NSW Little Athletics Championship Events
Apart from our Friday night competitions, Little Athletics offers the opportunity to compete against other clubs in Championships as outlined below. Please read through the following information carefully. Further information and dates will follow in the weekly bulletins.
State Relay Championships
The State relays are usually held in late November at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre.
Athletics is mostly an individual sport, State Relays is the one major carnival where athletes compete in a team of 4 and all their performances are added together to make the team score. Of course 4×100 is included, but there is also a 4×400 (or 4×200 in the 8s and 9s as they don’t run a 400 at Little Athletics so this is the substitute event) which has two boys and two girls from the age group, this is the only mixed gender event. For middle distance runners there is a multi age 4x800m relay (on the junior day the U8 competitor runs 700m). In field events there are jumps relays and throws relays.
State Relays is the biggest carnival run by Little Athletics. It is held at Sydney Olympic Park in late November each year with the U8 to U11’s competing on the Saturday and the U12 to U15’s competing on the Sunday. For some of our younger athletes, it might be the first time they have competed at the venue. It is a great event to be involved in with teams from centres all over the state.
Cherrybrook picks the teams via a nomination process. Nominations will open early October, so start talking among the age group now to try and get an enthusiastic and strong group nominating.
Zone Championships
The North Metropolitan Zone Championship is held in mid December and is the first step on the way to the State Championship in March. You MUST compete at zone in order to qualify through to Region and then qualify through to the State Championship.
Zone Championship is open to all athletes from U7-U17. Athletes in the U7 age group do not progress any further and receive medals if they come 1st, 2nd or 3rd at Zone.
Athletes who place in the top 6 in any event automatically qualify to the Region Championship. Athletes who are deemed to be the next best 4 from either of the two zones in our region will be notified in the week following the Zone Championship. Therefore you will know well before Christmas regarding additional qualifications through to the Region Championships.
Rules for Zone – athletes from U7-U12 can only compete in 4 individual events and are subject to selection. Therefore when nominating your preferences will be taken into consideration. Cherrybrook is only able to put 5 athletes into each event at Zone. This is generally done based on best performances within the age group
Athletes from U13-U17 may compete in up to 6 individual events and are not subject to selection. We can enter as many athletes as nominate. (This is because there are less senior athletes registered and competing).
Athletes will be entered only if they fill in a nomination form. Zone nominations will be available in late October.
The Zone Championships program has been up on the Cherrybrook website for some time on the left hand side of the home page under Zone and under Upcoming Events.
Mark the date now in your calendar so that Cherrybrook has a large team.
Regional Championships
Athletes qualify from the Zone carnival above. This is the final championship carnival for the U8 age group and is held in February.
9’s-12’s who come 1st or 2nd automatically qualify for the State Championship. The next best 8 athletes from across the state will also achieve qualification.
13’s-15’s will be top 2 from regional championships plus a roll down from the next best times from there as well as Trelaor and the Country Championships.
These athletes will be notified on about 26 February, following the completion of all the region carnivals.
State Track & Field Championships
Qualification is through the Zone and Region pathway listed above for 9’s-15’s age groups.
U16s and U17s can compete at Zone and Regionals for experience but they get a direct entry into the State Championships.
The State Track & Field Championships and is usually held on the third full weekend in March each year at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre.
Parents are encouraged to have a look at the State program to ensure your child is available on the date the event is scheduled at State. The State program being run over 2 days with 24 competitors in each event is a big schedule and there are some clashes. For details click on the following link: State Track & Field Championship This will give you more information regarding the State Championships and the complete program for each day.
Australian Little Athletics Championships
Athletes are selected in the U13 age group, based on performances from the State Championships. Only 22 athletes are selected, so in most cases athletes are selected who are able to achieve highly at state in more than 1 event. Cherrybrook has had club members in this team almost every season over the past 10 years. ALAC involves 2 training camps as well as the championships. Good luck to this year’s Under 13s.
Three girls and three boys in the U15 age group are also selected based on their performances at the State Combined Carnival.
Follow the link below for more information, or speak to Naomi Moore or Jenny Bishop who have both had children selected for ALAC
Australian Little Athletics Championships
State Multi-Event Championships
State Multi-Event Championships are held on the first full weekend in March each year usually at a Country venue. .
This is a multi event competition for individual competitors. Each athlete competes in 6 events – 3 on each day. Times and distances are converted to points which are added together to determine the place getters. Events vary slightly for each age group, so click on the link for full details: State Multi-Event Championships
State Cross-Country & Road Walk Championships
The State Cross Country & Road Walks are held on the first Sunday in July each year.
State Cross Country is open online entry for athletes ages U7-U17, and Road walks is open for age groups from U9’s and up. The venue alternates between a Sydney and a regional course each year. Athletes compete over various distances depending on age from 800m up to 4km. Click on the link for more details: State Cross-Country & Road Walk Championships
For further information regarding Championships, please contact
Jane Wegener (Junior Championships Coordinator)
or
Neridah Burke (Championship assistant).