About QMA

The Queensland Veterans Athletics Club was formed in 1973 to enable mature aged athletes to compete at their own levels. The club is now known as the Queensland Masters Athletics Association Inc (QMA). This name change was approved in 1998. New uniforms were adopted in 2000.

Membership starts from 30 years through to 100+. Competition is conducted in 5 year age brackets.e.g. M40-44, W55-59. The association currently has around 500 members from all walks of life, all levels of ability and all parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales. The Track and Field competition in Southern Queensland is usually conducted from October through to March/April, culminating in the AMA National Championships which are held over the Easter long weekend each year with the host state changing each year on a rotational basis, Queensland will host the Nationals again in 2011. In Northern Queensland the Track and Field season is conducted during the Winter months to escape the higher Summer temperatures and humidity.

Cross Country, Road Walks and Road Runs (including Half-Marathon and Marathon) are conducted during the winter months and are generally held in conjunction with events held by other associations such as Queensland Athletics Association (QAA) and Queensland Race Walking. State Championships are held each year in all events including track and field, cross country, road walks, half-marathon, marathon, and a variety of multi-events. The association is currently the host of the Australian Masters Athletics Heptathlon and Decathlon championships. The association is also responsible for the athletics component of the Pan-Pacific Masters Games which are held on the Gold Coast every two years.
Registered QMA members are eligible to compete in all Queensland Masters State Championships, Australian Masters National Championships, Oceania Masters Regional Championships and WMA World Masters Championships, and there are no performance standards to be met – every athlete can enjoy the experience.

QMA's governance documents are available from the Secretary upon request, the Official Copy of each Policy Statement, Constitution and Strategic Plan will be stored in the Club House. Acrobat Reader is required to view these documents and is available available for download free from the Adobe website .

Track Events
Individual track events up to 1500m are graded on ability. This means that athletes are allocated to heats according to their previous performances, men and women compete in the same heats to allow for even competition. Results are published according to age groups by sex, not individual race placings.
There are generally three sprints held each competition day, with the 60m and 100m each week and the 200m, 300m & 400m on alternating on a rotational basis. The 800m & 1500m as well as the 3000m & 5000m run and race walk and long & sprint hurdles also alternate, there is also a discount hurdles event for those who are unsure about hurdling. The 2000m and 3000m Steeplechase is run on the short distance week.

Field Events are held with all age groups together. Men and Women compete separately.
Long and triple jumps are contested at most competition days, generally with men and women competing separately but on occasion both sexes do compete together. High Jump and Pole Vault are held each week with men and women competing at the same time. On a day-time competition there will be three throwing events, these rotate through the five throws contested by Masters, these being Shot Put, Discus, Hammer, Javelin and the Weight Throw.

There is a walk included in every track meet held by the QMA in Brisbane over the summer season. This alternates between 3,000m and 5,000m at the day time meets.
The winter road season begins after Easter. The road walks are conducted by the Queensland Race Walking Club on Sunday morning of each week. Most QMA members compete in these events. There are a number of grades to compete in from A grade, 10km upwards, to C & D grades with distances of 2 - 5km. A handicap system is in place where everyone competes at ther own level and can still win club trophies.
This is a great chance to improve your walking skills in front of qualified judges.

Queensland Masters Athletics does not currently run it's own cross country competition. Members of QMA compete in the cross country competitions arranged by the various divisions of Queensland Athletics and other organisations. Road races are in the same category.
QMA Cross Country, Marathon and Half Marathon championships are held in conjunction with major events in the South East corner of Queensland.

Members compete regularly in Brisbane events arranged by:

• Sherwood Forest Runners
• Brisbane Road Runners
• Queensland Athletics
• Ashgrove Rangers Athletics Club
• The Run Inn

A majority of QMA long distance runners are also members of other athletics clubs and compete in teams events, particularly those arranged by Queensland Athletics.

Competition is conducted on a regular basis in some regional areas, including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and North Queensland, to find out more about these competitions you can contact:
Alf Lakin ph: 07 5557 9925 on the Gold Coast
Noela Brameld ph 07 5495 5176 b or
Yvonne Mullins ph: 07 4725 1022 in North Queensland (Townsville).
For more information on those regional areas please see either the Coastal South page or North Queensland page. For competition details in Maryborough call Jenny Gun on 07 4123 4264

State Championships
You must be a member of the QMA to be eligible to compete in these championships. All state championships except for the Cross Country, Road Walk, Half-Marathon and Marathon are held during the normal summer competition season, usually in February/March, these culminate with the State Track & Field Championships which are generally held around two weeks prior to the National championships, the Non-Stadia championships are held during the winter.
State Championships are held in the following events, Track & Field, Pentathlon, Weight Pentathlon, Heptathlon (Women only), Decathlon (Men only), Cross Country, Road Walks, Half-Marathon and Marathon. See the Qld Championships page to see dates for these championships.
The Heptathlon and Decathlon championships are held in conjunction with the National championships in those events which QMA has hosted for the previous three years.
The Tom Gould Memorial 300m Handicap is also held during the championships season, this Memorial event is held across three groups, W30+, M30-49 and M50+.
National Championships
A chance to represent your state.
The Australian Masters Athletics Association (AMA) National Championships are held over the Easter long weekend every year. You must be a registered member of a State Association to be able to compete at these championships.
Each state hosts the event on rotational basis, this means that each state holds the event on average every 7 years. In 2005 the event was in Brisbane and will be held in Brisbane again in 2011.
A full track and field competition is held over the 4 days of the Easter Weekend (apart from 2011 where competition starts on Thursday not Friday because Easter Monday clashes with Anzac Day). . Cross Country and Road Walks are included on the program, usually on the last day.
This is the main opportunity for members to meet with old friends and new from around Australia and occasionally those from other countries such as New Zealand. A dinner is held on one night of the weekend (generally on the Sunday night) to allow for further socialising with friends and competitors that you usually only see at the nationals. This dinner is also used as an awards night for the AMA to hand out its annual awards.
Regional Championships
A chance to represent your country.
The Australian Masters Athletics Association is a part of the Oceania Region of the WMA, this allows all QMA members to compete in the Oceania Regional Championships which are held every two years somewhere within the region. For more information on these championships visit the Oceania Association of Masters Athletes website. There are no qualifying standards for these championships other than age, all competitors must be 35 years of age by the first day of competition.
World and Regional Championships
A chance to represent your country.
The World Masters Athletics Association, previously WAVA, holds championships in different countries every second year. Tenders are called from interested countries and the successful country for the event four years on is announced at the each championships. The 2011 World championships are being held in Sacramento , California with the 2013 championships to be held in Porto Alegre , Brazil . There are no qualifying standards for these championships other than age, all competitors must be 35 years of age by the first day of competition. More info about Masters athletics at world level can be found on the WMA Website