From September 2018, the age group birth date cut off will be changed. Rather than the official age of an athlete (U9, etc) being based on their age as of 30th September, it will instead be based on their age as of 31st December.
This has been changed by Little Athletics Australia in order to align our age groups with senior and school athletics throughout Australia.
A summary of the changes and impacts is as follows:
- The age group anniversary date will change in the 2018/19 season to 31 December
- Athletes born between October and December will increment two age groups in 2018/19
- Athletes born between January and September are unaffected by the change
- The age groups will align with national school sport competitions
- Athletes will remain in the same age group for the duration of the summer season
For example, an U10 athlete born between 1 Jan and 30 Sep will move to the U11 age group. An U10 athlete born between 1 Oct and 31 Dec will advance two age groups to the U12 age group.
Both groups of athletes will find themselves competing with a slightly different set of competitors - and some competitors will be the same.
While we appreciate that this will be a big change for some, we have confidence in the resilience of our athletes, and expect them to adapt pretty quickly to the new age groups.
There are a handful of changes to help with this transition:
- In the 2018/19 season, U16s will be allowed to compete in regional and state events. This will be a one-off year for U16s competing at this level.
- In this same season, the U11 clinics (run by LAV) will also be open to U12s
- Young athletes who turn 5 between 30th September and 31st December will be allowed to compete in the U6s for that season, and for the whole of that season, even if they are less than 5 years old on the dates when they register. This change will be permanent.
Looking for more information?
Little Athletics Victoria have also prepared a webpage with helpful information - check this out via the link below:
