Administration. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Charters Towers and wish them the best for the new season.

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1 Contents November 2013 President s Corner... 1 From The CEO... 1 Administration... 2 Development & Coaching. 4 Competition & Officials.. 5 Mailout Attachments... 7 Checklist For Centres... 7 From The Sponsors... 7 President s Corner I trust all Summer Centres are now up and running and looking forward to a great season. At this stage, registrations are looking very good, although not where we were this time last year. But that is to be expected after an Olympic year, particularly after a year where we had a 30% increase over the year before. In saying that though, we will very easily have a record post Olympic year. I congratulate all the Centres for this, as it means most of the new registrations last year registered again this year. Our Association carnivals have started with a bang. The Medibank Senior Carnival and Junior Pentathlon was held on Sunday, with over 790 athletes competing. It was a very hot day but we thank everyone for attending and hope the athletes enjoyed the day. Nominations for the McDonald s Regional Relays are also looking very good, so once again I congratulate all the Centres for getting behind these competitions, and getting these very good results. At the Little Athletics Australia Board meeting in Geelong last week, we spent a lot of time on the proposed merger between LAA and Athletics Australia. The Board of LAA still have quite a few concerns regarding the merger, particularly with the business case put forward by KPMG, and the Heads of Agreement (HOA) put forward by the Australian Sports Commission. We have told the ASC that we are not able to meet their deadline of the end of October to sign the HOA, so they have put it of until the end of November. One point we are pushing very hard is that no formal agreement will take place until all States have taken it back to their members to vote on. So until then, if we do agree to sign the HOA, all the benefits and disadvantages of a full merger will be well advertised, and I am sure there will be plenty of debate before our LAQ conference vote. With most McDonald s Regional Relays on the weekend of the 9 th and 10 th of November, we are not able get a Board member out to visit every Region. We wish every Region all the best for a successful, and no doubt busy, Relays competition. In closing, congratulations once again to all Centres for a great start to the season, and I look forward to catching up again soon. From The CEO Tony Northey Nordic Sport Sponsors Junior Carnival & Senior Pentathlon I am pleased to announce Nordic Sport is now the naming rights sponsor for the Junior Carnival & Senior Pentathlon. This carnival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and it is great to have one of LAQ s most loyal sponsors as the official sponsor of the event. Nordic Sport has been the association s equipment supplier for the past 8 years and Neal Pitman and his team have been incredibly

2 easy to work with during that time. We re looking forward to working with Neal more in the future so do not hesitate to contact them for all of your equipment needs. It d be much appreciated if you could support the company that directly supports Little Athletics in Queensland! Thanks Nordic Sport. Little Athletics Australia Roll of Excellence Congratulations to Andrea Harvey and Sally Pearson for both being inducted into the LAA Roll of Excellence this year. Andrea and Sally received their awards at a gala dinner celebrating the 50 th year of Little Athletics in Australia at its birthplace in the city of Geelong last month. Sally was inducted into the Sportsperson s category and Andrea into the Volunteer category in recognition of their outstanding achievements to the sport in their respective fields. Congratulations to Sally and Andrea! 2013 Queensland Sports Awards Two former Little Athletics athletes have also been selected as finalists in the 2013 Queensland Sports Awards. Rheed McCracken has been selected as a finalist in both the Junior Sports Star and Sports Star with a Disability categories and Sally Pearson will be going head to head with a start studded field in the Queensland Sports Star award category. Good luck to Rheed and Sally. Pinkletics is on Again! Centres wishing to take part in this year s Pinkletics fund raiser for breast cancer can visit pinkletics2013.gofundraise.com.au Registrations are filling quickly, so make sure you register soon so your Centre can be part of the Pinkletics magic in support of the McGrath Foundation! If your Centre registers now, you can still elect to receive a Pinkletics kit bursting with pink goodies and worth over $250! 50 pairs of McGrath Foundation shoelaces 50 face paint sticks 50 McGrath Foundation silicon wristbands 50 participation ribbons 20 McGrath Foundation balloons 3 collection boxes The McGrath Foundation currently have 87 McGrath Breast Care Nurses supporting families right across Australia through their breast cancer experience this is more than halfway to their goal of 150 McGrath Breast Care Nurses, so we still need your help! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with a member of the McGrath Foundation Community Friends Team on (02) or at pinkletics@mcgrathfoundation.com.au Strategic Plan The latest draft of the Little Athletics Queensland Strategic Plan is now available on the LAQ website in the Policies and Plans page. Please have your say in the future of the sport and provide any comments or feedback to s.cook@laq.org.au The Plan outlines our strategies for the next 3 years and provides a blueprint for the development of our Centres, members, volunteers and ultimately our sport. Your advice is more than welcome. Welcome Shane Thomas I am pleased to announce that Shane Thomas has officially started in his role as Regional Support Officer Met West for LAQ. Centres in the Met West Region please don t hesitate to contact Shane to welcome him to Little Athletics and discuss how he can assist your Centre. Welcome aboard Shane! Simon Cook Administration New Centre Charters Towers The Association would like to welcome its newest Centre to the Little Athletics Family. Charters Towers Little Athletics Centre will form part of the North Queensland Region. There has been a lot of work already undertaken by the new Committee and they will be holding their first sign on in February 2014, in preparation for their start this coming Winter season. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Charters Towers and wish them the best for the new season. All Centres in the North Queensland Region will find an updated list of Centres and contact details enclosed with this mailout. 2013/2014 Summer Centre Registrations As the Summer season has well and truly commenced, we remind all Centres to regularly send in their athlete registrations and payments. At the start of the season, where registrations are being taken rather frequently, we encourage you to send them into the LAQ Office every two (2) weeks. All registrations must be provided through Team Manager. Once Centres have exported their athlete roster from Team Manager they will need to attach it to an and send it to info@laq.org.au Centres will need to complete a Registration Receipt Form with your athlete roster. An electronic copy of the Registration Receipt Form can be found on the LAQ website under Resources > Centre Forms & Information. Payment for registrations can be made by cheque or direct deposit. Enclosed in this mailout for all Summer Centres, is an up to date list of registrations that have been received by the LAQ Office. If your 2

3 Centre has any issues with these figures, please contact Ngaire in the LAQ Office. If your Centre requires assistance with the Team Manager program, please contact Ngaire in the LAQ Office. Transferring Athletes Centres that have an athlete that wishes to transfer to a different Centre in the same season must complete a transfer form. The steps involved in submitting a transfer form are: The Centre Registrar of the losing Centre must complete the Notice for Clearance & Transfer Between Centres Form and give it to the athlete that is transferring from the Centre. The athlete then hands this form to the Centre Registrar of the gaining Centre The Notice for Clearance & Transfer between Centre Form should then be sent into the LAQ Office by the gaining Centre Notice for Clearance & Transfer Between Centre Forms can be found on the website under Resources > Centre Forms and Information or in the Centre Returns Booklet which are provided to all Centres at the start of the season. Team Manager Workshops Winter Centres Team Manager workshops are currently being planned for the 2014/2015 winter season. If your Centre is interested in hosting a Team Manager workshop or able to suggest a suitable venue for the workshop to be held, please send an to info@laq.org.au An ideal workshop venue would be in a room able to seat 11 people at tables, have access to power and a clean wall or screen for a data projector. State Team Eligibility Winter Centres A final reminder for Winter Centres to return your State Team Eligibility Forms so that your U13 and U15 athletes can be considered for selection in the 2014 LAQ State Team. Queensland Athletics Come and Try Day - Sunday 17 th November Queensland Athletics and Little Athletics Queensland are proud to present the Little Athletics Open Day, The Open Day will be held on Sunday 17 th November and LAQ members will be able to come and try senior athletics for FREE! All you need to do is register for the event online via the Queensland Athletics website The day will be for Little Athletics athletes born in 1999, 2000, 2001 and All athletes who attend the day will be greeted by the friendly staff at Queensland Athletics who will be there to provide assistance on the day and information about transitioning into senior athletics. Little Athletics members who attend the day will get the chance to meet with our Queensland Olympians and Australian National Champions, some of whom are former Little Athletics athletes themselves! They include: Andrew McCabe Australian 200m Champion & Olympian Alana Boyd (Maroochy LAC) Australian Pole Vault Champion & Olympian Ashy Reid (Bli Bli LAC) Australian High Jump Champion Carlee Beattie Australian Champion, World Record Holder & Paralympic Medallist Long Jump Linda Leverton (Algester LAC) Australian Champion World Cup & World Uni Games Triple Jump Algester LAC Craig Burns (Browns Plains LAC) World Championships Finalist 4x400m Browns Plains LAC Nik Bojic (Balmoral LAC) World Uni Games Finallist High Jump Balmoral LAC These Queensland Olympians and Australian National Champions will be found in the athlete fan zone, here little athletics members will be able to interact, meet and get autographs from these talented Queensland Athletes, plus more to be announced! There will be a variety of events on offer for Little Athletics athletes to participate in as well as some showcase senior events for your spectating pleasure. Events on offer are include Sprint Hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, Long Jump, Javelin and Shot Put Competition begins at 12.30pm, gates open at 11am. So visit to register to be a part of this exciting day, and we will see you on Sunday 17 th November at the QLD Sport and Athletics Centre, for some fun exiting athletics action! Medibank Healthy Centre Tip Now that the summer sign ons are starting to subside, it s time to start thinking about your Centre s equipment needs for the season ahead. All Centres should have an up to date stocktake of all their equipment for use as both a financial record and as an insurance compliance. Once you ve done a stocktake of all your equipment (and assets) you can send the total amount to LAQ if it is over $150,000 so we can send it on to our insurers 3

4 to make sure you are covered. Our insurers cover up to $150,000 worth of equipment as standard but will cover more if you provide the stocktake to them. If your Centre does need more equipment consider applying to the multitude of grants available for assistance. Most grants are pretty straight forward and once you ve done one it is a lot easier to do more without having to start from scratch. A list of grants is available on the LAQ website. In terms of suppliers, LAQ has an arrangement with Nordic Sport who are more than happy to provide advice and a quote for your equipment needs. Nordic have been a well respected provider for many years and stock the latest equipment for Little Athletics Centres. Neal and his team have been supplying equipment to LAQ Centres for a long time and will help with anything from the smallest order for starting caps to the largest order for high jump mats, marquees and even synthetic surfaces for run ups and tracks. Speaking of the latest equipment, enclosed with this mailout is a new product that makes life so much easier at the finish line at your Centre competitions. If you haven t used a multi-lane timer, you really need to! Neal has wireless timers that make the job of time keeping a breeze. So call the friendly team at Nordic Sport on , they re only too happy to help! LAQ Office Closure The LAQ Office will close for the Christmas and New Year break on Friday 20 th December and will reopen on Monday 6 th January Shannon Kruger & Ngaire Hollands Development & Coaching McDonald s All Comers Coaching Clinics During the month of October, LAQ held five McDonald s All Comers Coaching Clinics. Details are as follows: South Burnett 3 rd October 30 athletes Noosa 3 rd October 30 athletes Noosa 19 th October 30 athletes Maleny 26 th October 35 athletes Ipswich 27 th October 45 athletes We also have clinics scheduled at Highfields on the 9 th November and Redcliffe (date to be confirmed). The All Comer Clinics format has been reviewed and as of January 2014 a new format for the clinics will be introduced. For those Centres who have already booked in for a clinic in 2014, we will be in touch to advise of the changes. Clinics can be held at any time throughout the season and LAQ will try to accommodate all requests received. Simply fill out the application form and return it to the LAQ Office Comfort Inn & Suites Robertson Gardens Summer Coaching Camp The 2014 Comfort Inn & Suites Robertson Gardens Summer Coaching Camp will be held at Maranatha Recreation Camp located at Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. Details of the camp are as follows: Date: Monday 13 th to Thursday 16 th of January Cost: Boarders: $ Day Attendees: $ The closing date for nominations is 20 th December 2013 and no late nominations will be accepted. The camp caters for athletes in the U7 to U17 age groups and all skill levels in a fun and social environment. Qualified and experienced personnel and coaches provide full supervision and coaching throughout the entire camp. Athletes also have the opportunity to get to know other athletes in their age from across Queensland. Enclosed with this mailout is a poster advertising the camp. We ask that all Centres help promote this camp by displaying it on your Centre s noticeboard. For nomination forms or more information please visit the LAQ website or contact Gerrard or Shaun at the LAQ Office. Medibank Introduction to Coaching Courses (ITC) During the month of October, LAQ held five ITC Courses. Details are as follows: Ipswich 6 th October 4 people Wamuran 12 th October 4 people The Gap 13 th October 19 people Border Blues 19 th October 8 people Nambour 27 th October 9 people There are another 8 courses planned for the remainder of the year so far. Courses to be held in the coming months include: Pittsworth 10 th November University of the Sunshine Coast 16 th November Forest Lake 17 th November Maleny 23 rd November Sunnybank 24 th November Eidsvold 1 st December Nambour 27 th October We would like to acknowledge the continuing support from Medibank 4

5 who have so generously allowed us to run the courses again this year for half price. We would also like to thank all of the participants of the courses conducted this year for giving up your valuable time in order to learn a bit more about our sport and how to help our athletes develop For further information, please contact Shaun Lethem on or s.lethem@laq.org.au McDonald s Development Squads This program is currently under review and as such for the 2013 Winter season and the 2013/2014 Summer season, the clinics and squad will not be operational. We envisage having the review completed in the coming months and a new format with fresh ideas introduced in the 2014 Winter season. We are looking forward to rolling out the new look program in Shaun Lethem & Gerrard Keating Competition & Officials Medibank Senior Carnival & Junior Pentathlon We went into this competition with a huge number of nominations and over 790 athletes turned up to compete. Thankfully a number of experienced and new Officials stepped forward to assist where they could, making the competition a successful one, albeit a late one. We thank all parents and athletes for their patience and overall understanding while the Officials worked through the huge numbers of athletes. To the Officials we say a HUGE thank you for your tireless work on the arena during some trying times. The U9 & U10 athletes are to be congratulated with a number of Officials commenting on how well behaved they were in such large numbers. Many personal best performances were recorded by the athletes despite the hot weather. Ten athletes recorded twelve QPBs between them. Included in this mailout are the performance certificates for all competing athletes and a full list of results for those Centres who had athletes comepeting. Centres may request a Team Manager Results Import file for their Centre athletes by ing k.lunt@laq.org.au Results are also posted on the LAQ website. Congratulations to Barry Cox (Redlands), Danny Taylor (Helensvale) and Peter Finney (Arana), who each won a Myer gift card for officiating at Sunday s competition. These Officials will now go into the major draw that will be announced at the IGA State Championships in March. McDonalds Regional Relays & IGA State Relays All dates and venues are locked in for the McDonald s Regional Relays and nominations have closed. Good luck to all competing athletes, don t forget to thank the Officials for without them you would not have the competition. Remember to Be Your Best. Officials, we thank you in advance for your dedication to our sport and our young members. We hope you enjoy your time on the arena. New Officials, when you go to an event, make sure you have a water bottle, sunscreen, a hat, closed in shoes and wet weather gear, you just never know what our weather will bring. Please brush up on the rules and the Code of Conduct prior to an event; even the most experienced Officials will do this as part of their preparations. The following Regions will compete on Saturday 9 th November: Central Coast Bundaberg LAC Met North - Aspley LAC South East - SAF, Nathan Sun Coast - Deception Bay LAC The following Regions will compete on Sunday 10 th November: Met West - UQ St Lucia South Coast - Helensvale LAC The following Region will compete on Sunday 17 th November: Downs & Sth West - Upper Lockyer LAC The following are handy hints that could be quite useful for new and experienced Team Managers leading into the Regional & State Relays: Remind parents and athletes about turning up to the Relays in full uniform 45 minutes before the program time. You could also ask them to phone on the day if they cannot make it Extract and take with you a report of the competitors family contact phone numbers from Team Manager Create or take blank stickers for the U7 U9 s, so they go to the Call Room (marshaling area) with printed or written details showing which team (a or b) and which order they are running Have some spare registration numbers and age labels on hand at the competition for those that have been forgotten or lost Have a full list of nominating athletes at hand. This can be an Entry Report from your Team Manager database Make sure you take the original nominating forms, these can be very useful if you need to settle a nomination dispute Take with you a copy of the Competition Handbook to the Relays, or at the very least, the Relay pages from the handbook Organise another member of your Centre to help you manage the Teams; it can be a big job but when shared it is not so daunting 5

6 Enlist the help of a parent to take U7 - U9 s to the Call Room (marshalling area) or field event Have your athletes Best Performance list to hand to the Regional Recorder before the first event (used in case events are cancelled or if a countback cannot split equaled placed teams) Once the McDonald s Regional Relays have been conducted and the LAQ Office receives the results, we will commence processing the top 3 teams in the U9 U17 age groups that have qualified to progress to the 2013 IGA State Relays being held 14 th December. Please note: A word document file shall be sent to the Centres addresses that have been provided. The file must be reviewed and a confirmation of progressing teams must be sent via return or fax within the requested timeframe. Confirmation of athlete s allocations to Centre teams that were equal placed should be provided e.g. if four (4) U11 girls from your Centre placed in Discus, the athletes should be allocated to teams A and B according to the Regional Relay results. Centres may advise on the declaration return, the details of athletes that may be used as reserves at the State Relays. Remember, such athletes must have competed at the Regional Relays. IGA State Relay souvenir polo shirt orders close on Wednesday 27 th November and all orders must be submitted by the Centre Committee. Please ensure full payment accompanies your Centre order. Cheques must be made payable to Nordic Sport. Further information on these souvenir shirts is available on the LAQ website. AWD Athletes As a trial at the 2013 IGA State Championships, classified AWD (athletes with disabilities) are accepted to compete in limited events under their own classification. These events and will be determined by the Competition Committee. An appendix to the LAQ Competition Handbook detailing the classifications and rules for AWD participation will be made available soon. Members who would like to review the draft rules and offer comment, can request a copy through the LAQ Office. Comments and suggestions are required by the 19 th of November and will be tabled for the Competition Committee s consideration. Summer Centre Uniforms Some Summer Centres are again having difficulty keeping up with uniform supplies due to increased registrations or newly approved uniforms not being ready. Centres that have these difficulties leading into LAQ competitions, shall be granted exception for some of the uniform rules. This will only apply to the athletes that have not been able to purchase a uniform due to circumstances beyond their control. If the supply of uniforms cannot be resolved for your athletes before the McDonald s Regional Relays, a list of nominating athletes without uniforms must be provided to the Regional Competition Co-ordionator and to the LAQ Office. The athletes still need to wear a SunSafe shirt, their registration number and the age and sponsor labels (these can be pinned on). Officials C Grade Accreditation Assessments Do you want to upgrade your accreditation or encourage members of your Centre to further their accreditation? The Regional and State Relays can provide opportunities to book the required practical assessments. The LAQ Office or your Regional Competition Co-ordinator should be advised as soon as possible if practical assessments are required so that assessments can be approved and organised Any C Grade Practical Assessment Cards completed by unauthorised assessors will not be processed. Race Walking Judges Workshop and Athletes Clinic The Walks Workshop (for officials and parents) and Clinic (for athletes) are conducted free of charge, and should be completed within 1 ½ - 2hrs. The will run concurrently and the Judges Workshop will provide education on How to Judge while athletes will be taken through some coaching drills and shown the basics. At the conclusion of the workshops and clinic, it is planned to conduct races so that the participating athletes have an opportunity to record a legal time or best performance that can be used when nominating for the Bendigo Bank Regional Championships. Also, the races will allow the officials and parents to gain some practical judging with experienced judges. The scheduled dates and venues for these sessions are listed below. Registration forms can be found on the Competition / Upcoming Events pages of the LAQ website & Officials Workshop webpage. Redcliffe LAC 16 th November at 10am Noosa LAC 2nd February at 10am Karen & Bianca Lunt 6

7 Mailout Attachments Registration figures summary (Summer Centres only) From The Sponsors Bendigo Bank 2014 / 2015 Sign On Form (Winter Centres only) Medibank Senior Carnival & Junior Pentathlon results and certificates (participating Centres only) Poster Comfort Inn & Suites Robertson Gardens Summer Coaching Camp Poster - QA Come & Try Day (Summer Centres only) Poster Nordic Sport Multi Lane Timer Wireless Receivers & Buttons Checklist For Centres Items due in November January to LAQ Summer Centre minutes and Treasurers Reports ongoing Officials Accreditation Workshop Host Applications ASAP IGA State Relay nominations 25/11/13 IGA State Relay Souvenir Shirt Order 27/11/13 Winter Centre minutes and Treasurers Reports ongoing Officials Accreditation Workshop Host Applications ASAP 2014/2015 Sign On Form 24/1/ /2015 Centre & Committee Membership Form 24/1/14 IGA State Relay nominations 25/11/13 IGA State Relay Souvenir Shirt Order 27/11/13 7