MORNINGTON Little Athletics Centre is kicking off the new season with a $1600 grant from Coles to support young athletes and dedicated volunteers. The centre was named one of 72 grassroots Little Athletics Centres across Australia to receive funding from the 2025 Coles Little Athletics Community Fund.
Mornington plans to use the grant to invest in new shot puts, relay batons, high jump bars, discuses and javelins. Centre president Brett Perez said the equipment would play a key role in helping volunteers deliver a fun, safe, and high-quality program for young athletes.
“This new equipment will make Little Athletics sessions more engaging and inclusive for hundreds of children across the Mornington Peninsula,” he said. “The equipment will not only have an immediate impact on our members, but they will also be used by the local schools who run athletics carnivals at Civic Reserve,” he said, adding having multiple sets of equipment would reduce waiting times for children.
Little Athletics Australia has seen a 16 percent jump in participation over the past 12 months with the biggest increase recorded in the Little Athletics Tiny Tots program for three to five-year-olds, which rose by 33 percent.
In the past five seasons, Little Athletics has grown by more than 40 percent to over 96,000 Aussie kids and a further 74,000 community volunteers, coaches and officials, making it one of the most participated junior sports programs in Australia.
Coles is also raising funds for Little Athletics through its annual Banana A-Peel campaign where five cents from every kilo of cavendish bananas sold at Coles until 21 October will be donated to Little Athletics.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 October 2025
