Coles is helping Lithgow Little Athletics Centre to jump a funding hurdle this season with a $4,900 grant from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund to buy brand new equipment.
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Lithgow Little Athletics Centre President Chantelle Gill said the funding will help the centre to survive and thrive through challenging times.
"This grant will allow us to invest in some much-needed equipment which would've otherwise taken our small club four years to save for," she said.
"We'll be able to update to an electronic starting system from the outdated cap guns. This will allow for better operations for our track events and provide us with opportunities to have more regional events at our centre."
Fresh off the inspiring performances from Australia's track and field stars at the Tokyo Olympics, the Little Athletics centre in Lithgow is hoping new equipment from Coles will help budding athletes fulfil their sporting potential.
"We have a proud history of producing and fostering talented young athletes and the new equipment will help us to continue to develop these athletes," Gill said.
"Last season, 11 athletes qualified for state, with one making the NSW U13 team for the Coles Little Athletics National Challenge and another athlete setting a new zone record."
The latest round of funding brings Coles' allocation of sports equipment grants to over $2 million in three years with this year's grants funded from the sale of Coles' reusable community bags designed by Aussie kids and the sale of bananas sold at Coles' supermarkets on National Banana Day in May.
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Coles Little Athletics Australia President Andrew Pryor said the grants will help Little Athletics centres to develop the next generation of Olympians as the sport builds towards Brisbane 2032.
"We are entering a very exciting period for Little Athletics following the success of Tokyo 2020 and as we set our sights on Brisbane 2032," he said.
"Around 75 per cent of the Australian track and field team who competed in the Tokyo Olympics and a further 23 percent of para-athletes in the Paralympics, had their start in Little Athletics - that's why support like this from Coles is so important.
"The grants will help ensure little athletes of today have all the resources they need to develop into Olympians of the future, if that is the pathway they choose."
Coles Acting State General Manager Mark Dubock said Coles was extremely proud of its partnership with Little Athletics Australia and its grassroots clubs and centres in NSW.
"We're delighted to continue to support Little Athletics centres in NSW through the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund," he said.
For every kilogram from bananas sold at Coles supermarkets on National Banana Day in May, Coles donated 10 cents to the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund.
"Little Athletics centres and their dedicated volunteers play such a vital role in the local community to help kids keep active and healthy. We want to be better together with the community and we're proud to play our part by providing nearly $650,000 in sports equipment grants to Little Athletics centres in NSW over the past three years."
More than $343,000 in sports equipment grants were distributed to 104 Little Athletics centres across Australia in the latest round of funding, taking the total contribution of the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund to over $2 million in just three years.
In addition to providing more than $2 million in equipment grants, Coles has donated more than 3.6 million bananas to Little Athletics centres since 2017.
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