A contingent of young local athletes will compete on the national stage in Adelaide this weekend at the Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC).
Eight boys and girls from Geelong Little Athletics and two boys from Corio Little Athletics will travel to Adelaide to represent Victoria at SA Athletics Stadium on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27.
The annual event, which will see Little Athletics Australia celebrate 60 years, consists of able-bodied and mutli-class athletes in the Under 13, Under 14 and Under 15 age categories.
Competitors have been selected to represent Victoria in the team-based competition on the basis of their results at the state-level championships, which were held in Cranbourne in early March.
Andre Everton, Caitlin Foley, Hugo Gilmour, Tannah Hildebrand, Hayden Jeffrey, James Richardson, Oliver Schouten-Durham and Lucy Veenvliet will represent Geelong on the state team, while Kobi Matheson and Xander Mitchell will represent Corio.
Lucy will compete in the Under 15 girls 90m hurdles, hoping to replicate her performance last year where she smashed her previous personal best and took the bronze medal.
She said her experience last year had helped her learn how to deal with the pressures of high-level competition.
“I think it’ll be not as challenging for me this year because I’ve been there, I’ve done it and I know how it all works,” she said.
“It will just be an easier experience. We’ve been doing some hard (training) sessions but now we’re closer we’re easing up a bit.
“I just want to get a good time and finish in the top five again.”
Kobi, who will compete in the Under 14 multi-class category in discus, javelin, shot put, 200m and long jump, also participated at last year’s national championships.
He won gold in all five of those events last year, and has also taken big medal hauls at other state and national competitions.
Kobi said he was looking forward to seeing his interstate friends, who he only saw at national events.
“I like watching other competitors throw and run, I like learning from how they do it,” he said.
The weekend will also include the Little Athletics Australia Hall of Fame Ceremony, where former Little Athletes will be recognised for their achievements in their chosen sport or profession.
