Sydney Sports Academy athletics track closed in Narrabeen

The NSW Office of Sport has opened a temporary athletics grass track at the Sydney Academy of Sports (SAS) in Narrabeen following ongoing issues with the synthetic surface.

With the Chevron athletic track closed in December 2023 to allow remediation work to take place, a temporary grass track on the facility's oval one is available for training by groups and casual visitors, school sports carnivals and Little Athletics clubs.

The temporary track is 400 metres long and has six lanes.

On the main track, geotechnical investigation work, which commenced on 8th February, has seen test holes and bores being drilled within the track area to monitor how the track copes with a range of weather conditions, especially wet weather.

State Member for Pittwater Rory Amon has said the closure was despite long-term ‘bubbling’ on the track, commenting "track users report to me that the ‘bubbling’ is not any worse than in the past, and for years, the Office of Sport and its insurer were happy for the track to remain open.

“The track has had long-term challenges, and they need to be fixed. However, this does not warrant a heavy-handed, arbitrary and bureaucratic response in closing the track indefinitely.”

Mackellar MP Dr Sophie Scamps has called for the NSW and Federal Governments to investigate a site for a second elite-level track to accommodate the growing numbers of athletes on the Northern Beaches.

She explained "athletes now need to travel over an hour to access a suitable running track at Homebush, Kensington or the Central coast.

“The synthetic surface of the track was only replaced in 2019 and repaired in 2022, which raises the question: why it deteriorated again so quickly?”

Manly Warringah Little Athletics President, AJ Jauncy said the club was ‘devastated’ at the closure, which had affected the summer athletics season, adding "the surface bubbling had become an issue during spells of hot weather, but very often in the cooler periods that typifies the early mornings when our weekly competition takes place, this was not an issue. So being told an ‘insurer’ had deemed the facility unsafe is very disappointing.”

The infield area of the closed track remains open for throwing and jumping disciplines.

Image: The athletics track at the Sydney Sports Academy.