Is the half-time orange losing its place on the sidelines?

Parents and growers rally to save the loved sports tradition

The humble half-time orange is being squeezed out of junior sport, with new research revealing the childhood ritual is increasingly being replaced by sports drinks and packaged snacks.

A new survey showed 93 per cent of parents believed the half-time orange ritual was dying out, with fewer than a three in ten kids eating orange wedges at the half-time break, according to their parents.

The YouGov survey was conducted among Australian parents of children, aged five to 17 years, who played sport with a half-time break. It was commissioned by Australian orange growers and in response to the findings, growers are giving away free oranges to junior teams to save the sports tradition.

“We love the fact that orange wedges are an iconic part of Aussie sport, whether it’s at a junior game or at an elite level, and we don’t want to see that change,” said Michael Arnold, who grows Aussie Oranges in the Riverland, South Australia.

“We’re giving away more than 25,000 oranges to make sure the next generation of sports lovers experience the fun and goodness of sharing an orange grin with their teammates.”

The research showed the iconic half-time snack was disappearing with each generation. Gen X parents were almost twice as likely as millennial parents to say their children regularly ate orange wedges at half-time (42% compared with 26%). While millennial parents were more likely than Gen X parents to identify sports drinks (40% vs 33%), milk drinks (25% vs 11%) and sports gels (13% vs 1%) as common half-time snacks for their kids.

With oranges facing the sidelines, parents have joined grower calls to revive the nostalgic tradition with 77 per cent of parents agreeing they would love to see half-time orange wedges make a comeback for their kids and most (78%) recalling it as a fond childhood memory.

Advanced Sports Dietitian Ali Miles said there were good reasons why half-time oranges had become an Australian sporting favourite.

"Orange wedges are an easy and budget-friendly way to keep kids refreshed on the field," said Ms Miles, who is a Performance Dietitian with the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, Sunshine Coast Lightning and the Queensland Academy of Sport.

“For children enjoying junior or community sport, half-time nutrition does not need to be complicated. Water and familiar choices, such as orange wedges, are a great option and can support their nutrition both on and off the field.  

“Oranges naturally provide carbohydrates for energy, they have a high-water content to help with hydration, and are packed with vitamin C, making them an ideal half-time snack during winter sport.”

Parents stated convenience as the main reason the tradition was dying out, with 43 per cent saying packaged snacks, such as snack bars, chips, lollies or sports drinks, were easier to hand out.

The survey also showed there was still a COVID-19 hangover, with a third (33%) attributing the decline in half-time oranges to concerns about sharing food since COVID-19 and 38 per cent said families now preferred to bring their own food.

Orange grower Michael Arnold says he’s regularly on orange duties for his daughter’s netball team and he has shared a video on his social pages to show his cutting tip for fuss-free orange wedges that will have half-time affordable snacks sorted for the team in minutes.

“Slice off the ends to make keep the orange steady and then cut in quarters. Trim out the core as this can be bitter to bite into and then halve again. I find eighths is easier for junior sports kids to tuck into and just a few oranges will feed the whole team.”

To bring back half-time oranges and revive the loved tradition, Australian orange growers will be giving away up to $10,000 for teams to fund their half-time oranges this 2026 winter sports season. That equates to more than 25,000 free oranges.

Schools and sporting clubs wanting to support the comeback, and enjoy free half-time oranges, can register at www.oranges.com.au.