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Our History

Mature age athletes attended a meeting in Brisbane in September 1973, to establish the Queensland Veterans Athletics Club (QVAC). The first track and field meet was held in October that year. QVAC changed its name in 1998 to the current, Queensland Masters Athletics Association Inc. (QMA).

The QVAC and later QMA, actively promoted the involvement of mature-aged athletics more widely throughout the state. On Australia Day 1985, Daphne and Mick Pirie conducted a Gold Coast Veterans Championships and continued to do so for several more years.

Interest in veterans/masters athletics in South East Queensland increased and in 1997 the Gold Coast Masters Athletics Club Inc was formed with considerable input from the following members who were elected as the original executive:- Colin Murraylee (President), Alf Lakin (Secretary) and Ray Denham (Treasurer). Competition was originally held on a Sunday morning at Pizzy Park (Miami) and then changed to Monday nights at the same location. Eventually the club moved to its current home at the Griffith University.

The Gold Coast Club was originally an affiliate of QMA. Gold Coast Club members paid a fee to the Club and, if they wanted to join QMA, also paid a membership fee to that association to allow full participation in competition and championships.

At a Special General Meeting of Gold Coast Masters Athletics Club, held on 27 September 2009, a resolution was passed to wind up the Club to take effect on 30 November 2009, with all Club assets transferred (gifted) to QMA (but retained on the Gold Coast). The passing of this resolution followed assurances given by the QMA Management Committee that, effectively, allowed the Gold Coast members of QMA to continue to manage Gold Coast activities. 

At that time, and subsequently, the QMA Management Committee were considering restructure to QMA involving regionalisation whereby regional committees elected by the members of the region would become responsible for activities within the respective region.

On 26 February 2011, at a Special General Meeting of QMA, a revised constitution was adopted which catered for regionalisation, thus creating a Gold Coast and Southern Region within QMA managed by a Gold Coast Regional Council elected annually by regional members. In addition, the amended QMA constitution provides for each of the three South-east Qld as well as the North Qld region to appoint a representative to the central QMA Management Committee.