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The club’s arguments for a local athletics track includes demographics data that shows the Torquay region has high proportions of young people and physical activity rates, which it believed would lead to strong community interest.<\/p>\n
SCLA also claimed a track could be of use to other sports clubs in their training programs, help attract more events to the Surf Coast and provide more public recreation space for locals.<\/p>\n
Ms Osborne said the petition was necessary to draw attention to the club’s cause, which she said was behind the planning and funding eight-ball due to its fledgling status.<\/p>\n
“Decisions are made on participation data, which doesn’t include athletics because it hasn’t existed, and the reason it hasn’t existed is because there’s no infrastructure in place and with travel being a massive barrier,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Without a dedicated facility, the program and our capacity to increase participation is significantly hampered.”<\/p>\n
The club will submit its petition to council officers in a bid to gain support for the idea and advice on next steps in making its plan a reality, such as for a feasibility study and masterplan design.<\/p>\n
The council said it would present the petition at its next council meeting, April 26, and prepare a report for the May meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TORQUAY’S upstart little athletics community has launched a campaign for a dedicated local athletics centre, in a development that advocates say would have wide-ranging community benefits. Surf Coast Little Athletics (SCLA) is calling for support for a new facility through a petition that is set to go before Surf Coast Shire councillors later this month. […]<\/p>\n