Sport
21 November, 2025
Little Aths given a boost with reserve upgrades
Athletic facilities at Maryborough’s Jack Pascoe Reserve still fall short of their potential despite needed upgrades being completed.
After years of advocacy, the long jump, triple jump and javelin run-ups have been re-asphalted after falling into disrepair.
However, synthetic run-ups were originally planned in the 2022 Master Plan for Jack Pascoe Reserve.
It’s understood that with synthetic run-ups, and other upgrades, the facility could host little athletics competitions alongside Ballarat and Warrnambool which attract upwards of 1000 attendees.
While this future may still be out of reach, it’s not gone, as the new asphalt could be used as the underlying layer of a synthetic upgrade.
If and when this happens, however, is likely to come down to cost which stopped the upgrade going ahead as planned.
Central Goldfields Shire Council paid $25,000 for the works which were delivered by Doran Earth-moving and Centre State Asphalting.
Central Goldfields Shire councillor and former mayor Grace La Vella said the repairs were long overdue.
“These facilities are well-used — not only by our local Maryborough Little Athletics Club but also by our local schools. It’s important that our local children have access to quality infrastructure so that they can learn and develop their athletics skills,” she said.
“We look forward to seeing the upgraded run-ups used and enjoyed for many years to come.”
Maryborough Little Athletics Club secretary David Tull thanked council for the funding and planning resources to resurface the javelin and jump pits.
“The cracking in the old run-ups was becoming dangerous and discussions were being held as to whether we may be forced to remove those events from the program,” he said.
“It was a pleasure to work with council’s Infrastructure team members Grant and Leigh to ensure the project was completed on time.”