Little Athletics Centre wins award

Bribie Island Little Athletics Centre won the Coles Centre of the Year award in April, and was recently honoured by heptathlete, Taneille Crase.

The Coles Little Athletics Australia Hall of Fame ceremony was held on Friday, April 21 at Lakeside Stadium.

The Bribie Island Centre couldn’t attend this year’s ceremony, but that didn't stop the community from celebrating all its achievements.

Heptathlete and Little Athletics Australia Ambassador Taneille Crase says Little Athletics decided to host an intimate ceremony for the centre on Friday, September 22.

“Bribie Island weren’t able to make the initial Little Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony, so we decided to host an intimate ceremony to honour them instead. We presented them with a trophy, a Coles voucher and a customised ‘Coles Centre of the Year’ plaque that they can place anywhere at the centre,” Taneille says.

Taneille fell in love with athletics at age eight after joining her local Little Athletics club, and she says the clubs encourage community spirit in young children.

“Little Athletics is seen as the foundation for every sport. It’s so important for kids to be able to run, throw, walk and jump. Little Athletics is a big community sport and getting that weekly interaction with kids and parents is so important. Kids can learn so much from Little Athletics and get involved with their community," she says.

“That’s why I would encourage all children to go and have a try. Little Athletics have ‘come and try’ days, so they can come along and see if they like it. Little Athletics is all about family, fun and fitness. 

"It’s about being physically active while being around people you are comfortable with the entire time. So, if there is a nervous little athlete out there, just know that you will have mum, dad or a guardian with you.”

The Bribie Island Little Athletics Centre was formed in 2017 and is one of Queensland’s newest centres, making this win even more extraordinary.

“All the little athletes at Bribie and the centre volunteers should be super proud of themselves for winning such an extraordinary award. Considering we have over 500 centes across Australia, they should be super proud of themselves for the hard work they have done in the last season,” Taneille says.

“I believe being an ambassador for the sport is a true honour. I grew up going to Little Athletics and I’ve been fortunate enough to go through the athletics performance journey and have gotten to where I am now because of Little Athletics.

“I’m so grateful for my centre helping me progress to where I am now. If I can give back to that sport for helping me, I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to use my journey and my story to inspire the next generation of athletes.”

See the photos below (click through)