From the track to the town square: Bendigo's high school athletics clubs are building more than just runners

On any given Saturday morning, the running track at Strathfieldsaye's new community sports precinct is dotted with teenagers in school singlets and parents clutching stopwatches. It's a scene that has become increasingly common across Bendigo this winter, as high school athletics clubs report some of their strongest numbers in years.

Bendigo Harriers Athletics Club, one of the city's oldest and largest track-and-field outfits, has seen its junior membership climb steadily since the start of 2025. Club president Len Smith told The Daily Bendigo the group now fields more than 120 registered athletes aged 12 to 18, up about 30 percent from two years ago. 'We can barely fit everyone on the track for warm-ups,' he said.

The post-World Cup hangover hasn't hit the local oval

The swell in local participation comes at a curious moment for Australian sport. On Tuesday, news broke that the A-League's new season faces potential strike action, with the post-World Cup glow the code enjoyed after 2023 fading fast, according to reporting from the Guardian's Joey Lynch. Meanwhile, millions of eyes are fixed on the World Cup semi-finals in Europe, where England's Declan Rice is set to start against Argentina.

Yet in Bendigo, the action is more parochial, and arguably more sustainable. The success of the Matildas and Socceroos on the world stage may have inspired a generation, but it is the local clubs, not the professional leagues, that are capitalising on that energy. Bendigo Harriers, alongside rivals like Eaglehawk Athletic Club, have leaned into school-based recruitment, running after-school come-and-try sessions at Bendigo Senior Secondary College and Canterbury Girls' Secondary College that have drawn dozens of new faces.

Why parents are swapping the sideline for the stopwatch

Smith said the clubs are also benefiting from a broader community push. The City of Greater Bendigo's Active Living Strategy, adopted in late 2024, funnelled an additional $50,000 into school-and-club partnership grants last year. That helped cover the cost of coaching accreditation for volunteer parents and new starting blocks for the Strathfieldsaye track.

'Parents tell us they value the social side as much as the sport,' Smith said. 'It's not just about PBs and regional titles. It's about having a place to belong on a Saturday morning.'

The clubs are now looking to the upcoming athletics season, which kicks off with the Bendigo All-Schools Carnival on October 17, to maintain momentum. Entry forms for the carnival, hosted at the Tom Flood Sports Centre track, have already outstripped pre-COVID levels, organisers said.

For now, at least, the local athletics scene is thriving in a way that few professional codes can match. On a continent obsessed with footy and football, Bendigo's high school runners are quietly building a different kind of dynasty, one lap at a time.