The World Runs on Rekortan
Australia and New Zealand’s track season hits full stride.
The Australian and New Zealand athletics calendar is shaping up to be one of its most vibrant summers yet. From November through April, more than 20 track events will take place on Rekortan across Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, including national championships, Continental Tour meetings and regional championships.
Athletes and fans alike are being treated to a packed season that blends established meets with emerging formats, international level competition, and a growing emphasis on fan friendly events. While each event has its own character, together they form a connected summer circuit that reinforces the region as an important stop on the global athletics calendar.
A vibrant summer circuit comes alive
The 2025/2026 summer season gives athletes multiple opportunities to compete at home while earning international ranking points. For fans, the appeal lies in the diversity of the calendar. Events such as Zátopek:10, the Maurie Plant Meet, Sydney Track Classic, Adelaide Invitational, and New Zealand fixtures like the Lovelock Classic, Cooks Classic and Capital Classic have become staples because of their evening formats and ability to bring elite athletics into high energy environments.
These meets are complemented by events such as the Night of 5s in Auckland, which placed distance racing under lights on December 20th, in a condensed, festive setting that saw Sam Tanner (NZ) win the men's 5,000m in 13:36.40, and Sam Ruthe (NZ) set New Zealand’s U20 record in 13:40.48.
“We are delighted to stage our second Australian Short Track competition this year. This exciting new format brings fresh energy to the sport, offering athletes and fans greater variety and a condensed, high-action athletic competition.”
Maurie Plant Meet 2025 / Nathan Smart
Short track takes center stage
One of the most distinctive features of this summer is the continued rise of short track competition. The season will include two national short track championships, Australia hosting the format for the second time, and New Zealand staging its first.
Designed around a compact 200m track and fast-paced scheduling, short track offers a markedly different experience from traditional athletics meets. Races unfold quickly, events are tightly programmed, and spectators remain close to the action throughout.
“We are delighted to stage our second Australian Short Track competition this year. This exciting new format brings fresh energy to the sport, offering athletes and fans greater variety and a condensed, high-action athletic competition.
Short-format events play an important role in broadening the appeal of our sport, and we are pleased to be among the first national federations to embrace outdoor short track following World Athletics’ announcement of support for the discipline. We look forward to building on this initiative and showcasing its potential once again this season.” – Simon Hollingsworth, CEO, Australian Athletics
In New Zealand, the debut of the nation’s first short track nationals underscores both a growing appetite for innovation and a rapidly expanding athletics culture. The season began on November 22nd with the Dame Yvette Williams Invitational in Dunedin. Highlights from the kick-off event include Jonah Cropp winning the 5,000m in 21:13.55 and Jorja Gibbons taking gold in the women's 100m with a time of 12:35.
Maurie Plant Meet 2025 / Nathan Smart
Maurie Plant Meet 2025 / Nathan Smart
The rise of Gel tracks
All summer long, the season will quite literally be running on Rekortan. Now installed at five venues across Australia and New Zealand, Rekortan Gel tracks represent a new approach to track construction. Nano technology embeds trillions of liquid particles within the polyethylene gel layer, offering more stable force reduction and energy return than traditional solid-track systems across varying temperatures, and helping to minimize impact forces on athletes.
“The Gel track has such good performance that in the future we expect all higher level tracks to be Gel.” – Shaun Goudie, Global Track Team Lead, Rekortan
Positioning ANZ on the global calendar
The 2025/2026 track season highlights just how much the ANZ region is offering up meaningful opportunities for athletes and compelling experiences for fans. With a packed schedule of major meets, national championships, Continental Tour meetings, the rise of short track, and a growing number of showcase events, the season is promising – but the story of the summer is ultimately about competition, innovation, and a region confidently shaping its place in the future of global athletics.
Wishing athletes a successful summer
For decades, athletes have competed on Rekortan tracks and this summer, the leading athletes across Australia and New Zealand will do the same. Best of luck to everyone as the season unfolds.
Oceania
New Zealand
Australia
*Australian Athletics