The Otago track and field season opens at the Caledonian Ground today and the goal will be to lift the standards to a higher level than last summer.
This will be difficult because Otago's gold medal count at the New Zealand championships at Christchurch was the best for 60 years.
Otago athletes won 40 medals: 17 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze.
The Sport Otago Sports Force programme has increased the depth in Otago athletics and the growing number of specialist coaches has improved the standard.
This should be seen when the New Zealand track and field championships are held at the Caledonian Ground for the first time since 2003 from March 25 to 27.
Otago supporters can expect athletes wearing blue and gold singlets to mount the podium and also break national records.
The other highlight will be the South Island Colgate Games, also at the Caledonian Ground, from January 14-16.
The season will also provide individual challenges for athletes, several of whom are closing in on long-term provincial records.
Daniel O'Shea (Hill City) won the 400m hurdles in a personal best time of 51.68sec at the Oceania championships in Cairns last month.
He is close to the Otago senior men's record of 50.48sec run by Roger Johnson (Ariki) at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Marshall Hall (Taieri), who won the men's discus with a personal best throw of 51.53m at the Oceania championships, is chasing the Otago record of 56.86m that Robin Tait (Ariki) set in 1966.
Rebekah Greene (Hill City) changed the women's middle-distance record book last season and now holds every 1500m record from girls aged 14 to senior women.
Greene (16) broke a 29-year-old New Zealand record at the world junior champs in Canada in July.
The St Hilda's Collegiate pupil broke the women's aged 16 record of 4min 21.18sec that Sue Bruce (Canterbury) ran in 1981. Her time of 4min 18.90sec was 3.08sec faster than the Otago senior women's record she ran in February.
Greene is also close to the Otago senior women's 3000m record of 9min 26.26sec that Brooke Eddy (Leith) ran in 2003.
Her best time is 9min 30.69sec.
Today's meeting at the Caledonian starts with the hammer throw at 1pm.
The first track event is the 100m at 1.30pm.
New Zealand marathon champion Shireen Crumpton (Hill City) won the women's section of the Lydiard Legends marathon in Auckland last month in 2hr 59min 32sec, nearly 4min ahead of last year's winner, Ady Ngawati, of Whangarei.
The goals
Long-term Otago senior records
1966: Robin Tait (Ariki), shot put (16.88m), discus (56.86m).
1970: Sylvia Potts (Ariki), 800m (2min 04.1sec).
1971: Dick Tayler (Ariki), 3000m (7min 59.4sec)1972: Roger Johnson (Ariki), 400m hurdles (50.48sec).
1973: Dick Tayler, 10,000m (28min 48.8sec).
1975: Stuart Melville (University), 1500m (3min 40.03sec).
1978: Euan Robertson (Mornington), 3km steeplechase (8min 36.9sec).
