Lawson Poole Reserve

Lawson Poole Reserve became a great home for Cranbourne Little Athletics and gave the Centre something it had never previously enjoyed — its own purpose-built grass athletics track - which now is a couple of Cricket pitches.

For many years it was the home of Saturday morning Little Athletics in Cranbourne and became an important part of the Centre’s identity.

The facilities were modest, the track was grass and there were certainly a few Cranbourne innovations along the way.

Long-time members may remember the famous red Long Jump and Triple Jump runways. They looked a little like synthetic athletics runways…They weren’t...They were essentially red synthetic cricket wickets being put to very good use!

Lawson Poole also came with one fairly significant challenge — it was built on a floodplain. After heavy rain, parts of the reserve could quickly become waterlogged and there were plenty of occasions where the athletics track was flooded or sitting underwater.

It made preparing the venue for competition an ongoing challenge for volunteers.

Even without permanent floodlights, Cranbourne still held Twilight competitions at Lawson Poole. Those nights became a bit of a race against the sun. Programs would be pushed through as quickly as possible, with everyone trying to get the final events completed before it became too dark. Sometimes, though, the daylight won. On more than one occasion, cars would be lined up with their headlights shining onto the home straight so the last few races or events could be finished.

It sounds almost unbelievable now, particularly compared with the facilities available at Casey Fields, but moments like that were simply part of Little Athletics at Lawson Poole.

One of the most important Committee roles during the Lawson Poole years was the Grounds Manager.

Long before there was a permanent synthetic track with painted markings, the Grounds Manager was responsible for preparing and line-marking the entire grass track — including all eight lanes around the full 400 metres.

That meant countless hours measuring, marking and maintaining the track throughout the season just so competition could happen each week.

It was grassroots Little Athletics at its best — making the most of the facilities available and relying on dedicated volunteers to keep everything running.

For all its quirks, muddy winters, flooded tracks, car headlights and endless line-marking, Lawson Poole was a much-loved home for Cranbourne Little Athletics and played a huge part in the Centre becoming what it is today.