Sports stars lend support to academy - 3 July 2008
Former Olympians living in the South West will travel to Bunbury tomorrow to lend their support at an event to reveal the South West Academy of Sport’s partner sports and key sponsors.
Meanwhile, Australian sporting stars preparing for the Beijing Olympics have taken time out from their demanding training schedules to praise the initiative.
Two-time Commonwealth gold medallist and Beijing Olympics hopeful Aaron Hopkins is a keen supporter of the South West Academy of Sport.
The hockey star believes the academy, which will be based in Bunbury but run programs across the region, will give young people the level of training and education they require to reach the next level of their chosen sport.
It will do so by enhancing training and support at a local level in an effort to save up-and-coming athletes the burdens of travel and leaving their homes to pursue sporting excellence.
Hopkins said it was important young athletes received a high level of training close to home.
“I received similar assistance as a teenager in Busselton,” he said.
“That extra training considerably helped my game come along in the early years.”
Hopkins has carved out a notable career in hockey since those days growing up in the South West beachside town of Busselton.
He has played for the Kookaburras and the SmokeFree WA Thundersticks, as well as competed in the 2002 Manchester and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
He is now training in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.
Hopkins said he hoped the South West Academy of Sport will help young South West residents overcome some of the obstacles living in country and regional areas of Western Australia presented.
“They can realise they do have a pathway to the next level,” he said.
…ENDS
Media contact:
Teneille Watson
Community Relations Officer