Click the image for a copy of "Stage 1: 2022-2024" of the Athletics NSW Strategic Plan, 2022-2026


Whilst the coronavirus pandemic presented significant challenges, it underlined the huge importance of sport and physical activity in building a healthier and happier society. For Athletics NSW, it gave us an opportunity to think differently and creatively, reset our focus on how we resource our sport, engage and support participants, nurture talent and build for the future.

There is much we should all be proud of, both in terms of how the sport was evolving prior to 2020, and how it responded. One of the many impacts of the pandemic was the 2019-21 Strategic Plan was never fully enacted. This has added a unique lens to the development of this new 2022-26 Strategic Plan and has reinforced the importance of concise planning in ensuring our success as an organisation.

The 2019-21 Strategic Plan was a well-conceived and thought out plan. It provided clear direction for our sport and a framework for the years ahead. Not requiring a full reset, the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan has retained the same vision and priorities with a series of revised objectives and measurable tactics. These tactics have been identified with a longer-term focus on the key challenges and opportunities ahead – as well as an ambition to be bold and embrace change in order to significantly grow the sport.

One of the single-most important changes we have made in early 2022 has been to significantly increase the amount of consultation between Athletics NSW and the broader athletics community.

We remain committed to genuine transparency and accountability when it comes to our collective performance. As we embark on delivering this Strategic Plan, our members can expect to have more to say about ensuring that appropriate consultation structures are a permanent feature of the various functional areas of Athletics NSW’s operations.

We are also committed to holding ourselves accountable. In that spirit, from next year’s Annual Report onwards, we will publicly report to our members on our own performance against measures we have set as part of our strategic planning process. This will allow members to see our progress against each objective.

Athletics NSW and more broadly athletics in NSW is driven by an amazing community of people. Ultimately, this new plan is in place to ensure we are best positioned to support the dedicated, passionate and talented athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and administrators at all levels of the sport.

Our future success will not come without challenges, all of which we are confident will be overcome due to the resiliency, creativity and commitment of our members. We are stronger together, as one family, and must remember that putting athletes at the heart of everything we do is always the most important thing.

This plan will help us capitalise on the renewed excitement and engagement in early 2022 and continue to build the sport long into the future.