The search is on to find Australia’s Favourite Athletics Track in 2024.
In 2021 we embarked upon a similar search with 15,000 votes cast by the Australian athletics community to determine Hagenauer Reserve at Box Hill as Australia’s favourite.
Three years on, will the ‘Home of the PB’ retain it’s mantle?
Format
Our first 2021 search was focused on synthetic tracks, while later in 2021 we looked at grass tracks and then in 2022, Australia’s most picturesque.
The 2024 search will consider them all – and we need your nominations!
Head to our Facebook or Instagram page to leave your vote for the shortlisting of tracks in the competition.
We’ve already determined 16 tracks that will feature in the final 32 shortlisting:
Who else should join them on the short list?
Nominations are open until midnight Sunday 6 October.
After that we’ll run a series of votes over the following week via stories on our Facebook and Instagram pages to determine the placings.
Already shortlisted
Top 8 from Australia’s Favourite Track 2021:
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Hagenauer Reserve is located in Box Hill in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. The original track at the venue was opened in 1969, with a synthetic track laid in 1992. At the time, this was the second synthetic track in Melbourne, after Olympic Park. The track is home to Box Hill Athletics Club, who manage the venue. The venue regularly hosts Athletics
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The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre was opened in 1975 and was officially named the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre in 1977 (colloquially known as QEII). The venue is currently planned (at September 2024) to be redeveloped to host the athletics for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. However, this has been a subject of much controversy, with the
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The Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre is Sydney’s premier athletics venue. It’s name is abbreviated as SOPAC, by which it is often referred. The venue was opened as the Sydney International Athletics Centre on 12 March 1994 at the Australian Championships by Betty Cuthbert, who the grandstand is named after. It has served as Sydney’s main athletics venue since. The
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The AIS Track and Field Centre is Canberra’s main athletics venue. The venue was originally constructed in 1985 as the warm up venue for the IAAF World Cup Athletics meet, which was held at the adjacent Bruce Stadium. The track is part of the Australian Institute of Sport, which was opened in 1981 as a high performance sport training centre.
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Lakeside Stadium is Melbourne’s premier athletics venue, located close to the Melbourne CBD in the suburb of Albert Park. Sporting facilities have been located on the site of Lakeside Stadium since 1878, with Lakeside Oval serving as the ground for Australian Rules club South Melbourne until 1981. The venue was converted to a soccer facility as Lakeside Stadium in 1995,
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The WA Athletics Stadium was opened in 2009 to replace the ageing Perry Lakes Stadium. It hosted the 2010 Australian Championships and host often hosted a significant a domestic series meet each season. The track surface is Mondo and was last resurfaced in 2023. The track is managed by Venues West and is available for use from 6am to 9pm
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The Gold Coast Performance Centre at Runaway Bay was founded in the late 1990s by former world record holder Ron Clarke. The venue was originally named the Runaway Bay Sports Super Centre. The venue was sold to the Queensland government in 2007. The venue was known as the BLK Performance Centre under a naming rights sponsorship during 2019 until June
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ES Marks Athletics Field was originally named Sydney Athletics Field, with the track being constructed in 1906. It was renamed in the 1940s after former Lord Mayor of Sydney and leading athletics administrator, Ernest Samuel Marks. The first cinders athletics track in New South Wales was laid at the venue in 1947. The track had six lanes at this time.
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Top 4 from Australia’s Favourite Grass Track 2021:
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Central Reserve is one of the premier grass tracks in Melbourne, located in Glen Waverley. The track is managed by the City of Monash. The track features an 8 lane straight internal to the circular track, synthetic long jump runways and a synthetic high jump fan. The venue is considered Melbourne’s premier grass track, and is well used from grassroots
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Central Park Stawell is the home of the Stawell Gift, run annually each Easter. Stawell is located in the Northern Grampians region of Victoria, 237km north-north-west of Melbourne. The Stawell Gift dates back to 1878 and has been conducted at Central Park since 1898. It is regarded as Australia’s richest footrace, with the 120m Gift the main events on the
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Central Park Stawell is the home of the Stawell Gift, run annually each Easter. Stawell is located in the Northern Grampians region of Victoria, 237km north-north-west of Melbourne. The Stawell Gift dates back to 1878 and has been conducted at Central Park since 1898. It is regarded as Australia’s richest footrace, with the 120m Gift the main events on the
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McGillvray Oval is located at UWA Sports Park at the University of Western Australia in Perth. The grass track is well maintained and features an additional straight for sprints on the outside of the home straight. The venue also has long jump pits with grass runways and throwing cages. The venue is managed by UWA Sport. The venue placed 4th
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Top 4 from Australia’s Most Scenic Track 2022:
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The Morrison Reserve Regional Athletics Facility is located at Mt Evelyn in the Yarra Ranges in the outer north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The venue was opened in 2012 and is managed by the Yarra Ranges Council. The surface is Spurtan BV, with the track holding a World Athletics Class 2 rating. The track is still in excellent condition as it
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The Domain Athletic Centre opened in 1977 and hosted the Australian Championships that year. The track is the main athletics venue is Tasmania and has previously hosted high performance meets as part of the domestic season. The track is managed by the City of Hobart. The track is a Spurtan BV surface and is a World Athletics Class 2 Certified
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The Townsville Sports Reserve played host to the 2019 Oceania Championships. The track has a picturesque background dominated by Townsville’s Castle Hill. The venue is managed by the Queensland government. The track is a Spurtan BV and is a World Athletics Class 2 Certified Facility.
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The Mackay Aquatic & Recreation Complex was opened in March 2019 and features a Rekortan track. The venue is managed by Belgravia Leisure. The venue hosted the 2022 Oceania Championships. The track is a Spurtan BV surface and is a World Athletics Class 2 Certified Facility.
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