Youngsters get on their marks at Mini Athletics Oban
A former Lismore couple have hit the ground running since the country started to open up to activity once more.
Krissy Monaghan and Dirk Parker, who now live on Skye with their two daughters, have been trying to get their mini athletics programme off the ground since March 2020.
Following the first lockdown, Mini Athletics Argyll and Bute was eventually launched in August 2020 and has been a success with sell-out classes across the area.
Last Thursday, youngsters aged two to seven years old gathered in two groups at Oban’s Glencruitten rugby pitch for the first session of an action-packed summer programme taking place from July to August.
‘We knew children desperately needed to be physically active after the lockdown so we adapted to a Covid secure programme which ran successfully until the lockdown in January,’ said Krissy.
‘When we were allowed to re-open in March, we took our programme back outdoors and expanded it to North Connel, Appin, Ardfern, Lochgilphead and Tarbert.’
Sport is a passion for Krissy and Dirk, who want to give children across the country access to athletics in a way never achieved before.
They run three classes – Didee Athletes, Mini Athletes and Little Athletes - all categorised by age. Every class promises to develop the physical, cognitive and social skills of its participants while the complexity of the classes grow based on the age group.
Originally from London, Krissy has been an athlete since the age of nine and been involved in the sport for 37 years. ‘From being a performance coach through to working for
England Athletics, I have seen the benefits sport can bring to children and young people and that’s why we wanted to bring Mini Athletics to Scotland,' she added. ‘We have a fantastic programme, which sparks children's imagination, builds their confidence and gives them a positive experience of sport. Demand for our classes has been very high since we re-opened in March this year and we’re proud to have supported children through this difficult time. We look forward to bringing more classes to the west coast of Scotland this year.’