Athletics resources

Resources

Where to look when you are planning a session, learning an event, officiating for the first time, or checking how something is meant to be run. Everything here is free unless noted, and all of it opens on another site.

Coaching & planning Children’s athletics Athletic.net Rules & bodies

Planning and learning

Coaching and session planning

Good sessions come from good source material. These resources cover most of what a club coach or a helping parent needs, and none of them assume prior experience.

Get into coaching

  • World Athletics Kids’ Athletics

    Free games and activities for 4–14 year olds, built around movement skills rather than event technique. Used by more than 150 member federations.

    Programme

  • āhei

    Ready-made session plans that work for mixed-ability groups, free to New Zealand coaches and teachers.

    Planning

  • ASB Get Set Go

    Fundamental movement skills for 3–8 year olds, with skill cards, session planners and videos. The foundation our youngest groups are built on. Accessible to NCAN coaches through āhei.

    Ages 3–8

  • ASB Run Jump Throw

    Athletics-specific skills for 6–11 year olds using modified equipment and games, teaching basic movement patterns before refined technique. Accessible to NCAN coaches through āhei.

    Ages 6–11

  • Balance is Better

    Sport NZ’s guidance on keeping young people in sport — realistic expectations, late developers, and what helps rather than hinders. Written for coaches and parents alike.

    Guide

Saturday mornings and summer

Children’s athletics competition

Children aged 7 to 14 compete on Saturday mornings at Ngā Puna Wai from mid-October to early March, run by Canterbury Children’s Athletics. Register once for the season, then turn up.

Children’s records Join the club

  • Our Open Days

    Come and try athletics with us on a Tuesday evening at Rangiora New Life School, 5:00 to 6:15pm for 7 to 14 year olds. Dates and booking are on the page.

    Try it

  • Interclub competition 2026/27

    Registers your child for the Saturday competition and championships. $55 for the 2026/27 season, open until 5 March 2027. Register with the club first.

    Register

  • Join our team on Heja

    How we communicate with the children's competition team and families about training, meetings and changes. Install Heja, then join with team code BU-092221.

    App

  • 2027 South Island Colgate Games

    The summer highlight, at Surrey Park in Invercargill from 15 to 17 January 2027. Open to any 7 to 14 year old registered with an affiliated club, such as the North Canterbury Athletic Club.

    Event

  • Canterbury Children’s Athletics

    The Saturday competition itself: weekly programmes, results, best performances and newsletters.

    Info

  • Athletics for Everyone

    Athletics Canterbury’s have-a-go sessions at Ngā Puna Wai, Sundays 2:00 to 3:00pm from 25 October, running through Term 4 and into Term 1. No experience needed, $5 a session or $25 for six.

    Try it

Entries and results

Athletic.net

Athletics Canterbury and Athletics NZ take entries through Athletic.net for most events and publish results through AthleticLIVE. Everyone who competes needs an account, and children aged 12 and under are entered by a parent or caregiver from theirs.

See what is on

Our team pages

Before your first entry

  • Set the account up on a computer

    Create it on a laptop, PC or tablet. Once it exists, a phone is fine for entering meetings.

  • Children 12 and under

    They sit under a parent or caregiver’s account, and that adult enters the events and pays. Older children can be linked the same way if it suits you better.

  • Claim your bio

    Anyone who has competed in recent seasons already has results on Athletic.net. Claim that bio, and merge any duplicates so everything sits under one login.

  • Enter an event

    Open the event/meeting’s own info page, go to the Register tab, and follow the prompts for each event you are entering.

Guides and videos

How it is run

Rules and governing bodies

The rule book, e-learning platform and the two organisations NCAN is affiliated to.

Become an official

  • World Athletics Book of Rules

    The full rule book. Officials want C2.1 Technical Rules, under Book C, which covers every track and field event.

    Rules

  • Athletics NZ e-learning portal

    Courses, past webinars, and a library split into club, officials and coaching resources. Sign in with a World Athletics account the first time.

    Learning

  • Inventory of Athletics New Zealand E-Learning Library

    The E-Learning Library can be a little tricky to navigate. This page provides a snapshot of the available resources. Always check the latest information on the official website.

    Link

  • Athletics Canterbury

    Our regional body: the competition calendar, interclub and championship results, records and rankings, and officials and volunteer pathways.

    Regional

  • Athletics New Zealand

    Our national body, and the source of the programmes, courses and membership rules the club runs under.

    National

Keep it current

Know a resource we have missed?

If you use something that other coaches, officials or parents at the club would benefit from, send it through and we will add it.

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