It has been some time since Little Athletics Victoria hosted a State event in the Gippsland Country Region. The State Multi-Event Championships 2015 certainly received a warm welcome from LaTrobe City at the Joe Carmody Athletics Track. The local council and venue staff were very supportive and played a crucial role in helping to create another successful State Championships.
After oppressive conditions in Bendigo last year, the mild weather in Moe was much appreciated and made for perfect track conditions. A light drizzle each day was nothing compared to the torrential rains that washed across Melbourne over the weekend.
The Multi-Event is always an exciting spectacle with sprints, jumps and throws conducted at any one time. This year’s event was keenly contested with over 650 athletes in the U9 to U16 age groups taking part. The U10 and U11 age groups were the best represented with over 130 athletes each.
The weekend’s event program began promptly at 8.30am on Saturday morning with participants from 70 Centres from around Victoria taking part. The first day was action-packed and very well-supported with the younger age groups competing throughout the day. Multi-Events are one of the toughest athletic events around and it is always great to see so many well-rounded Little Athletes giving their all in each discipline. It is certainly a strong reflection of our Centres and their coaching programs.
The U14 – U16 age groups kicked off their events after lunch with their program spread across the two days. The camaraderie and support shown within these groups was fantastic to watch. Athletes were cheering and clapping each other on throughout each discipline; it was a fine display of what Little Athletics is all about!
The State Multi-Event also acts as a selection trial for the U15 Victorian team that will represent Victoria at the annual Australian Little Athletic Championships (ALAC). The ALAC is a one day Championships that incorporates both the Australian Teams Championships (ATC) for the U13 athletes and the Australian Multi-Event Championships (AMEC) for the U15 athletes. This year the Championships will be hosted at WA Athletics Stadium in Perth on Sunday, 26 April. The State Track & Field Championships in March act as the qualifier for the U13 team selection process.
Sunday’s event program saw the U12-U13 age groups take to the track in the morning for their first events. A few technical difficulties with the Live Results data were rectified while the athletes were warming up. Little Athletics Victoria have a great finish line team who work hard to get the results up as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t always play fair! Once the Live Results were back online, the program for Day Two proceeded like clockwork. The final medal presentations were started in the early afternoon, with athlete’s family and supporters given a prime viewpoint to watch and snap away.
There were certainly a lot of tired bodies at the end of the weekend – athletes, parents, volunteers and officials alike! Thanks to the dedication of all our Centre Team Managers and the fantastic parents who volunteered their time over the weekend, the event program progressed quickly and smoothly throughout both days.
Congratulations to all the athletes who gave it their all and put in an amazing effort at this year’s Multis. LAVic would also like to thank everyone for their continued support of this event and we look forward to seeing you at Track & Field Championships at Lakeside Stadium in March.
Event photos are available here:
http://bit.ly/1LK0MsVEvent results are available here:
http://bit.ly/1zRg8W1
