We can accommodate a small number of families who cannot support the club with a volunteer on the roster.

We do understand that volunteering isn’t always possible for some families, and don’t want any children to miss out on the opportunity to participate. 

Though there may be circumstances in which if we don’t have enough volunteers for a group, it may not run.

Athletics NZ charges a slightly larger fee for athletes that intend to compete for their club at any events through-out the year to help with the administration of these events. If you don’t want to compete at interclubs, then you can choose the non-competitive membership.

Yes, we believe that ‘Balance is Better’ and athletics is a sport that can support your achievements in other sports. 

New Brighton Olympic also offer a 20% discount on your membership fee if you are also a member of a sports club affilaition with Eastern Sport and Recreation Inc (including the New Brighton Rugby, Cricket, Netball, Baeball and American Football clubs).

From around 5 years old.

Each of these sporting bodies charges a fee for all athletes to participate at a club level, these fee’s go directly to them upon registration. New Brighton Olympic Athletics only charges $25 on-top of these fees.

Summer Season (October – March)
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Our summer training focuses purely on Track & Field development using our full-sized grass athletics track layout.
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• Children & Juniors (Ages 3–14): Every Monday and Thursday evening starting at 5:30 PM. These sessions focus on sprints, hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, and discus. 

• Adults, Seniors & Masters (15+): Specialized track conditioning and sprint workouts are held alongside the junior blocks on Monday and Thursday nights from 5:30 PM.

 
Winter Season (April – September)
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Our winter training transitions off the track and pivots into Cross Country, Trail, and Road Running conditioning.
 

• Children & Juniors (Ages 5–14): Every Monday and Thursday evening at 5:30 PM. Workouts utilize the Rawhiti Domain terrain and forest trails to build winter racing stamina. 

• Adults, Seniors & Masters (15+): Winter endurance running groups depart from the clubroom pack setup slightly earlier at 5:00 PM on Mondays and Thursdays. 

 
Community All-Year Session (Open to the Public)
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• Run New Brighton: Our social, completely free community run/jog group departs from the clubrooms every Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM sharp, rain or shine, all year long. 

Each club is required to run one or more events at a Saturday Interclub, so all families who participate must supply a volunteer on a roster every 2-3 weeks. The roles range from Event Chief, through to recording, measuring and marshalling.
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Once you have registered online as a Competitive Member via our GameDay portal, you are fully licensed to run at the world-class Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub. Weekend event registrations are managed online through the Athletics Canterbury portal during the summer season. Simply show up in your club uniform with your allocated registration bib number pinned to the front. 

We offer coaching in a range of evens for athletes over 15yrs, enquire to find out if one of our senior coaching options suits you. For athletes over 18yrs, please enquire about coaching and we will support you to find the right option for you from our coaches or outside of the club if that’s the best fit.

Yes. The Junior Club Captain will post on the New Brighton Olympic Facebook page to advise if club nights or interclub events will be canceled. 

We offer coaching in a range of evens for athletes over 15yrs, enquire to find out if one of our senior coaching options suits you. For athletes over 18yrs, please enquire about coaching and we will support you to find the right option for you from our coaches or outside of the club if that’s the best fit.

Relays are an exciting highlight of both our summer track meets and winter cross-country road race schedules. Our club selectors and age-grade coaches assemble the teams based on training attendance, performance times, and ensuring everyone who wants to participate gets a fair turn to run. We place a massive emphasis on participatio. Our main goal is to enter as many team combinations as possible to build club spirit.

Our official registration year runs alongside the athletic calendar from April 1st through to March 31st of the following year.
 

• The Best Time to Sign Up: We highly recommend registering in September or early October right before the high-energy summer Track & Field season kicks off.

• Flexible Mid-Season Sign-Ups: If you miss the spring start, don’t worry! Because our fee schedule features flexible quarterly pricing options (Q1 through Q4), you can join at multiple points throughout the year. For instance, you can sign up in April strictly for the winter cross-country season, or join in January for the second half of the summer track block.

Who runs the club, and is everything voluntary?

New Brighton Olympic Athletic Club is completely run by volunteers. The club is managed by an elected Executive Committee of dedicated parents, senior athletes, and club life-members who meet monthly to handle everything from finances and gear maintenance to regional entries.
 

Because we are 100% community-funded, the club relies entirely on the collective help of our members and families to stay up and running.

 

What could a new member or parent help with when they are there?
 

You do not need any athletic experience or official training to help out! Training nights and weekend events run smoothly when parents chip in during the crucial transition times.
 

Here is how you can help on arrival and at pick-up:
 

On Arrival (First 15–20 minutes)
 

• Gear Setup: Assist coaches by carrying out training equipment from the storage shed to the track (e.g., placing hurdles, rolling out high jump mats, setting up shot put boundaries, or carrying out starting blocks).

• Check-In Support: Help the team manager check in arriving children, hand out training bibs, or direct new families to their correct age-grade coaches.

• Track Safety Sweep: Walk a quick section of the 400m grass track or jump pits to ensure no debris, sticks, or loose stones are on the ground before the athletes begin running.
  
  On Pick-Up (Last 15–20 minutes)
   

• The 5-Minute Gear Pack Down: Help gather up cones, return shot puts/discuses to their storage bins, and wheel heavier equipment back into the secure clubroom locker rooms.

• Litter Sweep: Do a quick visual scan of the Rawhiti Domain grass area where your group trained to pick up any forgotten water bottles, clothing items, or stray rubbish.

• Clubroom Reset: If you are inside the lounge or kitchen area, help wipe down tables, pack away shared chairs, or ensure the kitchen surfaces are clean for the next group using the hire space.

The Colgate Games are New Zealand’s largest and most prestigious junior athletics events, held annually in January. It alternates venues across the North and South Islands each year and is open to any registered club athlete aged 7 to 14. It is designed to be a fun, highly social holiday weekend out for the whole family, featuring official opening ceremonies and medal events.
 

We train rain or shine! In the event of severe winter weather making the grass track unsafe, training moves indoors to our lounge and gym space for organized circuit and strength sessions.

At our core, New Brighton Olympic specialises in creating a community-driven, all-weather, all-abilities pathway for athletes in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch. Founded in 1928, our multi-decade legacy is built on a few standout strengths:
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• Year-Round Running & Athletics: We balance our disciplines perfectly across the seasons. In the summer months, we specialise in Track & Field coaching (running, jumping, and throwing) on our full-sized Rawhiti Domain grass track. In the winter, we pivot to cross-country, road racing, and scenic trail running across Christchurch. 

• The "Run New Brighton Initiative: We host the highly popular, free community Run New Brighton program every Wednesday night. This is our signature community program designed to help beginners, social joggers, and Parkrun athletes build up their fitness in a fun, pressure-free social environment. [1, 2, 3]

• All-Age Development (From 5 to 70+): We are exceptionally good at multi-generational sports development. We provide structured introductory training for junior athletes (including Colgate Games event coaching) all the way up to specialized conditioning for competitive Masters track and ultra-marathon runners. 

• A Solid Team & Relay Culture: While athletics can be an individual sport, New Brighton Olympic specialises in club spirit. We are well-known on the Athletics Canterbury circuit for turning up in numbers to support regional road relays and cheering every single member across the finish line.