North Canberra-Gungahlin is one of the eight athletic clubs in the ACT and surrounding areas. We draw most of our members from suburbs north of Lake Burley Griffin, including the more recently-developed area of Gunghalin, but also have members from the southside and several from interstate. Our members range in age from primary school level to veterans who can't count their decades on one hand, and also include a number of athletes with disabilities.

The ACT Athletic Association organises summer and winter athletics competition in Canberra. Competition is provided for athletes from the Under 14 age group upwards. Other track and field competitions are organised by the various Little Athletics Clubs (for juniors up to Under 15) and by the ACT Veterans (for women 30-and-over and men 35-and-over).

The ACTAA publishes a handbook  providing detailed information about the competitions and events conducted under its auspices in summer seasons. If you are new to athletics, or new to Canberra, it is particularly important that you get a copy of the handbook. The ACTAA office phone number is 6247 1504.   There are also some useful websites that contain a considerable amount of information:
      ACTAA website:   http://athleticsact.org.au
      ACT Cross Country Club website:    http://www.canberrarunner.com.au/
      ACT Little Athletics Association website:    http://www.actlaa.org.au
      ACT Race and Fitness Walking Club: http://www.geocites.com/actrwc96
      ACT Veterans: http://www.actvac.com

The ACTAA conducts track and field meetings at AIS Athletics Track (next to the main stadium at the AIS in Bruce), starting in October and going through to March, culminating in the ACT Track & Field Championships. Most interclub meetings are held on Saturdays and commence mid-afternoon. Due to the heat in mid-summer, Saturday meetings are usually replaced by Tuesday twilight meetings, starting at 6pm, in January and early February.

In order to allow the full range of track and field events to be conducted, the meetings are organised into two sets of programs, which are conducted on alternate weeks. A full list of the meetings scheduled and details of the programs conducted at each meeting can be found in the ACTAA's Summer Handbook. A copy of this handbook is provided to all athletes who register for the summer season (or take a full year's registration).

Any athlete having difficulty in paying the registration fee as a lump sum is encouraged to discuss the option of progressive payments with Barbara Wagstaff.

Only $10 of the fee paid by athletes is passed on to the club. The major part is retained for ACTAA and Athletics Australia and goes towards the costs of organising and promoting the sport of athletics, and covering the spiralling insurance costs.

ACT Athletics and ACT Little Athletics have in place a dual registration agreement whereby an athlete who belongs to clubs from both organisations pays only one association fee (but two club fees). The athlete pays the full registration fee to the first club joined, but only the club component of the fee to the second club. There are some restrictions to this arrangement:

• the athlete must turn 12 by 31 December 2010 to be eligible to join an ACT Athletics club (i.e. born in 1998 or earlier); and
• the arrangement only applies to athletes registered in Little Athletics U15 or younger agegroups. Athletes in Little Ahtletics U16 and U17 agegroups must pay the full ACT Athletics registration fee on joining the club.

Athletics in the ACT can't exist without a dedicated group of regular officials and willing volunteer helpers from clubs. This season, NCGA will be rostering all track and field athletes (or a parent, friend, partner, ..) to officiate at one interclub competition. Helping out just once in the season is all that is needed to ensure our club does its fair share, and that there are plenty of officials to guarantee all scheduled events can be held.

Should any club members who wish to officiate on Saturday mornings face hardship in meeting their officials  registration fee, the club will be very happy to cover this cost for them.

In summer there is a fee for entry to the AIS Athletics track. For the the 2009/10 season, the fee is expected to be the same as last season - $5 for registered athletes (ACT or interstate). An additional day registration fee of $5 is charged for unregistered athletes (athletes may only compete using day registration on three occasions, before being required to join a club). These fees are used to help pay for the hire of the track.

In winter there is a fee of $2 (for juniors) or $5 (for seniors) to enter Cross Country Club race. Instead of these weekly fees, most winter competitors choose to pay a $15 or $20 membership fee to join the Cross Country Club and receive the Cross Country Club's bi-monthly magazine.

The club uniform comprises black shorts and a white top with red and black hoops, incorporating the North Canberra-Gungahlin logo between the two hoops. We sell these tops at cost price, $33, to athletes.

Lycra body suits and crop tops consistent with this general colour scheme are also acceptable. The club maintains a stock of both items - crop tops cost $31, and body suits are $52.  However, we will try to assist members in obtaining these if required. We do not sell black shorts or bike pants as these can be obtained more cheaply from local retailers.

To purchase uniforms or to make enquiries, contact club officials at the track in summer or at cross-country events in winter, or phone the Registrar on 6251 6698.

For the club to gain pointscores from summer competition, athletes must wear the recognised club uniform, with the competitor's registration numbers fixed clearly front and back, with all sponsorship logos visible. Attitudes to uniforms are more relaxed in winter but we would like to see all Norths members in uniform, at least for point score events.

Points are awarded to athletes and clubs for each track and field event in which competitors take part. These are based on performance, not on the placing gained in an event. The points are based on the point-scoring tables for age groups and events which appear in a compendium to  the ACT Athletics Summer Handbook. Points are accumulated during each designated day of competition and throughout the season for both individual athletes and their clubs. However, points are only awarded to athletes (and their club) when the official club uniform and registration number are worn. The team with the most points in each age group wins the premiership, and the leading individual pointscorers are recognised by awards from both the ACT AA and NCGA.

The club will attempt to put athletes in contact with coaches suited to their interests and ability levels. This season, coaching requirements will be co-ordinated by Rob Hathaway. During the summer season, training sessions are generally conducted at one of several playing fields on the northside (e.g. AIS track, Bruce TAFE or Dickson). In the winter, training for many athletes, especially middle and long distance runners, shifts to the forests and streets.

A shortage of people willing to assist with coaching - especially of junior athletes - is a constraint on the development of the club and the sport. We are most eager to contact people who are interested in coaching either young or experienced athletes. Training courses in coaching techniques are available and the cost may be subsidised by NCGA.

In addition to a regularly updated website, the club has a tri-monthy newsletter, the Northern News. Any urgent information is also sent to members via the club's own e-mail list.