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How to Join & Get Started at Balmoral

Hello and welcome to the 2023-24 Season of Balmoral Little Athletics. We can’t wait to welcome new and returning families to a new season of little athletics. We offer little athletics to children from 5 to 17 years – for season 2023-24 this means children born in 2018 to 2007.

Before you jump in and register online (open from 2 August 2023), please take a moment to read the following important information and helpful tips to ensure a smooth, easy and fun start to little athletics at Balmoral. If you have any further questions, please see our FAQs for more information about how little athletics works at Balmoral.

New Season Registration

Step 1:  Set up an Account
  • New family: If you are a new family looking to join or trial little athletics for the first time, you will need to create an account and password via Results HQ before you register for the full season or for a two-week trial.
  • Returning family: If you are a returning family, your account will still be active with the same login details from last season. If you have forgotten your password you can request a password reset. Once you’ve logged in simply proceed and complete your registration as a ‘returning member’.
Step 2:  Registration Options

When you register you will have two options. You can register for:

1.   The FULL season:
  • The full season comprises 20 weeks of weekly competition on Wednesdays and training on Tuesdays – plus a series of carnivals and regional events for which athletes can nominate and enter for a fee.
  • During the online registration process you can also pre-purchase the Club competition uniform (Club polo and navy or black shorts or bike pants), which is collected from the clubhouse.
  • After completing the online registration, the next step is to visit the club house on one of the sign-on evenings, to complete your child’s registration. Or if you register after 31 August, simply visit the clubhouse on a Tuesday during coaching or Wednesday before competition to complete the registration process.
  • Completing registration involves:
    • Presenting your child’s proof of age (birth certificate or passport) if you haven’t uploaded when registering online. PLEASE NOTE: this ONLY applies to NEW families to the Club, not returning families
    • Collecting your registration pack, this includes your athlete’s competition registration number, age badge, and other season information
    • Collecting or purchasing the required club competition uniform.
2.  A two-week TRIAL ($40):
  • If you/your child is unsure about making a season commitment to little athletics you may like to select the two-week trial option. The trial fee is $40 – this covers coaching, competition and insurance and is deducted from the full registration fee if you choose to continue for the season. A trial can be done at any time before the end of November. If you have previously registered for Little Athletics, trialling is not an option.
  • If you choose the trial option, please note:
    • No results will be recorded for your child during their trial period.
    • Your child does not need to wear the Club competition uniform at our weekly Wednesday competition nights. They just require comfortable active clothes and appropriate footwear.
    • If you choose this option, you do not need to attend a sign-on evening. Simply come along from the season kick off dates – see dates and other information below.

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Proof of Age & Age Group Allocation 

At Balmoral, we welcome children from 5 to 17 years. For the 2023-24 season this includes children born in 2018 to 2007.

If you’re registering your child for the first time you will need to supply your child’s proof of age, this will be either their birth certificate or passport. The registration of your child cannot be completed without sighting a proof of age for your child. You can supply this in two ways:

  1.  Upload a copy in the appropriate section of the online registration process
  2.  Bring the original birth certificate or passport to one of the sign-on evenings. Or, if registering after 13 September, bring it to the clubhouse when you come to complete the registration process.

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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New Season Fees

Fees for the current season (excl. transaction fees & charges) are as follows, with payment made online via credit card or PayPal:

Full Registration:

  • U6 athlete        $210
  • U7 – 17 athlete $270  –  discount of $60 applies to additional family members

Trial:

  • Two-week trial is $40  – for coaching, competition and insurance and is deducted from full season fee if you choose to continue.

Club Uniform for Fully Registered Athletes (more info below):

  • Competition polo      $35
  • Navy Shorts / Tights  $30

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Collecting Your Athlete’s Registration Pack 

If you register for the Full Season, the final step of the registration process is to visit the clubhouse, during or after the initial  sign-on nights, to collect your athlete’s registration pack and uniform. The registration pack comprises:

  • Athlete competition number – must be attached/sewn onto the front of their competition polo/crop/singlet. This number is used to record their performance results.
  • Age badge – must be attached/sewn onto the left side of their competition polo. Athletes competing in crop/singlet tops, please attach this to the left side of your tights/shorts.
  • Coles patch – must be attached/sewn onto the right side of their competition polo/crop/singlet.
  • Plus, other season information.

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Balmoral Uniform & Footwear

The club’s uniform shop is located at the Clubhouse where all items required for the season can be purchased on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings.

All fully registered athletes are required to wear the Balmoral Centre uniform items for Wednesday’s competition nights and when representing the centre at other local or regional little athletics events. No uniform is required for Tuesday’s training nights.

Following a change to the LAQ uniform policy, athletes now have the following options for tops and bottoms regardless of gender:

Tops:   
  • Competition polo ($35) with issued registration number, age badge and Coles patch attached in the correct positions – see images below.
  • Crop top ($25) with the registration number and Coles patch attached as for the polo, except the age badge which is attached on left leg of bottoms.
  • Singlet top ($30) with the registration number and Coles patch attached as for the polo, except the age badge which is attached on left leg of bottoms.
Bottoms:
  • Plain navy or black tights/bike pants/shorts ($30). If purchasing these elsewhere please ensure any brand logos are no more than 4cm x 4 cm.

More information about LAQ Uniform Policy is available here.

Other Team Balmoral Apparel

At the uniform shop we also offer the following apparel:

  • Training t-shirts  $30
  • Caps  $15
  • Bucket hats  $15

Footwear

For Wednesday’s competition nights it’s 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.

Type of spikes: The only spikes permitted on the long jump run-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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Key 2023-24 Season Dates

Sign-On Dates

Once you complete the online registration, the next step is to attend one of the sign-on evenings at the Clubhouse to collect your athlete’s registration pack, uniform requirements and to answer any questions you may have. Then the new season of weekly training and competition kicks off  in the first week of September.

The sign-on evenings are on:

  • Wednesday, 30 August – 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
  • Wednesday, 6 September – 5.00 pm to 7:00 pm
  • Wednesday, 13 September – 5.00 pm to 7:00 pm

You can still register for the new season after the sign-on period. Simply complete the online registration process and visit the clubhouse to collect the registration pack and any uniform requirements.

Weekly Training and Competition Kick Off

Season 2023-24 will run from 3 October to 14 March with breaks during school holidays. We kick off with:

  • Weekly Trainingstarting Tuesday 3 October from 6.00pm to 7.00pm (arrive at 5.50pm for sign-in) and finishing on Tuesday 13 March 2024. There is NO training during any school holidays. Training is not compulsory, but a great opportunity for your athlete to learn and develop their track and field skills and techniques.
  • Weekly Competition starting Wednesday 4 October from 5.30pm and finishing on Wednesday, 14 March 2024. Each week we have a program that comprises a mix of track and field events where the athletes practise and hone their running, jumping or throwing skills and techniques with their support of parents.

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Competition Events at Balmoral

At Balmoral we offer the full or modified version of the following events (depending on athlete age group):

  • Track: Sprints, Distance, Hurdles
  • Field: Shot put, Discus, Javelin, Long jump, High Jump, Triple Jump (U11 & up)

To ease into the new season and allow for the large number of triallists, for the first three weeks of the season we run a three-event program. From week four, we continue to run the three-event program for the U6 to U8 age groups. For the U9 to U17 age groups, we move to four events, which generally comprises: two running, one throwing and one jump. Further into the season, we offer a fifth optional event, i.e. 1500m or walking.

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Club Location

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. Parking is available along Stanley Rd, Carina Bowls Car Park and Clem Jones Centre. If parking in residential streets, please be mindful not to block access to driveways.

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