Established in 1898 we are a club with a proud history, for 122 years we have been running, socialising and motivating people to get out there and give it a go! We cater for ALL athletes from the weekend warrior to the world class! It does not matter how old or fit you currently are, we all start somewhere, most of our top athletes came from humble beginnings and have trained hard to get to where they are now.
UC Athletics puts a big emphasis on relays, and running as a team. We enter all local relay events and send teams away to the annual Lovelock Relays in Dunedin and National Road Relays to be in Feilding this year.
The club currently has a great depth of talent throughout all age groups, which has seen members dominate recent distance events throughout Canterbury and New Zealand and recently Angie Petty at the Rio Olympics, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
We aim to foster and encourage all athletes to reach their goals. Current members are enthusiastic and ready to share their passion for our sport with you!
We have experienced and successful coaches for all events and distances, regular social runs and events, a large variety of group training sessions for all ages including a strength and conditioning circuit training block during the winter
University of Canterbury Children’s Athletics Information
We are a strong family orientated club;
we have a strong junior history
Season runs from October to March Club Champs are in February
Day and Time: Wednesdays from 5.15pm to 6.45pm at Westburn School
Objectives: The club night aims to encourage participation by 4 to 14-year-old children in structured athletic activities in a supportive and friendly atmosphere. Athletes learn new skills and at the same time stay healthy, have fun, and make lots of new friends!! The Club’s focus is to foster a positive attitude to fitness, help achieve sporting potential and provide a fun and friendly environment for the whole family.
Groups The children are grouped according to their age and gender from U7 to 14 years old. Each group will have a team leader that will provide them with coaching and encouragement through the season. The Minis group is for all children Under 7 years old, this group uses modified equipment and coaching techniques, specifically Run, Jump and Throw. Some events are modified to suit their stage of development however they compete in most events on competition nights.
INTERCLUB TRAINING FOR AGES 10 -14
These sessions are only open to children competing on a Saturday Morning at Nga Puna Wai.
There is a cost involved which helps the club to pay our coaches
Jumps, Throws and Hurdles Squad Training. Tuesday Nights, Westburn School, 4.45pm warm up for a 5.00pm start, Goes for about 1 1/2hr
Sprint /Middle Distance Training. Thursday Nights, Westburn School, 4.45pm warm for a 5.00pm start, Goes for approximately 1 hr.
INTERCLUB COMPETITION
This is held on Saturday mornings at Nga Puna Wai from 9am to 1pm. You can do four different events (generally two field events and two track events) each morning as well as joining in a relay. You compete against other athletes of the same age.
It is a great way to keep fit and improve speed and strength and you can also use it as great off season conditioning for winter sports.
There are usually at least three grades in each age group so you will be competing against athletes of the same ability.
· There is no requirement to compete every weekend
· You can attend two meetings before deciding to join for the season.
· It is a great way to improve your times and distances and meet and make new friends from other
clubs.
· There are over ten athletic clubs that have athletes competing in the Inter club competition and there is a great cross section of ages and abilities.
· You could be selected to represent Canterbury in one of several Representative teams chosen at the end of the season to compete against other Centres around NZ.