Labor candidate for Isaacs Mark Dreyfus chats with local soccer players about his party’s plan to introduce a small grants program for junior sports people if elected this year.LABOR will give monetary grants to budding sports stars if elected into Federal Government, according to local candidate Mark Dreyfus.
Mr Dreyfus, the ALP candidate for Isaacs, said a Kevin Rudd-led government would introduce the Local Champions Grant Program, providing individual grants of $500 and team grants of $3000 with a maximum of $1.6 million available nationally each year.
The grants would be available to young people up to the age of 18 and would enable them to compete in significant sporting events or those that involved long-distance travel.
The program would be administered by the Australian Sports Commission in conjunction with local governments, Mr Dreyfus said.
“As a community, we should be encouraging young people to play sport and helping them to reach their fullest potential,” he said.
“Ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to excel at sport is a great initiative.”
Mr Dreyfus said distance should not be a barrier to sports participation, particularly if a young person had the potential to become a future sports star.
“All children and sporting teams are welcome to apply for funding under the program,” he said.
“Distance or a lack of financial means should not be a barrier to participation – this program will provide our talented young people with the support they need to excel.”
