Boy with autism ‘excluded' from NSW Primary School Cross Country Championships
Charlie Cox progressed to the North Coast Cross Country Championships and made it to the state finals as a special needs athlete — but the education department then delivered the news that he would not be allowed to compete.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Boy with autism 'excluded' from cross-country championships.
'We were very disappointed that Charlie was excluded,' father Owen told 7NEWS Sydney.
In 2022, Swimming Australia introduced classifications for swimmers with Down syndrome and formally diagnosed high-functioning autism.
Australian Athletics does not include autism within its framework.
'As such, the inclusion of an autism category for the sports of athletics and cross country are not feasible in the Representative School Sport Pathway as there are no nationally recognised benchmarks to support fair and consistent result calculation,' the NSW Department of Education told the family.
'Other states and territories that have made local provisions for participation do so outside the formal School Sport Australia pathway and there is no fair or consistent result calculation, nor is there a pathway to the next level of representation.
'Your concern is acknowledged and please be reassured that the NSW Department of Education remains committed to advocating for broader inclusion through national sporting bodies such as Athletics Australia.'
Charlie's exclusion comes after Year 10 student Hugo was initially blocked from competing in long-distance running events due to safety concerns.
Hugo has the genetic disorder achondroplasia, the most common form of short-limbed dwarfism.
He was later permitted to compete.
Charlie's family is now hoping for a permanent change to athletics' autism guidelines.
'We are hoping that there's some type of intervention from the government,' Owen said.
Charlie said he 'loves to run' and has trained for the past three years.
'Fingers crossed things can change,' he said.
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