We committed to provide further information regarding the 2024-25 season at Manly Warringah, so below is an update on what to expect.

Will there be Saturday competition at Narrabeen?

Yes! Like last year, we will have a 2-program cycle where athletes will compete in all events across a fortnight. The field events will be in the red zone (synthetic tartan area) and the track events will be in the green zone (the grass track near the Office of Sport motel area). 

Will hurdles and walks be conducted this season? 

Yes! Our hurdlers and walkers will be happy to hear that we will have both walks and short and longer distance hurdles fortnightly. 

What is on offer for track athletes who wants practice on a synthetic track?

We have hired the SOPAC warm up track at Homebush on four occasions before the Christmas break so that our track athletes can still run on the surface they're used to. On top of that, State Relays and Zone will be on synthetic, our older athletes will be able to participate in Treloar Shield and other ANSW meets which are all on synthetic track. In fact, 10 of the 14 weekends of the season before the Christmas break have a track option available. This includes some Friday nights and some Saturday mornings. 

A draft calendar for the period through to Christmas is below. 

How will athletes qualify for the Championships events? 

We will use the same approach as previous years for Zone selections, that is, athletes in the 7's (born 2018) to 11's (born 2014) age groups who want to qualify for Zone must compete in an event 50% of the times an event is offered at a MW meet (Narrabeen or SOPAC). The athletes' best results in an event will then be averaged to determine the primary order of qualification for an event.  The qualification period is as per the table below. Make sure you attend as many regular Saturday (or Friday night!) competions as you can.

As in years past, athletes in the 12's (born 2013) and older age groups will be able to self nominate entry into a maximum of 6 events at Zone. 

With the formation of the NSW Athletics Partnership between Athletics NSW and Little Athletics NSW, the State Relays have a new look this year. The Little Athletics competitors (8s -12s) will have their own State Relay competition on Sunday 10th November 2024, and teams will be selected in the same way as above. 

The 13s and older age groups will compete at the Junior Athletics State Relays alongside the Seniors and Masters athletes a week later on 16-17th November 2024. Selection into our MW teams will be based on season best results between September 14th and October 26th. To qualify for a team, athletes must produce at least one result (i.e. from a MWLAC meet, or an ANSW meet such as NSW All Schools or a Treloar Shield).

Qualification Summary

What will Saturday mornings look like? 

We are shaking up what Saturday mornings look like by removing triple jump and javelin from age groups’ regular programs to remove bottlenecks that have historically caused group delays. Instead, we’ll be scheduling these in as an early morning offering (like our walks, 1500m and longer hurdle races). We will have dedicated coaches to facilitate both our beginners and advanced throwers and jumpers with a goal to develop our athletes’ skills and competencies.

The best way to ensure we all wrap up early is by offering your help! The more officials and age manager assistance we get, the faster our comp ends. Please email back if you are able to help as age manager or an official this season. Training is provided! 

A sample program is attached as a guide and may be subject to change.

Sample Program

What uniform do athletes wear? 

Athletes competing at our regular weekly comp should wear their club uniform (i.e. Wakehurst, Seaforth, Cromer, Peninsula or Manly uniform). Athletes competing at Zone, Region, State Relays or any Junior Athletics inter-club meets (formerly ANSW events) should wear the Manly Warringah representative uniform (white singlet or crop with maroon eagle, and maroon shorts).

We will also have an optional training tee available to order at registration this season. This is NOT COMPULSORY and this cannot be worn for competitions but anyone who would like to purchase one will be able to do so by 7 September when the order will be submitted to the manufacturer. 

Will U20 competition be offered?

Yes, the NSW Athletics Partnership has created a single pathway for Little Athletes and Junior Athletes that includes the U20 age group.  This means athletes born in 2006 or 2007 may continue their athletics with Manly Warringah.  We will also continue our own partnership with the Manly Warringah Senior Athletics Club (formerly Sydney Pacific) to field single teams under the Manly Warringah Athletics banner at competitions like State Relays and the Treloar Shield.

What training is available? 

What about points accumulating across the season for end of season awards? 

With the changes to our season, we will be carrying out a review of our end of season awards. Regardless of what the end of season awards look like, the athletes who turn up week to week and try their best will always be rewarded with PBs and a sense of improvement, so the end of year awards, however they look, are just a bonus to that!