Idiots ruin young athletes’ training
PRIMARY school-aged Gold Coast athletes have had their training disrupted after their grounds were ripped up by hoons doing burnouts.
Juniors aged five to 12 from Gold Coast Little Athletics turned up to training on Saturday to find their oval all but destroyed by the vandals.
The surface of the oval at Pizzey Dve, Miami was covered in tyre tracks and rendered unusable.
Part of a fence was ripped down so the car or cars could get on to the grounds.
The damage bill is expected to run into the thousands of dollars.
Steve Langley, who coaches at Gold Coast Little Athletics, said the club had been targeted by hoons in the past but this was the most severe attack.
“It’s the worst damage I’ve seen,” Mr Langley said.
“The tracks are quite deep. We will have to get a truck and excavator in and returf it, but turf isn’t going to grow this time of year.”
The club’s main track was already closed for maintenance and won’t open for another month.
The athletes had been training in the middle of the field in the meantime – the area the hoons targeted.
“The training must go on,” Mr Langley said.
“It’s a terrible delay for primary school athletes in the middle of their track season.”
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said those responsible could face wilful destruction charges and/or traffic related offences.
Footage from recently installed CCTV cameras has been given given to police by the club.
Gold Coast Little Athletics is lobbying for a synthetic track which Mr Langley said would be the solution to the problem.
A synthetic track would not have to close annually and it would come with increased security to keep uninvited visitors off it, he said.