THE Federation University WestVic Academy of Sport has launched a new scholarship fund.<\/p>\n
The aim of the initiative is to assist young high-performing athletes, and their families, to cover the expenses that come with training and competing at an elite level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done a complete review of our operations, sports programs, what\u2019s working, what’s not working, and how we can keep the athletes front-of-mind,\u201d said academy CEO Shenae Keleher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe noted that a majority of our athletes are juniors going through high school, which is an important but also very busy period of their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve observed the load they\u2019re taking on, between school, homework, sports training and competitions, and we want to try and fill the gaps in areas they may otherwise miss out on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new scholarships have been designed to help athletes in a \u201cwholistic\u201d way, offering support around performance, strength and conditioning, fitness testing, and injury recovery, to things like nutrition and mindset coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s also a lot of costs for parents and guardians across equipment, competition fees, and registrations, so under the scholarships, money would also be reimbursed to help them cover costs,\u201d Keleher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in a regional area, there are already increased costs to just attend competitions in Melbourne, or to travel further.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the financial climate that we\u2019re in, this is a way of giving back to our local kids and their families, and a way we can support local service providers and community groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scholarship fund has stemmed from other initiatives which were unable to go ahead due to the cancellation of the 2026 Regional Victorian Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applied for City of Ballarat partnership grants at this time last year when everyone was preparing for Comm Games,\u201d Keleher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were putting programs together to support local athletes to train for the games, but by the time the outcome came through for the grants, the games had been cancelled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, a small part of that was starting to look at putting a scholarship fund together for local athletes so we\u2019ve pivoted and leant into the scholarship.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of athletes were disheartened that the Commonwealth Games had been cancelled, so this is a nice way to give back to the local community. It\u2019s a great time to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Federation University WestVic Academy of Sport has launched a new scholarship fund. The aim of the initiative is to assist young high-performing athletes, and their families, to cover the expenses that come with training and competing at an elite level. \u201cWe\u2019ve done a complete review of our operations, sports programs, what\u2019s working, what’s not […]<\/p>\n