Senior athletics is the progression in the sport following Little Athletics however, there is a transitional overlap allowing young athletes to have a taste of Seniors whilst still being involved in Little Athletics. Senior athletics starts from U13’s.
Senior Athletics operates a little differently to Little A’s. Most competitions are set up by Queensland Athletics and if you want to compete at those competitions, you must be registered with Queensland Athletics and belong to a Senior Athletics Club such Gold Coast Athletics. Senior Clubs generally don’t hold competitions; however, Gold Coast Athletics now holds Club competitions for senior athletes in a social based environment incorporated into Friday night competitions.
The Senior Athletics season starts in October each year and your age group is determined by your age on December 31st of the year that season finishes and the minimum age for an athlete to join a Senior Club is 12 years of age as at December 31st of the year that season finishes.
Social Athletics is exactly what it says- Athletics for social reasons more so than competition.
Several years ago, when our senior club was in it’s embryonic stages, we realised that there was a vast gap within our sport.
Little Athletics was created for children of all abilities, and the focus has always been on “being your best” not the best. It was about chasing those PB’s and having a go and above all having fun and enjoyment. Not every child is able to throw a discus beyond 20 mtrs or run a 3 minute 800 but there is an event for every child to really enjoy.
Little Athletics is an atmosphere of “family, fun & fitness” – a place to make new friends and grow confidence. The social side of Little Athletics is its greatest asset.
We have social cricket, social football of all codes & social running groups.
Why has there never been social athletics?
Gold Coast Athletics Club is filling that void.
Much like Little Athletics, senior athletics provides a progression through events based on age. However, the range of events available in Senior Athletics is much wider than Little A’s.
As well as those events included at Little A’s there are additional events in all event categories.
Throws also include Hammer Throw
Jumps also includes Pole Vault
Hurdles includes a 400m race.
Distance events include 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m and Steeplechase with hurdles and water jumps
Walks include 5,000m & 10,000m on the track.
Steeplechase which is a distance event with barriers and water jumps.
There are also ‘Out of Stadia” events which include the Marathon, Cross Country and Road Walking over distances of 3km, 5km, 10km, 20km, 35km and 50km.
Multi events includes Decathlon (10 events) for men and Heptathlon (7 events) for women.
Register nowWhy join a running group and only run? That’s ok for those who are keen to run 5k, 10k or the marathon, but what about those other events that Athletics offers?
Join Gold Coast Athletics and you can jump, throw, sprint (however fast or slow you might be) and run the longer distances.
Social Athletics provides an opportunity for those former Little Athletes who enjoyed the fun, social atmosphere but felt they were not good enough to continue in the only form of the sport available after Little A’s.
Social Athletics provides an opportunity for those former competitive athletes who would love to rekindle the flame without having to train for hours, 6 days a week but just want to take it a little less seriously.
Or, for those who want to try something new and meet new friends.
Gold Coast Athletics offers a social program of athletic events within our current competition program where members can enter in all, one or any of those events.
As interest grows and our facilities become greater the list of events on offer will also grow. World Athletics and Masters’ Athletics event specifications mean that implement weights and hurdle heights are adapted to suit all age groups.
While our aim is to offer a social and competitive athletic environment, there will be athletes who will aspire and want to achieve at higher levels.
This for many will be Shield meets held by Queensland Athletics as well as various State Championships held throughout the summer and winter seasons. Summer is generally track and field whilst winter is the “Out of Stadia” events (cross country, marathon etc).
The domestic track season is finalized with the Australian Junior Track and Field Championships (U13- U20) and the Australian Track and Field Championships for Open athletes.
Further to that, should you do well enough, you could qualify for an Australian team enabling you to compete at competitions such as Oceania Championships though to the Commonwealth, Olympic Games and World Championships.
For those that are a little bit older and want to chase higher competition there is Masters Athletics at a State, National and International level.
These opportunities are not just for athletes. These teams also need officials, managers, coaches, doctors, physios, dieticians, etc.- great opportunities for parents or athletes at all levels.
There is a range of competition opportunities within senior athletics for the social athlete or the high performance elite.
Enquire nowWhile this is presently a work in progress, we launched a senior competition in the 2024/25 season with several regular social athletes and the appearance of a few of our elite senior athletes.
Within Queensland there is very little limited opportunity for club level athletics. The main goal of Gold Coast Athletics Club is to maintain the Little Athletics ethos of “family, fun & fitness” and bring the social environment to senior athletics.
Not all athletes want to compete at higher levels and that is why our sport loses athletes after Little A’s. There are social football, social netball and social cricket – why isn’t there social athletics.
We continue to expand on our social competition and encourage engagement of some of serious senior athletes (we, both young and old, are all mesmerised by their abilities).
With exciting things happening very, very soon this is going to continue to evolve. Stay tuned!
Most competition for Seniors is facilitated by Queensland Athletics.
For clubs this is in the form of a series of weekly or fortnightly “Shield Meets” held in Brisbane.
There are also several State Championship events throughout the season that includes the Queensland Relay, Multi Event, 3000m, 5000m & 10,000m Race Walk Championships culminating in the Queensland Athletics Championships in March
QA also hold a Queensland All Schools Track and Field Championships.
During the winter months a Cross Country series is on offer as well the Race Walking winter series.
Although Athletics Australia finalises the track season usually in April with the Australian Junior Athletics Championships and the Australian Athletics Championships (for open ages) they also hold meets throughout the season.
These include the “Track Classics” held in our capital cities and athletes are invited to compete. This a great opportunity for our elite and up & comers to compete but also for athletics fans to watch the country’s best, and some international athletes compete together.
There are also several National Championships throughout the season such as Australian Combined Events and 10,000m Championships and the Australian All schools Championships.
Winter again offers Cross Country, Race Walking and Road Running opportunities and Championships.
There are numerous opportunities to compete overseas and to wear the Green & Gold.
World Athletics provides the progression into the elite ranks and can start at a young age leading all the way to the pinnacle of the Olympics and World Championships. Opportunities include the European Diamond League, American NCAA system, WA Continental & WA Race Walking Tours and more. Australian Team opportunities include;
As a registered athlete and dependent upon performances you may be selected or invited to compete in any of these.
These opportunities are not only there for athletes but also for everyday people.
State and National Teams require numerous supporting roles which will include managers, doctors, physios, bio mechanists, physiologists, dieticians, specialised coaches, strength & conditioning coaches, personal coaches, etc.
Competition must be managed by officials, judges, referees, etc. that must have an even representation from across the country or the world.
Getting involved in the sport at grass roots level can lead you all around the world and ultimately to the Olympics.
Athletics is quite unique in the fact that it was a pioneering sport for people with disabilities. Athletics is very much at the forefront of inclusion and diversity, so much so that there are specific championships in Athletics called World Para Athletics Championships as well as inclusion in multisport events like Commonwealth Games, Para Olympics, World Transplant Games and World Wheelchair & Amputee Games.
Para Athletes will often compete in what is known as “Multi-Class’’ events meaning the athletes are classified with varying degrees of disability. Disabilities include Physical disabilities and Intellectual disabilities as well as hearing and visual disabilities each having a varying affect on different athletes.
From the Athletics Australian website they state;
“Athletics Australia endorses an all-inclusive competition calendar. All events run by Athletics Australia and its Member Associations cater for para-athletics athletes. The following information and links provide information for athletes to compete in para-athletics in Australia. Athletics Australia has a fully inclusive competition pathway for Para-athletes, including the Australian All Schools (secondary schools nationals) Australian Junior Championships and Australian Open Championships. School Sport Australia and Little Athletics Australia also offer athletics opportunities for Para-athletes.”
Little Athletics caters for most Para Athletes at Centre level as being fully integrated with all other athletes. Para Athletes may choose to continue competing as an able-bodied athlete. However, should you wish to continue to a higher level and into Senior Athletics you will need to be classified.
If you would like further information please talk to us or check out the Little Athletics Queensland, Queensland Athletics and Athletics Australia websites. There are loads of details of the classification process and where and when you can be assessed.
Unfortunately, with our present facilities we are limited in our offerings for some para-athletes with exciting things happening very soon this is going to change. Stay tuned!
A list of Senior Best Performances has been maintained since the Senior Club’s inception.
Following the merge of our Little Athletics and Senior Athletics clubs we now have a combined records list of Senior Best Performances which are found within this website. These records are generally updated once the season has ended.
The criteria for ratification of these performances are as follows:-
Although we try to monitor results from all competitions it is almost impossible to find all results available.
We welcome any applications for records with supporting official results.
