Toowoomba athletics club forced to train at AFL ground over safety fears
An elite coach with some of the country’s best rising talent has her athletes’ livelihoods put at risk every time they train. Now she is calling on powerbrokers to invest in regional Queensland by building a facility that will shape the future of athletics.
An athletics club where some of Australia’s top junior track and field athletes are being forced to dodge drug paraphernalia and dangerous divots is demanding the construction of a tartan track.
Darling Downs Athletics Club is at risk of missing out on adding to a golden generation of Aussie athletics aces who have had a ceiling put on their progression due to injury-inducing facilities.
In a call that cost her several athletes, coach Jackie Gallagher made the decision to move the bulk of her training from the Toowoomba’s spiritual home of athletics, O’Quinn Street Park, to an Aussie rules field in Highfields more than 20 minutes away.
“O’Quinn Street is incredibly dangerous, the facilities are horrendous and the grass track is full of divots,” Gallagher said.
“I train some of my juniors at O’Quinn Street on Wednesday but we’re done within an hour which means we don’t get a lot done. It’s just not safe there.
“Safety is important to me.
“We train at Highfields Little Athletics on what is an Aussie rules because we basically have it to ourselves which is great and importantly my athletes feel safe.
“I need to know when they (the athletes) need to use the toilets they’re safe and that we can train without being confronted by someone.”
The move to Highfields alleviates a lot of Gallagher’s off-track safety concerns but it is not without its challenges.
Water quickly pools on the field when it rains – forcing athletes to train on concrete paths, out the front of toilet blocks or onto indoor sports courts that are often full of other athletes and students.
Previously the club have been able to train on The Glennie School’s athletics track in the rain but with the school itself no longer training on the track during poor weather the club is also unable to.
In a sport where success is determined by tenths of a second it puts the region’s top stars miles behind their rivals.
“We have juniors just starting out and athletes who are representing Australia and they all should have access to a synthetic track because ultimately that is what we compete on,” Gallagher said.
“We don’t stop training when it rains but being able to train properly is very important
“When you’re talking about athletes who are running 10.1 seconds we’re looking for milliseconds which are all the difference.”
With no accessible track in Toowoomba athletes are forced to travel to Brisbane with a standard training session turning into a day long trek.
“I’ve been in Toowoomba and involved in athletics my whole life,” Gallagher said.
“In that time I have listened to and heard from many people from councils to private organisations that a track is going to be built at some point but it has never eventuated.
“So with the 2032 Brisbane Olympics just around the corner and all the government investing it is really sad to see that Toowoomba is not making any progress
“Toowoomba should have a synthetic track – something that is accessible to everyone.
“It would be amazing for our athletes and coaches as well as a great asset for the community.”
Originally published as Toowoomba athletics club forced to train at AFL ground over safety fears
