About Little Athletics
The mission of Australian Little Athletics is: “To develop children of all abilities by promoting positive attitudes and a healthy lifestyle through family and community involvement in athletics activities.” Almost 100,000 children compete in Little Athletics throughout Australia. In Tasmania, Little Athletics is administered by the Tasmanian Little Athletics Association Inc. and represented at a regional level by 19 Centres throughout Tasmania. The motto of Little Athletics is “Family, Fun and Fitness”. Athletes compete in a range of athletics events appropriate to their age with parents helping to run and co-ordinate events. The emphasis is not on winning but athletes improving on their performances.
Come and Try
Children who have never experienced Little Athletics can attend two FREE trials before they are required to register. Committee and Officials will make you feel welcome and assist you and your Little Athlete during the day. Coaching sessions (see training page) are offered to assist athletes develop skills in the events.
How our Competition Operates
Each week athletes compete in a throw, jump and 2-3 track events. Our competition program rotates over a 3 week period. Events include Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Discus Throw, Javelin Throw (Vortex or Turbo Jav for the younger athletes), Hurdles and a range of running events from 70m to 1500m. We encourage all children irrespective of ability to have a go and will assist them in learning the events. During the day athletes will be called up by age group for their events. During competition, the Arena Manager is responsible for the running of the program and should be advised if there are any issues with the running of events
We Need Your Help!
Little Athletics relies heavily on parent help in running events. Even if you know nothing about athletics you can help by holding a tape measure or raking the jump pit. Qualified officials will be on hand to run the events and show new parents what to do. Whilst there will be an official to run the event, parents are needed to assist. It is a great way to be involved in a sporting activity and provide support and encouragement for your child.
Registration and Fees
New athletes can attend 2 FREE trials, new athletes must be registered before their third week of competition. Athletes compete in age groups based on their age on 31 December of the year. To register you will need proof of age – Birth certificate or Child Health Book. Athletes are not permitted to compete until their proof of age document has been sighted by the Registrar.
Once registered, athletes will be provided with a name bib, State and National sponsor badges and an Information Manual. Once registered the Centre uniform must be worn.
Information about membership and fees can be found here.
Our Centre
Kingborough Little Athletics Centre has been providing opportunities for children to participate in athletic competition since 1978 and joined the Tasmanian Little Athletics Association on 6 September 1979 (1979-80 Season). Our centre has certainly come a long way as this video from 8 December 1984 shows! (Video credit: Terry Pearce)
Centre Committee
Our Centre is managed by an elected committee. The Constitution governs the administration of the Centre. Contact details of the committee members can be found in your Information Manual. Please feel free to contact any member of the Committee for any further information or issues you have. The Committee relies on the support of parents to assist with the setting up and running of the program. Any written correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary.
Canteen
We operate a canteen as our main fundraiser and ask everyone to support it. We sell hot and cold drinks, hot food (bbq sausages, chicken burgers etc), icy poles, and a variety of snacks.
Adverse Weather Cancellations
In the event of adverse weather conditions, competition meets or training may be modified or cancelled. The decision to cancel will be made by the members of the Committee or coaches that are present giving due regard to the health and safety of athletes, in accordance with Little Athletics Tasmania regulations and policies.
As a general rule of thumb, Centre competition will only be cancelled if there is heavy or persistent rain which establishes an environment of unacceptable risk for participation. Competition will continue during light showers, and competition suspended should conditions change during the conduct of a meet.
In cases of suspension the remaining program may be modified by substituting alternative events, especially for High Jump, Hurdles and Javelin.
The decision to cancel will be made no later than 45 minutes before the scheduled start of the competition meeting and will be announced via the KLAC website and Facebook page. The cancellation of training is only announced via Facebook.
We kindly ask that you refrain from contacting the Committee or coaches by phone, as this delays our ability to ensure that the decision is communicated through the other channels quickly.
The re-scheduling of cancelled competition meets will be determined and advised to all members as quickly as possible. As a general rule, a skipped meet is not detrimental to the season, and only if excessive meets are missed will the Committee consider a catch up meet.
Safety and Regulations
a) The centre of the oval, including the running track, is out of bounds to all but officials and athletes who are participating in events at the time. If it is necessary to cross to the other side of the oval, please walk around the outside of the track, and look out for participating athletes.
b) All equipment is to be used only under adult supervision. Athletes are not permitted to use equipment/implements until instructed by the Chief Official.
c) Please ensure that your child has adequate liquid. It is recommended that a child has two mouth fulls of water every 10 minutes. Please bring a drink bottle each week so your child can take it with them to each field site. Our Centre also practises a Sun Smart Policy therefore hats are compulsory, sun-screen and t-shirts are also recommended. On cold days, the wind is bitter, so very warm clothing is essential.
d) If required, first aid is available from the Canteen. Please ensure that any injury is recorded in the Injury Register, which is kept with the first aid kit.
e) No dogs are allowed at Gormley Park. We ask that you consider the health and safety of both children and adults and DO NOT bring your dogs along to our meets.
f) KLAC has a Smoke Free Policy. Smoking and/or vaping is not permitted anywhere inside the fenced area. Please consider the health of others and use the car park if necessary.
g) Children left at the Centre without supervision WILL NOT be allowed to compete. Older siblings who are above competition age (16 years or order), are accepted as guardians for this purpose.