News/Current affairs style story about students who completed the 2013 HSC and what has influenced their choices for study after school

Post HSC

For many the birth of a child is meant to be a joyous occasion, but for Margaret Baddeley the moment before the birth of her first child was traumatic

Thumbnail image credited to Roderick Chen via Ghetty Images website

Sadness Before Joy

Intro: Thousands of people have spilled onto the streets of Sydney City this morning to compete in the annual City2Surf. Reports Anna Baddeley

Voicer: Friends, families and the occasional superhero have made the 14 kilometre trek from Hyde Park to Bondi this morning for the annual City2Surf 

Despite the extreme winds and icy temperatures, the massive turnout saw over four million dollars raised for 650 charities. 

The race began at 8am this morning with its most serious competitor, Victorian man, Liam Adams, surging towards the finish line in 41 minutes 31 seconds. 

In overall third place, with a time of 46 minutes, 55 seconds, Sydney woman, Lara Tamsett took out the women’s first. 

But not all of the eighty five thousand competitors were set on winning the event. 

Allison Hill, aged 19, ran alongside her twin sister and father, Roderick Hill, who suffered a heart attack last year.

Grab: “I felt really proud of him being able to run 14kms non-stop and the dramatic change that he went through. From being overweight, to the perfect weight now, which is really good.” 

Roderick Hill finished in a time of 1 hour and 26 minutes followed by his two daughters, 20 minutes later. 

Last words: Donations will continue to be accepted for three weeks after the race; with hopes of reaching over five million dollars for charity.

City2Surf - News

Announcer: New safety measures have been introduced to the iconic Coolangatta Gold event this summer. Anna Baddeley reports.

Voicer: Significant changes have been made to safety procedures for the upcoming Coolangatta Gold surf lifesaving endurance event. 

 IronMen and IronWomen competing in the event will now be required to wear type 3 lifejackets during the ski leg of the race. 

Competitors will also be required to wear florescent coloured caps and vests while competing in the swim leg; as well as being individually escorted by a board paddler. 

Competitors who fail to swim through the newly introduced marker buoys will also face automatic disqualification. 

These new safety regulations have come to fruition after the death of 14-year-old Matthew Barclay during the Surf Lifesaving Championships in March. 

His death was the third to have occurred during the championships at the infamous Kurrawa Beach.

However, Colongatta Gold event officials continue to deny that the new safety measures were made as a result of the Kurrawa beach deaths. 

Joshua Bond, age 17, who also competed in the Championships, remains sceptical about the new safety measures. 

Grab: “The life vest could have helped, but I don’t think it would have helped that much because the waves at Kurrawa Beach are like a washing machine and he would have just been going in circles and circles.” 

His mother, Carol Bond, holds no fears for her son’s safety in his continual participation in Surf Lifesaving events. 

“Surf life saving competitors train in the surf, race in the surf and patrol the surf voluntarily. 
Most competitors would probably be more concerned about shark attack than drowning,” she said.

Last words:The Coolongatta Gold will take place on October 14th between Tweed Heads and Surfers Paradise on the iconic Gold Coast.

Coolangatta Gold Rule Changes - News

Intro for announcer: The saying ‘don’t panic, it’s all organic’ may no longer mean what it once did. Anna Baddeley has the story. 

In line: Strolling through the aisles of almost any grocery chain store, labels with organic can be seen to jump out at you, along with their significantly higher price tags. 

Out line: they feel the study was bias and did not effectively test organic produce. 

Outro for announcer: And we will be sure to let you know the result of that petition. That was Anna Baddeley reporting.