Werribee Little Athletics Centre has taken out the Little Athletics Victoria centre of the year award.
Second-year club president Rob de Wit was taken aback when it was announced that his club had won the top gong.
“It’s a big honour for the club,” de Wit told Star Weekly. “There’s 100 clubs, so there’s a lot of competition out there. We were stoked to win.”
Werribee has nearly 400 athletes on its books at the VU Wyndham Sporting Complex.
To run a centre that large, it relies on an incredible volunteer support network and active involvement from the families of the children.
De Wit reckons Werribee is lucky in that regard.
“Coaching, team managers and the committee, then you need three or four people per event to help measure and rake the sand pits,” he said.
“We usually have about 60 or 70 volunteers each week … if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t survive. They’re there rain, hail or shine.”
Werribee lives by the LAV motto of family, fun and fitness.
“It’s about getting kids out of the house, making new friends and having a bit of fun,” de Wit said. “We’re trying to teach them a little bit of technique and encouraging them to have a go at different things. It gets them away from PlayStations, away from TV and gets them a bit of fresh air.”
Werribee is home to a number of talented youngsters, including Sophie McMinimee, long-time member and centre captain last season.
McMinimee has competed five times at the Australian Cross Country Championships and three times at the Australian Track and Field Championships.
Another athlete making an impression is Evan Clappaert, who has won the state multi-event championship three years running.
