Little Athletics NSW

NSW Athletics Partnership

The NSW Athletics Partnership entails Little Athletics NSW (LANSW) and Athletics NSW (ANSW) delivering the first entirely unified and single Athletics offering in NSW in 56 years and has three main components.

A single Affiliation structure
A single Membership offering
A single Championship and Events pathway open to all participants in the NSW Athletics community.

The NSW Athletics Partnership ensures the removal of duplicated membership costs and administration processes, while also significantly expanding competition opportunities and pathways for all members by providing everyone with the best that both LANSW and ANSW have to offer.

To ensure you have all the information as it applies to this partnership we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions for each of the components below

We will continue to update these pages as more information becomes available.

Specifications and Age Groups 2024/25

These specifications will unify the way the sport will run in NSW, outlining the age groups that an athlete can participate in, as well as the weights, heights, and distances for each age/gender group.

This task has seen us work to combine the age and specifications settings from two organisations, with the aim of simplifying the system for all members from grassroots participants through to national competitors.

We will see the following:

A single age group setting for the entire athletics season for all members
A single set of specifications for each age group
Specifications for junior athletes aligning with end-of-season national championships
Little Athletics age groups running from 6’s-12’s
Junior athletics memberships from 13’s-U20 to align with end-of-season national championships
A simplified event grid searchable by an athlete’s year of birth

Detailed information regarding specifications and the guiding principles behind these decisions click below.

Registration Ages

Competitions & Events Calendar 2024/25

Multi-Club Membership Policy

State Championships - Entry Requirements & Progressions

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Why is this happening?

This is about making it easier for more people to participate in Athletics (including Little Athletics) and to stay in the sport for a lifelong journey.
It is also about removing the wasted duplication of costs and resources which will allow us to better invest in the experience of all members of the NSW Athletics community.

Is this a merger of LANSW and ANSW?

No. This is a partnership between LANSW and ANSW. The respective Boards, CEOs and staff of each organisation remain in place. The partnership will provide opportunities for LANSW and ANSW to pool resources on particular initiatives and share expenses which will free up more resources to be reinvested into the sport.
This partnership is about improving the quality of service we offer to members of the NSW Athletics community and keeping more people in Athletics for life – not about the administrative bodies.

What will this mean for Officials?

LANSW and ANSW have worked collaboratively for nearly 10 years through the Joint Officials Committee (JOC) on the Australian Athletics Officiating Education Scheme (AAOES). However, it has been recognised that with the recent changes to the officiating qualifications from Athletics Australia that there is now a gap in officials education, particularly on an entry level program that the JOC will work to address.
Efficiencies in the combined event program will reduce the burden on officials from competing events.

What does this mean for Country and Regional Centres and Clubs? What does this mean for us in terms of support for country and regional Centres/Clubs, events in those areas and facilities in those areas?

Provides an opportunity for people to remain in the sport throughout high school instead of stopping once they reach 17.
Opens up the Zone, Region and State progression pathway to all regional and country athletes.
This provides LANSW and ANSW with a much better platform to support country and regional Centres/Clubs and athletes.
It provides us with a better platform and a more streamlined structure to offer more events to regional and country athletes, as well as an opportunity to better advocate for facilities.
Opens more competition opportunities (including Zone, Region and State Championships) to all regional and country athletes

What about Masters?

This partnership is primarily about LANSW and ANSW. It is important to note that ANSW already provides membership to all masters-aged athletes in NSW, conducts the NSW Masters Championships and provides the vast majority of the masters competition opportunities. Every relevant ANSW competition year-round is open to masters-aged athletes.
The only pathway ANSW does not provide to for masters athletes is to the Australian Masters Championships and World Masters Championships. That is because ANSW and AA are not affiliated with Australian Masters Athletics or World Masters Athletics, with the NSW-affiliate being the NSW Masters Athletics Association.
Now that this partnership is in place, ANSW will continue separate discussions with NSWMA on opportunities to make that pathway easier.