Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton this week presented certificates to Ethan Ward, Oli Chandler and Tully Pickering who each received a Local Sporting Champions grant.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton has congratulated 24 young athletes from the electorate who have received financial assistance to fulfill their sporting dreams.

The young sportspeople from Broken Hill, Condobolin, Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Gongolgon, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Narromine, Ungarie, Walgett and Warialda have received grants of up to $750 to assist with the costs associated with participating in state, national and international sporting championships, under the Local Sporting Champions program.

Mr Coulton presented certificates to three of the athletes during a special afternoon tea in his Dubbo electorate office this week.

“Congratulations to Will Cale, Veniece Coorey, Tully Pickering, Siarne Davis, Sarah McInerney, Samantha Fiechtner, Ruby Clayton, Rowdy Laidlaw, Riley Bond, Oli Chandler, Molly Ramien, Lily Henley, Joshua Brown, Jonty Fowler, Jett Hope, Jack Deveson, Hugh McMullen, Hannah Ryan, Evie Henley, Ethan Ward, Darcy Pollard, Anna-Rose Ward, Amelia Fiechtner and Alexis Whitton who are each kicking goals in their respective sporting endeavours,” Mr Coulton said.

“From swimming, rugby union, netball, soccer, basketball and athletics to motorcycling, polocrosse, wushu and flying disc, these talented young athletes each competed at the state, national and even international level, which is a fantastic achievement.

“They are excellent representatives of the Parkes electorate and I’m pleased these grants helped them reach their sporting goals.

“We have a great deal of sporting talent here in the Parkes electorate, however many of our young sportspeople who compete at a representative level have to travel large distances to participate which can be very costly.

“This program greatly assists families to ensure their children can continue competing in the sport they love without worrying about the financial burden.”

Administered by the Australian Sports Commission, the Local Sporting Champions program provides financial assistance for coaches, officials and competitors aged between 12 and 18 who are participating in state, national or international sporting championships.

Successful applicants will receive $500 to $750 to contribute towards associated costs, including travel, accommodation, uniforms and sporting equipment.

For more information about future rounds, visit sportaus.gov.au/grants_and_funding/local_sporting_champions

Local Sporting Champions Round 1 – 2024/25 recipients in the Parkes electorate:

Recipient	Town	Sport	Competition	Location
Will Cale	Narromine	Motorcycling	2024 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship	Bunbury, WA
Veniece Coorey	Broken Hill	Swimming	2024 Australian Age Championships	Southport, QLD
Tully Pickering	Dubbo	Basketball	U/16 Foot Locker National Championships	West Bendigo, VIC
Siarne Davis	Coonabarabran	Athletics	2024 Australian Track and Field Championships	Mile End, SA
Sarah McInerney	Gunnedah	Netball	Netball NSW State Titles	Narellan, NSW
Samantha Fiechtner	Walgett	Netball	Hart Junior State Netball Titles	North Kellyville, NSW
Ruby Clayton	Narrabri	Rugby Union	All Schools Rugby Union 7s	Warriewood, NSW
Rowdy Laidlaw	Warialda	Rugby Union	NSW state championship	Hunters Hill, NSW
Riley Bond	Dubbo	Football (soccer)	National Youth Championships 2024	Wollongong, NSW
Oli Chandler	Gilgandra	Motorcycling	Australia Junior Motocross Championships	Davenport, WA
Molly Ramien	Gunnedah	Swimming	School Sport Australia Games Swimming Championships	Southport, QLD
Lily Henley	Ungarie	Netball	Hart NSW Senior State Netball Titles	Minto, NSW
Joshua Brown	Narromine	Rugby Union	NSW State Championships	Coffs Harbour, NSW
Jonty Fowler	Narrabri	Rugby Union	Australian Schools Rugby Championships	Bokarina, QLD
Jett Hope	Dubbo	Kung Fu – Wushu	World Junior Wushu Championships
Jack Deveson	Dubbo	Motorcycling	Australian Junior Motocross Championships	Davenport, WA
Hugh McMullen	Gongolgon	Rugby Union	Under 15s State and Country Championships	Lorn, NSW
Hannah Ryan	Dubbo	Polocrosse	Australian Polocrosse Nationals	Chinchilla, QLD
Evie Henley	Ungarie	Football	School Sport Australia U15s Australian Football Championships 2024	Carrara, QLD
Ethan Ward	Dubbo	Kung Fu – Wushu	World Junior Wushu Championships
Darcy Pollard	Dubbo	Rugby Union	Junior Rugby Union State Championships	Coffs Harbour, NSW
Anna-Rose Ward	Condobolin	Flying Disc	World Junior Ultimate Championships 2024
Amelia Fiechtner	Walgett	Netball	Hart Senior State Netball Titles	Narellan, NSW
Alexis Whitton	Gunnedah	Swimming	2024 School Sport Australia Swimming Championships	Southport, QLD