About TLAA

The motto for Little Athletics in Australia is “For family, fun and fitness”. Tuggeranong Tornadoes embraces that objective by endeavouring to ensure that through athletic participation, individuals are able to satisfy the goals they set for themselves. It is not whether children come first, second or last in an event, but how they approach their participation and how they develop and improve that is important, not only over the season but from year to year. Our aim is to provide a fun friendly environment for both adults and children to assist the children in meeting the challenges they set for themselves.

How it works

Little Athletics at Tuggeranong is quite simple – you attend Kambah No. 3 Oval from 8:45am to approximately 11am each Saturday morning.  Our younger age groups generally finish between 10am and 10.30am. 

The season starts in October and finishes in March the following year, with a break for the Christmas holidays. While there, children will do a combination of running, throwing, jumping events and a little standing still (for a rest now and then). Children are divided into age groups (e.g. under 9 girls, under 9 boys) for each age from, and including, under 6 to under 17. Tiny Tots is for children aged 4 and 5 years old. 

To keep everyone COVID-Safe all age groups will be separated. The great thing about Little Athletics as we are outdoors with plenty of space. 

Location

Both Saturday morning competition and Wednesday afternoon trainings are located at our Kambah No. 3 Oval on Kett Street in Kambah. See on Google Maps. 

Parents/Carers Responsibilities

Tuggeranong Tornadoes Little Athletics Association is not run by paid officials and the help of ALL parents and carers is needed to make the Club run smoothly. On competition days parents and carers can assist with timekeeping, measuring jumps and throws, recording of results, marshalling age groups and helping in the canteen. All children must be accompanied by one adult at all times during competition and training.  

To keep everyone COVID-Safe, the ACT Government requires that any parent/carer who is not directly helping as a volunteer or official to stand away from the Age Group.  All parents and carers are to ensure they stay at a minimum 1.5m apart.  

Uniform

Our uniform (TLAA Club T-Shirt, Running Singlet or Crop Top) is not compulsory for Competition Days, but is encouraged as it gives the kids a sense of being part of the club. Athletes competing in Capital Athletics Inter-club events are required to wear club uniform. Note that our uniform changed at the start of the 2019/2020 season – and either uniform is acceptable for Inter-club Championships.

More information on Inter-club events can be found on the Capital Athletics Event Information page.

The registration number and age patch must be worn at every club meeting on Saturday morning to ensure we can record all results accurately. You will receive these in your registration pack at the start of the season.

The registration number must be sewn or pinned to the front of the t-shirt and the age patch sewn or pinned on the left shoulder as shown in the picture. (Note: the patches should be ironed before sewing to set the colours). 

For shorts/bike pants the children can choose any colour, most children seem to wear black as it matches the Club Shirt/Singlet/Crop Top. 

Footwear is mandatory for children competing in all events. Club rules regarding the wearing of spikes mirror those of the ACTLAA. When representing the Club at any inter-club or ACTLAA events they must wear TLAA Shirt. New TLAA uniforms, including the club’s “sun smart” T-shirts, Running Singlets and Crop Tops are available for purchase through the SportsMagic website. On a Saturday morning at the club a small range of 
second-hand uniforms may also be available and there is also a private Facebook group, Tuggeranong Tornadoes Little Athletics Club – Uniform Buy/Sell/Swap/Donate, where members can buy and sell second-hand club uniforms.

Uniforms can be ordered from SportsMagic.  Uniforms are sent directly to our club, when they are sent you can collect the uniforms on a Saturday morning.  

On the SportsMagic Website when you select a size for your Shirt/Singlet/Running top – the page will display if the uniform is in stock. If it is not in stock it will be approximately 4 weeks in production. 

Training

Training is held each Wednesday at Kambah No. 3 Oval from 5pm to approximately 6pm. All children from the Under 8 and up age groups are welcome to attend. One parent/carer must stay with their child during training.  

Wet Weather

If it is raining or the weather conditions are bad there will be a message posted on our Facebook page at approximately 8:00am to advise if the days events are cancelled.

Age Groups

Age groups for the 2023-24 season are based on how old the athlete is as of the 31st December 2023. You can use the 2023/2024 Age Group Calculator if you are unsure what age group your athlete is in.

The child will compete in that age group for the whole the season.

We are often asked why athletes can’t move into other age groups to be with their friends from school. The age groups are determined by Little Athletics Australia (LAA). Being in an age group also sets the types of events you can do and the weights of equipment used. As a club in the little athletics association we have to abide by this rule.

Athletics is a very sociable sport. At the club level athletes are able to see and mix with school friends – but they also get to make new friends from other schools as well.

Standard Rules of Competition for Little Athletics 

Little Athletics Australia sets the rules that we follow for Little Athletics on a Saturday.  You can find the LAA Standard Rules of Competition on the Little Athletics Australia website.

Sponsorship and Support

We are proudly sponsored by Coles and are an affiliate member of the Vikings Group.

We thank Coles and the Vikings Group for their ongoing support to help our Club to continuously achieve our goals.

If you would like to sponsor our club, please contact our President – president@tlaa.org.au

Insurance 

Insurance is included in the cost of season registration.

Gow-Gates are the insurance brokers for Coles Little Athletics Australia (LAA).
Registered athletes, officials, and volunteers will be covered by the Little Athletics Australia Insurance Program. The program ensures that all registered participants have insurance protection.

Gow-Gates are the national insurance broker and details of the insurance cover, policy wording, claims portal and certificates of currency can be found on their Little Athletics-specific website, https://www.gowgates.com.au/sport-programs/athletics.