Scotch College

800m Family Day Handicap

President Ross Becroft (left,rear), with the Old Scotch 800m Handicap contestants on Family Day.

This year's annual Ewan MacDonald 800m Handicap was a spectacle for those who attended a picture perfect Family Day at Scotch on 11 October. The 2003 field was mainly comprised of recent Old Boys and two ex-school captains, Tom Cade ('99) and Brendan Ferguson ('01). This event is the first in Old Scotch's summer athletics calendar and the handicapper's job is a difficult one. The backmarker was off scratch and the frontmarker off 120m for this two lap event.

Tom Gray ('99) and will Hauser ('01) led the field through the first lap and with the lactic building in the legs in the final lap, the field sorted itself out. The scratch runner, John Dawson ('93), an accomplished 800 metre runner with personal bests in the early 1.50s,started to run the field down. Previous multiple event winner, Charlie Feddersen ('98) and the evergreen Peter Simm ('93) lost touch with the leaders. With less than 200 metres to go the race developed into a battle between two former school captains, Tom Cade and Brendan Ferguson. Despite a few elbows and zig zagging tactics, it was Cade by a whisker, and this great event was over for another year.

It was a fitting end with Tom Cade, a school record holder in a number of sprints, showing some pure speed at the end. A great effort by all, including Hugh Gundlach ('02), Andrew Pirie ('01) and lastly Anthony Swan ('90), who has put on the cardinal singlet again after a few years overseas.

Old Scotch Athletics Club offers competition all year round for athletes of all levels of ability. Between October and March, track and field competition is run on Saturday afternoons at Box Hill athletics track, Hagenauer's Reserve, Barwon Street, Box Hill (Melways map 47 C7). New members are very welcome and if you can run, jump or throw (or if yourfamily members or friends are interested), please contact Mark Purvis 0407 526 622, Ross Becroft 0439 912468 or Tom Gray 0407 807 791.

Ross Becroft
President - Old Scotch Collegians Athletics Club