Applications are now open for grants to help young athletes, coaches and officials attend sporting championships. The grants are available under the Local Sporting Champions program, an Australian Government initiative aimed at helping sportspeople aged 12-18 to attend recognised sporting championships.
Successful applicants will receive a one-off individual grant of $500 or team grant of $3000 to help fund the cost of travel, accommodation, uniforms or equipment when competing, coaching, umpiring or refereeing.
The Local Sporting Champions program was recently expanded to provide more young Australians opportunities to receive funding to attend sporting events.
New championships which young athletes, coaches or officials can now apply for funding to help attend include international competitions as well as state school championships.
With the inclusion of these competitions, the Local Sporting Champions program will recognise some of Australia’s most talented young athletes and provide them with financial assistance to participate in sport and represent their country at an international level.
Criteria for Funding:
To be eligible for a Local Sporting Champions grant, individuals aged 12 – 18 years (inclusive) must be competing in an Australian Sports Commission-recognised national sporting organisation (NSO) state or national sporting championships, a national or state school sport championships or be a member of an official Australian team endorsed by an ASC-recognised NSO or School Sport Australia travelling to an international competition. Please note that eligible sportspeople can only receive one Local Sports Champion grant per year.
Candidates can complete the Local Sports Champion application form online before their championship event. More information on eligibility for a grant is available at www.ausport.gov.au/champions
Applications are open all year. Round 1 of the 2012–13 Local Sports Champions grants allocation closes on 30 June 2012.