A couple of years ago there was some rumblings and chat about the Illawarra hosting a junior road tour and maybe even the junior road state championships. The thought of running one of these events sounds thrilling, the reality is that it is extremely daunting with the amount of work and effort that has to go into planning and running such an event. Running an event like this on a highly populated coastal strip sandwiched between the sea and the mountains comes with its own set of difficulties.
Last year the Club and its band of slightly mad volunteers led by Simon Britten ran our inaugural junior tour which attracted record entries and ended up being a great success. Moving forward 12 months and in another 2 weeks the club will be running the NSW Junior State Championships. Again loads of planning, permissions, attracting sponsors and again led by Simon and his crew.
When it all settles and happens it will be about the kids and their racing and their enjoyment. There will be kids coming from all over the state and whilst the Illawarra doesn’t have the most kids we have a great bunch of young riders who will be doing their best to represent themselves and the club in the best light. To Tahlia, Jacinta, Amelia, Ryan, Tane, Curtis, Sarah, Emily, Bronte, Gabriel and Grace, and any smokeys that happen to come along, best of luck kids.
We would like to thank the club sponsors Soto Group, Cram Fluid Power, Giant Wollongong, Groman Plumbing, Colliers International, KJ Scaffolding, K&R fabrication, Johnston Legal, GRQ engineering supplies, Zannox and in particular the event sponsors that have helped out to make the event happen;
Sturmans, Energy Australia, Bluscope, WIN Network, Horizon Credit Union, Soto Group, Commercial Diving Services and Skin Grows Back thanks very much for getting behind this event.
To Simon and the crew thanks for volunteering your time to make it all happen.
Steve Dole
