153:
breakaway group, the
Victorian Athletic Association, being formed and conducting event in opposition to the Victorian Athletic League. In 1921, through the mediation of the Stawell Athletic Club, the Victorian Athletic League and the Victorian Athletic Association were merged. ES Herring of Maryborough was elected president and Joe Bull appointed as secretary. The Victorian Athletic League established an office in Brunswick and held mid week sports meetings were held at White City in Tottenham, at the Exhibition Grounds and at the Monodrome. During the 1920s and 1930s, popularity of professional running grew tremendously and the VAL staged World Sprint Championships.
161:
Simpson and Robbie
Hutchison to compete in Australia. In 1969, the St Kilda club staged the richest footrace in the world with a first prize of $ 2,000. In 1977, the Victorian Athletic League undertook substantial administrative changes becoming an incorporated company, establishing a computerised record of handicaps and results, and commissioning the use of an electronic race finish recording machine. After years of segregation between amateur and professional athletics, in 1986 saw the dawning of open athletics when Stawell Gift winners Chris Perry and John Dinan competed for Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
80:
165:
during international cricket matches at the MCG and sprint events during horse races at Moonee Valley. In 2001, the
Victorian Athletic League moved offices to be co-located with Athletics Victoria at Olympic Park in Melbourne. The League began to form a strong alliance with Athletics Victoria through formal affiliation, sharing resources and establishing a dual-registration process.
64:. Races are run under a handicap system which makes races competitive. Each race has a different handicap limit. Generally, the greater the sum of the prize money for a race, the less handicap is available, limiting the class of runners that can win. Runners are awarded prize money when making finals and bookmaking occurs at major meets.
149:
April 1895 when RV Lewis of
Benalla was elected president and Hastings Bell of Stawell was appointed secretary. Originally the League was administered from Stawell and formulated rules and regulations for country towns that conducted sports carnivals. It also acted as arbitrator in any disputes arising at those carnivals.
536:
The
Ballarat Gift as a strong history dating back to 1949. It has been held at City Oval, Sebastopol Oval and Northern Oval where VFL team the North Ballarat Roosters play. It was first conducted in 1949 and won by Ted Marantelli. During much of the 1970s and 1980s the only Gift conducted in Ballarat
148:
By the early 1890s, the sport of professional running was in crisis. Athletes running under false names, hiding past performance, corrupt officials and other controversies led the need to establish a controlling body for professional running in
Victoria. The Victorian Athletic League was formed on 15
140:
The
Victorian Athletic League was established in 1895. Professional running in Australia began in the gold-mining days and boomed in areas where miners were prospecting and digging for gold. The miners raced against each other for the gift of a gold nugget offered by the local publican or mine owner.
131:
Apart from
Stawell and Burnie, some of the more famous long-running carnivals are the Bay Sheffield Carnival in South Australia, Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria, the Christmas Carnivals in North Western Tasmania, and an annual Gift on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Temora and Macksville Carnivals in
540:
After traditionally being held in
February since inception, in 2010 the Ballarat Gift was moved to the weekend after the Stawell Easter Gift (April). With the assistance of the Goldfields Council, the Gift was worth a record $ 40,000. With all six Stawell Gift finalists entered, the 2010 Ballarat
144:
In the 1860s big money began to creep into the sport which attracted a wealth of athletic talent. Competitions took on a carnival atmosphere and crowds flocked to see local champions. In April 1878, nearly two thousand people witnessed the running of the first
Stawell Easter Gift which was won by
164:
In recent years, the Victorian Athletic League has extended its athletic format beyond club carnivals. The League moved into conducting special events such as the famous Dandy Dollar Dash at VFL/AFL football matches, the Moomba Mile run down Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD, 400 metres series'
160:
By the early 1960s, interest in professional running had waned. The number of registered runners had declined and only twenty-eight carnivals were held across Victoria. In an effort to revive the sport, the Victorian Athletic League invited champion international athletes such as Bob Hayes, Alan
152:
In 1902 a regular office was established in Melbourne and the Victorian Athletic League began to promote the sport of professional running. Carnivals were held in Melbourne and major Victorian towns and became extremely popular with the sporting public. 1917, a dispute over prize money led to a
156:
At the outbreak of World War II, many Victorian Athletic League clubs abandoned their meetings. However, the federal cabinet granted permission for the Victorian Athletic League to conduct footrunning at Maribyrnong for the benefit of athletes on leave from the armed forces and men employed in
121:
The status as the richest carnival was challenged for a time in NSW with the running of the Botany Bay Gift Carnival which, in the 1990s. boasts total prize money of $ 120,000 and $ 70,000 for its main race with a $ 50,000 first prize. The excellent event, however, faded from the scene when
157:
essential services. After World War II the Victorian Athletic League gained strength and had nearly fifteen hundred registered runners, three hundred trainers and was conducted sports carnivals at seventy centres across Victoria from mid November to early June.
132:
New South Wales. Since the late 1980s athletics and the Olympic Games have been 'open', meaning that the so-called amateurs and professionals can all compete together for prize money without being penalised or discriminated against.
541:
Gift final featured four of them including Stawell Gift winner Tom Burbidge. The Gift was won by 44-year-old Ballarat based, self trained athlete, Peter O'Dwyer. It was O'Dwyer's second Ballarat Gift after winning the race in 1996.
258:
Held on the second Saturday of January every year, the Rye Gift attracts tourists celebrating the Christmas period and New Year. It has bookies and the track for the 120m is on a slight decline.
402:
Hosted by the Ringwood Professional Athletic club this event is held usually in January. Its gift has ranged from 120m, 200m and 400m over the years. Currently the Gift race is held over 400m.
145:
24-year-old farmer W.J.Millard. The sport of professional running continued to grow. Big prize money and heavy betting attracted talented athletes as well as a range of shady characters.
460:
This event attracts both VAL and NSWAL competitors because of the close proximity of the event. Professional cycling events are also held at the same time as the footrunning.
118:, held at Easter since 1878. The other major carnival that has been run continuously for more than 100 years is the Burnie Gift in Tasmania. It was first run in 1885.
687:
is considered the country's and quite possibly world's most prestigious professional footrace. Over 120m it is televised across the country and thousands are at
244:
1018:
652:
The Bendigo Opal is held around March every year and coincides with the International Cycling Madison. It holds the richest 400m footrace in the world.
1023:
537:
was the Sebastopol Gift. After the demise of the Sebatopol Gift in 1988, the Ballarat Gift returned to the VAL calendar in 1989 at the City Oval.
125:
The Stawell Carnival has a total prize money pool of $ 90,000. The main race, the Stawell Gift, is over 120m and the winner receives $ 40, 000.
955:
61:
1033:
72:
The oldest professional carnival in Victoria is the Maryborough Gift which celebrated its 155th anniversary on New years Day 2016.
882:
128:
There are many other carnivals and events conducted under handicap foot-running conditions throughout the nation each year.
993:
925:
1028:
1013:
20:
organises professional footrunning events ranging from 70 to 3200 metres. The most famous of these events is the
90:
900:
141:
The miners raced over various distances but the main race was run over the Sheffield distance of 130 yards.
237:
221:
959:
41:
779:
197:
8:
215:
994:
https://web.archive.org/web/20020208042218/http://www.geocities.com/~ewen/r2002_01.html
191:
53:
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28:. Many other gifts are held around Victoria in country and metro locations including
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which has been run since 1878 and hosts the richest footrace in
45:
988:
135:
983:
956:"Stawell Gift About the Stawell Gift » Stawell Gift"
169:
Athletes that have run in Professional Footrunning Events
109:
67:
694:
1005:
709:2015 Murray Goodwin, Burleigh Heads (QLD)
706:2016 Isaac Dunmall, East Brisbane (QLD)
703:2017 Matthew Rizzo, Langwarrin (VIC)
545:Past Winners (since it was resurrected in 1989)
999:http://www.myspace.com/victorianathleticleague
1019:Sports governing bodies in Victoria (state)
730:2011 Mitchell Williams-Swain,
122:sponsorship became difficult to maintain.
1024:Sports organizations established in 1895
136:History of the Victorian Athletic League
114:Australia's best known footrace is the
1006:
700:2018 Jacob Despard, Tasmania
724:2012 Matthew Wiltshire,
174:(Include VAL, SAAL, QAL, NSWAL, TAL)
110:Present Day Professional Footrunning
74:
13:
852:1992 Andrew McManus,
718:2013 Andrew Robinson,
14:
1045:
977:
926:"Running Writing - February 2002"
233:- Bola Lawal (Nigerian Olympian)
1034:1895 establishments in Australia
836:1994 Rod Lewis,
830:1995 Glenn Crawford,
824:1996 Steve Hutton,
818:1997 Daniel Millard,
330:Past Winners 2000-2020 (Women's)
78:
748:2008 Sam Jamieson,
742:2009 Aaron Stubbs,
736:2010 Tom Burbidge,
712:2014 Luke Versace,
678:
262:Past Winners 2000-2020 (Men's)
68:History of Professional Running
948:
918:
893:
788:2002 Stuart Uhlmann,
695:Stawell Gift Winners 1990-2018
1:
886:
800:2000 Jarram Pearce,
455:
806:1999 Rod Matthews,
754:2007 Nathan Allen,
7:
989:http://www.stawellgift.com/
901:"Victorian Athletic League"
772:2004 Jason Hunte,
766:2005 Joshua Ross,
760:2006 Adrian Mott,
531:
477:2003 J Hilditch (Scotland)
397:
253:
10:
1050:
812:1998 Dale Seers,
794:2001 Andrew Pym,
647:
616:1998 Robert Ballard (NSW)
586:2008 Bola Lawal (Nigeria)
18:Victorian Athletic League
222:Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
1029:Athletics organizations
373:2013 Stephanie Mollica
296:2010 Douglas Greenough
1014:Athletics in Australia
984:http://www.val.org.au/
691:every year at Easter.
559:2017 Jasper Nettlefold
230:(Australian Olympian)
87:This section is empty.
880:History of finalists:
848:Caulfield South (VIC)
796:South Riverview (NSW)
553:2019 Bikramjeet Singh
314:2016 Noddy Angelakos
299:2011 Craig Rollinson
675:2008 Glenn Stephens
660:2003 Duncan Tippins
598:2004 Victor Oyanedal
562:2016 Noddy Angelakos
382:2016 Celia Cosgriff
323:2019 Aaron Leferink
245:J.L. Ravelomanantsoa
784:North Lambton (NSW)
643:1989 Peter Bennetto
640:1990 Peter Bennetto
613:1999 Chris Pattison
428:2009 D Steinhauser
391:2019 Kysha Praciak
376:2014 Jessica Payne
367:2011 Alice Platten
326:2020 Matt Burleigh
320:2018 Maddie Coates
311:2015 Paul Tancredi
216:Nova Peris-Kneebone
936:on 8 February 2002
750:Williamstown (VIC)
666:2005 Nathan Dixon
637:1991 Chris Russell
634:1992 Mark Ladbrook
625:1995 Vince Cavallo
622:1996 Peter O'Dwyer
589:2007 Nick Sampieri
580:2010 Peter O'Dwyer
577:2011 Andrew McCabe
556:2018 Luke Mitchell
550:2020 Michael Hanna
510:2014 M Hargreaves
394:2020 Bree Masters
388:2018 Holly Dobbyn
379:2015 Taylah Perry
370:2012 Eleni Gilden
317:2017 Nathan Riali
192:Robert De Castella
930:www.geocities.com
790:Cedar Grove (QLD)
672:2007 Nick Magree
663:2004 Mark Howard
631:1993 Tony Birrell
628:1994 Andrew Paull
610:2000 Darren Paull
601:2003 Scott Beaven
595:2005 Warwick Vale
592:2006 Nathan Dixon
583:2009 Rod Matthews
574:2012 David Tinney
568:2014 Nathan Riali
507:2013 R Parkinson
364:2010 Katie Moore
308:2014 Matt Carter
107:
106:
1041:
971:
970:
968:
967:
958:. Archived from
952:
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945:
943:
941:
932:. Archived from
922:
916:
915:
913:
912:
903:. Archived from
897:
860:Steve Brimacombe
844:Jason Richardson
832:Katamatite (VIC)
732:Gold Coast (QLD)
720:Launceston (TAS)
669:2006 Tommy Neim
619:1997 Shaun White
604:2002 Bett Blanco
516:2016 P Tancredi
513:2015 P Tancredi
498:2010 G Stephens
489:2007 A Flanagan
449:2016 G Mitchell
437:2012 D Girolamo
425:2008 D Collinge
385:2017 Ebony Lane
337:2001 J Chehadei
334:2000 A Fearnley
305:2013 Bros Kelly
302:2012 Cam Dunbar
186:Linford Christie
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820:Mt Gambier (SA)
814:Edithvale (VIC)
808:Buninyong (VIC)
768:Gillieston(NSW)
756:Toowoomba (QLD)
714:Melbourne (VIC)
697:
681:
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571:2013 Glenn Ross
565:2015 Craig Mair
534:
501:2011 T Ireland
495:2009 R Ballard
486:2006 J Boulton
474:2002 E Everton
471:2001 M Callard
458:
443:2014 L Stevens
431:2010 S Woodrow
419:2006 J Boulton
400:
355:2007 K Steward
293:2009 R Medford
290:2008 P O'Dwyer
287:2007 M Callard
284:2006 D Burgess
266:2000 R Devalle
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519:2017 H Kerr
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434:2011 T West
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91:adding to it
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62:Olympic Park
22:Stawell Gift
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872:,
780:Joshua Ross
240:(Scotland)
42:Maryborough
1008:Categories
966:2014-01-13
940:12 January
911:2008-06-15
887:References
782:,
456:Wangaratta
50:Yarrawonga
38:Wangaratta
198:Josh Ross
26:Australia
862:,
846:,
774:Barbados
532:Ballarat
398:Ringwood
254:Rye Gift
54:Ringwood
30:Ballarat
689:Stawell
648:Bendigo
34:Bendigo
868:1990
858:1991
842:1993
778:2003
46:Keilor
942:2022
683:The
60:and
16:The
93:.
58:Rye
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