Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently had the pleasure of attending the official launch of the Mid West Academy of Sport in Geraldton and have been following the progress of this fantastic initiative ever since. Under the stewardship of CEO Chris Darlington and chair Graham Greenaway, the academy has the important task of supporting and promoting young, talented sportspeople in the midwest region and helping them to fulfil their dreams without having to leave home.

The academy achieves this by bringing together training and expertise to provide development scholarships to athletes, coaches and officials in all sports. Seventeen athletes, six coaches and one official, from nine different sports, have already received scholarships this year alone. The athletes are provided with services such as sports science, nutrition, coaching, sports psychology and other forms of athlete education. The academy is also supporting 11 additional coaches, through the coaching effectiveness program, to develop the many different skills and attributes that coaches require to retain and develop athletes.

The academy is an excellent example of the determination of people outside of the cities that young regional sports men and women should not be disadvantaged due to geography. I look forward to further promoting the good work of the academy.