Swan Valley Little Athletics is jumping into the new season with a $4,300 grant from Coles to support aspiring athletes and community volunteers.
Swan Valley was one of 72 grassroots Little Athletics Centres across Australia announced this week as a successful recipient of the 2025 Coles Little Athletics Community Fund who will share in $250,000 to purchase much needed sports, safety and volunteer equipment.
Swan Valley Little Athletics will use their grant to buy new measuring tapes, high jump stands, discuses and starting blocks, which Centre President Paul Murphy said will help volunteers to deliver a fun, safe and quality program for young athletes.
“As we are a smaller club, finance is very tight, and we have been putting off equipment upgrades for a number of seasons,” he said.
“With this grant, we’ll be able to replace damaged and deteriorated equipment, thus providing a safer experience for our athletes and volunteers alike. The new equipment will enable our athletes to remain competitive when they get to the next level and help our Centre to build up our older age groups.”
The grant comes as Athletics West revealed a 12.2% jump in Little Athletics and junior participation over the past 12 months.
Athletics West CEO Vince Del Prete said the sport is well positioned to maintain its growth with recent successes on and off the track and field.
“Athletics West has been buoyed by the many successes of our senior athletes on the world stage like Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall in recent years. However, junior and Little Athletics is where it all starts and plays a vital role in the success of our sport. That’s why we’re delighted that Coles has provided more than $236,000 in equipment grants to our clubs and centres over the past eight years,” he said.
Coles Acting Group Corporate and Indigenous Affairs Officer Jace Armstrong said Coles is extremely proud of its long-standing partnership with Little Athletics.
“Coles’ partnership with Little Athletics is built on mutual values and goals to help kids and local communities thrive and grow. Since 2017, Coles has donated more than 6 million bananas and over $2.8 million in sports equipment grants to help kids stay fit and be active,” he said.
In addition to providing equipment grants to grassroots centres, Coles is also raising funds for Little Athletics through its annual Banana A-Peel, a national fundraiser whereby 5 cents from every kilo of Cavendish bananas sold at Coles until 21 October will be donated to Little Athletics.
