Juggling work, study & sport in style

When Sarah Dally relocated to Adelaide at the start of 2023, she was readying herself for a jam packed year and in the two years since not much has changed as the 2021 Mount Gambier High School dux continues to juggle study, work and an elite cycling career.

Such is her status, last month she was part of a star studded panel for The Power of Her event in Mount Gambier, sharing her views on females in sport, along side former Australian Diamonds captain Nat Von Bertouch, dual Thunderbirds premiership captain Hannah Petty and Olympic bronze medallist Caitlin Parker.

And her contribution to the panel discussion revealed her passion for not only keeping females in sport but ensuring regional athletes are not disadvantaged.

“I want to encourage girls to keep involved in sport and I want them to see they can stay in sport – you can juggle work and study and social commitments,” she said at the premier event. “I am also really passionate about getting metro based athletes and coaches to the regions and bot expecting regional athletes to always do the travelling.

Sarah also believes regional athletes should be trusted to remain in their training environment and still achieve and that coaches can use online options to mentor those regionally based athletes.

She understands relocation is eventually necessary but it can be delayed, leaving young athletes in an environment where they are comfortable and surrounded by the support of family and friends.

Sarah’s eventual relocation was for sport and study and it has paid dividends with her opportunities as a South Australian Sports Institute athlete seeing her snapped up by professional cycling team Villawood as part of their first ever female team.

Villawood is a long standing professional team in South Australia but only put together a female team for the first time in 2024.

Sarah is also the current South Australian Time Trial Champion and is coming into the peak part of her cycling season with a jam packed calendar of events.

She has national commitments as well as being approached to head to the Tasmanian Christmas Carnival, which is one of those rare paid gigs for Sarah on the bike, for six days of racing with cyclists from over seas as well as across Australia, in a fight for $80,000 in prizemoney.

Her December and January diary has both track and road events.

A typical week for Sarah when it comes to training is a mixture of on and off the bike sessions.

Monday and Friday are recovery days that usually include a gym session, while Wednesdays are reserved for long endurance road rides, Thursday is for track work, Saturday is a three to five hour bunch ride and Sunday is another three hour endurance road.

“I certainly have an aide what is feels like to be a full time athlete – it is usually around 20 hours training a week,” Sarah said.

But, of course, she is not a full time athlete – yet – and study and work needs to be slotted in around her cycling commitments.

When she moved in 2023, Sarah had been selected as an ambassador for the Premiers Be Active Challenge and secured a role with the Little Heroes Foundation, where she was earmarked to work in the marketing and event planning space.

“The Little Heroes Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that supports children’s physical and mental health and has proudly raised more than $40 million since 1996,” she said. “I am also very proud to be an Ambassador for the Premiers Be Active Challenge. This involves travelling to schools across the State to run presentations to encourage and inspire students to be physically active, resilient, set achievable goals and chase their dreams. I feel very honoured for this opportunity and I love meeting and inspiring the next generation.”

The Premier’s Be Active Challenge role is quite sporadic, while she has been elevated to event coordinator at the Little Heroes Foundation, heading up the three major events the foundation runs each year.

“The most recent was a Melbourne Cup Luncheon at the National Wine Centre for 350 people,” Sarah said. “Funnily enough event coordinator was a career path identified for me in a career test I did while at school, apparently because I like organising. Finishing high school I never thought I would be doing this at my age but it has fallen into my hands. They are very flexible which is good.”

Sarah started an Honours Degree in Psychology, specialising in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of South Australia, when she moved to Adelaide and while that is still in her plans she has decided to complete a double degree, tackling Sports Exercise & Psychology, because working with athletes looms as an area of interest in her future.

“I love what sport can do for you,” Sarah said. “I always knew I wanted to do something in sport.”

What is amazing about Sarah’s rise to SASI athlete is cycling was not really on her radar until she was in Year 10 and was identified in a SASI Talent Search as a 16 year old with the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy.

Unfortunately, her progression through the sport was interrupted due to the pandemic however, she is well and truly on track now with a clear goal of representing her country at the Olympics.

Not surprisingly, her cycling hero is Anna Meares with Sarah inspired be her commitment not just to her sport but to community involvement.

“Anna’s dedication to reaching the epitome of her sport as well as her resilience in the face of adversity is why she is regarded as Australia’s greatest female track sprinter of all time,” Sarah said. “I am also inspired by her community involvement and willingness to share her journey, experiences, and learnings with others.”

And that’s why Sarah will also never forget her roots and use this latest chapter in her life to inspire fellow country athletes to pursue their dreams.

“As a former country-based athlete, I am passionate about giving back to her community and encouraging kids to participate in sport not only for the physical benefits, but also for the lifelong lessons and resilience it teaches you,” Sarah said. “I hope to use my platform as an athlete to inspire other country kids to find their purpose and chase their dreams.”

Hot on the heels of her panel appearance at The Power of Her community event, Sarah snuck back home again on December 9 as the guest speaker at the Mount Gambier High School Presentation Night.