Hillsborough Athletics caters for kids 2-14 years.

Our 2-6 year old Junior athletes are working on gaining fundamental movement skills. Each week they do some short races, an obstacle race, and skills based activities focused on movement, running, jumping, throwing and catching. Lots of fun each week.

Our littlest athletes have their races first to cater to early bedtimes. 

Athletes 7-14 years are training and competing each week in traditional athletics events- with 2 sprint races, a jumps event,, a throws event, and optional distance run. Athletes can measure their progress each week against their Personal Best in each event, and can check their PB on the website. 

Age is determined by the athlete's age on 31 December. Athletes remain in the same age grade for the duration of the season. 

Age groups are determined according to the age your child is on 31 December (of the year the season starts). For example, any child who turns 7 between 1 January and 31 December of that year is in the 7 year old age group.

An athlete stays in the age group they start in. If your child has a birthday in the latter part of the season, January to March, they don’t move age groups after their birthday.

Age Grades- age is at 31 December 2024

Athletes stay in the same grade for the whole season (even after Xmas/ after birthday)

Juniors 2-6 years

Seniors 7-14 years

No, athletes remain in their own age group. The online registration process allocates a child to their age group based on their date of birth.

There are many opportunities for our athletes to compete against other Clubs at Athletics Auckland and Athletics NZ events including Ribbon Days, Relays, Junior Pentathlon, GO! Series, Colgate Games and Auckland Championships. 

For any questions/requests regarding participation at Club level in another age group for health or wellbeing reasons, or if your athlete has special needs,  contact us on hjacorg@gmail.com

Register via the GameDay platform.

Registration Link

We are an Athletics NZ and Athletics Auckland affiliated club, so your registration fee has 3 parts- all are compulsory

Junior Athletes 2-6 years $55

Senior Athletes 7-14 years $105

Family discount for 3+ athletes registered at the same address at the same time.

If you have been registered with another club for winter running, please email us so we can arrange your transfer.

You need to pick up your Registration Pack that contains your athlete’s unique registration number, age group patch and LANSW sponsor patch (Coles patch). New registration numbers are issued every season by LANSW.

Registration Packs can be collected before the start of the season on “Registration Pick Up Day”. This is usually held on a Saturday afternoon 3 weeks before the first Saturday competition day - Calendar. You also need to buy a competition singlet - Uniform.

After the start of season, Registration Packs and competition singlets are available in the Club Room prior to the start of competition on Saturday mornings.

Don't forget to sign up for a Canteen & BBQ volunteer shift - click here!

7.30am: Equipment set up, as allocated to age groups on the rotational schedule.
8.15am: Announcements. Age groups gather around their “flag” and check in with their Age Managers
8.25am: Warm up 
8.30am: Events begin for all age groups.
9.30am: Tots age group finish
9.45-10.15am: U6s and U7s finish
10.00-10.30am: U8s and U9s finish
10.30am onwards: U10+ age groups finish 
11.00am-12.00pm: Equipment pack up 

The start of each season is very busy, with high attendance levels and large numbers of athletes learning new skills. During this time, we ask everyone to be extra patient as many athletes and parents/carers move around the oval and get familiar with competition processes and rules.

Over the season the Club cycles through a three weekly program of events for each age group. Click here to view the weekly programs.

To find out more about the events, you can read the LANSW Event Fact Sheets or watch the LANSW "How to..." video series which is made for athletes.

If the grounds are closed by the Council, a notice will be posted on Facebook/Instagram on the Friday night prior to a Saturday morning competition. If the decision is based on weather conditions developing overnight/in the morning, notification of cancellation will be posted on Facebook/Instagram by 7.15am on Saturday morning. Our Facebook page is visible on the Club's homepage.

Age Managers are a group of up to 4 parent/carer volunteers who guide the age group and oversee the running of events on Saturday mornings. The role is to delegate tasks to other parent/carer volunteers, encourage and support athletes and liaise with Committee members. 

The Club supports Age Managers by:

• running a briefing session;
• sending weekly emails prior to Saturday competition;
• preparing Age Manager folders with Event Sheets and other useful information for Saturday morning competitions.

Complete this form if you are interested in being an Age Manager.

To get started we recommend you read the LANSW Event Fact Sheets or watch the "Hints and Tips for Age Managers and Volunteer Helpers" video series. There is also an LANSW "How to..." video series aimed at athletes.

The assistance of volunteer parents/carers is essential to the running of the Club, including setting up, packing up and the running of events on Saturday competition mornings, training sessions and at Championships.

Volunteering and assisting with your athlete’s age group is the best way to be close to the action and encourage all athletes to try their best. You can support the Age Managers by recording results at events, marshalling athletes either at the start or end of running events, collecting shots/discus, raking in the long jump pit, measuring any throwing events.

You can also help pack up equipment at the end of Saturday competition. Every family must volunteer for one shift per season in the Canteen or BBQ - sign up here.

The Club uniform consists of our special commemorative “Harbouring Cultures” singlet (or crop top) designed in collaboration with local indigenous artist Blak Douglas, with black shorts or black compression active wear. 

This uniform is worn at all levels of competition and must have the appropriate registration number (bib) sewn or pinned on the front in the centre (with the red border showing), age patch at the top left hand corner and a Coles patch at the top right corner. For crop tops, the age patch can be placed on the shorts. Click here for the LANSW Uniform Placement of Patches. 

Singlets, hats & caps can be purchased from the Club Room during Saturday morning competition. Click here for a list of uniform items and prices. 

Blak Douglas calls the design "Harbouring Cultures”.
Sourcing the rock carvings gallery at Callan Park (Wangal Country) I’ve created these designs to pay homage to both the Wangal and the artists responsible for the imagery upon the foreshore. The inherent colours of the Balmain Tigers are an apt fitting for such an aesthetic. Orange, white & black exist naturally within the Pirrima (Sandstone). The distorted concentric circle patterns represent the grain pattern found in the rock. The existing shark motif acts as a stark contrast to the Tall Ship also present. The fish motifs are in acknowledgement to the neighbour cousins of the Wangal and a connected dreaming.
Blak Douglas, 2021

Every Saturday morning each event site needs to be set up for the applicable weekly program.

At King George Oval this includes:

• Four Discus circles, 
• Six Shot Put rinks,     
• Two Javelin areas, 
• Eight Long Jump run ups, 
• Four High Jump areas,  
• Two Tracks; and 
• the Canteen and BBQ area.

During the season, parents/carers from each of the U6 to U17 age groups are allocated to set up on a Saturday to help distribute equipment and set-up the Oval from 7.30am. Committee members are present to allocate tasks. Email reminders are sent to the age group leading up to their set up duty. 

Shoes are compulsory in every event for all ages. 

Spikes are permitted in the U11 age group and above in events run entirely in lanes and during Long Jump, Triple Jump and High Jump. Athletes in U6 to U10 age groups must not wear spikes for any event. They can wear waffles.

Trial sessions of up to two Saturday competition mornings are available for age groups that are not closed. These are available after week 3 of a season. You must sign in at the Club room before participating in any events.

Club training is offered on Tuesdays to all athletes in the U8 to U17s from 4:30-6pm. These sessions all start with our regular warm-up lap involving dynamic exercises and stretches before moving onto drills that will assist ALL level of runners. Each age group then undertakes 30 minutes of training in two different disciplines that mirror the events they will undertake that coming Saturday.

Additional training is offered to athletes only in the U12-U17 age groups on Thursdays from 4:45-6pm. We will have coaches available for Sprints, Middle Distance, Racewalking, Hurdles as well as in the Throws. These sessions offer more technical coaching to our older athletes who choose to undertake just one event group during the training session. 

Our team of junior coaches run skill building sessions for the U6-U8 age groups during Shot Put, Discus and Long Jump events on a Saturday morning. This enables technique development and keeps our athletes active.

Athlete's results are entered on the website every Saturday afternoon.  Click on 'Results' to keep track of your PBs and watch your progress over the season.

Safety is a priority on Saturdays. Please follow these guidelines and any directions given by Age Managers, Coaches and Committee members.

• WHEREVER POSSIBLE KEEP TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE 400M OVAL TRACK.  
  • Inside the 400m track there are two sprinting tracks, four high-jump areas and the javelin throwing area. It is very busy and does not function as a thoroughfare. Only enter the area within the 400m track if you are competing or assisting with an event. 
  • If  you are heading to a competition area within the 400m track, cross at designated crossing points only. You must check for any approaching athletes on the main track.
     
• PLEASE KEEP DOGS AT HOME, AND ALL STROLLERS AND BALL GAMES TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE 400M TRACK
   
• KEEP FLAGGED AREAS CLEAR - Much of the area within the 400m track is bordered with flags to signal that they should not be used as pathways or crossing points. Please ensure your children are aware of this and model safe behaviour by crossing only at designated points
   
• BUNTING/FLAGS/ROPES MEAN “BE AWARE” - Throwing areas are roped off to keep spectators at a safe distance. Be mindful that some of our younger athletes throw the discus 20m+  and the javelin 30m+. Some of our senior athletes are throwing almost 50m.
   
• WHEN YOU HEAR SOMEONE CALL “TRACK"
  • Non-competing athletes and spectators – it means someone has wandered onto the track and is probably in the path of an on-coming athlete. LOOK AROUND and move off the track as fast as you can. 
  • Competing athletes in a middle distance race (800m, 1500m, 3000m or 1500m race walk) - it is a request to move to lane 2 to clear lane 1 for another athlete to pass.
     
•  KEEP SMALL PEOPLE CLOSE AT ALL TIMES - Please keep toddlers within sight and away from flags, finish line poles, ropes, etc at all times. 

The Club runs a Canteen and BBQ every Saturday. It plays a vital role in our fundraising and also offers an early lunch solution. Each family must volunteer to help with the BBQ/Canteen for one 2 hour shift per season. Click here to sign up. You will receive a reminder email a few days before your nominated Saturday.  

Track events on Track 1 (Oval track) must have at least two manual timing devices that have timed first place and both times are under, or equal to, the existing record.  Stopwatches must not be deleted until a Committee member has viewed and verified the time. Track events with operational timing gates do not need a manual back timer.

If an athlete is close to a record distance in any throwing event, Age Managers must ensure a Committee member is on hand to view any potential record breaking throw and verify the measurement.

In a jumping event, an Age Manager must view the jump to determine fouls for any potential record. The Age Manager must not be related to the athlete. Stop competition, do not rake over the san

Age Managers: a small group of parent/carer volunteers who guide an age group and oversee the running of events on Saturday mornings with support from other parent/carer volunteers.
Backup timer: an assistant timekeeper with a second stopwatch.
Blocks: starting blocks used by older athletes.
Cage: the net or fence that protects us from a discus.
Circle: the area an athlete uses to throw a Shot or Discus from.
Committee member: a parent/carer volunteer who helps manage the club.
DQ: disqualification.
Flop: Fosbury Flop high jump technique that athletes lean in the U11 age group and can be applied in age groups from U11 and above.
Lane 1: The innermost lane on the main oval track.
Lifting: when an athlete loses contact with the ground in race walking.
Multi timer: a timing device/stopwatch used to time longer races that records multiple athletes and produces a printed record.
Pack start: when a group of athletes start from the same position on the oval track, usually used for long distance running in U6-U8 age groups and race walking for U9-U17 age groups.
PB: Personal Best - your best ever result in an event.
Scissors: the high jump technique that athletes learn in the U9 and U10 age groups.
Sector: the area between the lines that a throw in discus, javelin and shot put must land within.
Staggered start: the different starting positions when running a 200m, 400m and (for senior athletes) 800m race.
The Gun: a device used to start a race.
Timing Gates: the electronic timing poles.
“Track”: used to signal that a non-competing athlete or spectator has accidentally moved into the path of an on-coming athlete and must move quickly out of the way; for competing athletes in a middle distance race (800m, 1500m, 3000m or 1500m race walk), a request to move to lane 2 to clear lane 1 for another athlete to pass.
Waffles: sprinting shoes worn by junior athletes.
Zone: A competition for athletes in the U7-U17 age groups where the Club competes against six other Inner City clubs.

It is Club policy that Committee members, Club coaches (over 18 years old) and Age Managers must have a Working With Children Check. Click here to apply online at Service NSW.