If the Q&A below doesn’t answer your question, please email us at: info@stgeorgelac.org.au
1. How old does a child need to be to register for Little Athletics?
For the 2023/24 season:
We offer a “Tiny Tots” age group for children turning 4 in 2023 (born in 2019).
To participate in the standard Little Athletics ‘competition’ program, children must turn 5 in 2023 in order to be placed in the ‘under 6′ Age Group. This means that for the 2023/24 season, children born in 2018 are placed into the under 6 Age Group, those born in 2017 go into the under 7 Age Group, and so on. The oldest athlete we can accept turns 16 in 2023.
2. When does St George Little Athletics meet to compete?
Our Meets (‘competition’) are conducted on Friday evenings, at Olds Park (Penshurst) as set out in our Calendar page. Commencement & finish times vary by Age groups as follows (season 2023-24):
| Age Groups | Arrive by | Start Events | Finish (Approx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Tots | 4:45pm | 5:00pm | 5:45pm |
| U6-U7 | 5:15pm | 5:30pm | 6:30 - 6:45pm |
| U8 | 5:15pm | 5:30pm | 7:00 - 7:45pm |
| U9-U10 | 5:45pm | 6:00pm | 7:30 ~ 8:15pm |
| U11-U17 | 5:45pm | 6:00pm | 8:00 ~ 9:00pm |
Please note that finish times are approximate and will vary according to the number of athletes present on a given night.
3. Do parents need to attend each Friday night?
A parent/guardian must be in attendance at Olds Park whenever your child is present.
4. What is expected of parents?
Each competition ‘meet’ requires over 100 parents to assist & supervise the running of the program. Consequently, it is required that an adult from your family (eg. parent, grand-parent, older sibling, etc) undertake a duty regularly on behalf of your family. You should anticipate carrying out a duty about every second week. We will set out the duties available & required to be filled for each Meet. Duties include tasks such as acting as an “official” at a track or field event, helping set up the track/field equipment, assisting in the canteen, helping with hurdles placement, etc. There’s more information about this on our Parent Helpers and Parent Helper Resources pages. The latter includes many short videos which explain (some of) the roles needed at each event.
Working with Children: We require all adults assisting in any way at Little Athletics to fill out a simple online “Working with Children” declaration (the link is on the Forms page). In general, close relatives (parents, grandparents & siblings) of children registered at St George Little Athletics do NOT require a WWC number. We do require a WWC number for: certain Committee positions, adult Coaches or First Aid Officers and for adults who have no close relative registered at the Centre.
All participants at Little Athletics, including parents, are expected to support and abide by the Behavioural Guidelines and Codes of Conduct as published by LANSW.
5. When can I register?
Registration usually opens from early August. Follow the steps on the How To Join page to register.
The first step (which includes payment of registration fees) is conducted on-line. You can subsequently pickup your registration pack in person on our “Pick-up” Days at the Olds Park clubhouse. Please familiarise yourself with these FAQs and other information on the website before registering.
6. Are late registrations taken?
We usually keep registrations open beyond the start of season (subject to capacity) and Registration Packs can be collected from the clubhouse at Olds Park on competition nights prior to competition starting, subject to registration being completed prior to 6pm Thursday. If you miss this deadline, you have the option of Trialling (see below). Note: We may cease accepting registrations for any or all Age Groups when we judge we are at ‘capacity’.
7. How much will it cost to register my children?
Registration Fees for the 2023 – 24 season:
$155 – for athletes U6 to U17
$130 – for Tiny Tots (must turn 4 in 2023).
You may be able to reduce fees by $50 by using an Active Kids voucher (generally available to children who have reached 4 years and 6 months of age at the time of applying for the voucher). You must apply for your voucher before registering with us. Financial assistance is also available in case of financial hardship in accordance with the Athlete Assistance Program 2023.
Note: Registration with St George Little Athletics Centre (STGLAC) establishes the athlete and their parents/guardians as members of both Little Athletics NSW (LANSW) and STGLAC. Registration Fees are collected by Little Athletics NSW (on behalf of both organisations) and in most cases are Non-Refundable.
8. What are the Uniform Requirements?
Uniforms are mandatory and correct uniform, including the various patches we will supply to you, must be worn at each of our weekly meets and at any carnival or gala day where the athlete represents STGLAC. Ours is a 2-piece uniform. You may not substitute alternatives for the STGLAC shorts / bike pants. We updated the uniform design for the 2022-23 season and uniforms purchased prior to that season may not be worn. For more information, see: Uniforms
9. When does the season start and end?
Our season usually runs from about mid-September through till mid-March. See the Calendar page for specific dates.
10. Does the club compete during school holidays?
We do take a break around Christmas time, and on those Fridays that clash with certain inter-club Carnival events, but otherwise we do compete during school holidays. See our Calendar page.
11. What events are conducted?
Events depend on the athlete’s age as set out in Event by Age Group. For each age group, most events are conducted once per 2 weeks. Tiny Tots will generally perform: 2 x Runs, 1 x Throw and 1 x Jump and 1 x Game each week. Note that St George does not currently conduct the “Walks” events.
12. How is competition conducted?
Children move through a pre-set sequence of events each night, guided by their Age Manager. Each event is “officiated” by the Age Manager(s) and additional parent helpers. See our Parent Helpers and Parent Helper Resources pages for more information.
13. How important is winning
While superior performance is encouraged and recognised, our primary focus is to encourage all athletes to participate, to do their best and to pursue personal improvement.
14. Are athlete’s results available?
Individual results are collected for all events (U6 and above) and available via our online “ResultsHQ Family Portal”. There is a link to the Family Portal on most pages of our website.
15. Is coaching available for athletes?
Coaching/Training (which is optional) is available during the Little Athletics season. See the Coaching information under the “Our Program” menu on the website for more details. We advertise what coaching is available each week via the “SignUp” system. There are also coaches working privately who conduct programs at Olds Park and other locations.
16. What to do in case of wet weather?
We do not compete if it is raining, judged likely to rain or if weather conditions prevent field preparation or make the ground unsafe. If we need to cancel, we’ll issue information via Team App, Email and/or our Facebook page.
17. Is it possible to do a “Trial” before deciding whether to join or not?
Note: We are not accepting Trialists in the U9 (ie. turning 8 in 2023) Age Groups.
Yes, so long as we are still accepting registrations in the relevant age group. A child may participate as a “Trialist” for up to 2 consecutive weeks at our Friday evening ‘meets’ (but may not participate in Coaching). To arrange a Trial, arrive at Olds Park on one of our competition days at least 15 mins prior to the start time for the relevant age group(s). Locate a committee member in the vicinity of the Athletics shed. Trialists join the relevant Age Group and participate in the events scheduled for that group on that day. Each week of trialling costs $10 per athlete (payable in CASH). If you subsequently register (in the same season), this is returned to you when you collect your registration pack. Please note that we do not allow Trials until the 2nd week of Centre Competition (the date is indicated in the Calendar) and we may not measure participation or collect results for athletes who are trialling.
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