Narrabeen athletic track closed until 2025
The closure of the Sydney Academy of Sport athletic track in Narrabeen due to ‘bubbling’ is set to extend through the 2024/25 season, as clubs and schools across the Beaches run out of patience.
The NSW Office of Sport closed the track in December 2023 due to bubbling on its synthetic surface, and opened a temporary six-lane 400-metre grass athletics track on Oval 1.
Manly Warringah Little Athletics Club president Andrew ‘AJ’ Jauncy told PL that the club had a 40 per cent drop in attendance rates due to the track closure, and many schools had had their sports days rescheduled, some as much as three times.
“When it rains, that (temporary) oval gets really wet,” said Mr Jauncy. “It’s constantly being closed.”
Last year, after doing its own review, the club deemed the synthetic track safe for use. Officials had been assessing the track prior to daily activities, when the bubbling appeared at the end of 2023.
“A committee member would inspect the track and make a decision,” said Mr Jauncy. “And we could take a lane out if required. The bubbling isn’t constant; it’s dependent on temperature and climate. So, on really hot days, the bubbling appears.”
Stakeholders received an update in August on investigations into the bubbling from the NSW Office of Sport.
“They’ll review the draft report once it’s final, before putting recommendations forward to the insurer and State Government in terms of a solution,” said Mr Jauncy.
“My understanding is they were trying to determine whether or not the issues were caused by groundwater, as in rising water, or whether it was flooding due to rainwater sitting on the surface for too long,” said Mr Jauncy.
“They indicated that it’s a flooding issue, so they’re looking at what they need to do to repair the surface and stop it from happening permanently.”
Mr Jauncy said an alternative to the Narrabeen track was needed.
“If you just looked at population, (Narrabeen) has the only synthetic athletics facility on the north side of the harbour,” he said. “It’s a pretty significant portion of the population using (what is) effectively one of the most pathetic track facilities in Sydney.”
A spokesperson for the Office of Sport told PL: “Any remediation works, and associated timeline, will be determined based on the outcomes of the investigation. The track will remain closed until the remediation works are complete.”