Murray Irrigation’s Community in Focus Series: Deniliquin Little Athletics
Junior sport is an integral part of any rural community, and in the digital age its importance is escalating.
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Providing adequate opportunities for youngsters on the sporting field encourages fitness, with long-term benefits to physical and mental health. It also gets our young people away from their electronic devices and instils the joy that comes with team camaraderie.
Deniliquin Little Athletics has been nurturing such sporting opportunities for the district’s youth for more than 50 years.
During its season, from August to January, Little Athletics emphasises the importance of its motto to ‘Be your best’, with a focus on fun, participation, personal performance, technique and getting involved with family and friends in physical and healthy activity.
Deniliquin is a pioneer of Little Athletics in NSW, with the club established as one of the first in the state in 1970.
During its annual season, each athlete competes against themselves, with points allocated for improving on their previous performance. In this way, Little Athletics provides an equitable opportunity for each athlete to focus on achieving self-improvement.
The young athletes compete in a variety of disciplines, including various running distances, long and high jumps, and field events such as discus and shot put.
These latter two events received a boost during the recent 2025-2026 season when the club was able to purchase a discus and shot put trolley, thanks to a contribution from Murray Irrigation's (MIL) community sponsorship program.
It has been a valuable addition to the equipment inventory for Little Aths and its volunteers.
President Lauren Ryan explained that before the trolley was purchased, the discuses and shot puts were transported in a modified wheelie bin, which was heavy and difficult to handle. Moving the equipment from the shed to the field and back again each week posed a serious manual handling risk for the volunteers.
“Our new trolley is safe and fit for purpose, significantly reducing the risk of injury,” Lauren said.
As well as being a safer, more practical transport solution, it allows children to help with pack up, encouraging them to appreciate and respect the effort that goes into making sport possible each week.
“Young athletes taking ownership of setting up and packing away is an important ethos to foster at the club,” Lauren said.
Deniliquin Little Athletics has a dedicated volunteer committee and a strong focus on fun, fitness and inclusivity for children in Deniliquin and the surrounding areas.
“Providing opportunities each season, including 2026, is very important to us, but we are also committed to continuing the legacy well into the future, which is enabled by robust governance from our committee," Lauren said.
“But as volunteers we need financial support to maintain and update our equipment, so we are extremely grateful that MIL has provided the funds to purchase our new trolley,” she said, adding that apart from making the transport of the equipment so much easier, it also protects the shot puts and discuses, so they are not damaged and have to be replaced.
The Little Athletics committee is already in the planning stages for the upcoming 2026-2027 season, which will kick off in August and, as has been tradition for decades, will bring young athletes together and encourage improved performances each Friday afternoon.
This will include age groups from Tiny Tots (three years and upwards) who learn foundational skills in running, throwing and jumping, all the way up to the Under 17s.
In recent years there have been 100 to 125 registered athletes across these age groups. New athletes are always welcome to come along and see if they enjoy Little Aths before signing up.
The youngsters also have an opportunity to compete at zone and regional carnivals and, if successful and if they so desire, this can lead to representing the club at state and even national level.
Deniliquin Little Athletics hosts a local carnival, usually in November, at its Hardinge St oval headquarters, and has been doing so for more than 10 years. Last year, this involved more than 240 young athletes from about 17 clubs.
A highlight at the carnival, which also includes senior athletes, was the performance of five-time women’s national shot put champion Emma Berg.
“While it is a huge task to put on this event, the committee does this as an opportunity for our club members to experience the carnival atmosphere,” committee member Leanne Mulham said, ahead of the 2025 carnival.
And it led to success for some of the talented local athletes, with a contingent competing at the Regional Little Athletics Championships at Wollongong in February 2026, with outstanding results at this high level.
While competing at zone or regional level is not considered as vital as individuals having fun and improving their performances at Deniliquin Little Athletics, it provides a pathway for those who want to further their athletic career.
The club is also an avid supporter of athletics in local schools, both large and small, providing equipment and assistance for their athletics carnivals.
“This is another way we can encourage young people to get involved in athletics, with all the benefits that it brings – a weekly program focused on fun, fitness and self-improvement in an inclusive, alcohol-free environment,” Lauren Ryan said.
“By making athletics accessible and welcoming to all, we aim to foster confidence, sportsmanship and a lifelong love of being active.
“The support we receive from various organisations, including Murray Irrigation, allows us to achieve these aims.
“Proper equipment is a hefty investment. Without funding support, we often just make do, prioritising what is needed by the young athletes, rather than what helps our volunteers."
Murray Irrigation's annual sponsorship program is made possible through the support of its customers.
Deni medal winners Millicent Hall, Maxi Robson, Levi Robson and Sam Strong.
