Sport
30 September, 2024
'A fun and welcoming environment'; Horsham little athletics season to begin
There is a come and try night in Horsham on October 2.
Children of all ages will dust off their running shoes as the little athletics season is just around the corner.
The Horsham centre is hosting a come-and-try night at Dudley Cornell Park on Wednesday, October 2, before the season begins on October 9.
"The preparation has been good; the lines are all marked, and everything is ready to go for this season," Horsham Little Athletics president Peta Bond said.
"[Come and Try Night] begins at 5.15pm, and you can either rock up or parents can register through the Little Athletics Victoria website."
Registration for the come and try night allows athletes to have two free trial nights before registering for the season.
Last season started with about 130 athletes, a number Bond hopes to build on.
"Being an Olympic year, we really hope that lots of kids have been watching the Olympics and watching their heroes and want to come and give athletics a crack," she said.
"It's a really good foundation for all sports because you learn sprinting, running, and bounding, all those skills that come into those team sports later in life.
"If you look at some of your heroes that play AFL, Super Netball or even basketball, a majority of those athletes would have come through the little athletics system."
For Bond, it is about individual athletes improving their scores and standards.
"It's a very fun and welcoming environment, so you don't have to be the best at anything to come to little athletics. It is very much inclusive, and it's just all about teaching those foundational skills," she said.
"We focus really on children achieving their personal bests."
Major events for the upcoming season include the region relay carnival in Ballarat on Saturday, November 16-17.
The region track and field carnival will be held in Warrnambool on Saturday, February 15-16, 2025.