The NSW Long Walks event are a NSW Championship Event which are accessible to athletes aged 9-80+ in a social and friendly environment.

There are many reasons to compete at the NSW Long Walks and the rest of our 2026 Waratah Walks Series.

In particular,

• The opportunity to race and compete in a variety of distances with others at at a high level competition conducted under the rules of World Athletics, World Para Athletics and Athletics Australia.
• Compete in a State Championships Walks Series.
• Receive points towards the NSW Distance Walker of the Year Awards.
• Be apart of an event that encourages and celebrates participation for people at a range of abilities.

Please see the draft timetable on the event page here for an overview of events available.

All age groups for Junior and Open age division will be calculated as per 31^st December 2026. Please see the table below as a guide when registering.

All masters age groups will be calculated as per the athletes age on the day of competition.

Athletes born in 2014 or later must compete in the age group for which their birthdate falls and are not permitted to compete ‘up’ an age group.

Athletes are to wear NSW Athletics club uniform for the Club they are representing. An independent athlete is to wear a plain white top. Interstate athletes should compete in their Club uniform

To compete and be eligible for the Championships race and medal, all athletes will have to hold one of the following:

1. An Athletics NSW Youth, Junior, Concession or Open membership
2. An eligible Little Athletics NSW membership.

Please ensure you have received an email confirmation of your entry.

If you have not, please contact the NSW Athletics Competitions team here. 

Entry lists will aim to be published by Friday the day before competition. We suggest you carefully check these lists to confirm your entry and to see who you will be competing against. If there are any issues with your entries, please contact NSW Athletics and we will assist you.

A draft timetable is available on the event page here. The draft timetable is devised on predicted entry numbers and provides a guide as to when athletes will be competing.

The final timetable will be released after entries closed.

It is the athlete's responsibility to check the timetable on teh Athletics NSW website, to see if there are any changes from teh draft timetable to the final timetable.

The Winter Walks Rules can be viewed here. 

• Once entries open soon, please register and pay for your event here before the closing date. 
• Please ensure that you have your club competition uniform purchased and ready for competition day.
• Please ensure you have checked the final timetable which will be published after entries have closed and the timetable has been reviewed.
• Please read the event information that will be emailed to you the day before competition.

Please arrive to the venue 45 minutes before your scheduled start time to allow for check-in/bib collection and warm-up before your race.

The NSW Distance Walker of the Year will be contested in the Open Male and Female in the NSW Short Walks, NSW Long Walks and NSW Team Walks.

Athletes need to be competing in the race that includes the Open division to be elibible for points. 

• Competitors will be awarded 10 points for first, 9 points for second and so on until one (1)
  point for 10th place.
• The male and female walkers scoring the highest number of points over the whole series shall be deemed the NSW Distance Walker of the Year. In the event of a tie in competition points, the winner shall be the walker with the lowest aggregate of event placings.