FAQs

About Balmoral Little Athletics

Balmoral Little Athletics is a member of Little Athletics Queensland (LAQ). Each season, which runs from Aug/Sept to March, we have approximately 250+ children register at the club.

In Queensland little athletics is divided into 11 regions and we have 105 centres across the state.

Balmoral is part of the South East Region, which includes nine other clubs. These clubs come together to compete at the regional carnivals, with the clubs from the other regions coming together for the statewide carnivals (winter, spring and summer) and championships (state relay, combined event and state championships). For more information, visit Little Athletics Queensland website.

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What ability level does my child need to join little athletics?

Children of all skill and ability levels are welcome at Balmoral. We offer plenty of encouragement to achieve their personal best! Our emphasis is on fun, fitness and friendships – and a ‘have a go’ attitude. We encourage children to discover new skills and learn to be their best while making friends and having fun.

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At what age can I register my child?

At Balmoral we welcome children from 5 to 17 years.  For the new season, 2023-24, this means children born in 2018 (U6) to 2007 (U17) can register for little athletics at Balmoral.

When you complete the online registration, the age group for your child will be automatically allocated according to their date of birth. For more information, see the official Little Athletics Queensland Registration Ages Table.

Please note, your child must participate in his/her appropriate age group as listed on the table regardless of their abilities or friendship groups.

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What are this season’s dates?

The season usually runs from Aug/Sept to March. Due to delayed access to our oval, the 2023/24 season begins on Tuesday 3 October for weekly training and Wednesday 4 October for weekly competition, with breaks during school holidays. The season runs until Wednesday 14 March 2023, with an end-of-season centre break-up presentation evening held in April, after the State Championships.

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What is the joining fee?

Fees for the coming season are published at the time of registration in the ‘Join Today’ section.

A discount is available for families who register two or more children.

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Can my child trial little athletics first?

Yes! If your child is interested in trialling little athletics before committing for a full season, we offer a two-week trial period. The fee for the trial is $40 per child, which is deducted from the full season fee if you wish to continue. Trials are available from the start of a season (Aug/Sept) until the end of November. If you have previously registered for Little Athletics, competing a trial period is not an option.

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How do families get involved on Wednesday night competitions?

Unlike many other sports, we need the support from parents to help manage the athletes and run the track and field events on competition nights, each Wednesday.

It’s not difficult, as there is lots of support from Committee members and returning families – we just need many hands to ensure the evenings run smoothly and efficiently by helping the age groups get through all the programmed events as efficiently as possible.

The help involves marshalling (each week a parent volunteers to be age marshal), measuring and recording the field events (long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, and javelin). At the start of the we provided a series of Parent Induction Sessions to introduce new families to little athletics, this includes how measure and record events. (see FAQ below).

In addition, we also need help each Wednesday with setting up the equipment for the field events, and running the BBQ. For the BBQ, we prepare a roster for the season and allocate an age group to help each week.

If you are available to help anytime, regardless of the allocated age group, you’d be most welcome any Wednesday.

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How do I learn what to do at Wednesday’s competition nights?

At the start of the season we run Parent Induction Sessions for new parents or any parent wanting a refresher on what to do on competition nights – which involves mostly measuring and recording the field events.

For the 2023/24 season, we are running these sessions on the following Tuesdays while athletes are training: 3 Oct, 10 Oct, 17 Oct and 24 Oct.

During these sessions we’ll take you through the ‘how to’ for athletics – e.g. how to measure and record long jump, high jump, shot put, discus and javelin.

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What happens at Tuesday’s training nights?

Free training by qualified coaches is available every Tuesday for Balmoral Athletes from 6.00pm to 7.00pm (arrive at 5.50pm for sign-in) – except during school holidays.  There are three or four disciplines to choose from each week.

The weekly training schedule is posted on the BLAC Facebook page. It’s not compulsory to attend, but a great opportunity to learn/improve skills and technique.

If you come along, please sign-in your child/ren on the sheets provided.

Are you a coach? If you are a Level 1 or higher coach and would like to be involved in training please let us know. All our coaches are remunerated.

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What happens at Wednesday’s competition nights?

Club competition is on every Wednesday from 5.30pm, except during school holidays.

To ease into a new season and help everyone become familiar with how the weeks work, we run three events for the first three weeks of competition. In the fourth week, this is expanded to four events, with a fifth optional event added later in the season, i.e. middle distance and walking events. The weekly competition program will be published on the Balmoral Facebook page – which everyone can access, whether or not you have a Facebook account.

For Athletes: At the start of each comp, each age group will complete a warm-up session with the senior athletes. Afterwards, they’ll then move to their first allocated event.

For Parents: While the athletes warm up, our Centre Manager provides an update to parents.

To help each age group run smoothly through their events, parents are needed to:

• Age Marshal: A parent or two volunteer to be the Age Marshal for the evening to organise the kids for each event. Age Marshals wear a high-vis vest so athletes and parents can find their group.
• Field Event Recorder and Measurers: about four parents are needed to measure and record the field events for their age group. The measuring equipment will be already set up at the event. Field events are recorded using a tablet, which is collected from and returned to the clubhouse.
• Age Group Box: set-up for each age group in front of the clubhouse, each box  contains the age marshal vest and an age group folder with evening program, event information, an athlete list, etc. This box should be taken from event to event and also used to carry athletes’ drink bottles, jumpers, etc. At the end of the evening, we ask parents to remove all the items in the box, place the age group folder in the Clubhouse and fold and store the box, also in the Clubhouse.

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How do I find out my child’s results for the week?

Your athlete’s weekly results are loaded onto an online portal called Results HQ.

This is the same portal you used to create a family account and register your athlete. To access the portal simply sign-in with your email and the password you created.

Please allow a few days for all results to appear as sometimes there is a lag in uploading results information.

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What do the athletes wear?

For Tuesday’s training nights no uniform is required. Just wear comfortable active clothes and appropriate footwear.

For Wednesday’s competition nights:

• If your child is trialling, no uniform is required. We recommend they wear comfortable active clothes and footwear. No times or distances/heights will be recorded for trialists. Recording starts once they have signed for the rest of the season and are issued with a registration number.
• If your child is registered for the full season they are required to wear the club competition uniform and appropriate footwear:
  • BLAC Club Polo/Singlet/Crop top
  • Plain navy or black shorts or bike pants with NO visible branding or embellishments. If there is any logo please ensure it is no bigger than 4cm x 4cm.

At the sign-on session you will receive the ‘Coles’ badge, Age badge and competition number, these must be attached onto your child’s uniform for the start of the season.

For more information about uniform requirements and placement of patches, please visit here.

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Does my child need special shoes?

For Wednesday’s competition nights it is recommended athletes wear appropriate footwear, such as:

• Runners, waffles, or
• 
• Spikes, which are only permitted for U11 ages and up. However, U11s and U12s cannot wear spikes for 800m or 1500m events.
• Please be aware, as per LAQ footwear rules, spikes are not allowed to be worn between events. They can only be put on after reaching the specific event and then removed immediately after that event, even if the next event also allows spikes to be worn. More information see LAQ’s Footwear Policy.

Note: The only spikes permitted on the long jumprun-ups at Balmoral Little Athletics and the track at QSAC/SAF (Nathan) are the Christmas Tree and Pyramid shape (see image).

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Is there a map of the field layout?

Yes, this site map shows the location of the field events and starting line for the track events. The weekly event program will list the location for each age group’s events.

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Is there a canteen?

Each Wednesday evening a BBQ is available to families to refuel. The BBQ is organised by one or two parents who volunteer to be the BBQ Convener for the season, with the cooking and serving managed with the support of a parent roster.

The BBQ menu generally includes: sausages, onions, zooper doopers, drinks and free bananas from Coles (major sponsor of Little Athletics Queensland).

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Who do I contact if I have questions or need help?

Each age group has a Committee member allocated to support your group and answer any questions.

However, if you have any questions at any time, please approach any volunteer Committee member – you’ll find us wearing BLAC blue polo tops –  and we’ll do our best to help you.

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Do athletes train or compete at Balmoral during school holidays?

No, there is no training or competitions at Balmoral during school holidays. However, there maybe carnivals or competitions happening, which are promoted on the LAQ website and /or via our Facebook page . These events are also listed under ‘Nominations’ in Results HQ.

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How are families informed of any news or any training or comp cancellations?

In addition to our website, BLAC has a Facebook page that posts regular updates about training and competition nights. To access the latest information quickly we recommend following our FB page.

Important information will also be emailed to you.

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What other competitions are available for my children?

Balmoral Little Athletics Centre is a member of the South East Region. Our region runs two major championships during the season:

• Regional Relays on Sunday 12 November 2023 at Sheldon College
• Regional Championships Sat 3 and Sun 4 February 2024 at SAF, Nathan

In addition, other centres (across Queensland) also host carnivals. Plus, Little Athletics Queensland runs a number of carnivals as well as the State Relay Championships (Dec), Combined Event Championships (Feb/Mar) and State Championships (Mar).

We encourage all our athletes to participate in the carnivals and regional events – they’re great fun and offer great experience.

Advice about upcoming events, how to nominate and closing dates for nominations is promoted through our club (Facebook, email, and Wed’s Centre Manager announcements).

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Where is the club located?

Balmoral Little Athletics Centre is located in Carina, at 391 Stanley Road (cnr Creek rd), near the Carina Bowls Club and part of the Clem Jones sporting precinct.  There is ample parking is available along Stanley Rd.

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Have any further questions?

If you have any further questions or queries, please:

• Email us at blac.centremanager@gmail.com
• Message us via Facebook
• Or come and see us on the track, you’ll find us wearing the BLAC blue polo tops.

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