Shaping the proposal for Australian Athletics


Coles Little Athletics Australia and Athletics Australia have been working closely with State and Territory Member Associations and key stakeholders to inform and prepare a joint proposal for one National Body - Australian Athletics.

To guide the development of the proposal, the following OneAthletics advisory groups have delivered a set of recommendations that will be integrated into the Australian Athletics strategy and help set the priorities for the new organisation.

Each advisory group comprises of staff and volunteers from grassroots, state, national and international athletics backgrounds, with knowlege and expertise in the focus area of each advisory group.

Recommendations: 

  1. One aligned coaching pathway
  2. Systems and policies to achieve greater diversity in coaching
  3. Vertical and horizontal development pathways that deliver ongoing education and support for coaches at every level
  4. Recruit strong communicators with the right credentials to deliver courses
  5. Recruit young people into the volunteer workforce, increasing diversity including female coaches
  6. Recognise and address the different needs and challenges across metro, regional and remote areas
Recommendations: 
 
  1. Deliver better experiences, including education for officials, through digital solutions
  2. Establish a centralised database
  3.  Introduce both vertical and horizontal pathway that deliver ongoing education and support for officials at every level
  4.  Develop competition formats that utilise the skills and expertise of officials and volunteers more effectively
  5. Continue the development of the education system as an online offering 
Recommendations: 
 
  1. Retain the strength of the core Little Athletics (LA) product for 0-12yo and build complementary offerings around it to leverage and strengthen the LA brand.
  2. Connection of Little Athletics, as an iconic brand in primary schools, to be strengthened, with models developed to meet the needs of schools, including social, team and competition
  3. Clear objective for investing in school delivery and measurable outcomes for participation growth
  4. Find ways to help clubs/centres become more welcoming and inclusive – be open to all. 
  5. Recognition that remote and rural communities have different challenges but also provide unique solutions
  6. Provide delivery models to assist athletics communities in producing consistent growth
  7. Standardise the delivery of athletics across centres, clubs and states to deliver quality, broad and diverse experiences 
  8. Vertical (performance) and horizontal (athletics for life) as a core construct, that connects and engages participants throughout their lives
  9. Provide opportunities for participants to connect, develop friendships and connect to their community as a major benefit of delivering competition
Recommendations: 
 
  1. Development of a whole of sport national competition calendar 2022/2024 
  2. A joint competition delivery team that has the key task of developing aligned rules for the “Youth” age groups at the national level
  3. Remove or reduce duplication at the national level
  4. Alignment of age groups and equipment specifications that provides clarity across the pathway
Recommendations: 
 
  1. Board arrangement will deliver a robust governance system consistent with Sport Australia’s governance principles
  2. Equal representation between AA and LAA on the Board
  3. üThe Board will be skills based, with an independent Nominations Committee responsible for reviewing and recommending directors
  4. The Board will appoint the Chair of the Board
  5. üoard sub-committees will feature representation from each of AA and LAA
  6. The Board will transition, over three years, with members voting for directors annually
Recommendations: 

  1. Develop a detailed digital strategy process that informs digital choices facing the sport for the next 7 to 10 years
  2. Audit and understand the sports digital and data security risks to implement a mitigation strategy
  3. Athletics can interact with its ‘consumers’ in a modern way
  4. To build an ecosystem of service providers and ensure the quality delivered across its systems is consistent and sustainable
  5. Solve program and service delivery pain points for coaching, officiating, events and high performance

If the proposal receives the required level of State and Territory Member Association support in October 2021, a new National Body will be established.

OneAthletics Program Timeline

2020 – June 2021

Building the elements which inform the model for Australian Athletics

  • Governance
  • Product & pathways
  • Coaching pathway
  • Officials pathway
  • Schools product
  • Brand identification
  • Competition
  • Strategic development

July – August 2021

Development of key documents which bring the new organisation into existence, integrating elements from the previous phase.

  • Constitution
  • Financial model
  • Organisational design 

September – October 2021

Delivery of the Australian Athletics Proposal including:

  • Summary of business case
  • Constitution
  • High level strategy
  • Organisational design
  • Financial model
  • Q&A

November – December 2021

Registration of Australian Athletics.

If the proposal receives the required level of State and Territory Member Association support in October 2021, a new National Body – Australian Athletics – will be established.

Stakeholder engagement will continue throughout the project with specific opportunities identified to collaborate.