Camperdown's Ruby Darcy is jumping at the chance to compete against the state's best.
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Darcy is one of several south-west athletes gearing up for the first weekend of the Victorian Track and Field Championships, which starts on Friday at Lakeside.
The 14-year-old will contest the under 16 girls' high jump and triple jump events on Saturday, with long jump to follow a week later.
A number of second and third finishes at recent meets has Darcy optimistic about her chances.
"That's given me the confidence and to go and know that I can do well," she said.
Starting her athletics career via Little Athletics, Darcy has taken the step up in recent years by joining Athletics South West Turbines.
Accustomed to competing against strong competition through the AVSL, the Mercy Regional College student is excited at the prospect of competing against the very best from across the state this weekend.
"Usually in Geelong it's the same people, I'm expecting a few new faces at Melbourne and some people I know as well," Darcy said.
"Hopefully I can do alright. It's a good experience to go and compete against people who are better than you."
Darcy put plenty of time and practice into making her leaps higher, as well as increasing her speeds, in a bid to improve her distances.
"It's usually a lot more (time spent) on technique, trying to get that right," she said.
Joining Darcy in Melbourne this weekend will be ASW Turbines teammates Grace Carter (under 17 girls' 100m), Emily Morden (under 20 women's 1500m, 3000m steeplechase) and Robert Modern (under-16 boys' 3000m steeplechase).
Coach Jeremy Dixon said it was exciting to see several of the club's athletes competing at state, with more travelling down on the second weekend.
"We've got a good cross-selections of events that some of our athletes are involved in," Dixon said.
"You can't be what you can't see and it's great to have some local representation."
Warrnambool's Grace Kelly, representing Ballarat Harriers, will also contest the under 17 girls' 100m race.
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Meg Saultry
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
