An athlete for life

08 Jun 2017

When Alan Triscott started organising athletic events for children on the weekend, he never could have imagined his dedication would introduce a generation of Aussie kids to the sport.

Alan Triscott has dedicated his life to ushering young people into the exciting world of athletics. He’s the co-founder of Little Athletics Australia.

It was in 1963 that Alan first had the idea to start an athletics club for children. Every Saturday he worked at the senior athletics event at Landy Fields in Geelong, Victoria, and one particular weekend he overheard three young boys ask if they could compete. Seeing their disappointment at being refused, one of the officials, Trevor Billingham, offered to organise some races for them if they came back with some friends the next weekend. Alan knew right away he wanted to help.

From that moment on, Alan says his life was changed forever. “The children who were at the first meeting came back the following Saturday and brought more friends, and in no time we had 200 children participating,” he says.

“It was obvious that this type of sport was what the young people wanted,” Alan says. “ It meant they could participate regardless of their skill level or abilities.

Alan was the ground manager for the athletics competition and he aimed to give each athlete three events each Saturday. The number of young people taking part increased quickly, and soon it was necessary to hold more events to keep up with demand.

By 1966 there were 1200 children registered, with 850 attending every Saturday morning.

“Trevor and I realised that we had made a discovery which was too important for only the children of Geelong to enjoy,” Alan says.

“We agreed to spread the knowledge we had acquired to all parts of Victoria. We spent the following two years driving all over the state to coach groups on how to start a Little Athletics Centre. We seldom arrived home before 2am in time for a short sleep before heading off to work.”

Trevor and Alan spearheaded 103 centres across Victoria, and in 1967 the Victorian Little Athletics Association was formed. Eventually the other states and territories followed suit, and in 1972 the Australian Little Athletics Union was formed to unify the centres.

“I am very proud to boast that there have been six million children, including many Olympians, who have passed through the ranks of Little Athletics in the 52 years of its existence,” Alan says