Grovedale Little Athletics.

When and how can I join the Grovedale Little Athletics Club ??

The Little Athletics Summer Season commencement date is to be advised but generally begins in October, with the summer Track and Field competition running until March. The winter Cross Country season then continues to the following August. 

All registrations are now completed on-line, payments are made online via the LAVic registration portal. All registered athletes from last year will receive an email letting them know when and how to register on-line. New athletes will also register online and then can organise their Grovedale uniform (competition tops) on their first day of competition at the Grovedale registration booth found at the South Western end of Landy Field athletics track (look for the big palm tree).

A form of proof of age must be provided when signing in for the first time. Typically a birth certificate or passport is best, but anything "official" will generally do.

For the 2023/2024 season the registration fee will be advised prior to registration opening. - this includes registration with Little Athletics Victoria (for the Track and Field and Cross Country seasons) , and all Geelong Little Athletics Centre Track and Field season fees. Registration for the Cross Country season only is $65, but this does not include the weekly competition fee. There are also additional regional and state events that your child may wish to compete in which incur an additional small registration fee.

Once registered, all Grovedale athletes must wear the Grovedale LAC uniform consisting of a yellow, black and white top (T-shirt, singlet or crop top - available for purchase from the club) and plain black shorts/briefs (basketball or board shorts not permitted). Suitable footwear should be worn when competing. 

Yes, new athletes can have up to two (2) weeks trial period before having to commit to being a full member. Parents will still need to register with LAVic via online registration (for insurance cover). At the end of the online registration process simply choose the "pay later" option. If after the try out you want to become a member, payment for registrations must be made online by 5pm Monday to be a registered competitor for the following Saturday. It takes a few days for processing, so to avoid disappointment on Saturday please make sure that you have signed up and paid by this time. Please bring a receipt of payment and proof of birth date on Saturday morning. When you register with LAVIC, you will be required to select Geelong little athletics centre as your CENTRE, then choose "Grovedale" in the drop down box as your "club". There are 9 clubs that compete on competition day. 

How do I know what age group I will compete in ??

Age groups are determined by the year and month of birth as detailed in the following LAVic Registrar's Ready Reckoner:

What do the children do at Little Aths ??

Once registered, all paid athletes are supplied with a plastic registration patch with their name and an identifying number and barcode that needs to be worn each week, attached to their singlet with 4 safety pins (which will be provided). It is the athlete's responsibility to bring this registration patch each week as the number is used to record their results at each event and the barcode is scanned after track events. Lost patches can be replaced for a fee of $10 and will be printed and laminated at the competition office. There are 3 rotating programs of events and each age group will compete in 5 events on each day.

Ontrackers is a modified program for younger athletes and typically participate in modified events from 8:3-am-10:30 on the day of athletics. .

Events are called over the loudspeaker so you need to listen out as each event will only be called 3 times. The announcement will tell you where to marshall for the event. Once there, the parent on duty will do a roll call to see who is there and put you in heats for the track events. The track events on the first few weeks are randomly selected, but once an athlete has a benchmark the heats are seeded according to results so athletes will be running against athletes with a similar time. The field events are also often split into 2 groups to utilise both jump pits, throwing rings or high jump mats but all Grovedale athletes will stay together. Athletes will get a practice jump or throw then 2 competition trials.

Once your event is completed or race finished, you may return to the Grovedale area to await your next event. To get to your field event there are orange cones around the track which is where you need to cross to get into the infield. Before you do please check that there are no circular races going on and you are not going to interfere with a race. Also do not cross the infield because there are javelins and discus being thrown into this area. You need to go around the outside and enter the field at the cones.

Running (70m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, cross country)

Hurdling (60m, 80, 90m, 100m, 300m)

Race walking 700m or 1100m depending on the age group, you must now register to compete in the walk as it is an optional event. 

Jumping (long jump, triple jump, high jump) Triple jump only from U11's upwards

Throwing (shot put, discus, javelin) (javelin on from U11's upwards)

During the Track and Field season, athletes compete with the Geelong Little Athletic Centre at Landy Field (Barwon Terrace, South Geelong). You will see each field event has a designated area, track events will start from varying areas of the track depending on the distance. 

During the Cross Country season, events are held around the Geelong, Bellarine and Surfcoast areas.

In summer, Saturday morning Track and Field programs usually begin at 8:15am and finish around noon. Arrive by 8am as the first events start at 8:15am sharp, with speaker event  announcements starting a few minutes beforehand. 

In winter, Sunday morning Cross Country programs usually begin at 11am and are usually finished by 12:30pm.

The Track and Field season begins in October and runs through until March, with a break at Christmas. 

The Cross Country season begins in April and runs through to August.

Results and weekly photos are published on the GLAC website http://geelonglac.com.au, and personal results can be found via logging into resultshq for which you will receive a username and password. If there are any discrepancies with your results please see your team manager the next week. Paper results can be printed from the website. These can be cut out and pasted in the results book that you will be supplied with once registered.

There are also Regional and State events which individuals can enter including Track and Field Events and a Multi-Event and Team Relays where athletes are chosen to compete for Geelong depending on results from the first few weeks of sprints. 

To enter the Regional and State individual events, registered athletes will be sent an email from LAVic and all entries are completed online. There is a charge for the Track and Field events (per event entered) and a fee for the Multi-event. There is a small charge for the selected Geelong relay teams. 

To compete in these events athletes need to purchase a Geelong Centre singlet, which are available from the competition box on Saturday mornings. Parents are required to fill a duty position at either the Regional or State event if their child is competing. The duty positions are not hard as there are LAVic officials to run each of the events so you are just helping them.

GLAC hosts 1 twilight competition on a friday evening, normally in January, this is always super fun!

At the end of the season Geelong Little Athletics Centre hold their Championship Day which is a celebration of the season that was, and a chance for athletes to win medals in their favourite events. A few weeks before the day you will be asked to enter this event by filling in a form that is available from the team managers. Entry is free and each athlete can compete in a maximum or 5 events - 3 track and 2 field OR 3 field and 2 track.

Because Little Athletics is a totally voluntary organisation, clubs cannot operate without the assistance of parents each week in fulfilling the many and varied duties required. These include officiating at an event; managing an age group; recording results; to name just a few. Grovedale have a duty roster and we are in charge of a high jump mat, a long jump pit, a discus cage and circulars (races that involve more than 1 lap of the track). Additional assistance is always required on the Club and Centre committees and all parents are encouraged to become involved. Little Athletics is one of the few sports where parents can become fully involved in their child’s sporting interests.

Children should behave in an appropriate manner and uphold the Little Aths motto of "Family, Fun, Fitness".

Grovedale aims to run club training sessions weekly during fourth term of school , however this is coach and demand driven. (times and venues TBA). Specialised coaching is provided at Landy Field throughout the week by GLAC affiliated coaches in all events by a range of qualified coaches. Get in touch with GLAC directly to access this information. 

The Geelong Little Athletics Centre has a strict safety policy and all registered athletes are covered by insurance through Little Athletics Australia and their insurers.

Professional first aid is provided at all Geelong events.

Our emphasis is on fun and fitness. Children can join with any level of skill or fitness and are given plenty of encouragement to achieve their "personal best". We welcome ALL abilities and run a program every 3rd week for all abilities, welcoming the use of frames or any other personal aides required for the athlete to compete. GLAC has an "all abilities" officer, please get in touch with GLAC for any further information this program. 

All children are encouraged to join. At center level competition, Multiclass athletes are integrated with the other athletes, and may compete under modified rules depending on the degree of their disability, and the events being conducted. All LAVic Regional and State events are also open to multi-class athletes.

Once an athlete has registered with a centre they can take part in other centre activities without further notice. (It is recognised that family circumstances sometimes do not allow a child to compete at the same centre every week.)

Athletes can transfer from one centre to another - they will have to pay a fee to the second centre but they do not have to pay the Little Athletics Victoria fee again.

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