Future country sport stars cash in
The Department of Sport and Recreation and Healthway have again helped young regional athletes tap into the funding pool as part of this year’s Smarter than Smoking Country Sport Scholarships.
14 September 2010
One-hundred-and-seventy-two athletes from regional Western Australia have been awarded scholarships this year out of about 250 applications State-wide.
They hail from towns as far apart as Geraldton, Paraburdoo, York, Kellerberrin, Northam, Clackline, Dumbleyung, Kojonup, Dalyellup, Preston Beach, Broome, Kalgoorlie and Esperance.
The 2010 recipients include Joshua Mauger (Geraldton/BMX), Jordan Gilbert (Paraburdoo/baseball), Jake Duperouzel (York/waterskiing), Steven Durell (Narrogin/hockey), Jaimi Andrews (San Remo/waterskiing), Corey Richardson (Bunbury/basketball), Mitchell Delfs (Gracetown/cycling MTB), Kiran Gibbon (Margaret River/underwater hockey) and Lauren Mainwaring (Broome/cricket).
The scholarships are now in their sixteenth year and assist young regional athletes to overcome barriers such as distance from facilities, competitions, development opportunities and coaches in their pursuit of State and national representation.
“Regional Western Australia has long been a gold mine of talented athletes in a range of sports, however without the help of scholarships like these you would have to wonder how many of these athletes would be able to reach their full potential,” said DSR Manager Regions Tim Mahon.
“The scholarships have over the years helped hundreds of athletes achieve their sporting goals, many of whom have gone on to become some of Australia’s best sporting talents, so it’s no stretch to say we may have the next big WA sports star among our 2010 scholarship recipients.”
Among the many past recipients who have gone on to achieve great things in their sport are:
• David Prosser (Bunbury/rowing) – Represented Australia at 2009 World Junior Rowing Championships.
• Creed McTaggart (Margaret River/surfing) – Competed at 2010 World Titles in U16s.
• Ryan Bailie (Bunbury/triathlon) – Competed in Australian Under 23 squad.
• Anthony Morabito (Harvey/AFL) – Plays for Fremantle Dockers, awarded NAB Rising Star for Round 22.
• Corey Richardson (Bunbury/basketball) – Made the 17 & Under Australian Team.
• Kadiejayne Tirkot (Byford/shooting, rifle) – Represented Australia at World Cup in Sydney.
• Kylee & Ben Graham (Falcon, Mandurah/dancesport) – Represented Australia at Junior World Championships.
• Joshua Mauger (Geraldton/BMX) – Represented Australia in 17-24 years age group at World Championships.
• Samantha Mitchell (Broome/touch football) – Selected in Australian Under 20s squad.
Changes to the scholarships last year, and carried on to this year, mean applications are now assessed against a series of performance categories and conducted on a State-wide basis, plus additional support is available to talented athletes who reside more than 500 km from Perth.
More information is available on the DSR website or contact your local DSR office.
Smarter than Smoking Country Sport Scholarships
The Smarter than Smoking Country Sport Scholarship program is a joint initiative between the Department of Sport and Recreation (DSR) and Healthway to support talented regional athletes in their pursuit of state and national representation.
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