Greater Building Society CEO Don Magin said that the new funding will be used by the Academy to help more athletes and their families to meet the costs of attending programs and competing in their chosen sports. He said it will also help the Academy to maximise its investment in young athletes.
The Greater will fund three new initiatives:
1. Grants to help disadvantaged kids to help to meet the costs of programs.
2. Expansion of the Sports Psychologist’s role to allow that person to work with each of the Academy’s 600 athletes.
3. A general travel fund to help reduce the cost of transport and accommodation costs for teams and individuals competing on behalf of the Academy.
“The Greater and the Hunter Academy of Sport both want to ensure that all talented young Hunter sports people are able to benefit from the Academy’s excellent programs,” Mr Magin said.
Hunter Academy of Sport CEO Ken Clifford said the funding was vital because many families find it difficult for their children to continue in sports programs because of the costs involved.
Mr Clifford said the extension of psychologist services will help athletes to compete more effectively and prevent some talented kids from losing interest and dropping out of their sporting programs.
Four of the Hunter’s promising young athletes were at the funding announcement to speak about the importance of the initiatives to athletes and their families. They were baseballer Melinda Latimer (Medowie), netballer Claudia Russell (Cessnock), sprinter Laura Bonzo (Adamstown Heights), and water polo player Georgia McConville (Swansea). [See backgrounder for athletes’ recent achievements.]
They welcomed the new initiatives, saying that they all knew of athletes who have been unable to compete in championships because they simply can’t afford to attend.
The new funding is in addition to the Greater’s support of the Academy’s Sports Scholarships, annual presentation night, and its tennis and athletics programs. Today, Mr Magin also announced that applications for the Greater Building Society Sports Scholarships were now open. Ten athletes who show promise in an Olympic sport will be awarded $2,000 to assist with the cost of their preparations. Applications close Friday September 24.
Athletes attending today’s announcement:
Melinda Latimer (15 yrs) has been selected to the Australian Women’s Baseball Team that is heading off to Venezuela for the World Titles on Wednesday.
Claudia Russell (16yrs) was selected for the first time to the NSW team that won this year’s Australian championships.
Laura Bonzo (16 yrs) represented NSW at the National All Schools Track and Field Championships and participated in the Australian Junior Track and Field Championships.
Georgia McConville (14yrs) was named Best Player in the Hunter Academy of Sport that won the U14 Australian Championships this year. She has also been selected to the Australian U16 Water Polo Team.
The Greater Building Society Sports Scholarships
Ten athletes who show tremendous potential in their chosen Olympic sport are awarded a $2,000 scholarship to cover some of the expenses they incur during the year as they pursue their sporting passion. They will also receive advice from Hunter Academy of Sport consultants in areas such as sports psychology, nutrition, physical fitness, injury prevention and injury treatment.
The scholarships have been operating for 17 years. During that time more than 70 athletes have been supported in their preparations to represent Australia at the world’s premier sporting event. Seven of Australia’s 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic teams were current or former Greater Olympic Scholarship holders.
The London Olympic Games will be held from July 27 to August 12, 2012 where athletes will compete in 26 sports.
2009/10 scholarship winners were:
Shaun Fletcher - Track and Field (Elemore Vale) Aaron Royle - Triathlon (Maryland)
Benn Harradine - Track and Field (Eleebana) Jennifer Screen - Basketball (Hamilton South)
Billy Jolliffe - BMX (Cameron Park) Brendan Sexton - Triathlon (Louth Park)
Rachel Jones - BMX (Cameron Park) Liam Speers - Track and Field (Merewether)
Shannon Jones - Water Polo (Blackalls Park) Ty Swadling - Trampolining (Charlestown)
Nathan Outteridge - Sailing (Wangi Wangi)
Jack Rickards - Gymnastics (Cardiff)
The Hunter Academy of Sport (HAS)
Established in 1987, The Hunter Academy of Sport is the largest regional academy in Australia. It provides regional talent development programs, similar to the Australian Institute of Sport, in 28 sports. It also provides advice in areas such as sports administration, coaching, refereeing/umpiring, facilities, injury management, injury prevention, fitness testing and training, sport psychology, dental and eye care, public speaking, ethics in sport, nutrition and personal development.
The Greater Building Society
The Hunter based Greater Building Society is one of Australia’s largest building societies, operating in regional NSW, the Gold Coast and in Townsville. As a mutual organisation, the Greater exists for the benefit of its 250,000 members rather than shareholders. This allows the Greater to invest its profits in competitively priced financial services and to support community organisations.
The Greater has been supporting the Hunter Academy of Sport (HAS) for 17 years. Last year (2009) doubled its funding to HAS to $30,000. This new funding more almost doubles that funding.
The Greater also sponsors academies of sport in the Gold Coast, New England and Central Coast regions. In the Hunter, the Greater sponsors the Newcastle District Bowling Association, Hunter Rugby, and The Lake Macquarie International Golf Open.
Media information: Greater: Craig Eardley on 0437477493 HAS: Ken Clifford on 4926 4892.
