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Nov 29, 2007 at 01:31 PM |
Two athletes from Penrith Whitewater Stadium have recently been awarded scholarships from the Western Sydney Academy of Sport.
Two athletes from Penrith Whitewater Stadium have recently been awarded scholarships from the Western Sydney Academy of Sport.
The Western Sydney Academy of Sport held its awards night earlier this month, with sporting luminaries such as Olympic gold medalist Kerry Pottharst and Parramatta Eels coach Michael Hagan in attendance, as well as Penrith Mayor Greg Davies.
Awards were granted throughout the Academy’s eight programs, and two special scholarships to the tune of $5,000 each were awarded to one male and one female athlete, which included $4,000 for expenses associated with competition participation and $1,000 for education purposes.
Chief Executive Officer of the Western Sydney Academy of Sport, Martin Bullock, said the scholarships were funded by the Greater West Sports Foundation, with recipients this year being C1 athlete Ian Borrows and K1 athlete Natasha Jones, who are both members of the Canoe Slalom program based at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.
“Natasha’s been with the program now for four years, she is the number one paddler in both the under 16 and under 18 categories in Australia. She competed earlier this year in Europe with the Australian Junior Team and throughout Australia in open competitions,” Mr Bullock said.
“Ian competes and trains at the Whitewater Stadium and comes from a very talented family, as does Natasha, whose brother won the scholarship last year. Ian is also in his fourth year with the Academy. He’s been competing nationally and similarly went to Europe to compete this year.”
Natasha and Ian are among 17 athletes within the highly selective Canoe Slalom program, which incorporates both canoeing and kayaking.
“To be in our slalom squad you have to be member of the Australian Junior Team or selected within the National Talent Identification Program,” Mr Bullock said.
“All of the athletes are at a very high level.”
Mr Bullock said Natasha and Ian strongly exemplified the dedication, commitment and talent of young athletes in western Sydney, and showed the importance of having a quality facility in Penrith such as the Whitewater Stadium for athletes to train and compete at.
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