The Queen’s Baton will pass through Ararat on Tuesday with four Grampians representatives involved in the relay.
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Ararat’s Karen Brennan and Chloe Dunmore will be joined by Stawell’s Joel Freeland and Keith Lofthouse for the event, starting at Ararat College at 4.50pm.
Brennan said she is excited for the day to finally come.
“I am really looking forward to it, it will be a great experience to be able to carry the baton through my hometown,” she said.
“Being a local, to take part in the relay alongside Shane Kelly who has competed at Commonwealth Games before is great and I am looking forward to it a lot.
“I am a sport fanatic, so just to have a small part in the relay is a terrific feeling and it is a privilege to be a part of it.”
...just to have a small part in the relay is a terrific feeling...
- Joel Freeland
Freeland said while it will be different closer to the event, the nerves were not bothering him yet.
“They are not too bad at the moment, but when I am standing there waiting for it to come through, there will be a few butterflies no doubt,” he said.
The avid tennis player said the moment was not lost on him with only a select few people selected to carry the baton in the region.
“It has just dawned on me recently, I will be representing Stawell at the relay and that is a good feeling,” he said.
“To play a small part in the first Commonwealth Games in Australian in 12 years is a big honour.” He said he is unsure how big the crowd will be but he will have support on the day. “My wife and kids will be there, that is the most important thing on the day,” he said. “Hopefully it is a big crowd, I imagine it will be and to hear the other people’s stories that are also involved will be great.”
The relay will conclude at Alexandra Oval with the Ararat Rural City Council set to host a community celebration. It will start following the relay’s end with Shane Kelly set to bring the baton through into the oval around 5.30pm.
Relay schedule
4:48pm Chloe Dunmore
4:50pm Joel Freeland
4:53pm Justin Amor
4:55pm Karen Brennan
4:57pm Quentin Baudinette
5pm Clive Watts
5:02pm Tim Kearney
5:05pm Alexander Guenther
5:07pm Amechai Bawden
5:10pm Keith Lofthouse
5:12pm Jamie McInerney
5:14pm Dean Berry
5:17pm Madison King
5:19pm David Cole
5:22pm Sophie Brown
5:24pm Andrew Lindsey
5:27pm Shane Kelly
5:30pm Ararat Community Celebration
