While not the largest athletics club, Kyabram Little Athletics can now proudly claim the title of the best.
Kyabram Little Athletics clinched the prestigious Large Centre of the Year award at the Victorian Little Athletics Gala Awards night on Saturday, 27 July, cementing its status as the gold standard among Little Athletics clubs.
The awards ceremony was held a part of a conference by Little Athletics Victoria, gathering representatives of clubs across the state to recognise the hard work put in by volunteers.
This year, the Gala Awards Night was held at the Manningham Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Bulleen, and representing Kyabram was president Claudia Moore and committee member Siobhan Thompson.
Despite having only 141 registered athletes, Kyabram’s club qualified for the Large Centre category, competing alongside much larger metropolitan clubs.
The club walked away from the gala with not just the Large Centre of the Year award for Northern Victoria, but also for the whole state.
Ms Moore said it was a huge achievement, considering the centre was going up against larger centres with over 400 athletes.
“I am so proud of the massive efforts of our dedicated committee who put so much work in behind-the-scenes, week in week out, over our track and field season,” she said.
Ms Moore said the club had grown significantly over the past five years.
The club now boasts its highest-ever membership, with 141 young athletes hitting the oval every Wednesday evening, chasing their track-and-field dreams.
“Last season’s success can be partially attributed to our registration packs we gave to each athlete thanks to some amazing sponsors, and we are aiming to give away more this coming season as well,” Ms Moore said.
“We love nothing more than seeing our athletes achieve personal bests week after week and even more so when you see their smiling faces receiving their PB awards kindly donated by businesses in our amazing community.
“We could not operate without all of their support, so a massive thank you to all of them for their continued support.”
The club is heading into its 30th season of athletics this year and is planning big for the celebrations.
In the meantime, preparations are in full swing as the club eagerly awaits the start of the athletics season in September.
“We work hard to make sure that local kids can benefit from working on their fundamental skills, and hope to see our awesome families return this year to make Kyabram Little Athletics bigger and better,” Ms Moore said.
“Kyabram is so lucky to have such a committed group to providing athletes in our area with athletics, and this certainly puts the icing on the cake for our upcoming 30th season.”