History

Our club began life in 1953 as the Wollongong Blue Stars Women's Athletics Club and initially catered for female athletes only. After a few years, a change in direction saw male athletes granted membership and a change of name was required. The incorporation of the area name, Illawarra, was chosen to cater for the number of members drawn from outside of Wollongong.

Our home track has previously been situated on the oval at Wollongong Showground (now WIN Stadium) and at Parrish Park in Figtree but we now have a permanent home at the Illawarra Regional Athletics Centre, Beaton Park. Our track has an international standard synthetic surface and is one of the best regional facilities of it's type in the country. Our membership varies from year to year but traditionally hovers around the 100 mark, with athletes in all age divisions from Under 8 through to Masters Men and Women.

Blue Stars is one of the most successful Country clubs in NSW and boasts many Australian Representatives amongst it's current and former membership.  The list includes Commonwealth Games medalist, Robyn Woodhouse and Olympic Games medalist Louise McPaul-Currey along with fellow Olympian, Andrew Currey.

The club also boasts several Commonwealth Games and World Championships representatives including Woodhouse, McPaul-Currey & Currey, Paul Simensen, Adrian Hatcher, Sophia Begg and Troy Sundstrom.

In recent years the club has also been well represented at World Masters level with Gianna Mogentale and Mary Thomas multiple medal winners. Mogentale currently holds World Records in the W35+, W40, W45 4x100m Relays & the W45 4x400m Relay.  The club also boasts two Winter Olympians in Martin Harland and Jason Giobbi who were members of the Australian Bobsled Team!!