From the 2018-19 athletics season (so you have a little time to get used to the idea) Little Athletics will adjust the age category cutoff date to 31 December.
Read more about what this means here. I suggest you read the full media release which contains a useful age group table and makes it easy to determine which age group you’ll be in for the next couple of seasons.
The table is also below:
I have always been a strong believer in long term athlete development. This article is a good, short summary of what that means. Essentially, for kids to excel in a sport, they need to follow their passion and interests, enjoy competing and practicing, be self-driven, and enjoy a supportive but not pushy environment (ie coaches and parents) which fosters their long-term development.
The school athletics season has ended with some great results:
At the CIS State Championships Blake Archer finished 4th in the discus with a PB of 34.54m, and he also produced a PB in the shot put with 12.79m (6th place), and Jack McFadden finished in 6th place in the discus with 41.34m and 11.98m in the shot put. At the CCC State Championships Alex Murdocca came second in the shot put with 13.48m. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Patrick Gleeson, who won the bronze medal in the shot put with a massive throw of 14.90m at the CHS State Championships at Olympic Park. He also placed 5th in the discus (1kg) with a PB of 48.90m.
Congratulations go to Patrick Gleeson was named Junior Sports Star by the local newspaper Blacktown Advocate. Click here to read more about Patrick’s feats on and off the field.
Nice interview with legendary New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams.
In the wake of the revelations of widespread doping in Russia in a German TV documentary (read a transcript here), World and Olympic champion Robert Harting writes in an article in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he sees the cautious reaction by the IAAF to the documentary as an affront to all clean athletes and the actions by WADA as a complete failure of the world anti-doping body.
I was flabbergasted after watching the sobering documentary by German investigative journalist Hajo Seppelt on the goings-on in the Russian sport system – widespread doping practices by athletes, coaches and physicians – condoned, supported and organised even, by the Russian anti-doping agency and the government itself.
My unofficial translation of the program has been posted by Athletics Illustrated here.