Knox Little Athletics Centre Inc.

Following on from Sunday 18th October, where Daniel Andrews, the Victorian Premier, made a series of comments in reference to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions including the Premier flagging the recommencement of community sport in metropolitan Melbourne as part of the ‘Third Step’ to take effect at 11.59pm on 1st November. Little Athletics Victoria today provided an update to Metro Centres on the Premiers Comments.

LAVic provided the following advice

• LAVic have advised metropolitan centres to take these comments into account and to start preparation to commence the seasons.
• It’s expected that the protocols for the conduct of community sport will be finalised by the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), and Sport & Recreation Victoria (SRV), to be adapted for practical application to Little Athletics by LAVic, in coming days.
• For Centre planning purposes, the protocols currently set out for regional Victorian Centres will provide a useful guide for what metro Centres are expected to comply with.
• Metro Centres are advised to finalise their affiliation arrangements well in advance of 2nd November.
• Centres are strongly encouraged to reach out to their member families to advise them that the commencement of Little Athletics season 20/21 may not be far away.

The above is positive news and provides some clarity that a season start may not be far away. If you want further information on the LAVic covid protocols you can go here https://lavic.com.au/covid-19/

What has Knox LAC been doing?

We have been busy over the past few weeks preparing for the season. We have drafted our covid safety protocols in line with above advice, noting that changes may be made in the coming days; we have been through the affiliation process with LAVic and supplied all necessary documentation for us to get up and running for training and competition as soon as we permitted to do so.

There will be further information over the coming weeks on our Covid 19 protocols and what it means for Little Aths at Knox for the season start. Be prepared that Little Aths is going to be different, from how enter the venue to how competition is run and it will take some time to get used to it.

We have also been liaising with Council to ensure that our protocols to train and compete are acceptable and meet councils requirements as a tenant. This has been the same for other tenants a the venue.

A Knox LAC competition calendar is being drafted which will help us plan what the season will look like prior to and after Christmas and how we will fit our competition in with regional and state events on from January to March. We will release the draft calendar dates soon so people can start to prepare.

New equipment has arrived, including the recently purchased handheld radios for centre communications that was funded by the recently received Coles Grant. New competition equipment has also been purchased and has arrived to replace some ageing equipment we have.

Track Access for Exercise

Following the announcement on Sunday that exercise at outdoor facilities can start, there has been a number of calls about access to the track. It must be stressed that we do not yet have access to the track to train nor is the public permitted at the track at this point in time. It is a council operated facility and we do not have control on access. Please be patient.

Council are still working through the requirements they need to have in place to allow people to use the track safely in accordance with the government guidelines. The track this point in time is still locked. We will advise everyone once council have given the go ahead and unlocked the track for general exercise. Please do not jump the fence to gain access if the track is locked.

There is also some track maintenance to be undertaken prior to the start of the season so track access may also be limited while this occurs.

Please be assured we are working closely with everyone to get our season underway when we are permitted to do so.

LAVic have released the season calendar for the 2020-21 Season.

The calendar is subject to change due to the ongoing Covid 19 however it is a positive step in getting a season up an running.

Knox LAC will be using this calendar to finalise our centre competition Calendar. We will be developing a centre competition calendar to best balance the centre needs as well the health an well being of our centre, parents and athletes. There will be further information in the coming weeks.

The factors that have influenced the competition calendar this year are more complex than normal, however, some fundamentals remain.  It has been developed to provide opportunities for our athletes, minimise clashes with other athletic organisations, provide adequate resources to deliver the programs in terms of our volunteer workforce and their capacity, balance the needs of participation at Centre level compared to Region / State opportunities, maintain an attractive athletic experience for athletes, parents, coaches, officials, administrators and committee members at all levels.

However, it must be understood, that this season it will require, us a Centre, parents, athletes, coaches and officials to carefully consider the most appropriate method of participation in order to look after the health and wellbeing of all concerned. 

The period of increased demand on everyone’s time and effort is extended over the months of January to April.  All Region, State and National events are condensed into this period, along with State and National events for both Athletics Victoria (AV) and Athletics Australia (AA).

For further information on the calendar you can head to the LAVic website here.

You can download the 2020-21 season calendar here

Knox Little Athletics Centre has been given a much-needed funding boost for its upcoming season thanks to a $4,800 grant from Coles.

Knox LAC was one of 158 grassroots sports club across Australia to share in $521,000 for sports equipment from the latest round of the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund.

It is the single largest round of grants distributed to Little Athletics centres since the Fund was established two years ago to support little athletes hoping to follow in the footsteps of champions like Sally Pearson and Brandon Starc.

The grant comes amid research from the Australian Sports Foundation in July which found that over 16,000 local sports clubs were at risk of closing due to reduced revenues and increased costs arising from COVID-19.

Our President David Kearsley said the grant to purchase new radios, speakers and microphones will help get its athletes and volunteers back on track after a tough year.“The grant will have a huge impact to our centre. The equipment will enable our centre to run competitions more efficiently, improving the experience of both volunteers and athletes,” he said.

Coles State General Manager Mark O’Connor said Coles was pleased to support Knox’s budding athletes and parent volunteers. “We know it’s been a difficult six months for everyone involved in community sport, particularly little athletes. We hope news of this grant of more than $4,800 to Knox Little Athletics centre will give their athletes, families and volunteers a morale boost ahead of the new season,” he said. “Coles is passionate about helping kids lead healthier, happier lives. That’s why we’re delighted to have raised more than $363,000 in Victoria and $1.68 million nationally for local sports clubs through the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund in just two years.”

Funds for the grant are raised through the sale of specially marked chiller bags designed by Aussie kids, with ten per cent of every bag sold directed to the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund. Coles has raised more than $1.68 million to 376 Little Athletics centres across the country since November 2018.

Knox LAC thanks Coles for supporting Little Athletics and providing the grant to our centre.

LAVic has sent through some further updates for upcoming season.

Season Start and Return to Training

LAVic have confirmed this morning in a memo to Centres:

Metropolitan Melbourne Centres are not legally permitted to conduct competition or training activities, including coaching, at the current time. Following the Premier’s announcement on Sunday 27th September, it’s likely that metro Melbourne Centres may be able to commence authorised training and competition activities at/around 19th October

This is a positive move and provides some further information on a possible start date. The Executive Committee is currently working on a draft season calendar for the 2020-21 season and will communicated to members once dates are locked in and LAVic have confirmed that the season can begin.

At this stage the registration portal is not open to metro centres. Once the registration portal is open we will advise members as soon a possible.

Training / Competition Covid Protocols

LAVic has release the ‘Regional Victoria Competition & Training Protocols Framework 28.09.20 v3.0’. These outline the protocols by which regional Centres can commence their 20/21 Summer Track & Field Seasons.

Please note these protocols are for regional centres only and do not yet apply to metro centre including Knox LAC. However we are hopeful that these will be the basis of the protocols for metro centres. The Knox LAC Executive will be reviewing the protocols and keeping a close eye on any updates as we move closer to a season start. Further advice on the protocols and how they will effect our centre will be provided over the coming weeks.

Knox LAC already has a number of COVID Safe officials that were in place for the return to training earlier in the year. We will be reaching out to those people over the next few days to ensure that they are willing to continue into the season. If any one is willing to be a COVID safe official or willing to help out please let the Executive Committee know.

You can view the LAVic Covid information HERE

Primary member emails sent Monday

A primary member email was sent from the LAVic office on Monday 28th September in preparation for the registration portal opening. The purpose was to identify the default member profile for registering a family of more than one athlete.

This email has understandably been interpreted by some as meaning that the Centre is currently able to take registrations. This is not the case – only some Centres are accepting registrations. LAVic has apologised for any confusion caused.

If you need to change the primary member of your family please head over to the member portal and login to change your details.

Previous season members should have received an email this morning in regards to your families Primary Member from LAVic.

LAVic has provided the following advice:

This email is in preparation for registration portal opening for Centres shortly and doesn’t necessarily mean your Centre is currently able to take registrations. ‍

We are in continual communication with the State Government with regards to the protocols required by Centres and are working towards getting as many Centres ‘live’ as soon as possible. ‍

For now, take note of which member of your family account is the allocated ‘primary member’ and log in to the member portal if you’d like to update any details that may have changed since last season. ‍

You will receive a specific renewal email as soon as your Centre does go live and can accept registrations.

This is a positive step forward for a potential season start. Please note the registration portal is NOT yet open at this stage for registration at Knox LAC. This is just in preparation for the upcoming season.

Please keep up to date at the Knox LAC Website or LAVic Website