Sport
9 August, 2024
Support for aspiring athletes
SOUTH West Academy of Sport has launched its new APEX program, supporting aspiring and talented athletes across the region.
The officially launch, held last Sunday, celebrated the region’s next generation of talent who have entered the inaugural APEX program – designed to provide greater accountability and personalised service provision to state and national level athletes.
The launch coincided with Deakin University’s Open Day and included a special ‘question and answer’ session with special guests including dual Olympian Laetisha Scanlan (clay target shooting) dual Paralympian Andrew Harrison (wheelchair rugby) and aspiring winter Olympian Miriana Perkins (aerial skiing).
These roles models have each been at the stage that the academy’s current athletes are, and were able to provide valuable insights and learnings they have gained during their journeys.
The day also highlighted the elite athlete program that Deakin University offers to assist elite athletes who are studying at the campus.
With the APEX program, athletes are required to complete three milestones which provide the base knowledge that an elite or emerging athlete would be expected to know.
As each milestone is completed, the athlete may select a service that will assist in their advancement in their pathway.
This could include everything from sports psychology through to assisting with attendance at a national or international event.
Currently the program involves five athletes from Warrnambool (Chloe Mutton, Fionn Ginley, Freya Miller, Jeff Collins and Alexis Pickford) and three from Corangamite Shire (Jarrod Ferguson, Eli Kerr and Stevie Godber).
There are also three athletes from Southern Grampians (Dominic Hoggard, Harry Brown and Tom Templeton) and five from Moyne (Zoe Addinsall, William Verhoef, Gabriel Lim, Eve Covey and Yolanda O’Sullivan).
