THE district’s Little Athletics clubs are experiencing a boost in their competitor ranks thanks to three major factors which include Australia’s record breaking medals performance at the recent Paris Games.
Both Beaudesert and Tamborine Mountain LA club officials say more and more local families are looking to Little Athletics as the Summer sport for their children.
They believe alongside the Paris Games the other factors helping to boost their ranks has been the state government’s Fair Play vouchers which help to cover the cost of club fees and the publicity surrounding the Olympics coming to Brisbane in 2023.
It hasn’t just been older children signing up, many of the new competitors are as young as three.
Amanda O’Shannessy from the Beaudesert Club said last year they had just three runners in their Tiny Tots division and now they have 15.
“Many of our new members are the sons and daughters of parents who were once Little Athletics club members,” she said.
“They are wanting their siblings to have the same opportunity their parents gave them years ago.”
While the Beaudesert Club is growing steadily, Tamborine Mountain LA is predicting a big spike in its club numbers in the coming months.
Club Manager, Hope Kerslake, said their optimism for the future centred on their recent move from Tamborine State School to Tamborine Mountain Sports Ground.
“”We were only to run on a 200m track at the public school and now we have a full 400m course at the sports ground,” she said.
“The now defunct Tamborine Mountain Rugby Club was kind enough to hand over its utility shed at the sports ground to assist and thanks to local contributions and a State government grant we have now built a $52,000 double jumping pit facility at the ground.
“The facility, which was officially opened in late September, is first class and gives us the chance to run three jumping competitions simultaneously if we need to.
“ Our record numbers a few years ago hit 136 and I’m confident we can beat that in 2024.”
The Beaudesert LA Club holds its weekly meetings on Saturdays starting at 7am at St Mary’s Oval, while Tamborine Mountain meetings start every Friday night starting from 4.15pm.
Meetings at both venues run for around 2-3 hours with all parents expected to help run the meeting.
Both clubs welcome new families to come along to watch and they also offer a $10 fee for those children wanting to have a trial experience.
