About

INTRODUCTION

Ginninderra Little Athletics Centre is the competition name, our club oval is situated on Lhotsky Street, Charnwood ACT. GLAC is affiliated with the ACT Little Athletics Association as one of fifteen affiliated ACT and South Eastern NSW Centres.

Little Athletics in the ACT is available to children aged between 5 and 17 years of age. Age group is dependent on the age of the athlete at midnight on 30 September at the start of the season, ie an athlete turning 6 during September competes in the U7 group age whereas an athlete turning 6 during October competes in the U6 age group. Children can register providing they turn 5 prior to 31 March in the current season. Proof of age is required for all new athletes. (i.e. those not previously registered with an ACTLAA affiliated centre.)

All athletes competing in Centre or Association events must be registered with the Association.

CODE OF CONDUCT

PARENT CODE OF CONDUCT

  • Encourage children to participate in all events
  • Focus on children’s efforts and performance rather than the overall outcome of the event
  • Children participate for enjoyment (THEIRS!).
  • Encourage children to participate according to the rules.
  • Never ridicule or yell at a child for making a mistake or losing an event.
  • Applaud good efforts by all athletes: children learn best from example.
  • If you disagree with an official, raise the issue through the appropriate channels rather than questioning the official’s judgement and honesty in public.  Officials are volunteers.
  • Avoid the use of derogatory or degrading language.
  • DON'T stand back and criticise, get in and HELP OUR children.

ATHLETE CODE OF CONDUCT

  • GLAC is there for your health, fitness and fun.
  • Play for the fun of it and not just to please parents and/or coaches.
  • To do your best is all anyone can ask of you
  • Co-operate with your Marshal/Coach, without them there would be no competition
  • Treat all athletes as you would like to be treated.  Remember YOU are part of a CLUB.

If you wouldn't do it at home, don't do it here.

ACT Little Athletics "Code of Behaviour" policy click here

UNIFORMS

The centre uniform consists of a yellow and black T-shirt with black shorts or scungees, or a black and yellow body suit. Centre uniforms should be worn at all centre events and MUST be worn at ALL Association carnivals and Championships. On registration with the centre, age patches and registration numbers will be supplied and must be sewn on to the front of the Centre T-shirts or body suit.

FOOTWEAR

Shoes MUST be worn in all GLAC and ACTLAA run events and, for safety, should be worn at all times whilst at Charnwood Oval. Spiked shoes may be worn by athletes in the Under 9 and above age groups in events run entirely in lanes and High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump and Javelin (no spikes to be worn in 800m or 1500m events or walks). Spiked shoes may carry a maximum needle length of 7mm for synthetic track events, 9mm for grass surfaces. For track events, the spikes may only be put on immediately prior to the start of the event and must be removed on completion of the event and while the athletes are still in their lanes.

A spike is any sharp protrusion from the shoe whether metal or plastic, screw-in or permanent. Spiked shoes include any shoe capable of taking spikes whether these spikes are fitted or removed. This includes the replacement of the spikes with blanks.

SUN & WEATHER PROTECTION

Due to their open nature, all sportsgrounds including Charnwood can have extremely variable weather conditions. Please ensure that your children have adequate clothing for the cold as well as sun protection. This is particularly important for athletes choosing to wear bodysuits. Bodysuits must only be worn uncovered whilst actually competing.

ADDITIONALLY, PARENTS SHOULD ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CHILD HAS A FULL WATER BOTTLE as it is very easy to dehydrate when competing.

SATURDAY MORNINGS

Warmups commence at 8.45, ready for a 9am start each Saturday morning of competition. It is expected that most age groups will complete their 5 programmed events between 11am and 12 noon. This will depend upon age group size, events participated in, and level of parental assistance. It is essential that athletes arrive on time to ensure they have an adequate warm up to prevent injury, and also to get through the program before it becomes too hot.

WET WEATHER
Except in cases of extremely bad weather, a modified program is usually run for those who attend. To confirm whether competition is on, the shed may be rung after 8.15am (Saturdays) on 6259 9085.

NEWSLETTER

A newsletter is produced to keep parents and children up to date with important information on a regular basis. A notice board hung on the shed gate is also used to provide information regarding upcoming events. Please check the board regularly to keep fully informed about activities.

CANTEEN

The canteen sells cool drinks, sweets and ice blocks, along with a sausage sizzle, at competitive prices. The canteen will be operating at all scheduled competitions (providing volunteers are available). Profits from the canteen go towards providing financial assistance to the athletes who may be selected in ACT Representative teams (sanctioned by ACTAA or ACTLAA) for national competitions.

LOST PROPERTY

Any lost property will be stored in the shed. At regular intervals it will be donated to charities if it is unclaimed.

SICK CHILDREN
If your child is sick PLEASE do not send them along to competition. Also, your child should NOT compete with an injury (even if supported or taped) or if they have suffered a recent asthma attack.

FIRST AID

A competent first aid officer is on duty at each meeting. If injury occurs, please ask for help immediately and fill out an injury form, available at the canteen. Ice is available at the canteen for the treatment of injuries.

TICKETS

Each child receives a ticket for each event they compete in. These tickets display times or distances and should be glued into their event ticket book. They are primarily for recognition of improvement by the child from week to week.

Merit badges are awarded for the completion of 50, 100, 200 and 300 events. On reaching these number of events and to obtain a badge, your child must hand in their ticket booklet, with the tickets stuck in, to the Registrars. The Registrars will collect the booklet(s) one week and return it (them) with the badge the next. As the ticket count is cumulative, make sure that the previous season books are also presented. All tickets received whilst competing in LAs competitions (not just at our club) should be presented. For athletes with 400, 500, 600 or 700 tickets, medals/trophies are awarded on presentation day.

TRAINING

Training is held at Charnwood Oval on Tuesdays from 5:30pm to 6:30pm throughout the season, except over the Christmas break. All age groups are welcome at these sessions and every effort will be made to cater training to individual skill and fitness levels. The focus will be on event specific training while keeping the sessions fun. The event specific training schedules will be released at regular intervals during the season.Parent help at training is greatly appreciated. The coaches are happy to show you how you can help with basic coaching techniques. For more information on coaching, or on coaching courses, please contact our Head Coach.