Burnie Gift

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{{Use Australian English|date=July 2022}}

[[File:Burnie Gift Finish (1925).jpeg|right|300px|thumb|

E.R. Terry of Pyengana (11 yds), wins the 1925 Burnie Gift in 13 secs from A.M. Stuart (Hobart), M. Campbell (Devonport), and G.F. Triffett (Queenstown)[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23788475 Burnie Sports, The Mercury, (Friday 2 January 1925), p.8.] [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2021521 Sports in the Country, ‘’The Argus’’, (Friday, 2 January 1925), p.2.]]]

The Burnie Gift is a professional footrace held in Burnie, Tasmania during an annual sports carnival, held on a grass track at West Park Oval on New Year's Eve. It is conducted by the Tasmanian Athletic League in conjunction with the Burnie Athletic Club. The Burnie Gift is a sprint event conducted over the traditional 'Gift' distance of 120 metres.

Athletes are allocated handicaps with a range from scratch (running the full 120 metres) to the current limit of 12.00 metres. An athlete off 12.00m would run 108 metres. Most athletes (and winners) run from a handicap between 5.0m and 10.0m, thereby covering anywhere from 115m to 110m. Handicaps are assigned by a panel based on an assessment of each athlete’s track performances.{{cite web|url=https://sitedesq.sportstg.com/assets/siteDesq/3729/documents/Tasmanian%20Athletic%20League%20Sprint%20Handicapping%20Guidelines%202017-2018.pdf|title=Tasmanian Athletic League Sprint Handicapping Guidelines 2017 / 2018 | author=Tasmanian Athletic League | publisher=sportstg.com}}

Athletes are separated by lane ropes as opposed to painted lanes on synthetic tracks. The finish line is a finishing gate that each athlete must run through to record a time.

The Burnie Carnival is the premier running carnival in Tasmania and is considered one of the 'big three' professional Gifts in Australia along with Victoria's Stawell Gift and the Bay Sheffield in South Australia. Along with the feature event, the Burnie carnival includes races over 90m, 400m and 1600m. The Burnie carnival is one of three Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals conducted over a seven-day period from 26 December to 1 January. The other carnivals are held at Latrobe and Devonport.

History

First run in 1885, it was initially held as the Sheffield Handicap and was renamed to Burnie Gift for the 1908 event.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65203854 |title=BURNIE ATHLETIC CLUB. |newspaper=The North Western Advocate and The Emu Bay Times |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=25 September 1907 |access-date=4 August 2020 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} The carnival was traditionally held on New Year's Day, but switched to New Year's Eve in 2019. Two carnivals were held in 2019.{{cite news|title=Burnie Carnival moving from New Year's Day to New Year's Eve|url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6287959/burnie-carnival-moving-from-new-years-day-to-new-years-eve/|date=23 July 2019|author=Alex Fair|publisher=The Examiner}} The distance was originally 130 yards, and switched to 120 metres in 1973. The Women's Gift was introduced in 1995, although was known for the first few years as the Women's 120m Handicap.{{cite web | url=http://www.burniegift.com/women | title=Women Competing at the Burnie Gift | access-date=13 January 2018 | publisher=burniegift.com}}

Dean Capobianco (1991) was the first athlete to win the race off scratch (running the full 120 metres). Joshua Ross (2004 and 2007) is the only man to have won the Gift twice off the scratch mark. Capobianco and Ross are the only national 100m champions to have won the Gift.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

In 2018, Hobart sprinter Jack Hale was given an unprecedented handicap of -1 metres, giving him 121 metres to run.{{cite web | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5145003/hale-set-to-do-a-bit-extra/ | title=Hale set to do a bit extra | author=Brad Cole | date=1 January 2018 | publisher=The Examiner}}

Winners

class="wikitable"
YearMen's Burnie GiftWomen's Burnie Gift
2024Logan JamesKayedel Smith{{cite web|url=https://live.tastiming.com.au/burnie2024|title = 2024 Burnie Carnival Results}}
2023Saye MorrisMia Spencer{{cite web|url=https://live.tastiming.com.au/burnie2023|title = 2023 Burnie Carnival Results}}
2022Jesse McKennaTorrie Lewis{{Cite web|url=https://live.tastiming.com.au/burnie2022|title = 2022 Burnie Carnival Results}}
2021Ryan TarrantKysha Praciak{{Cite web|url=https://live.tastiming.com.au/burnie2021|title = 2021 Burnie Carnival Results}}
2020Aaron Leferink VICHana Basic VIC{{Cite web|url=https://live.tastiming.com.au/burnie2020|title = 2020 Burnie Carnival Results}}
2019Abdoulie Asim GAMBIAMorgan Gaffney TAS{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6562597/gaffney-asim-collect-historic-burnie-gift-wins/ | title=Morgan Gaffney, Abdoulie Asim win 2019 Burnie Gifts | author=Alex Fair | publisher=The Examiner}}
2019Ash Moloney QLD{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5832863/big-win-for-moloney/ | title=Big win for Ash Moloney in the Burnie Gift | author=Alex Fair | date=1 January 2019 | publisher=The Examiner}}Bec Kovacic TAS{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5832873/a-day-that-kovacic-will-never-forget/ | title=Burnie Gift win a day that Bec Kovacic will never forget | author=Alex Fair | date=1 January 2019 | publisher=The Examiner}}
2018Daniel Reeves TASKiani Allen TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.examiner.com.au/story/5146354/reeves-sprints-to-burnie-gift-victory/ | title=Reeves' sprints to Burnie Gift victory | author=Alex Fair | date=1 January 2018 | publisher=The Examiner}}
2017Jorden Englund TASMorgan Gaffney TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-02/burnie-2016-new-years-day-sports-carnival/8157326 | title=Burnie Gift: Tasmanian Morgan Gaffney outpaces Olympian Morgan Mitchell in 2017 race | author=Carla Howarth | date=3 January 2017 | work=ABC News}}
2016John Howe TASLilly Castle TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-02/tasmanian-runner-takes-out-burnie-gift/7064164?section=tas | title=Tasmanians take out Burnie Gift and Women's Wheel against star-studded line-ups | author=Lauren Waldhuter | date=2 January 2016 | work=ABC News}}
2015Simon Fitzpatrick VICKimberley Geelan TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/2793156/burnie-carnival-results/ | title=Burnie Carnival results | date=1 January 2015 | publisher=The Advocate}}
2014Adam Coote VICCara Boustead VIC{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-02/victorian-runners-dominate-at-the-burnie-carnival/5181884 | title=Victorian runners dominate at the Burnie carnival | date=2 January 2014 | work=ABC News}}
2013Jacob Despard TASMorgan Gaffney TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-02/o27shea-shines-at-burnie-carnival/4450342 | title=O'Shea's clean sweep of Tasmania's cycling carnivals | date=2 January 2013 | work=ABC News}}
2012Brendan Cole ACTLaura-Jane Hilditch VIC{{cite news | url=https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/700923/winner-close-to-tears/ | title= Winner close to tears | author=Shannon Shephard | date=1 January 2012 | publisher=The Advocate}}
2011Robbie James SAMorgan Gaffney TAS{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/4382090/history-for-gaffney-with-third-gift-win/ | title=History for Gaffney with third gift win | date=1 January 2017 | publisher=The Examiner}}
2010Ollie Wurm VICSandy Loring TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-01-02/local-athletes-big-winners-at-burnie-carnival/1196092 | title=Local athletes big winners at Burnie Carnival | date=2 January 2010 | work=ABC News}}
2009Clay Watkins SAAlicia Wrench-Doody SA{{cite web | url=http://www.burniegift.com/history-1987-to-present | title=The Burnie Gift, history 1987 to present | publisher=burniegift.com}}
2008Duncan Tippins SAOlivia Mills TAS
2007Joshua Ross NSWMelissa Kay TAS{{cite news | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-01-02/macfarlane-beats-men-to-take-burnie-carnival/2164290 | title=MacFarlane beats men to take Burnie Carnival honours | date=2 January 2007 | work=ABC News}}
2006Cameron Yorke WAKatie Moore VIC{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/537109/burnie-carnival-2006/ | title=2006 Burnie Carnival | date=2 January 2006 | publisher=The Examiner}}
2005Luke Whitney TASMegan Hines NSW
2004Joshua Ross NSWMadelin Poke TAS
2003colspan="2" | Carnival abandoned due to rain
2002Darren Rogers WAAnne-Marie Mouri-Nkeng CAMEROON
2001Craig Brown VICTamika Johnston TAS
2000Matt Stevenson TASMelissa Kay TAS
1999Simon Bresnehan TASEmma Marshall TAS
1998Shaun Turale TASKasey Kuusisalo TAS{{cite news | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/639805/burnie-gift-anger/ | title=Burnie Gift anger | date=2 January 1998 | publisher=The Examiner}}
1997Paul Pearce VICEmma Marshall TAS
1996David Downie TASLauren Hewitt VIC
<

| 1995

Paul Slupecki VICDonna Collins NSW
1994Shane Hearn WA
1993Simon Bresnehan TAS
1992Todd Ireland VIC
1991Dean Capobianco WA
1990Robert Kirsopp VIC
1989John Riggs TAS
1988Anthony Grima VIC
1987Frank Corsello VIC
1986Mark Hipworth VIC
1985Wayne Johncock TAS
1984Gary Wescombe TAS
1983Lee Berwick TAS
1982Michael Geary TAS
1981Neil King VIC
1980Gary French TAS
1979Ian Hagger VIC
1978Gary Wescombe TAS
1977Steve Roach TAS
1976Kevin Portch NSW
1975Gerard Thompson TAS
1974John Mowat VIC
1973Max Seymour TAS
1972Ralph Heffernan TAS
1971Barry Poulter NSW
1970Kerry Badcock TAS
1968Phillip Lincoln TAS
1929Len Bugg TAS
1928Len Bugg TAS

References

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