Welcome to the 2021 / 2022 Essendon Little Athletics Season.
We were disappointed this weekend that the weather didn’t allow us to start the new season. We imagine all our little athletes were disappointed also. We can’t wait to see everyone next week!
We would like to take this opportunity ahead of next week, to introduce the Essendon Little Athletics Centre (ELAC) Committee and to tell you about all the amazing things we have been working on over the last few months.
The last AGM saw a number of changes to the committee in most of the key positions. ELAC is now led by Angela Bremner (President), Troy Jardine (Vice President), Debbie Lawson (Secretary), Fiona Jardine (Treasurer) and several other amazing people.
Angela – her daughter Molly (U12) started at ELAC in U6’s.
Troy and Fiona – Chase (U13), Tate (U11) and Greta (U8) started at ELAC when Chase was in U6’s. Troy is our Chief Jumps Official.
Debbie – started at ELAC in 2006 when her daughter Nina was an U7. Nina now competes for seniors. Debbie is our Chief Starter Marshall and a Life Member.
While these changes will see ELAC become a more modern, progressive Little Athletics Centre, at the heart of everything we do are our hundreds of amazing little athletes.
For those members returning to ELAC for the 2021/2022 Season, you will notice a number of significant changes in the way the Centre operates. These changes have been made with the objective of providing a better experience for everyone and to really encourage the amazing community spirit that we have at ELAC.
Renovated Pavilion
The first thing you will see is that the Pavilion has been freshly renovated! We must express our gratitude to the Moonee Valley City Council for the investment they have made. Having a facility that all our centre members will enjoy using can only be great for little athletics at our Centre moving forward! Feel free to come inside the pavilion when you are down at the track to see our clubroom.
One Team, One Centre
With parent and athlete support, the committee voted and agreed to remove the teams structure, bringing all athletes under the singular ELAC banner to ensure a greater sense of unity throughout our athletes. Having one structure allows a far better use of our amazing volunteer resources. This process has been a big part of why we decided to provide ELAC shirts with all memberships for this season and we can’t wait to see everyone running, jumping and throwing their way around in the same red and black ELAC uniform, not just at Region/State level, but at each and every Saturday competition!
We do recognise the importance of the teams to the history of ELAC and will proudly display each team’s shirt (old and new) in our clubroom.
Revamped Programs
One of the key aspects the committee has focused on is the time it takes to complete the Saturday programs. It is important for both athletes and parents that Saturday mornings do not stretch on for longer than necessary. What we expect to see is a far more efficient program, resulting in less time spent waiting for events and a quicker day overall.
Online Duty Roster
We have moved the Duty Roster sign-up to an electronic on-line method. One major benefit of this change is that parents no longer need to have their ‘duty card’ completed and signed each week at their team table as we will track/record this electronically. This change in process will also allow us start straight away each Saturday rather than waiting for parent volunteers on the day. The link for the sign up roster will be made available on Team App by the Tuesday prior to competition.
Just a reminder that the Centre relies on parent help to run the events and all families must meet the minimum required level of duties.
Electronic Recording
We are super excited to be launching into this season with electronic recording across all events. Electronic recording is widely used throughout Victorian Little Athletics Centres, so we are rolling out a proven, reliable recording system that will vastly improve the experience at ELAC for everyone. No more waiting for 2-3 days for the results to be loaded up – parents and athletes will be able to see results in Results HQ as soon as an event has been completed!
We ask that you do bare with us and our recorders for the first few weeks as we make sure everything is up and running smoothly.
Team App and Updated ELAC Website
Team App is now the primary communication platform for parents and athletes given it is quick and easy to update from anywhere. If you need instructions on how to set up Team App and ResultsHQ on your smart phone, you will find details on the recently updated ELAC website! A huge amount of new content has been added over the last few weeks and it is well worth spending some time having a look through the site. Certainly if you are asked any questions about ELAC by friends or potential new members, you can refer them to the website with confidence that they will now find what they need to know.
Awards / Prizegiving
Our committee believe that recognising individual improvement plays an important role in how athletes feel about the sport and their individual success. Over the next two weeks we will introduce a new recognition system that will run throughout the season.
Our annual prizegiving will no longer be centred around points. Finer details of how presentations will be awarded are still being finalised. If you have any suggestions or ideas please let us know. All feedback and ideas are greatly received.
Key Centre Duties
Historically our key centre duties such as starters, long distance timers and sprint timers have been performed by a small number of people. This puts a lot of pressure on those individuals to always be in attendance. We are changing the way these key duties are performed and these will now be on a rotating basis. We would like to thank those parents who have already expressed interest in learning one of these roles and would love to see more parents involved so we can share these key responsibilities across more people. These roles are easy to perform and on the job training is provided on Saturday mornings.
We hope you are as excited as we are for the upcoming season and we can’t wait to see you all at the track. Our committee members are always available so please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Kind regards,
Essendon Little Athletics Centre Committee
essendon@lavic.com.au
