Statement regarding National Merger Vote

Athletics NSW (ANSW) is pleased to announce that it will vote in support of the merger of Little Athletics Australia (LAA) and Athletics Australia (AA) at a landmark vote this week to create a unified national governing body for our sport - Australian Athletics.

ANSW has been working constructively for a number of years with Athletics Australia and the state and territory member associations towards the goal of unifying the sport in Australia. The vote to be held this week represents an opportunity to take a seismic leap towards that goal which ANSW hopes will be embraced by the entire athletics community.

We would like to thank and congratulate Kate Palmer and her team, as well as both LAA and AA, for the extensive work which has been done to establish the foundations for a successful Australian Athletics entity – from preparing the Business Case and Constitution to managing an extensive nation-wide consultation process from Boardrooms to clubrooms, all the while navigating the challenges that COVID presented to that process.

In reaching this decision, ANSW recognises the overwhelming strength of the Business Case which has been developed and the significant opportunities which will be open to a unified Australian Athletics.

While ANSW recognises that the creation of Australian Athletics will not immediately solve all of the issues the sport faces, we nonetheless consider that coming together in a unified governing body is a critical step in setting the platform for athletics toachieve its potential as a sport.

We look forward to working with all of our fellow state and territory member associations, including our Little Athletics partners, as members of the new and unified Australian Athletics national body for the betterment of the sport.

Yours in Athletics,