Wantirna Little Athletics Club

We are so excited to announce that registrations for Season 2025-2026 are now open. Register here via Little Athletics Victoria “Membership” page. New and returning members can sign up and register here. Make sure you select the Knox Centre, and then Wantirna as the club, as you step through the registration process.

 New to Little Athletics? Why not give it a go with our 2-week FREE trial! Simply register here to get started: 2-Week Trial Registration

And don’t forget – our Come & Try Day is this Saturday from 10am–12pm! It’s the perfect chance to see what Little Aths is all about.

Former Wantirna Little Athlete and Australian racewalker Corey Dickson has made his mark on the international stage at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany.

Competing in the Men’s 20 km Race Walk, Corey clocked 1:25:58, finishing 19th overall in a strong field. His performance helped secure silver for the Australian men’s team in the event.

This milestone follows years of dedication to racewalking, with Corey funding much of his journey himself. Representing Australia at a major international event is no small feat, and Corey’s success is a testament to his hard work and determination.

Congratulations, Corey — you’ve done us proud! 

———————————–

Help Support Corey Dickson – former Wantirna little athlete

We are reaching out to seek support for Corey Dickson, a former Wantirna Little Athlete who has been chosen to represent Australia at the upcoming World University Games. This is a significant honour and a testament to Corey’s years of hard work, discipline, and dedication to his sport.

Corey’s journey started right here at Wantirna, where he quickly built a reputation as a determined and talented competitor at Wantirna Little Athletics. His passion for race walking has taken him to national and international stages, and now he has the opportunity to wear the green and gold on one of the world’s biggest university sporting platforms.

But this dream comes with a cost.

Competing at the World University Games requires self-funding for travel, accommodation, and training support. Corey needs our help to get there and do what he does best.

How You Can Help:
We are seeking donations—big or small—to help cover Corey’s expenses and ensure he can focus on his performance, not the financial burden. Every dollar will go directly towards helping Corey represent Australia with pride.

If you’ve watched Corey develop as an athlete or support our young sportspeople, now’s the time to show your backing.

You can donate via the Australian Sports Foundation using the link below, or scan the QR code in the picture at the bottom of this article.

https://asf.org.au/campaigns/corey-dickson/corey-dickson-2025-world-university-games-race-walk-germany

Donate now and share this message to spread the word.

Let’s support Corey in reaching the World University Games! Thank you for your generosity and faith in Corey.

Donations are tax-deductible

We’re pleased to announce that Training “Officially” starts this week! Please note that training sessions will be spread over a variety of locations with our official training venues Croydon Track & St Joseph’s College (Ferntree Gully). With some of our coaches training out of other unofficial Knox training venues.

Please click the link below for the Knox Centre website for further details –

http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?p=16340

With the cross country season coming to an end, its time to think about summer track and field.

Preseason track and field training at Knox will officially get underway from 7th August. Wantirna Athletes are welcome to attend training session with any of the little aths coaches.

You can get training times and coach details from the Knox LAC coaching page by clicking on the link below.

http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?page_id=4967

Reminder to all our Wantirna Athletes – the KLAC Cross Country Season starts on 22 April at the Knox Aths Track.

First race is 9am Sharp.

Existing Athletes

If you registered for the summer track and field season you are already registered for Cross country. There is nothing for you to do but turn up and compete.

New Athletes

If you are new and registering for cross country only – please head to the KLAC website for more information on registering the cross season.

http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?page_id=80

Cross Country Calendar

You can find the Cross Calendar at the link below and down load the program with the various event locations for the season and the race order.

http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?page_id=23

Wantirna LAC recently held its 2022-23 season AGM and awards night.

I am pleased to announce the following members were elected onto the committee for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

President – David Kearsley (Returning)

Secretary – Anni Carnell (New)

Treasurer – Kirsty McKaay (New)

Team Manager – Janine Kearsley (Returning)

I would like to welcome both Anni and Kirsty on to the committee. It is great to see families support the club and join the committee. The returning committee members look forward to working with Anni and Kristy this upcoming season.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank out outgoing committee members Danni Loh and Leanne Hawke. A very special thank you to Leanne for her many years on the committee as our club secretary. And to Danni a big thank you for your commitment to be a treasurer event though Alexis has not competed much this season. The committee wishes you both all the best.

Congratulations to all our athletes for a fantasitc season in 2022-23. We had many award recipients at the presentation night, and a number of records presented to athletes as well.

I would also like to thank O’brien Real Estate for their continued support during the past season and hopefully we can continue that support into season 2023-24.

I look forward to working with everyone over the next year as our club goes from strength to strength.

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy – See you at the track.

David Kearsley | President

Welcome to the new season and welcome to our new and returning families.

It has been interesting start to the season. Given the early start, it has been a bit wet and cold, but as we head into October the weather will improve and hopefully feel more like summer athletics.

While the last few seasons have been Covid effected and we have had late starts in November due to lockdowns and resctictions, this season the Centre decided to start early due to the proposed track up grades. This will allow our athletes to complete most of the season at Knox before the track works begin. We are waiting for further information from the Knox LAC Executive Committee on the proposed works and this will be conveyed to families once council finalises the works and provides an update on timings to the Centre.

A couple of things for October.

Relay season starts. If you are interested please see the Knox LAC website for information on relays. This is great part of the season and Knox has a strong history of competing at relays.

You can get more information here: http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?p=13426

Please contact the appropriate age group coach listed on the Knox Relay Flyer.

Relay training will start over the next week or so as coaches plan their training schedules.

Registration is now open for the State Combined Event on the 12 and 13 November 2022 – You can get more information on State Combined at the LAVic Website here: https://lavic.com.au/event/22-23-state-combined-events-championships/

Please note: Some age groups have already reached their capacity.

If you are looking for the upcoming competition program you can visit the Knox LAC Calendar here: http://klac23.org.au/wordpress/?page_id=23

Some Competition Reminders.

Just a reminder to all athletes. The Wantirna singlet must be worn when competing at Knox weekly competition. Your name patch must also be worn. If you do forget your patch (or you have lost it) you can get a new one from the Registrar for a gold coin donation.

Parents, please stay out of the competition areas. If you are a parent of U6 and U7 you are welcome to escort your child to events, but please move away from the event while the children are competing. This is important if you are at Mini Olympics area of the track. This helps our chiefs and also maintains your safety. If the chief asks for assistance you are more than welcome to assist.

If you are on duty, please arrive early to sign in. If you arrive early you will get the better duties, and it also assists the chiefs in setting up and makes the day run much more smoothly. Just remember that this season is a rotation of events for clubs, so people are still learning and getting used to events. Keep an eye out for the duty requirements from our Duty Coordinator. If you have specific dates you cant do duty (such as holidays etc) please let our duty roster coordinator know.

Final Words

Most of all we want the athletes to have fun and enjoy themselves competing at Knox. As summer approaches please ensure hats and sunscreen are worn, and your children drink plenty of water.

I hope you all have enjoyed the start of the season, and there still plenty of the season left to invite friends and family to come and try athletics and join Wantirna.

Stay Healthy, Stay Safe and see you at the track.

David Kearsley
Wantirna LAC President