Track and Field Working Party              

Chair

Ken English

Background

• retired School Principal
• former President of ACT School Sport
• Life Member of ACT School Sports Association, ACT Athletics, and NSW Athletic League
• General Manager of the NSW Athletic League

Ken feels that the Track & Field event in the 2008 PSG will be one of massive participation "with lots of exhilarating high-level international competition which will include many athletes who will compete at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, while also generating enduring friendships within and across teams".

"An additional generator of excitement will be the incorporation of Athletic Australia's National All-Schools Championships with the 2008 PSG which makes this important meet even bigger."

Working Party Members

Greg Gilbert

Greg has a long history of involvement in Track & Field as a competitor, a coach and as a technical official.  He was the Equipment Manager and Assistant Technical Manager (ATM) for both the Sydney Olympic and Paralympics in 2000.  Greg was also appointed as Equipment Manager and ATM for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.  He was appointed to the position of Technical Manager for the 2006 and 2007 Athletics Australia Junior Championships for Athletes with a Disability. Greg was appointed as an assistant coach for the 2002 and 2006 IPC World Championships.  At the 2004 Athens, Paralympics, Greg was an announcer and interpreter for Final Call at the Athletics Stadium.  He has attended three Pacific School Games, 1992, 2000 and 2005 as a technical official and is currently an IAAF Level 1 Lecturer, Officials Education and Certification Scheme.

Karen Burton

Karen is currently a Primary Physical Education Consultant with the ACT Department of Education and Training.  She has previously been a Secondary School Physical Education teacher and a lecturer in the Sports Development at the Canberra Institute of Technology. Karen has been involved in school sport for many years both as a member of the ACT Secondary Schools Sports Association Executive and as a team manager for ACT a number representative teams including, Track & Field, netball, Water Polo and Cross Country. At Pacific School Games in Melbourne in 2005, she was the ACT Track & Field Team Manager.  Karen is also a Doping Control Officer with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

Margaret Koenen

Margaret is the Principal of Holy Trinity School in Canberra. She has been involved in Track and Field for over 30 years, as an athlete, an administrator, a coach and a team official.  Margaret has travelled extensively as manager of the Australian World Youth and World Junior Championship teams.  She was appointed by SOCOG to the position of manager of Athlete Services for both the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sydney. Margaret has also been actively involved in school sport as manager of ACT Primary Schools Sports Association (ACTPSSA) teams and as ACTPSSA President in 2004 and 2005.

Margaret Watt

Margaret is a teacher and sports coordinator at St Matthew’s Primary School in Canberra.  She has convened a number of Track and Field meets including ACT Primary Schools Sports Association (ACTPSSA)  District and State Championships.  Margaret was team manager of the ACT teams that competed in the School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships in Hobart in 2006 and Perth in 2007.  She enjoyed both the 2000 Pacific School Games in Sydney and the 2005 Pacific School Games in Melbourne as a spectator and parent of a T&F competitor .

Owen Heness

Owen has vast experience both as a sports administrator and as a Technical official in Track and Field.  He was President of ACT Athletics from 1998-2005 and is a past Vice-President of the North Canberra Gungahlin Athletics Club. Owen has been the Competition Director for several T&F Championships including the Arafura Games in Darwin in 2001, 2003 and 2005.  As an Athletics Australia official, Owen has been appointed to a number of international events including the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, the World Junior Championships in 1996, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 and the 2000 Pacific School Games in Sydney.

Scott Goodman

Scott is the current Head Coach of the Australian Paralympic Athletics Team, a position he has held since 2001.  He has also been the Paralympic Program Manager for Athletics Australia since 2000.  Scott’s international experience in Track and Field is extensive.  He was the Australian Athletics Team Head Coach at both the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen and the 2005 IPC Open European Athletic Championships in Helsinki.  Scott was the Assistant Manager of the Australian Team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.