The Rio Tinto Athletics for the Outback (AFTO) program brings athletics to life in some of Australia’s most remote and regional communities, giving young people the opportunity to move, connect, and grow through sport.
Delivered by Australian Athletics and powered by Rio Tinto, AFTO provides tailored athletics experiences, ranging from school clinics and community events to coaching development and local athletics carnivals. Every program is built around collaboration, sustainability, and inclusion, with the long-term goal of helping young people build fundamental movement skills, confidence, and a love of sport.
Since its relaunch in 2022, the program has connected with over 22,000 participants, reaching 65 communities across Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. In 2025 alone, the program delivered 75 days of activity and engaged over 6,700 participants through accredited coaching, local partnerships, and legacy-building initiatives.
We are very grateful for the AFTO program. It gives our kids and staff opportunities to learn in a fun environment.
At St. Joseph's Parish School, Weipa we enjoy having a variety of sports and coaches visiting the remote schools.
The coaches bring many skills and games that encourage high engagement and promotion for Athletics.
AFTO is a community program that brings fun, engaging athletics experiences to young people in regional and remote communities.
Delivered by experienced Australian Athletics coaches, AFTO introduces participants to the fundamental skills of athletics through games and activities at local schools and athletics clubs. The program is designed to build confidence, develop movement skills and create positive experiences in sport, regardless of a participant's age, ability or previous experience
Each AFTO clinic includes:
AFTO programs are shaped through community consultation and delivered in line with Australian Athletics’ Junior Athletics Guidelines.
Olympian and World Junior Medallist - 800m
Olympian and Global Medallist - Pole Vault
Olympian and Global Medallist - Long Jump
Our programs are delivered by accredited Australian Athletics coaches:
Sam is a highly experienced coach, teacher, and former athlete with a passion for developing young people through sport. Competing for Al Rayyan Sports Club in Qatar during the late 1990s and early 2000s, he ranked as the country’s second best triple jumper. He later worked with the Qatar Olympic Committee and Aspire Sports Academy, where he served as a multi-sport coach from 2006 to 2019. During this time, he worked with a range of elite athletes, including four-time Olympic medalist Mutaz Essa Barshim.
Liz is a Level 4 High Performance Coach with more than 25 years of coaching experience. Specialising in middle distance and sprints, she is passionate about helping athletes achieve their potential while building confidence, resilience and life skills along the way. Liz has coached athletes at all levels of the sport and is part of the Australian Athletics Women in High Performance Mentoring Program. She loves seeing young people grow both as athletes and as individuals.
Jamie is an experienced athletics coach who specialises in sprints (100m, 200m and 400m), long jump, triple jump and relays. A passionate runner and lifelong sports enthusiast, he is currently completing the Australian Athletics Level 4 High Performance Coach accreditation. Jamie has coached athletes to state, national and international success.
Kerry is a HPE teacher, former Australian representative runner, and experienced coach specialising in middle distance. With experience across schools, sports coordination, and community programs, she is passionate about helping young people build confidence, develop skills and enjoy being active. Kerry creates positive and inclusive environments where everyone can participate and experience success, and believes sport plays an important role in building connection, resilience and opportunities within communities.
6 programs per year
Schools/clubs visited in 2025 include:
4 programs per year
Schools/clubs visited in 2025 include:
4 programs per year
Schools/clubs visited in 2025 include:
The delivery of the Rio Tinto Athletics in the Outback (AFTO) program in the Northern Territory (NT) since 2022 has undoubtedly produced some of the program’s greatest impact. The NT AFTO program has engaged with some of the most isolated regional and remote communities in Australia, forging cultural connections, uncovering an abundance of raw, natural talent, and bringing excitement and opportunity to First Nations people through the fun and power of the inclusive sport of athletics.
Since the inception of AFTO in the NT, the program has gone from strength to strength with a very clear focus on remote communities that have often not been supported by other sports. Regions such as the Gove Peninsula and East Arnhem land have benefitted greatly from continued and consistent AFTO visits. Through this work, Australian Athletics has been invited to attend sporting events such as the Arnhem Sports Carnival which hosts all homeland/remote schools in the region. Excitingly, the NT AFTO programs have also seen a large cohort of athletes from East Arnhem communities attend the NT Athletics Championships where they, in turn, proceeded to qualify for and compete at the Australian All Schools Championships.
AFTO programs are available to schools, youth groups, community organisations, local councils and sporting clubs located in Gladstone, Weipa and the Pilbara.
If your school, club or community organisation is interested in hosting an AFTO program, please contact the National Athletics for the Outback Coordinator, Sam Ajisafe:
AFTO is proudly delivered in partnership with Rio Tinto. Their support enables thousands of young people across regional and remote Australia to access structured sport opportunities that may not otherwise be available.
