Simon joined Achilles in October 1997, after her marriage to Achilles stalwart John Simon. Her first competitive walk was in the 1998 City to Surf. Helen obviously enjoyed the event, as she has walked in every City to Surf since.

 

But to begin at the beginning, Helen was born in Brisbane with severe, congenital vision impairment. Her father was one of the first QANTAS engineers and his name, along with photographs and other memorabilia, can be found in the QANTAS museum at Longreach. He and his brother-in-law, Alf Ashley (a QANTAS pilot), are also commemorated in aircraft museums at Alice Springs and Daly Waters.

 

It was at the Highway Inn at Daley Waters that John and Helen were “rehydrating”, when they started chatting with a local. During the conversation, it emerged that he was the grandson of Alf Ashley, making him and Helen distant cousins.

 

Helen remembers flying around the world with her parents in a Super-Constellation. She still enjoys flying, particularly in light aircraft, which provide the added sensation of moving around in the air.

 

Four years ago, Helen decided that mixing socially with the members of John’s running club (The Southside Masters) was not enough. She had started to feel like a “hanger on” and became a full member of the club. This led her to racing in the club walking events every fortnight, with the late Ron Whitham, a former NSW State Marathon Champion, as her guide. After retiring from serious running, Ron had taken up competitive walking and was well qualified to help Helen.

 

Each year, the Southside Masters conducted a 3k Handicap, the Bob Molloy Memorial. It involves runners and walkers, with each competitor given a performance-based handicap. Such is the popularity of the event, three qualifying heats are required to establish the finalists. In 2007, Helen finished second. In 2008, Helen won the event, finishing two metres ahead of a group of sprinting runners. In that group was Magda Karamali Poulos, who had represented Greece in the Marathon. Magda also won the half-marathon at the 2010 Orange Running Festival, in which a team from Achilles took part for the first time.  At Orange, Helen walked the 10 km in 1hour 46 minutes.

 

Helen’s prefers to race on athletics tracks, were the smooth surface has helped her to faster times. Her 3k time when winning the Bob Molloy Memorial was 27 minutes 33 secs. She has lowered this time to 27:06. Helen has maintained this speed over 5k races, achieving a time of 45:43. When called upon, Helen can put in the long distance, and has walked 43k in the Sutherland Relay for Life. One of her favourite events is the Canberra Two Day Walk, where she chooses to walk 10k on each of two successive days.

 

To keep fit, 67-year-old Helen trains daily. When John is not available for outdoor walks, Helen will use a treadmill or stationary bike. These machines have controls marked in Braille, allowing Helen to choose and vary the training routines. To tone her muscles, Helen uses a Vibro Trainer.

 

Helen’s non-sporting interests include reading (using Braille and talking books) and music. She is able to play a number of musical instruments, including the organ, piano, glockenspiel, melodica and harmonica.

 

When not competing on the track, Helen competes with John to find the worst possible pun. John recently described a burnt offering at a barbecue as a mis-steak. Helen dismissed this effort as, “not much chop, you silly sausage.”

 

Helen and John show consideration on Sunday mornings by leaving the puns at home when meeting their Achilles colleagues. They thoroughly enjoy the “Achilles experience” because of the camaraderie and ambience. They hope to continue with Achilles for a long time to come.

[Note: Achilles Heel intends to publish a series of profiles of Club members. We would like your assistance in writing about or identifying people whose achievements will inspire others.]

A non-running friend thought that “Willy to Billy” might be common parlance for an emergency “rest room” procedure on a camping trip.

 

It is, in fact, the popular name for the Mount Wilson to Bilpin Bushrun. This sounds benign enough until one realises that it is a 34.4 kilometre bush race over what the organisers call “undulating hills, a few of them a little steep.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the same race, Achilles members Ben Phillips and Rael Cohen (Ben’s guide) completed the climb in 18 minutes and 30 seconds.

 

This iconic event is also a big day for Achilles. Runners and walkers from the club assembled at Hyde Park on a traditionally sunny Sunday morning. The 40^th running of the City to Surf paid homage to the 40 “Legends” that had completed every race since its inception in 1971.

 

One of those Legends is Achilles member John Simon. Congratulations, John!

 

Achilles has another team of Legends: the disabled athletes that ran, jogged or walked the hilly 14 kilometres to Bondi. They are listed below, with their guides shown in brackets.

 

John Domandl (Ellis Janks)

Lindy Hou* (Michael Lovric and Dan Barnett)

Charlie McConnell (Doug Ritchie)

Ben Phillips (Rael Cohen and Oscar Frangiocomo)

Michael Bassil (Kath Newby and Sheila Barry)

Helen Simon (John Simon)

Joe Habib (Martin Ruane and Brian O’Dea)

Andrew Moller (James Howard and Thi Whiteoak)

Jibraan El-Ahmad (Ted Magen)

 

*Lindy’s guide dog, Harper, has his own website. It contains Lindy’s account of the 2010 City to Surf and it captures the atmosphere of the run. It is worth reading. Here is a brief extract:

 

 

 News from Harper the Guide Dog - August 2010

 

Oct  3 – Brian O’Dea, Ted Magen, Markus Schar, Ellis Janks Volunteer Required

Oct  10 – Marilyn Gould, Ian Cohen, Doug Ritchie, Karen Parker Volunteer Required 

Oct 24 - Colin Bradford, Peter Dabble, Diane Mcewin, Tori Ames Volunteer