Unification of Athletics In Australia

Since the launch of the NSW Athletics Partnership some 18 months ago, the NSW Athletics community has enjoyed the benefits of a unified sport in our state – increased membership and participation, a single events pathway and more streamlined administration for clubs, centres and volunteers. While there is always more work to be done, the rollout of the NSW Athletics Partnership has been an overwhelming success, and we thank our members, clubs and centres, coaches and officials for the enormous support they have given us during what has been a transformative time for the sport in NSW.

The NSW Athletics Partnership has also worked and campaigned for the benefits of a unified sport to be realised Australia-wide. Today, we are pleased to announce that following extensive work over the last year led by NSW and building on the momentum of the NSW Athletics Partnership, an agreement has been reached to unify Australian Athletics and Little Athletics Australia.

The unification of our national bodies will result in the sport being administered at the national level through a single national governing body – Australian Athletics. The long and proud history and traditions of Little Athletics will be preserved and continue into the future, with Little Athletics’ place as the entry point for the sport in Australia cemented and enhanced. As had already been announced, the Australian Little Athletics Championships and the Australian Junior Athletics Championships will be held together to streamline the competition pathway, as has already occurred in NSW.

The administrative functions of the national offices will also be integrated, along with ensuring that there is Little Athletics experience at all levels of leadership in the national body. Existing commercial partners of LAA, including Coles, will be retained for the benefit of the sport and surplus assets of LAA will be preserved in a dedicated trust to be used only for the development of Little Athletics.

We are grateful to those who have put a great deal of work in over many years to assist the sport reach this momentous milestone and we particularly acknowledge the work of our fellow Member Associations in Western Australia and the ACT, who were the first to show the rest of Australia what a unified sport could look like and achieve for its members. For many of us who have worked to see a unified sport for over a decade, this is a significant day in the history of Athletics in Australia which we hope will be celebrated by all who wish to realise a long-term and sustainable future for Athletics – with Little Athletics at its core.

For more information directly from AA and LAA, please see the joint statement here

See more about the benefits of unification HERE.

Frequently Asked Questions can be viewed HERE.

Matt Whitbread and Costa Zakis
Chairs
NSW Athletics Partnership