Hi Woady Families

The short version:

Our club has grown from 120 to 180 athletes, and Friday nights have become stretched and at times unsafe. To keep everyone safe, we need every family to:

• Treat everyone with kindness and respect – adults and kids alike
• Stay with your child for the whole session (no drop-offs)
• Help your child’s group - 3 adults are needed before a group can start
• Keep off the track while races are running
• Listen at the 4:30pm briefing each week

This coming Friday, please arrive on time for a short Parent/Guardian meeting at 4:30pm, before athletics starts. We’ll go through these expectations in more detail.

The details are below. Please take three minutes to read them – this matters.

The detailed version:

We’re three weeks into the Track & Field season, and we want to be honest with you about how it’s going.

This season we’ve grown from 120 athletes to 180. We’re thrilled that so many families want to be part of Woady Aths. But the jump was sudden, and we couldn’t be fully prepared for what it would mean on the oval. Age groups are much bigger, there are lots of new families still learning how things work, and Friday nights haven’t been running as smoothly or as safely as we’d like. We’ve heard your feedback about safety, behaviour and group sizes, and we’ve seen it ourselves.

We’re a 100% volunteer-run club. Right now most of the work is falling on the committee and a small group of experienced parents. Many of them spend the whole night measuring and recording for other people’s children and never get to watch their own. That isn’t sustainable, and it isn’t the fun, family-friendly club any of us signed up for.

The good news is that this is fixable, but only if every family pitches in. So from this Friday, here’s what we need from everyone.

1. Respect

• Please treat everyone with kindness and respect. So far this season, several committee members have been sworn at, had parents be aggressive towards them and we have seen children upset because of the behaviour of the adults around them. Disrespectful behaviour towards anyone will not be tolerated.

2. Stay and supervise, every week

• A parent or guardian must stay with their child for the whole session. Athletics is not a drop-off activity.
• Children without a supervising adult will not be able to participate and their emergency contact will be called to collect them.
• You are responsible for your child’s behaviour. If they’re running off, mucking around or not listening, please step in.

3. Help with your child’s group

• Every group needs at least 3 adults before it can start. These adults will each wear a yellow vest. The 3 roles are:
  • Group Leader – ensure participants are staying with the group and behaving in a safe manner
  • Record keeping – this person writes on the clipboard
  • Measuring/time keeping –measure the throws/jumps and time the track events
  • Additional adults with the group can assist with measuring/time keeping
• If no one steps up, the group cannot commence.
• Please volunteer at the start of the night rather than waiting to be asked. If everyone takes a turn, nobody gets stuck doing it every week.
• No experience is needed. Instructions are given at each event and committee members are around to help.
• U11+ may only have 2 helpers available due to parental supervision of younger siblings. These groups may commence with 2 adult helpers and utilise some of the group members to help with measuring. An adult is to complete the record keeping.

4. Group splits

• Any age group with more than 10 athletes is split. This keeps groups manageable for parent helpers and means kids aren’t waiting for 20 others at every event. Groups are split in half by registration number, and we’re not able to move individual athletes to be with friends. With 180 athletes, we can’t accommodate individual requests, so one fair rule applies to everyone. Friends can still warm up together, cheer each other on and catch up at the BBQ.

5. Be track aware

• Never walk, stand or let children play on the track while races are running. Only cross when it’s clear.
• Keep well away from throwing areas (shot put, discus and javelin).
• Keep younger siblings close by and off the track and field areas.

6. Arrive in time for the 4:30pm briefing

• While the athletes warm up, we brief the adults on the night and allocate helpers. If you miss the briefing, it’s much harder for your group to get started. Our volunteers have stepped up to speak in front of 80 families, and it’s really disheartening when people keep chatting through it. Please stop and listen – it’s only five minutes.

If this isn’t the right fit for your family
 We understand that some families may have signed up expecting a drop-off activity, or simply can’t commit to helping. That’s completely okay, but we have to be upfront that our club can’t run that way. If that’s you, please email info@woadyathletics.org.au and we’ll arrange a refund of your registration fee.

We know this is a lot, and we really appreciate everyone who is already pitching in. Together we can make Friday nights safe, fun and enjoyable, for the kids and for the adults too.

Warm regards,
 The WYAC Committee

Hi Woady Aths

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Kind regards

WYAC Committee