Get Involved

Welsh Athletics works closely with local authority sport development teams and clubs to provide and support opportunities for young people to get involved in Athletics across Wales. These opportunities are described below: 

The Daily Mile 

Why not use the Daily Mile to help prepare your pupils for the summer term track & field events. As part of an exciting new partnership, Welsh Athletics has entered into a formal partnership with The Daily Mile. The Daily Mile is a transformative initiative where children run, jog, wheel or walk for fifteen minutes every day. Inclusivity and accessibility has always been at the heart of The Daily Mile – getting young people involved regardless of ability. Find out more about the Daily Mile here!

QuadKids

QuadKids is a UK wide format which has been adopted by many clubs, Primary & Secondary schools within their competitions and Sports Days. It allows pupils to participate together as a team and compete across four events, scoring points based on their performances.  This easy to run athletics format encourages participation for all ages and abilities and has been widely used throughout the UK for many years.

• What? Four events: Standing long jump, vortex throw, 600m and 75m.
• Who? Primary and Secondary school aged children, usually in school years 5 to 8. A team consists of 2 boys and 2 girls in the same school year. Schools can be invited to attend QuadKids or Super 8 competitions against other local schools can enter teams in either year group (this may vary across local authority / region).  
• For more details on how to get involved with Quad Kids and see these amazing resources, click here.

Sportshall

Sportshall athletics is an exciting indoor programme of adapted athletics activities for Primary & Secondary aged pupils. Sportshall provides fun ways to build core skills and is renowned for its exhilarating team competitions. Sportshall is the top school sports participation competition in the UK. In Wales the schools athletics districts, along with support from Welsh Athletics, deliver sportshall competitions usually during curricular or extracurricular time. From these competitions, secondary teams are selected to represent their school district at the National Sportshall Final. In addition there are plenty of ideas and a variety of formats for Primary aged pupils too.

• What? Standing long jump, standing triple jump, vertical jump, speed bounce, shot put, 2 laps, 4 laps, relays.
• Who? Primary & Secondary school children aged up to 14.
• For more details on the various Sportshall Athletics schemes click here.

Cross Country  

• What?  Cross country is an endurance event run during the winter season (usually October- March) and is a great opportunity to get involved in our sport during the winter months. We offer a great pathway in cross country from grassroots level to national. The distances vary across the age groups but roughly start at 1200m in primary school to 5000m for the oldest age group in secondary schools. Welsh Athletics works in partnership with local authorities and schools districts to provide local and regional cross country events for young people.
• Who?  There are opportunities for young people to get involved in cross country at primary school level and secondary school.
• How?  To get your school involved, you can contact your local Club Network Officer.

Junior parkrun

• What?  Junior parkrun is a series of 2k events for children aged between 4 and 14. They are held in areas of open space around the UK. They are open to all, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.
• Who?  Children aged between 4 and 14.
• How?  To get involved in junior parkrun please visit the junior parkrun website.

Joining a Club

Does your child enjoy athletics? Have you recently completed a family fun run and been inspired to get your children involved in running? There are plenty of opportunities available for young people to get involved in Athletics; from those described above to joining a club. For more information visit our Join a Club page.

Codes of Conduct for Parents and Athletes can be found on our Codes of Conduct Page.