A NEW organising body behind the Warrnambool Gift has hit the ground running with two high-profile signings.
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Australian Commonwealth Games team member Maddie Coates and 2018 Stawell Gift winner Jacob Despard will be in Warrnambool for the gift meeting on December 1.
While Despard is the reigning champion of Australia's most famous foot race and has a time of 10.6 seconds over 100 metres, Coates is one of the country's brightest athletic stars.
She competed in the 200 metres and the 4x100 metres relay at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
As well as competing at the Warrnambool Gift, which will be held at Friendly Societies Park, Despard and Coates will hold a clinic on the morning of the gift.
President of the Warrnambool Gift Committee Incorporated Richard Wearmouth said the inclusion of Despard and Coates provided the event with some important momentum.
"We are very excited, it's a great start and we are pretty confident we will get more really good athletes to commit," Wearmouth said.
"It certainly is a tick for the gift and helps grow our profile.
"There will be some good prize money on offer and that certainly helps attract quality athletes."
For the past four years, the gift has been ran by the Stawell Athletic Club, with last year's event abandoned due to bad weather.
Wearmouth said the membership of the new gift committee was made up of people passionate about athletics in the south-west.
“We are all very keen to grow the event, we think we have a good venue at the Friendlies,” he said.