MORE than 60 talented junior athletes from across the North Coast will this month receive subsidies totalling more than $16,500 as a result of the North Coast Academy of Sport’s recent Athlete Subsidy Scheme initiative.
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The scheme, which was launched this year, aims to financially support junior North Coast athletes who have excelled in their sport at state or national level.
To be eligible for funding, athletes must be 20 years of age or under, be a resident of the North Coast and have competed at state or national level in their sport, excluding all school sports events. Applications were open to all North coast athletes and were not limited to those involved in existing Academy talent development programs.
The North Coast Academy of Sport is a non-profit and independent organisation that began in 1989 to identify and assist talented junior athletes on the north coast. The Academy is supported by its foundation sponsors NSW Sport and Recreation and Southern Cross University.
As well as the Athlete Subsidy Scheme, the Academy runs sport-specific talent enhancement (STEP) programs, Sport Smart encouragement workshops for high-school aged athletes, and coaching conference/workshops for coaches.
Separate cheque and certificate presentation ceremonies will take place at each of the Academy’s five sub-regional community-based committees of Tweed-Byron, Northern Rivers, Clarence Valley, Coffs Coast and Hastings-Macleay.
“It’s the efforts of the Academy’s sub-regional committee members that have made our subsidy scheme so successful,” Executive Director of the Academy Tony Clarke said.
“We have greatly increased the awareness of the Academy to local councils, schools, media, local businesses and sports clubs and associations.”
This year the local councils of Lismore, Kempsey, Grafton, Hastings, Bellingen and Ballina provided funding to the Academy to help it service regional athletes, including the Athlete Subsidy Scheme.
As well as the local councils, the Academy acknowledges more than 50 local North Coast registered clubs and small businesses that have sponsored local Academy athletes and sport programs.
“It’s that sort of community spirit that allows the Academy to assist our athletes in travelling to and competing at state and national standard competitions,” Clarke said.
“We will be running our Academy Athlete Partnership Program early next year to start building up our reserves for next year’s Athlete Subsidy Program.”
Applications for the 2001 round of funding will re-open next October and will be widely promoted through the media.
Hastings-Macleay recipients include Corinne Buckley - surf life saving (Lake Cathie), Cassie Daros - netball (Crescent Head), Zac Garfield-Hughes - surfing, (Grassy Head), Mark MacGibbon - soccer (Port Macquarie), Samuel McGregor - water polo, (Crescent Head), Adam Pelley - baseball (Port Macquarie), James Turnham - swimming (Port Macquarie).
Clarence Valley recipients include Jodie Barnier - swimming (Palmers Channel), Emma Dallen - sailing (Grafton), Nicholas Dallen - sailing (Grafton), Cameron Pilley - squash (Yamba), Donna Urquhart - squash (Yamba).
Coffs Coast recipients include Scott Babbage - sailing (Coffs Harbour), Andrew Budd - squash (Nambucca Heads), Jessica Chiswell - basketball (Coffs Harbour), Spencer Day - baseball, (Coffs Harbour), Arron Edgar - basketball (Red Rock), Cole Fitzpatrick - athletics (Coffs Harbour), Veronique Freeman - basketball (Moonee Beach), Peter Glyde - athletics (Bellingen), Cameron Gough - squash (Nambucca Heads), Rachel Harrigan - athletics (Bonville), Daniel Harris - soccer (Boambee), Emma Kerr - yachting (Boambee), Sarah Kerr - yachting (Boambee), Coryn Mara - yachting (Middle Boambee), Kylie Mara -yachting (Middle Boambee), Kaila Moran -netball (Raleigh), Stephen Simpson - athletics (Moonee Beach), Kiah Sweetman - basketball (Saphire Beach), Jenna Tristram - soccer (Repton), Katherine Wade - yachting (Fernmount), Meredith Wilson - rhythmic gymnastics (Coffs Harbour).
Northern Rivers recipients include Kathryn Ainsworth - netball (East Ballina), Anna Campbell - swimming (Ballina), Ryan Cuskelly - squash (Evans Head), Cassie Douglas - hockey (Coraki), Deanne Egan - tenpin bowling (Goonellabah), Patrick Egan - tenpin bowling (Goonellabah), Anna Ford - water polo (Alstonville), Matthew Graham - soccer (Goonellabah), Susannah Hahn - athletics (Alstonville), Kate Johnson - swimming (Lennox Head), Alex Jones - athletics (Ballina), Brendan Keevers - soccer (Goonellabah), Erin Mills - tenpin bowling (Goonellabah), Elizabeth Moore - swimming (East Ballina), Sam Norton - slalom canoeing (Goonellabah), Christine Nunn - waterpolo (Alstonville), Glenn Paisley - rugby union Tucki Tucki), Sam Phillips - sailing (East Ballina), Luke Reilly - hockey (Alstonville), Brendan Shailes - softball (Mcleans Ridges), Nicholas Shailes - softball (McLeans Ridges), Arron Smee - soccer (Alstonville), Shae Whitty - tennis (Ballina).
Tweed Byron recipients include John Bradbury - soccer (Byron Bay), Craig Bramwell - soccer (Pottsville Beach), AmyBeth Johnston - rhythmic gymnastics (Billinudgel), Josh Lewan - surfing (Suffolk Park), Paul Matthews - triathlon (Murwillumbah), Chiron Weber - athletics (Mullumbimby), Jed Wright - soccer (Federal).
