Our Club’s History

 

At the end of 2014 Palmerston welcomed a passionate group of volunteers who got together to establish the Palmerston Athletics Club under the leadership of Priya Wickremasena. 
 

The interim committee consists of  Aaron McMahon from Defence Athletics and the founder of Slim Digital and Priya Wickremasena a Masters Athlete and Athletic Australia-registered coach, established a vision and mission for the club, a location from which it would operate, a constitution and structure under which it would be governed, in 2015 we are seeing the fruits of their hard work with the commencement of the club’s first season from the 19th of April 2015.

 

The Interim Committee  sought endorsement from the local member Lia Finocchiaro and Sports Minister, both  wholeheartedly endorse their dream to the Palmerston Athletics Club. 

 

The Interim Committee then took their proposal to the Palmerston community and sought office bearers and members. Kelly Poe, a local mum, stepped up and took on some committee responsibilities. Lee Wilson, the NT Manager of ‘Life. Be In It’, has also assisted Palmerston Athletics Club a great deal. He has promoted the club within the school community which has greatly helped to increase youth members.
 

What is Community Athletics -  Club's overarching goal is to promote athletics and fitness in the Northern Territory. The club wants to encourage young Territorians to engage with athletics and develop basic running, throwing, and jumping skills which are the three skills that form the basis of all sports and games.

 

The club acknowledges how important parents are in fostering a healthy lifestyle for their children and encouraging them to participate in sports.  In order for young people to participate there is a valuable contribution being made by the parents. In recognition of that contribution, Palmerston Athletics Club has decided that as a part of its offering to its members and as part of its philosophy, something must be offered to engage parents who bring their children to training.

 

The club has a model of community-engaged athletics, which is a commitment by the club to ensure that all children’s training sessions involve the parents, so that mums and dads, aunties, uncles, grandparents and carers are all running around during training. This commitment has been tremendously successful and is a major achievement of the club.
 

For parents, it is a great way to spend time with their children, foster their child’s participation in athletics, and get a little fitness training for themselves while they are at it. The engagement of parents in training sessions was a key part of the club’s mission statement and was set as a key performance indicator to gauge the success of the club. It is a key part of the club’s commitment to promoting a healthy, active lifestyle for all Territorians.

 

The Palmerston Athletic Club trains at  Palmerston College 10-12 Campus Oval, 10 Tilston Ave, Driver NT on Fridays 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM local time local time for our community athletics program. Everyone is invited to attend these sessions to see first hand the way families can engage in club activities,