Boasting 130 of the 450 athletes on show at St Leonards’ Northern Athletics Centre, the club made full use of its home ground advantage with a clean sweep of every age group in the 4x200m events. 

South Launceston president Justin Jones said he was pleased for his young stars to test themselves against Southern and North-West counterparts. 

“It’s been great that we’ve been able to showcase to the state the level and calibre of athlete that we’ve got here today,” Jones said. 

“We normally run as individuals in athletics so it’s great to be able to bring that team enthusiasm and team spirit to a competition.”

As well as 4x100m events the titles also featured Swedish relays, in which athletes combined over 100m, 300m, 200m and 400m legs. 

Little Athletics Tasmania president Rhonda O’Sign said a huge turnout, idyllic weather and great sportsmanship had made for an excellent day out.  

“The atmosphere is one of the best atmospheres I’ve seen for a long time at little athletics,” O’Sign said.

“To see all the athletes on the sidelines cheering their team members on - you might have the under-13s cheering on the under-7s, we’ve had a fantastic day here.

“We’ve had teams here that could be a mix of a South Launceston, North Launceston, Longford and a Burnie athlete and it’s great because even though they’re not from the one team today they are.

“That’s what little athletics is all about, the sportsmanship I’ve seen here today has been amazing.”

The titles also saw team leaders announced for April’s under-13 and under-15 national little athletics championships in Hobart. 

Wim Vaessen, Brett Johnstone and Anna Davie will coach the Tasmania while Kaylene Knee, Brett Gillow and Tracy Canham will share the roles of team manager. 

The next major event on the little athletics calendar is the individual state championships in Hobart on March 9 and 10.

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