Robert Leyman will not be back to defend his Keilor Gift title opening the door for a new winner in 2012. 60463 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
AFTER almost a year of planning, the day has nearly arrived for the running of the 2012 Keilor Gift.
The annual event will see some of the best athletes from around Australia compete in a number of athletic and wood chopping competitions while a crowd of thousands enjoys the festivities throughout the day.
Highlights on the card will be the running of the 120-metre Keilor Gift with prize-money of $8000 on offer. Also, the running of the 120m women’s handicap will be a hotly contested event with the honour of collecting the sash in the memory of Billie Jo Petersen, a popular winner at Keilor who passed away two years ago.
Keilor Gift committee member Matthew Webster said preparations for this year’s event were going well and a strong field was expected to be competing.
“If you look at what we have had in the past few years we are going to have quite a few good entries. Keilor really is a meeting that the athletes love coming to. It’s like a family atmosphere down there. We pride ourselves on that,” he said.
“Most of the people that were in the final last season are running in the VAL (Victorian Athletic League) and are running quite well so I would expect them to do quite well again this year.”
In the woodchopping arena, the Standing Block, Underhand, Tree Felling and Relay events are sure to enthral crowds until later in the evening when a Championship Combination and Open Standing Block will be fought for on the main stage.
“The night time is where we see our crowd really start to swell. Cricket games are finished and the cricket club comes back. Families have had an early dinner and they start to wander down to the track and take part in the festivities for the night,” Webster said.
“We’ve got carnival rides for the kids and tents selling various things. You’ve got a couple of beer tents and an ice-cream van. We use the full canteen and bar facilities in the Keilor Sports Club. There is also a bookmaker there.
“If people come down and they are looking for a reasonably cheap night out with the kids then you really can’t go past it. We always try and cater for families.”
In the final two hours of the track program there will be seven major finals before a fireworks display brings proceedings to a close.
Runners will have the ideal preparation this weekend when the St Albans gift takes place at Kings Park Reserve, St Albans, on Saturday from 4.30pm.
