Emerging athletes in sport

Future Champions Athlete Empowerment Program

As part of a key action in the Future Champions Strategy (PDF 7.34MB), the Office of Sport has developed 3 online courses to help emerging athletes, coaches and support providers build the knowledge, skills and strategies they need to support holistic athlete development.

The Future Champions Athlete Empowerment Program includes:

Holistic Athlete Program – physical preparation, recovery and injury prevention
Athlete Mental Toolkit – mental skills and wellbeing strategies
Nutrition for Athletes – practical nutrition knowledge to support performance and recovery

These nationally and internationally award-winning courses will be available to sporting organisations and schools from early 2027.

Future Champions Athlete Empowerment Program showreel
Read transcript

Empowering an athlete's mental toolkit

As part of the Future Champions: Pathways to Sporting Success strategy, the Office of Sport has developed a suite of practical resources to help participants, athletes and the people who support them build knowledge and apply key psychological skills and strategies.

The resources were developed in collaboration with sport psychologist Fiona McCarthy. They support participants, athletes and stakeholders, including parents, coaches, sporting organisations and schools, to apply these skills in sport and everyday life.

Psychological resources

A suite of practical resources to increase an athlete’s knowledge and strategies to support them in and out of sport has been developed by sport psychologist Fiona McCarthy on behalf of the Office of Sport, as a key initiative of the NSW Government’s Future Champions strategy.

Resources

Masterclass webinars

Practical ways to facilitate an athlete’s knowledge and application, including key psychological skills and strategies to support them in and out of sport.

Helpful information

If you have been identified as an emerging athlete in your sport, it is important to understand the pathway, opportunities and support available to help you reach your potential.

Every sport has a different talent pathway. Speak with your club, regional sporting organisation or state sporting organisation to learn about the pathway for your sport.

What you can do at home as an emerging athlete

State Sporting Organisations and State Sporting Organisations for people with disability

State Sporting Organisations are the peak body for each sport in NSW. They provide links to affiliated clubs, regional associations and the national body (National Sporting Organisation). As an athlete progresses along the athlete pathway, your State Sporting Organisation becomes increasingly important.

Development Camps

A wide range of development camps are available to talented athletes across NSW. Camps are conducted by a range of providers, including commercial operators and sporting organisations. It is recommended you check with your Regional or State Sporting Organisation for options.

Sport NSW

Sport NSW is an independent member-based peak body representing NSW sport and the active recreation sector. Sport NSW was established in 1991 to provide a collective voice for sport to enhance its capacity to provide quality experiences for participants and volunteers. The mission of Sport NSW is to lead New South Wales sport in building connected, healthy and active communities.

NSW Regional Academy of Sport Network

There are 11 Regional Academies of Sport across NSW that provide development programs to identified athletes. Once in an academy program, athletes have access to high-level coaching and a range of sport education and development programs. The sports each academy provides vary, so contact your local academy for more information:

South West Sydney Academy of Sport (Campbelltown)
Western Sydney Academy of Sport (Penrith)
Central Coast (Mingara)
Far West Academy of Sport (Warren)
Hunter Academy of Sport (Newcastle)
Illawarra Academy of Sport (Wollongong)
North Coast Academy of Sport (Lismore)
Northern Inland Academy of Sport (Tamworth)
Southern Sports Academy (Wagga Wagga)
South East Sports Academy
Western Region Academy of Sport (Bathurst)

Sports High Schools

There are 8 Sports High Schools in NSW that provide opportunities for students who have potential to reach the elite level in sport. The schools have flexible academic and sport programs that assist emerging athletes meet their training, competition and academic requirements. Contact each school for more information:

Eagle Vale Sports High School
Endeavour Sports High School
Hunter Sports High School
Matraville Sports High School
Westfields Sports High School
The Hills Sports High School
Narrabeen Sports High School
Illawarra Sports High School

Schools

The NSW School network features a vibrant complement of public, private and independent schools that provide valuable developmental, coaching, education and wellbeing support and competitive opportunities to pre-elite athletes as well as delivering personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE) to all of their students.

Competition and additional representative opportunities that may complement an athlete’s competition schedule are provided by the:

NSW Public School Sport Association and NSW Combined High School Sport Association
NSW Combined Independent Schools Sports Council, NSW Association of Independent Schools and the Independent Girls’ Schools Sport Association
Combined Catholic Colleges Sport Association.

Universities

Universities within NSW contribute in multiple ways to supporting sporting pathways functions. Universities assist sports to grow and develop in intelligence, by educating our administrators, coaches and practitioners through applied research and innovation to further understand sport as well as support the growth and progression of the industry. Universities support athletes themselves to learn and achieve in lives outside of sport as well as supporting athletes to play and compete in sport at university. Contact your university to find out more.

UniSport Australia

UniSport Australia is the peak governing body of university sport in Australia and considers it their responsibility to create healthy, active, engaged and well-rounded university students. The organisation is committed to offering members quality events and programs as well as building high performance partnerships. UniSport advocates the Elite Athlete Friendly Education Program which supports Australia’s elite athletes to achieve academic excellence whilst also pursuing a sporting career.

NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS)

NSWIS is an elite sporting organisation that supports NSW and NSW-based high-performance athletes and coaches to become the world’s best. NSWIS provides high-performance athlete programs, coaching and inter-disciplinary support services. As part of the national high-performance system, NSWIS plays a key role in supporting nationally categorised Australian athletes from the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games’ sports.

Grants and funding for athletes

The Australian Sports Commission offers individual athlete grants and scholarships.

The Australian Sports Foundation offers individuals and/or organisations support to fundraise for: sporting equipment, upgrades to facilities, travel, training and coaching costs, development pathways and programs, injury or medical costs, and individual or team travel costs.

NSW Sporting Grants Summary (Sport NSW)