1.png)
Little Athletics Roll of Excellence
Four world champions in athletics, along with a diverse range of individuals, were amongst those who were inducted in the inaugural Australian Little Athletics Roll of Excellence during a Gala Dinner at the Novotel, Darling Harbour.
Recently crowned world champion in the pole vault and dual recipient of the Don Award from the Sports Australia Hall of Fame, Steve Hooker, along with dual 400m hurdles champion Jana Pittman-Rawlinson, 50km walk champion and former world record holder Nathan Deakes, 1995 world indoor 200m champion Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and multiple Paralympic gold medallist Amy Winters were amongst the inaugural inductees in the track and field category.
The Australian Little Athletics Roll of Excellence recognises former participants in the iconic junior sporting activity who have achieved at the highest level in their chosen sport or profession.
Hooker, who accepted his award in absentia, reminisced of his experiences at Little Athletics via a prepared statement.
“Little Athletics was a great introduction to the sport for me,” he said.
“I really enjoyed the variety of running, jumping and throwing activities that I could participate in each week.”
The foundation in sport which Little Athletics provides was highlighted on the night through the success that past participants have had in a wide array of sports. Inductees in the general sportsman category were Olympic gold medallists Kathy Watt (cycling), Alisa Camplin (aerial skiing) and Nova Peris (hockey), along with premiership winning AFL player and coach John Worsfold and Wallabies captain George Gregan.
The success of former Little Athletics participants is not limited to the sporting field, with the achievers category recognising those who have excelled outside of the sporting world. Inspirational wheelchair athlete John Maclean, who was the first paraplegic to swim the English Channel and complete the gruelling Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, former test cricketer turned media personality Mike Whitney, Olympic aerial skier turned politician Kirstie Marshall and prominent sports medicine doctor Dr Peter Larkins were inducted in the Achiever’s Category.
Fittingly for an activity that relies on local communities for its conduct, five volunteers were also inducted into the Roll of Excellence. The two men who pioneered Little Athletics in the 1960s and transformed it from a small athletics meeting for primary school children in Geelong to an Australian social phenomenon, Trevor Billingham (deceased) and Alan Triscott, were inducted in the Volunteers category. Also inducted were long serving officials Helen Moir (Tasmania), Doug Hancy (Western Australia) and Barry Garment (New South Wales).
“Since its beginnings in 1963 Little Athletics has become a rite of passage for hundreds of thousands of Australian children,” said Ross Burridge, Australian Little Athletics President.
“By creating a Roll of Excellence we will help to preserve and promote Little Athletics’ heritage and inspire more children to become involved in our community athletic activities and to do their very best in sport and life.
“We are very proud of the sporting and social opportunities that Little Athletics provides and of the successes that many of our past participants have had in such varied fields of endeavour.”
AUSTRALIAN LITTLE ATHLETICS ROLL OF EXCELLENCE
Volunteers
- Trevor Billingham
- Doug Hancy
- Barry Garment
- Helen Moir
- Alan Triscott
Achievers
- Dr Peter Larkins
- John Maclean
- Mike Whitney
- Kirstie Marshall
Sportsman
- Alisa Camplin
- George Gregan
- Nova Peris
- Kathy Watt
- John Worsfold
Track & Field
- Nathan Deakes
- Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
- Steve Hooker
- Jana Pittman-Rawlinson
- Amy Winters
