Lake City Athletic Club juniors collected 52 medals at the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Championships.
Lake City Athletic Club's juniors have finished the season on a massive high.
The club took 50 young athletes to the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Children's Track and Field Championships in Hamilton at the weekend and returned with an impressive 52 medals. That tally comprised of 21 gold, 11 silver and 20 bronze medals.
It was a fitting end to an overwhelmingly successful season for the club juniors who were successful at different events, including the popular Colgate Games.
Lake City Athletic Club children's athletics convener Kelly Albrecht was thrilled with the attitude the children approached the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Championships with.
"The effort the kids were putting in - you could see they had trained all season for this one day. What I told them afterwards was they didn't just turn up to the event, they turned up the volume," Albrecht says.
"The presence of Lake City was huge, not only throughout the track but throughout the finals. There were Lake City kids in every final, there were some events where three of the eight kids in the final were from our club.
"Seeing the kids just give their all was the best part."
Lake City Athletic Club juniors with an impressive array of medals. (Absent from photo: Dominic Dube, Hannah Hickson, Mason-Marie Playle). Photo / Kelly Albrecht
Not only did the Lake City juniors give their all in their own events, they, along with their families, were also one of the most vocal clubs in terms of supporting each other.
"Some of the finals weren't until 6pm and the families whose kids didn't make the finals still stayed around to support the kids that did. The kids would jump up out of the tent whenever one of their mates was running, clapping and cheering for them.
"It makes the whole thing such a really neat vibe to be around."
She said the fact that the children had trained so hard for the event meant they had high expectations of themselves.
"There was definitely a bit more pressure and I know a few kids would've gone home expecting more from themselves because they did train so hard. On the day it can just come down to who has a better day.
"I did say to the kids beforehand that not everyone would come away with a medal but you have to look at the overall achievement. They've all stepped up to the Waikato-Bay of Plenty level, they've competed, they've trained hard and they've learned resilience, how to lose, how to win gracefully, confidence and built friendships.
"There's such a huge list of things you can walk out of these events with, other than medals."
The junior athletics season has come to an end now and will start up again in October.
