Australia is home to one of the world’s most unique sprint races, the Stawell Gift. Its unusual nature and special competition format attract the country’s top professional and amateur sprinters to compete alongside one another in the nation’s richest foot race.
The Stawell Gift is a 120-meter race and it's run on grass, on a slight up-slant at Central Park, Stawell. The festive race is conducted once a year over the Easter weekend and broadcast live across Australia. Part of its appeal is the prize money - the winner can pocket as much as $40,000 out of a total prize pool of $60,000 - but if you're wondering what makes this race so unique, the answer lies in the handicapping system that is applied to competitors.
The Stawell Gift is a 120-meter race and it's run on grass, on a slight up-slant at Central Park, Stawell. The festive race is conducted once a year over the Easter weekend and broadcast live across Australia. Part of its appeal is the prize money - the winner can pocket as much as $40,000 out of a total prize pool of $60,000 - but if you're wondering what makes this race so unique, the answer lies in the handicapping system that is applied to competitors.
Handicapping System?
The system is administered by the Victorian Athletic League (VAL) and it works like this: The league representative – the handicapper - assesses where each competitor would have to begin the race in order to finish at the same time as all the other runners. This is of course a theoretic assessment that is based on every competitor's recent sprint performances. Each runner is then given a handicap of 0 to 10 meters, each meter accounting for roughly a tenth of a second. There can be some ‘foxing’ by competitors in the lead up to the event, some runners may intentionally underperform or perform just well enough to qualify, so as to receive the maximum handicap mark.
While a 10m handicap (in rare occasions even 11m) in a 120m race is a considerable advantage, it still only gives the best sprinters in the country a true chance of winning. At the same time, Australia’s fastest sprinter could essentially be beaten by a teenage amateur. This is the allure of the race.
While a 10m handicap (in rare occasions even 11m) in a 120m race is a considerable advantage, it still only gives the best sprinters in the country a true chance of winning. At the same time, Australia’s fastest sprinter could essentially be beaten by a teenage amateur. This is the allure of the race.
A Rich Event with a Long History
The Stawell Gift has been held annually since 1878, with an exception of four years during World War II. It was founded by the Stawell Athletic Club as the 'Easter Gift' and was part of a series of cultural events organized by local folk for the holidays. Seeing as gambling is officially authorized at this event, runners are closely followed before and during the race by bookmakers all over the country. Stawell Gift winners stand the chance to win not only riches, but also national fame and recognition. Past winners have included national sprint champions such as Joshua Ross, but also complete unknowns like 2009 winner Aaron Stubbs, an 18 year-old beach sprinter.
