Seven NSW Volunteers honoured in Athletics Australia Awards

31 October 2021

Seven NSW Volunteers honoured in Athletics Australia Awards

At last week’s Athletics Australia Annual General Meeting, seven outstanding NSW volunteers were recognised for their extraordinary volunteer service to sport in NSW and Australia. Former AA Board Member, Nick Moore was awarded Athletics Australia Life Membership, while six outstanding NSW Club Administrators received the Platinum Service Award for an exceptional 40-year service. Rod and Jan Gibb, Ross Poulton, Hans Tiller, June and Barry Saxby were bestowed this award, the highest recognition by Athletics Australia for club service.

Nick Moore (Sydney University)

Nick Moore was a competitive distance runner from his days at Randwick-Botany Little Athletics through to seniors and Masters with Sydney University Athletics Club. He was a key member of the Organising Committee for the 1996 World Juniors in Sydney, where his roles and responsibilities included planning, preparation and management of all athlete activities at SOPAC for athletes from 165 countries, including warm up facility, competition venue, access and logistics as well as working with SOPAC staff to ensure adequate security and accreditation-checking processes for athletes, coaches, officials, media and spectators. For the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Nick was a member of the results team – working at the main stadium with responsibility for verifying and approving results directly from photo finish and prior to publication on the stadium scoreboard.

Nick was elected as board member of Athletics Australia in 2006, serving the maximum possible three terms of three years ending in 2015 and also serving as a vice-president from 2010.

Ross Poulton (Dubbo & Wester Branch)

Ross Poulton first became involved with the Dubbo club in 1963 when he joined his kids. He initially volunteered in time keeping and as a field event official, but by 1972 he was President of the club. He had two stints as President 1972-1983 and 1992-2002, for a total of 21 years. His involvement has been continuous since 1963 including committee member, coach and mentor to senior committee members.

This year 2021 represents his 58th year with the club. In the ‘70s Ross also helped establish an institution the Dubbo New Year Carnival – a local athletics competition which brings athletes from across the State. At the 2018 carnival he was honoured when the grandstand at Barden Park, a new synthetic athletics track in Dubbo, was named in his honour.

Hans Tiller (Myers Park, Macquarie Hunter Athletics, Newcastle Branch)

Hans Tiller has been involved in athletics administration in the Newcastle area for 48 years. He initially joined Myers Park as an athlete in 1970 and by 1973/74 he was already involved in administration as Treasurer of the Newcastle and Central Coast Branch. As his own competitive career wound down in 1978, he joined his Myer Park club committee and its ensuring forms: Myers Park Novos, Hunter Track & Field, Macquarie Hunter Athletics. In those four plus decades he has held the positions of President, Secretary, Vice President, Registrar and Treasurer.

Wherever possible, Hans would particularly encourage the team aspect in our individual sport.

“One of my pet projects is to organise winter and summer teams and relay events,” Hans said. “I have been doing this off and on for 40 years and get a great kick out of seeing teams that I have organised get a medal when some of the individual members of those teams would never get a place.”

Hans has also been a key coach in the Newcastle area from his first athlete Zoltan Marosszeky to David Rundle and Rob Mitchison who represented Australia as juniors, later Angela Sheean who represented as a senior. He also coached future national senior 800m champion Narelle Parr when she first started in athletics.

Jan Gibb (Nowra Athletics Club, Victory Runners)

In the early ‘80s Jan Gibb joined husband Rod Gibb in administration of the Nowra Athletics club. By 1982 Jan had become Secretary, a key position she held for an extraordinary 33 years. She has continued her involvement with Victory Runners as secretary. Jan and Rod’s property have been hosting NSW State winter championships for over 30 years and hosted 29 events over those three decades.

Jan has also worked tirelessly for the Country Championships and for many years collected the entries and produced the program and start lists for the event. She was also a State team administrator and an Athletics NSW technical official for decades. She has been recognised for this service with an OAM, and Life Membership with Athletics NSW and Nowra Athletics Club.

Rod Gibb (Nowra Athletics Club, Victory Runners)

Rod Gibb became a member of Nowra Athletics Club in 1961, initially in junior roles like captain and race secretary. He started officiating with Athletics NSW in the ‘70s and organised the NSW State Marathon held in Nowra in 1978 and 1979. His club service with Nowra for decades and Victory Runners in recent years, has been extensive - secretary five years, treasurer one year, president eight years and patron 41 years.

He, along with wife Jan Gibb, their family and the club have developed on his own property a world class cross country venue which has hosted 29 NSW State winter Championships in the last three decades. It has also been the venue for multiple national championships.

Rod has been a technical official at club, state, national and international level. He has managed Australian teams to the World Cross Country and Ekiden events. Awarded an OAM in 2006, Rod is a Life Member of Athletics Australia, Athletics NSW and the Nowra Athletics Club.

Janice Saxby (Ballina Club)

Janice Saxby is into her 41st year on the Ballina Athletics Club committee – incredible dedication. Janice was first elected as Treasurer in 1980, a position she held for 11 years. Her other many roles have included as an official preparing the weekly recording sheets, organising timekeepers/place judges and even the BBQ for members. She designed the club uniform and has been a delegate to the North Coast Branch. In 1992 she was a made a Life Member of the club. At 82, she continues to remain a committee member with her responsibility the club publicity. Her daughter Sharyn and Kerry emerged from the club in the ‘80s. Sharyn a talented middle distance runner and Kerry a world leading pioneer of race walking, becoming one of Australia’s great women athletes.

Barry Saxby (Summerland Athletics Club, Ballina Club)

In the late ‘70s Barry Saxby’s club administration commenced when he and wife Janice moved from Young to Ballina. With no local club, they joined the Summerland Athletic Club in Lismore, where Barry was President for two years. Interest for athletics was growing in Ballina and on 21 July 1980 Barry and Janice formed the club. A school teacher by profession, Barry was elected the President, extraordinarily a position he had held since. He is now 87. He has contributed in many ways to the club, as publicity officer (14 years), handicapper for track and field and cross country, starter, track and field organiser. He and Peter Martin prepared the local cross country course between East Ballina and Flat Rock, conducted over beach, hills and bush. There are currently over 500 members. One of his biggest contributions was as fund raiser through hotel raffles. Barry has been recognised for his over four decades service with Life Membership of the club in 1992, and in 2006 named Ballina Shire Sportsperson of the year in the Australian Day awards.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Images: Hans Tiller, Barry and Janice Saxby, Rod & Jan Gibb, Nick Moore and Ross Poulton