A series of consistent good performances throughout the 2025/26 athletic season saw Willie Doney (snr) win the Open Men’s Club Championship this year, presented at the recent club prizegiving.

Chrissy Weeks won the Open Women’s championship.

Both athletes will now have their names engraved on the Club Honours Boards – for Doney, some decades after he first appeared. Weeks was also acknowledged for her incredible efforts in arranging the senior athletics this season, along with Doney.

These two also won the respective Masters Championships and went home with a good amount of silverware.

Club vice-president Peter Blackwood said “these two were very deserving winners of both events and their commitment to the competitions was exceptional. There were also some exceptional performances by younger athletes”.

Runner-up in the men was Mark Crouchley after a strong season with some great winning throws, particularly javelin and a great 5.17 1500m. Tied for third were Dave Rondon and Oliver Ashburn.

Ashburn was the convincing sprint winner over 100m, 200m and 400m and showed his all-round skills by winning the 3000m.

Rondon was a convincing winner in the hurdles, pole vault and decathlon. Runner-up in the women was Liza Rozdestvenskaya with a set of very good performances throughout the season, and a very deserved second place.

Rozdestvenskaya produced some very creditable distance runs and sprints. In third place was our Czech exchange student at Whakatāne High School, Stepanka Tunova.

During Tunova’s time at the club, she has run very many top races, inspiring others. These included her superb 4:58.72 1500m and 2:24.06 800m at the North Island Champs. She also deservedly also won the Women’s Under 20 Cup.

A new Most Improved Noel Jones Cup was awarded to Michele Verry.

Verry had worked hard at her athletics this summer, and her award was acclaimed by all.

The 1 Mile Challenge Cups reflected the improvement in performance over 1 Mile events earlier and later in the season. They were won by Mark Crouchley and Verry.

The Men’s 800m cup was won by Willie Doney (snr) with 3:33.17. The Women’s cup was won by Tunova with 2:35.17, a top performance on grass.

A series of good performances saw Musa Crouchley win the Boys Under-16 Cup with some good running and throwing.

Lilly Anderson won the Girls Under-16 Cup, producing a set of great performances over the season in the sprinting, long jump (4.30m) and throwing (with a massive 27.55m 1kg discus one club night).

Riley Ihaka won the Men’s Under-18 Cup and is a very talented athlete. Our German exchange student, also at Whakatāne High School, Live Hockemeir, won the Under- 18 Women’s Cup.

Keeping with the international flavour at the club, Estonian, Liza Rozdestvenskaya, had a very strong season to win the Masters Women 35-49 Cup.

Mark Crouchley won the Masters Men 35-49.

Our Zimbabwean family, the Crouchleys, with Mark and Sisa and their four youngsters, Jabu, Musa, Thandi and Makhosi deserve a mention with all strong contributors to our Wednesday night events and earning many placings in the prizegiving.

We should also mention youngster Zayne Humberstone-Kara, who threw very well at the club, and Bodhi Burnett, who produced some great performances.

Finally, we should mention our other evergreens, Chrissy Weeks winning the Masters women 50-59, and Peter Blackwood winning the Masters Men 70-79 with some good field performances; with a good mention in that grade too of Ian Martin, who ran some fast sprints and did well in the Oceania’s Masters Champs at Cairns.