Keilor runs three programs - these programs are found via the buttons below.

Please note that these are templates, and SUBJECT TO CHANGE DEPENDING ON A RANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. You are best to consult our ‘Program next week’ button, found at the top of the website, for the program we will run in the upcoming week.

The button below takes you to our full planning calendar. We also have our calendar here - which also found via a button at the top of our main page.

Keilor provides free coaching on Tuesday nights during summer, and often provides additional free coaching for U9 to U15 athletes leading into the regional and state track and field championships. We also provide relay coaching, and have recently started provided cross-country coaching.

If you require additional coaching, we invite to speak to our affiliated coaches, listed here. These coaches can provide advanced coaching, but via a private arrangement between coaches and athletes.

You can learn more about coaching below, or check out some videos on how you can help coach your little athlete.

All families are expected to do a minimum of five duties throughout the season to help deliver the program. We have an online registration process for the roster system, and help is available from our admin people if you need assistance with the online system.

To help make sure that everybody is enrolled in our roster system, we do insist that families submit their duty roster form before picking up their registration patches for their athletes - and without these registration patches, no results can be recorded.

We do carefully track duties done, and our roster manager Johanna Grieve will follow up with families whom are falling behind.

If you have questions about the roster, please contact Johanna via the link below:

All athletes are expected to wear a centre teeshirt or top when competing on Saturday mornings or at regional events - photographs of these tops are shown below (note the optional crop-tops worn by some older girls). These tops cost betwen $30 and $35 to buy.

These tops are to be worn with black shorts. In cross-country season, black long pants are commonly worn, and sometimes black long sleeved tops under the Keilor top.

Besides the uniform top, athlete are also expected to wear two patches on top of the uniform, which recognises the support given to the sport by our major sponsors. These patches are also shown in the images immediately above. The Coles patch to be worn in the right hand corner, above the 'running man' logo, while the Subway name patch to be worn in the centre of the club uniform.

Both patches are handed out at the beginning of the season. The Coles patch should be sewn on. The Subway patch is essential to our results system, and should be pinned on  using safety pins (some parents use velcro). If you forget your Subway patch on a Saturday morning, you can get another one from the office. We will charge you $5 for this replacement, but we will then donate 100% of this to the Royal Children's Hospital at the end of the season 

On a Saturday morning there can be several hundred athletes and parents present. To help ensure appropriate behaviour, particularly with young athletes, Little Athletics Victoria has prepared a code of conduct, which Keilor Little Athletics endorses. 

Unfortunately, sometimes there are breaches of this code. Education is always the first step, but if this is not working Keilor has a 'three-strike policy' to deal with issues.

Links to the code of conduct and three-strikes policy are shown below.

Keilor Little Athletics is part of Little Athletics Victoria (LAV). To help organise interclub competition, LAV has designated a series of regions - Keilor is part of the Northern Metro Region (NMR), which includes clubs from our area through to Greensborough, and up to Lancefield-Romsey. 

NMR organises a series of regional competitions throughout the year, all which are open to all U9 to U15 athletes. 

• Multi-event (a combination of different track and field disciplines where a points system is used to determine age group winners). The regional Multi-event is normally held in or around the month of November. Note - the regional Multi-event is not held in every season.

• Relays. The regional relays events is normally held around the last weekend of November.

• Track and field. The regional track and field normally takes place around the middle of February.

• Cross-country. The regional cross-country normally take place in around the 3rd weekend in June.

The location of all of these events will vary between the different clubs in NMR.

There are also state events. To qualify to compete at state relays and track and field, athletes and teams need to do well at the regional events. There are no qualification requirements for state multi-event, while to qualify to state cross-country, an athlete merely needs to finish at their regional cross-country events. Their are also some other state only events - the full list of state events is shown below:

• U6 to U8 'Carnival' (this is open to all registered U6 to U8 athletes). Location can vary, and this is normally held near the beginning of the track and field season.

• U11 clinics - all U11 athletes (and U12 athlete in 2018) are invited to skills clinics held by highly experienced coaches, in about September/October, in locations that can vary. This is free for these athletes and highly recommended if you have the opportunity.

• State Relay Championships - typically the second weekend in December, held at the Albert Park athletics stadium

• State Track and Field - typically held on the second weekend in March. This is mostly held at the Albert Park athletics stadium, but not always. These includes 'multi-class' events for athletes with defined disabilities.

• State cross country relays - this is a new event, with the first event held at the beginning of June. We expect the location to vary.

• State Road Relays - . These are held at the Sandown race track, in around the beginning of July

• State cross country - These are typically held at end of July. Location can vary, but this may be held at Myrniong next season.

Keilor strongly encourages all athletes, regardless of perceived ability, to attend as many regional and state events as possible. Regardless of outcomes, all athletes learn and develop from the experience. This is not to say that many of our athletes have not done very well at both regional and state levels in the past, and no doubt will do so in the future - but regional and state events are ultimately about participation, and not just about winning medals.

Note that regional events can incur entry fees, charged by LAV. For relays however these fees are paid by Keilor Little Athletics.

Also, these dates are only approximate and can vary from year to year, as can the overall program.

Families will be asked to do duties if their athletes are competing at regional or state events.

Track and field felays is a great opportunity for U9 to U15 athletes to deepen their friendships while they compete in a team version of athletics. Relay distances from range from 4*100 m up to medleys, where one member of the team runs a 400m leg.

Keilor has a long history of success at regional and state relays, including topping the state medal table in the 2017 and 2018 State Relay Championships. Prior to this it had won many gold medals and set state and national records. This success is based on our talented athletes, and also on the hard work of the relay coaches and managers who harness this talent into competitive teams. 

As with other regional and state events, Keilor encourages participation from all athletes in our relay program. Whilst the membership of the 'A' teams is understandably based on performance, we try to create as many B, C and D teams as possible, in order to give all Keilor athletes an opportunity to participate in the relay experience.

In around September and October, Keilor starts to form our relay teams. We attempt to contact all eligible athletes in this period, but if you have not been contacted, and would like to be involved, please contact our relays manager Angela Dickins at padickins@hotmail.com.

In addition to track and field relays, Keilor also aims to build as many teams as possible for cross-country and road relay teams. These are more relaxed than the track and field relays - if you are interested in these please, please contact our cross-country manager know.

Besides rostered parents, Keilor also depends on nominated officials and committee members to help run the club. 

The vast majority of officials and committee members are just regular parents whom have stepped up to make a difference to the club that their kids belong to. Whilst sometimes nervous about moving into an official or committee role, once onboard they tend to enjoy themselves and increase their involvement over time. In some cases, these official roles extend to regional, state and even national roles. And besides current parents, we are also thankful for the involvement of some former athletes, parents of former athletes, and even members of the community who are happy to help with a community club.

Does this sound like you? Whilst Keilor currently has a strong set of officials and committee members, we are always looking for new officials (and occassionaly tap some parents on the shoulder for this). If you would like to learn more, please in the first instance speak to our centre president Wayne Mangion at keilor@lavic.com.au. Just like you, Wayne started at Keilor as a regular parent.

The current committee is found be pressing the link below. The president should be your first point of contact if you have issues to raise and unsure whom to go to, unless you know that you know that you need to speak to other officials. 

A highlight of every year is the pre-Xmas round, where we are joined by a special visitor, from much further north than the Victorian border :)

Near the of the track and field season, Keilor holds a championship day. Open to all age groups, U5 to U16, this is the one event of the season where we emphasis placings as well as improvements in results. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the first three placings.

During Championship Day, an athlete can nominate up to 4 events to compete in. The program is structured so that athletes can enter in, with events adjusted for age groups:

• one sprint race

• one middle distance race

• one throwing event

• one jumping event

We have structured the championships this way to allow for a greater spread of medals amongst more athletes..

Entry to the Centre Championships is free, but subject to the following limitations:

• Entries open to the Centre Championships in mid to late February, and close about two weeks prior to the championships. Once closed, we do not accept late entries as this places a large administration burden on our events managers

• Families need to have completed a minimum of five rostered duties, or an equivalent level of support.

• Athletes need to have competed regularly

• Parents need to agree to do a duty on championships day.

• Athletes can only enter once - you cannot enter and later change your mind about the events you have entered form

Entry is via an online form (made available coming into the champs), but assistance with entering is provided by our admin team, found inside the clubrooms

At the end of the track and field season, we hold our presentation day. All athletes whom have participated at least 50% of the days since they joined are eligible for participation trophies. In addition, we hand out trophies for age group champions and runner ups (based on an internal points system), PB medals, and overall boys and girls champions. The overall champions are also selected by a points system, which is carefully calibrated to allow athletes from any age group to win. 

The presentation day typically takes about 2 hours, and is book-ended by the finals of the Tim Golder and Warren Hosking handicaps (see entry below).

An exciting part of the Presentation Day is the finals of the Tim Golder 100m handicap, and the holding of the Warren Hosking 800m handicap. These handicap events allow athletes from specific ages (U7 upwards for the 100m event and U9 upwards for the 800m event) to compete against each other, with the race distance adjusted for the 100m handicap, and starting time adjusted for the 800m handicap.

Entries for these events are collected alongside entries for the Centre Championships, and similar qualifying criteria apply. These events can be over-subscribed, and so we manage entries in the following way

The winners and runners up for each of the 100m handicaps are awarded with sashes, while the winners and runner-ups for the 100m final, and the 800m event, get trophies.

• There are three heats for boys, and three heats for girls, for the 100m handicap. These heats are typically held at the beginning of the last regular competition day for the season

• Any athlete who has posted the fastest 100m time for their age group at the closing of entries gets automatic selection into the 100m handicap

• The same applies (for 800m times) for the 800m event.

• All other entries are selected in a random fashion.

Cross-country season begins in late April or May, and runs through to August.  Dates for each season are normally published in April,

Unlike track and field in the summer, the venue for cross-country events moves around, with a range of locations in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. There are also regional and state championships. 

Cross-country involves athletes running just one event, with (approximate) distances listed below. Keilor joins in with other clubs to hold these events. Cross-country events are never cancelled for wet or cold weather - instead please ensure that your athletes are dressed appropriately, which can include long black pants, and warm black tops under the Keilor top. Coles name patches are still required.

There are also cross-country and road relay events, over the same distances.

Keilor members who have joined for the preceding summer track and field season can compete in cross-country without paying additional registration fees, although event fees may be payable. In addition athletes who did not register for the summer season can join for the cross-country season only, at greatly reduced fee of $65 per athlete - see the New Families page for details of how to join.

Cross country distances:

U6                   Boys & Girls              500m

U7-8               Boys & Girls              1000m

U9-10             Boys & Girls              1500m

U11-12           Boys & Girls              2000m

U13-16           Boys & Girls              3000m

Typical cross-country venues

Coburg                      Harold Stevens Athletics Track, Outlook Road

Essendon                  Moonee Valley Athletics Track, Corio Street

Keilor                         Keilor Park Recreation Reserve, Stadium Drive

Preston Reservoir     Edwardes Lake Park, Reservoir

Sunbury                     Jackson Street Reserve, Jackson Street

Note - there can be other locations besides those listed above.

Both Keilor and Little Athletics Victoria require all coaches, nominated officials and committee members to have a current Working with Children's Check, nominating Little Athletics Victoria as an affiliated organisation (or be a currently registered teacher). Please see our president if you have any questions about this.

Operations are Keilor are governed by the Centre Handbook, with a link to this found below. This handbook is issued by the committee, and can be altered by the committee without notice, should the committee determine that changes are required.

However the committee, as well as all members, are governed by our Constitution 

In addition, competition rules are also governed by the Rules and Regulation of Little Athletics Victoria, also found below. While these rules apply strictly at regional and state events, Keilor reserves to depart from these rules for its Saturday morning program in order to efficiently deliver this program.

As an volunteer official, you may be interested in learning more. LAV have provided an easy to digest Officials Handbook, also linked below - this is an excellent summary of the rules and best practice for officials. 

And if you wish to pursue officiating further, more details are available on the LAV page for officials, found here.

Want to add a new family member to an existing registration? There are family discounts applicable for track and field season, but the system needs to know that the new member is part of an existing registration. Unfortunately this is not as simple as it could be, so before doing so, can you please contact our Register Liz Harbour on lizh76@outlook.com, or the registration manager for Little Athletics Victoria, Kim John, on kim.john@lavic.com.au.

Both Liz and Kim can help you add the new family member in a way which maximises your discount - and makes life simpler for us as well,  so a win-win arrangement.

Annual reports are found at the bottom of our committee page - see link below