Little athletics needs big changes

THE debate on the use of ratepayer funds in the Kingborough sports precinct is missing the perspective of our club, Kingborough Little Athletics Centre, which has been based there for more than 40 years and has hundreds of members attending each weekend.

Firstly, a suggestion that two summer sports can share an oval is not feasible. Athletics from setup, competition and pack- up is a 5- 6 hour activity on a Saturday and\ or Sunday. Grounds are also used for training. More compatible is soccer, typically a winter sport. It is certainly agreed that the premier sports district in Kingborough can do with additional investment. A sports focused high school with a sports college extension really needs a 400m synthetic athletics track, something that can be used by other schools for athletics and can be inclusive of a soccer pitch. This would support our transition to an all- ages club ( currently 5- 14). Athletics continues to grow with 20 per cent membership growth this year, however this is constrained by a small un- level ground, inadequate storage, inadequate parking and a 40- year- old building that has been partially condemned.

Athletics doesn’t have the same financial resources as many other national sports, however it is a foundational sport based on running, jumping and throwing, from which many other sports benefit.

— Oliver Hippel, president, Kingborough Little Athletics Centre