ARMIDALE Athletics Club has a long history of producing top track and field athletes, and now recording their training times will be a lot easier.
The club was awarded funding through the Local Sports Grant Program to purchase time keeping equipment. Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan caught up with members of the club who were excited to receive the grant.
“Armidale Athletics Club has around 180 members of all ages and experience levels, and many of them aspire to compete at zone, state and national level competitions,” Mr Moylan said.
“By having an electronic timing setup, those athletes will gain first-hand experience of a professional environment during their training sessions and will be able to take that understanding to the next level.
“It is a fantastic result for a club who works hard and provides a strong environment for athletes to develop and flourish.”
Armidale Athletics president Matt Hammond said their club coaches will be able to use the equipment to better develop athletes and training programs.
“For the club, it’s a shift toward a more professional, efficient, and future-focused model,” he said.
“This will significantly improve the accuracy of results, streamline our operations, and allow us to begin integrating digital systems into weekly competition.
“Our athletes benefit most directly, particularly those striving for representative pathways where accurate timing matters.
“Coaches gain more reliable data to support development, and volunteers benefit from simpler, less error-prone processes.
“Ultimately, the entire club community benefits from a stronger, more modern competition environment.”
