The Black Singlet is Back!
- Matthew Baxter
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Athletics New Zealand has decided to have all future teams wear black singlets. This is a move away from the tiered singlet policy that was introduced in 2009, where teams would wear either a white, silver, or black singlet, depending on the tier/level they were competing at.
Can I say it? Can I please say it? FINALLY!

Let’s go back to 2019 for a second. It was the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. We had a strong team ready to compete on one of the hardest cross country courses ever created.
The hills were indescribable, like the Grand Canyon to someone who has never seen it in person.
While we were all giddy and excited about being on a New Zealand team trip, there was one thing that didn’t feel too Kiwi come race day.

“Why don’t we get to race in black singlets?” someone
asked.
Good question, yet no one seemed to know why.
So, we put on our silver singlets and ran.
Someone told me that the start of a World Cross Country race is always hectic. “You have to get out hard!” I was told.
This advice didn’t take into account the massive hill we were starting on. I got out hard, went lactic by the top, and enjoyed a brief moment in the lead through the beer tent within the first kilometer.
My grandma told me when I returned from the trip, “I watched the race, but never saw you.”
“I was the one in the silver singlet leading through the first tent,” I said.
“Oh,” she replied. “I was looking for a black singlet.”
If our grandparents don’t recognize us in races, what is the point?
***
I earned my spot on five non-black singlet teams.
Oceania U18 Area Championships (white)
Youth Commonwealth Games (silver)
World Cross Country Championships (silver)
Oceania Area Championships (white)
World Cross Country Championships (silver–although this was a dark grey)
I can’t quite pinpoint the exact moment when the different colours first bothered me, but I do know when it bothered me enough to email someone from Athletics New Zealand about it.
June 19, 2020
If I can make a comment. I don’t expect this to change, but I would love to see Athletics NZ reconsider their silver singlet policy for WXC. This is clearly an event that World Athletics is prioritizing now and we have athletes competing in the least recognizable singlet that is offered—silver (I would argue that white is actually a more recognizable colour for an NZ singlet). It is unfortunate that the one time this is in Australia and will be televised, as was the case last year, NZ athletes will not be wearing their country's colours.
I don’t mean to ruffle feathers in saying that, but it was a dominant conversation at last year’s WXC. The singlet was a constant reminder that although we were at the biggest cross country event in the world, it is still a B class event in Athletics NZ's eyes. That is a very conflicting message to send athletes, in my opinion.
It was perhaps a little bold of me to word that as strongly as I did, but I was fired up. I didn’t want to spend any of the trip to the 2023 World Cross Country Championships discussing our singlet colour.
After that email chain with Athletics New Zealand staff, I decided to leave the issue alone. I was always vocal about it to anyone who asked, but I didn’t want to waste any more energy on it.

Then, along came Michael Sutton.
I will always remember Michael as a dominant force in high school, whom I so badly wanted to beat. He crushed me at the 2009 NZSS Cross Country Championships when he won in bare feet.
Michael had reached out on March 26, 2023, about a formal letter he was drafting to push for a change to the Athletics New Zealand singlet tier policy. We had some lengthy email exchanges about how the letter should look and sound.
On April 23, 2023, Michael sent the letter to the Athletes’ Commission.
I won’t share the entirety of that letter; instead, here is the concluding paragraph.
New Zealand athletes represent our country with grit and pride every time they step out on the track, road, grass, or on the mountain. The colour of our singlet has never stopped us from being positive ambassadors of our sport and giving everything we have when we compete. We are asking Athletics NZ to acknowledge our hard work, the financial investments we make to represent our country, and show that you are proud of our achievements, sacrifices, and the positivity we bring to this sport we all love, by putting all of the elite athletes representing New Zealand in black!
There were a few back-and-forth emails between Michael and the Athletes’ Commission in late 2023 and early 2024.
Everything was quiet until a week ago when I saw an email pop up. It was Michael. Once again, pushing for change on the singlet policy. All I could think was, ‘Here we go again.’ Another round of genuine intent to change a bad policy, but likely the same result.
Not this time.
On June 4, 2025, we got our headline.
All New Zealand Athletics Teams to Compete in Iconic Black Singlet
In the press release, Athletics New Zealand Chief Executive Cam Mitchell stated: “Whether it’s at the Olympic Games, World Championships, or Oceania-level events, this move ensures every athlete wearing the singlet feels part of the same legacy. We want all our athletes to feel equally proud to represent Aotearoa.”
Exactly!
A great move from Athletics New Zealand.
Thank you to everyone who has pushed for this change over the years.
I can’t wait to see our athletes proudly competing in their much-earned black singlets in the future.
Unless, of course, you compete somewhere unbearably hot. In that case, enjoy the white!