By Ewen McRae
The St Albans Gift is ready to light up summer once again, with the 11th Gift this week.
The big day, highlighted by a suite of track events, will happen at St Albans Sports Club this Saturday, with 11 events across nearly six hours of racing from 3pm.
Organiser Lisa-Marie Psaila said the event’s appeal was growing.
“In the past we’ve had a good turnout of athletes and their families and supporters, but we’re hoping this year to make it a great day for the wider community,” she said. “We’ve put a big focus on family entertainment this year, so we’ll have three jumping castles, a petting zoo, superheroes, and a footy clinic. The council chip in with a grant to help make this a great day for the whole community.”
About 1500 people attended the 2018 event and organisers are hoping to better that mark this year.
The day will feature a mix of under-age, open and masters (35+) events, with the showpiece 120-metre open gift final at 8.10pm. The gift prize money is $5500, with $12,000 up for grabs across the whole day.
Last year’s gift winner went on to win the Stawell Gift. This year’s St Albans winner will get a guaranteed mark in the Stawell event.
