The Western Region Academy of Sport netball squad is hosting a five day development camp at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Bathurst beginning this Sunday 9 January.  Athletes from across the region will be joined by netballers from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. This is the seventh year of the exchange between the trans-Tasman neighbours and with previous years being such a huge success, the 2011 athletes are geared up and ready for a great week.

The focus of the camp is training and development with top NSW Netball coach Lisa Beehag attending to provide the junior athletes with specialist coaching. The netballers will also be participating in pool recovery and strength and conditioning sessions with WRAS Interns Stephanie Ford and Kelsea Burden. The camp will conclude with a tournament allowing the girls to show off all of the skills they have developed throughout the five days of intensive hard work.

Throughout the camp the local athletes will also be showing their New Zealand visitors some of the local Australian culture. This will include a traditional aboriginal welcome, a bush walk exploring native flora and fauna, and trips to local sights such as Mt Panorama.

WRAS Netball Head Coach Linda Macleod said “the camp will provide the junior netballers from both nations with a unique opportunity to learn and unite with a different culture whilst developing their talent and skill base. I’m really looking forward to working with the high profile coaches from both Australia and New Zealand, and hoping to learn some new skills and drills that I can implement into the WRAS program”.

As part of the camp, there will be learning opportunities open to the public. Interested persons are welcome to attend and watch the training sessions during the week. A “coach’s think-tank” will also be held on Monday 10 January from 7.30-8.30pm, while an “umpiring intricacies” discussion forum will be held on Wednesday 12 January from 7.30-8.30pm. Both events will be held in the CSU Gymnasium and are free to attend.

For more information, please contact the Western Region Academy of Sport on 6338 4821.

The inaugural winner of the WRAS Athlete of the Month  for November (sponsored by CSU) is Scott Matheson from Bathurst.

Scott has had some great success on the golf course recently winning the yellow division of the Bathurst Junior Club Championships where he had a score of 78 off the stick with a 68 nett which defeated Ben Matheson by 3 shots. He was also selected in the Bathurst Golf Club Eric Apperly squad.

Academically, Scott has excelled in the classroom. In his end of year exams for mathematics he received a mark of 97%.  He also topped his two science class exams with marks of 83% and 98%.

Scott has also been completing his strength and conditioning program on a regular basis. His strength and conditioning coach Kelsea Burden has reported that Scott has attended face to face sessions on a weekly basis and has 19 posts on his S&C blog.

Congratulations Scott!

For the past year and a bit I have been a WRAS athlete in the Athletes with a Disability Squad. I’ve been doing the Strength and Conditioning programs, going to Orientation and RACE Lectures but I never knew what goes on behind the scenes  (in the WRAS office). I always thought that WRAS was here just to support the athletes and to coach them to the best of their ability, but it’s more than that!

Recently I spent two weeks doing Work Experience in the WRAS office. I now realize that WRAS is more than just supporting athletes and coaching them to the best of their ability. Administration is a major part in the WRAS office (things like financial control, correspondence, public relations and communication with athletes, sporting bodies and the media).

All the things I’ve learnt have helped me, and I am now aware of how much hard work and dedication Brett and Nancy put into the WRAS office.

I have enjoyed every minute working here in the office and I hope when I finish school I can get a job like this because it has been a great experience for me and this is what I love to do.

By Rachel

The Western Region Academy of Sport held their annual Awards Night at the CSU Dining Hall on Saturday Night with an ‘Rock and roll”50’s theme.

Over 200 guests were in attendance and were delighted by the MC talents of local radio personality Alex Brown. The evening recognized the substantial achievements of WRAS athletes, the hard working members of squad staff and the other valuable supporters and volunteers of the Academy. Jack Newton Junior Golf CEO Peter Van Wegan delighted attendees as the guest speaker. Peter also made the presentation to the 2010 WRAS Hall of Fame inductee Kate Thomas, formerly of Bathurst. Kate graduated from the University of North Carolina this year.

Winner of the WRAS Overall Individual Athlete of the Year (sponsored by CSU, School of Human Movement Studies) was high performance basketball athlete Laurence Mifsud of Bathurst. This dedicated and talented basketball represented Australia at the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament the past week held in New Caledonia. This year Laurence was selected in the 2010 U18 NSW team which competed at the U18 National Championships. He was also a member of the U18 NSW Country tour team and has been included in the U18 NSW Country tour team again for 2011.

This year’s WRAS Overall Squad Athlete of the Year (sponsored by CSU, School of Human Movement Studies) was awarded to Jack Elliott of Parkes. Among an impressive list of achievements, this gifted and skilful athlete was selected in the 2010 Australian All Schools team, the U18 NSW squad and the NSW CHS team.

The Charles Sturt University Athletes of the Year went to

AWD Squad Athlete of the Year – Bernadette Barden (Orange)

Basketball Squad Athlete of the Year – Luke Anderson (Dubbo)

Golf Squad Athlete of the Year – Jane Perfect (Bathurst)

High Performance Squad Athlete of the Year – Laurence Mifsud (Bathurst)

Female Hockey Squad Athlete of the Year – Rene Hunter (Lithgow)

Male Hockey Squad Athlete of the Year – Jack Elliott (Parkes)

Lone Star Squad Athlete of the Year – David Reid (Lithgow)

Netball Squad Athlete of the Year – Lauren Sheridan (Young)

Lithgow’s Wayne Gaynor (hockey) was presented with the Award for Coaching Excellence for his outstanding efforts in hockey. Wayne continues to bring his wealth of experience, enthusiasm, patience and professionalism to the Hockey Squad and consequently his athletes have had an impressive list of achievements.

Michelle Bostock (Hockey) of Lithgow, Vicki Carman (Lawn Bowls) of Dubbo, Amanda Cooper (Netball) of West Wyalong and Sharon Cooper (Basketball) of Young were named the joint recipients of the WRAS Award for Managerial Excellence. All have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their role as managers and did an outstanding job of supporting their coaches and athletes.

West Wyalong’s Sarah Cooper (netball) won the prestigious Chairman’s Award, having demonstrated a desire to succeed not only in her chosen sport, but also in her educational, vocational and personal life, whilst Sarah Feebrey of Bathurst was named Supporter of the Year for her continued support and timeless hours of assistance to the Academy.

The evening was a magnificent finale to a huge day of sport in Bathurst. Earlier, more than 200 athletes, parents and coaches attended Orientation which commenced the Academy’s 2011 programs. During the day the WRAS squads trained, completed physical testing, had their functional movement screening conducted by the Strength and Conditioning Interns and listened to a number of lectures.

Academy programs for 2011 are Athletes with a Disability, Basketball, Golf, High Performance, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Lone Star, Netball, Officiating and Weightlifting.

The details for the 2011 squad Orientation days have been finalised. Information for athletes and squad staff is available by downloading an Orientation Information Package. Please keep checking the website for further updates.

Click the following link to view the list of successful athletes:

• Golf

Click the following links to view the list of successful athletes:

• Lawn Bowls
• Netball
• Netball 15 Years