Active Kids Weekend: ACT Zone Cross Country

Previously I have written about how my girls Flash (9) and Muscles (7) qualified to compete for their school at the zone (district) cross-country carnival.

The zone carnival was held at a beautiful, and purpose built cross country running track called Stromlo Forest Park….There is quite an interesting history to this running track. It was designed by the Australian Marathon Champion, Robert De Castella (‘Deek’), After the Canberra bushfires in 2003 ( the year flash was born). The fire  destroyed over 500 homes and took four lives. Deek’s house was one of those destroyed in the fire.

Previously, Stromlo forest park was covered in majestic pine trees and reminded me of a scene from a Canadian tourism brochure. It was a glorious location for walking, running and mountain biking. After the fires, a group of us mountain bike riders tried to ride on our old trail. I will never forget what I saw….the devastation was absolutely mind-blowing…it was a grey luna-liker landscape as the forest had been razed to the ground by the horrific fire-storm.

Flash’s race was first. She and her two team mates lined up nervously at the start with the other girls and were off and running. Flash hit the bottom of the hill loop in about 3^rd place as the pack ran out of sight.

….As a mum, these events are hard to watch…my heart is in my throat and my hands shake so that it’s difficult for my poor little camera to focus…..

Straining my neck, I managed to catch a few glimpses of that tell tale red pony-tail in the lead around the back of the course. Flash came into the finishing straight in the lead and even managed to find her way (she actually started running in the wrong direction) to the finishing line in first place! Flash’s teammate was in 3^rd place too!! Flash had won her zone!

After a nervous wait, it was muscles turn…Muscles displayed a brave smile as her teacher led my baby girl to the start line of her first zone cross-country. The younger age groups treat the cross country like an extended sprint event and the pack took off like a rocket….

my little one reached the bend in first place as they ran out of site. I was wondering if she would last the distance!

Muscles reached the final turn in the lead and we could see by the look on her face that she was giving it everything she had! Muscles reached the finishing line in first place! 

 With wobbly legs and a red face she fell into my arms as she tried desperately to get her breath back…This was another moment I’ll never forget as we stood still together, mother supporting her daughter, amidst the moving crown of spectators.

I carried my little girl back to our school tent and you should have seen the look on her face….the look she gave us when we told her that her prize for winning, was to do the race AGAIN next month for the ACT School Championships…I thought she might have been about to cry….

…but now, she and Flash are counting down the days until the ACT cross country carnival next month…

One of the aims I have for this SportyMummy blog is to create a community of parents interested in sport and a healthy lifestyle for their children.

If your kids have participated in a sport or a fun energetic activity this week, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. You can also comment on the SportyMummy Facebook page. If you have written a blog post about a sport or activity your children have participated in this week, you can add it to the linky tool at the end of this post. It is my hope to create a supportive community that will also motivate others to get involved with an active lifestyle.

The Trouble With Athletics

I love Little Athletics. I love that, for us, it is a family sport. I think it is great that the emphasis is on participation and doing ones personal best rather than competing against others. At our club, the atmosphere is welcoming friendly and supportive. But I think there needs to be more to athletics at a junior level in Australia in addition to Little Athletics.

My girls Flash (8) and Muscles (7) seem to be quite good at the running and jumping events. Indeed Flash was nick-named ‘Flash’ by her kindergarten teacher when he saw her run. Muscles was later known as ‘Flash Junior’ Both girls have been awarded age champions at their little athletics club. Flash was also club champion in 2010 and was also very successful in her first year of school representative sport.

This is Flash’s fourth year in Little A’s and Muscles third. In that time they have not really been shown the correct technique for elements of the sport such as starting, running, sprinting or long jump. They just go out there and do it! In all the other sports that my children participate in; gymnastics, swimming and soccer, there is streaming into ‘development programs’ for those children who show potential or enthusiasm for the sport. In these development sessions, there is a very strong emphasis on developing correct technique from the very beginning.

I have developed a love of the sport of running, and in my over boffin-ish way have read everything I could get my hands on to do with running techniques, to help myself be a better runner. I love the running magazines and websites. I love reading athletes own blogs. I have learnt that technique can have a huge impact on running speed, endurance and injury prevention and overall performance.

I worry that my girls and the other kids in little athletics are practicing their own ‘way’ of running week-after week. I am concerned that bad technique will be so ingrained that it will be extremely difficult to correct later on. Incorrect technique may also attribute to injury issues. If correct technique had been learnt from the beginning, it would become second nature. The athletes blogs I have been reading often focus on the difficulties of changing their technique. I wonder if this could be minimalised or prevented by knowledgeable and informed best practice coaching at a junior level.

From a grass roots level it is my opinion that the way Swimming Australia oversee the sport of swimming, right down to the club level, is very organized and thorough. All swimming clubs are under the umbrella of a their state swimming association, which is in turn  overseen by swimming Australia. There are different streams of competition and training catering for those who are beginning, or wish to participate recreationally, and those who are high achieving.

 There just does not seem to be the same level of cooperation and cohesion existing within the Little Athletics clubs and Athletics Australia. It seems to me that Athletics Australia has assumed all junior athletics can be handled by Little Athletics. However, the focus of little A’s is participation and personal bests. There does not appear to be pathways in place for talented or achieving athletes to move to the next level. Other sports in Australia start these pathways from a young age and perhaps starting at a young age is necessary for success. Athletics has a low profile in Australia, particularly compared to swimming. Our swimmers are extremely successful at an international level, particularly if you take our small population into account! Although there are obviously many complicated reasons for swimming’s success, I can’t help wonder if the lack of junior  athletic development plays a role.

I think Little Athletics is fantastic in terms of a fun, inclusive and recreational sport. However, like other sports, I think there needs to be some talent identification and the option of ‘streaming’. Then, talented or enthusiastic young athletes can be mentored and coached with the ultimate aim of high level competition in the sport. I think a good solution would be for little athletics to stay hoe it is, but for Athletics Australia to have a greater role in talent identification, coaching and mentoring.

I have read recently that little A’s and Athletics Australia are going to attempt to forge closer ties. I will be very interested in the outcomes. However, it may be too late for my girls. Although talented in athletics, they put so much time and effort into training for their other sports that when given the choice, the other sports will take priority. With no obvious pathway to higher levels, my girls are quickly tiring of athletics. I wonder if athletics is losing other talented young athletes for this reason.