The Wangaratta Sports Carnival is not the only major athletics event in the North East this weekend, with Albury hosting the Quest Albury Victorian Country Athletics Championships on Saturday 24, Sunday 25 and Monday 26 January 2026. The championships are a celebration of athletics, offering events in all age groups from under 14 to 60+. Both metro and country athletes can compete and enjoy the festivities that our region has to offer with a host of athletes from the rural city expected to compete. The event will be held at the Les O'Brien Athletics Precinct, Alexandra Park, Albury, has attracted 508 individual entries across 1526 registered events from 45 clubs, including some metro and interstate athletes. President of Albury Athletics Bernie Cannan said entry numbers were extremely good and the club was looking forward to hosting the event. "We have quality facilities and it’s great to see we can bring such a prestigious event to our region,” he said. “One of the athletes competing at the event is Emma Berg, from Bendigo, who is a five-time Australian national champion in the women's shot-put and the fifth-all-time best Australian in that event, so we are looking forward to seeing some talented athletes compete over the weekend.” Only Athletics Victoria athlete members born in 2014 or before, or those with an equivalent level of membership from another Australian Athletics member association, are eligible to compete at the Victorian Country events. The championship is a sanctioned event, which means athletes can qualify for nationals and gives an athlete the opportunity to qualify for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Three of the local athletic clubs – Albury Athletics, Wodonga Athletics and Lavington-Jindera Little Athletics are coordinating a barbecue over the weekend, also on offer will be a coffee van and other food/drink vendors. A timetable for the event can be found on the Quest Albury Victorian Country Athletics Championships website.
