In trying to find a photo that summed up a year that ran at a frantic pace for us like no other I thought I would choose this one of Don Stapleton and Aidan Dallinger together at a low-key meet at UQ track at St Lucia the day of the AFL Grand Final.

As sports lovers, I’m sure everyone there that day would have yearned to have been home in front of the television set but once again the sterling efforts of the Queensland Athletics Officials, the seemingly endless support of parents snd coaches and the patience and sacrifices and commitment of the athletes shone throughout with some excellent performances and PBs.

Our sport is going gangbusters around Ashgrove in particular on both the traditional Athletics side with talent, interest and performances at an all time high as well as the recreational side with parkrun, kids parkrun and the Ernies.

So it’s no surprise that even on Christmas Day on Monday there’s an Ashgrove parkrun at 7am and we will even turn up on Monday night as usual at 5.45pm to The Gap High School for some training and snacks simply because we have exceptionally committed and talented athletes who want that to happen.

Thanking everyone for their great efforts in 2023 and wishing everyone a relaxing Christmas with family and friends and a very Happy New Year.

And looking forward to what’s bound to be another challenging but hopefully once again very rewarding year in 2024.