Get Involved

GET INVOLVED

There are multiple opportunities in Wales to get your children involved in athletics and running. These opportunities are described below: 

STARTING BLOCS

Starting Blocs is Welsh Athletics’ Physical Literacy Programme, for children aged between 4-11. Children will learn the key fundamental movement skills needed to participate in sport and physical activity. Through fun games delivered in a safe and positive environment, children will learn the foundations of running, jumping and throwing.

Throughout the year, there will be several Starting Blocs holiday camps and weekly sessions across Wales delivered by our expert coaches and partners.

Find out more here.

JOIN A CLUB

Joining a club is a great way for children aged 9 and above to enjoy organised athletics run by qualified coaches in a safe environment. Through your local club, children will have the opportunity to get involved in competitions, meet new friends and try a range of athletic sports.  

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.

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.

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.

FOUNDATIONS FRAMEWORK WALES

Welsh Athletics is proud to support the Foundations Framework Wales, which has recently launched as a best practice guide for those involved in organising, promoting, delivering and enabling physical and sporting activities for children aged 3-11.The framework hopes to contribute to improving children’s physical activity levels in Wales, which has some of the lowest levels globally, by creating a collective effort to promote good practice and develop child centered opportunities.

You can find out more about the Foundations Framework here: ENGLISH CYMRAEG

You can access resources here.