Wintry turn no worry for country carnival

WET weather won’t stop the eighth edition of the Richmond Athletics Carnival tomorrow, with founder and organiser Ray Quarrel expecting the event to again go from strength to strength.

The Richmond Athletics Carnival is the second event of the Tasmanian athletics carnival season, with the Launceston Pro-Am being held earlier this month.

Since moving the carnival from Blundstone Arena to the Richmond Football Ground eight years ago, Quarrel believes the event has grown in reputation.

“I moved it to Richmond because it had a feel similar to Stawell, where the Stawell Gift is held,” Quarrel said.

“The country town gave it that similar atmosphere and the farming community that live there have supported the event really well.

“The ground itself is regarded as the best grass track in the state by some of the runners I’ve talked to.”

The carnival has many races, from masters sprints to races for junior runners and the main event, the Richmond Gift, will be a hotly contested race according to Quarrel.

“There’s been around 60 runners sign up for the events, including the masters events,” Quarrel said. “Adding the junior participants on top of that, we’re looking at around 80-90 runners for the day.

“The best sprinters from across Tasmania come to this event. The field is wide open in both the women’s and the men’s Gifts.”

Action kicks off at the Richmond Football Ground from 11am this tomorrow.