Kilkenny’s Little Athletes launch McDonald’s newest Little Athletics club
Some 30 kids from Kilkenny joined forces to launch the newest McDonald’s Little Athletics Club at the Nore Valley Athletics Club, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny.
Little Athletics is a programme designed to address the specific physical requirements of children in the five - 10 year old age bracket. It focuses on introducing the FUNdamentals of athletic movement to children in a fun, exciting, and non-competitive environment.
The McDonald’s Little Athletics Clubs focus on fun ways for children to exercise and take part in agility challenges including the Speed Bounce, Balance Beam, and Standing Long Jump, which are based on the fundamentals of agility, balance and co-ordination.
Jacqui Freyne, director of development for Athletics Ireland praised the event.
“It is fantastic to see such a great turnout to launch this new club. We focus on making athletics fun and interesting for the children, particularly focusing on the five-10 age group, the bracket identified as the most fundamental stage in longer term physical development in children. The continuous support and commitment of McDonald’s to this partnership helps us provide children of all backgrounds with access to state of the art facilities, expertise and resources.”
Commenting on the programme McDonald’s Kilkenny operator Chris Pim, said, “The McDonald’s Little Athletics programme provides much needed opportunities for local children and clubs to get involved, get active, and most importantly to enjoy themselves. At McDonald’s we are committed to promoting active lifestyles and do this through our support of Little Athletics and balanced menu options available – an active lifestyle and balanced diet go hand in hand!”
The Little Athletics programme is delivered by athletics leaders, who are adults trained by Athletics Ireland through the Athletic Leader coaching qualification. The athletic leader qualification is the first step on Athletic Irelands new Coach Education Programme and is designed for people who hope to work with children at this stage of their development.
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