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.

END

The Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) is searching for persons interested in being involved in the Academy’s Athletes with a disability (AWD), High Performance, Lone Star and Officiating Programs. All programs are aimed at helping the athlete/official get to the next level.

The Academy has had great success with its AWD program with Paralympian wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley previously holding a scholarship. Likewise, the High Performance program has continued to turn out Australian representatives such as hockey player Jade Warrender, and triathlete Nick North.

WRAS Executive Officer Nancy Haslop said  ‘the Academy prides itself on being able to assist athletes achieve at the highest level by providing opportunities through its programs. This year we are also plan to expand our Officiating and Lone Star programs by reaching out across the Western Region and identifying individuals who show potential to be able to represent NSW and Australia in the future.”

Applications are now also open and close 31 August 2010.

For more information, please contact the Western Region Academy of Sport on 6338 4821 or visit the website www.wras.org.au

END

The Western Region Academy of Sport has announced the head coaching positions for the 2011 squads.

Five coaches will return to lead their respective WRAS programs. Wayne Gaynor (Lithgow) – hockey, Ross Hunter (Grenfell) – Lawn Bowls, Nancy Haslop (Lithgow) – basketball and Bruce McLean (Orange) – Golf will all lead their squads, while NBL referee Peter Wright (Bathurst) will head up the officiating program again.

The Academy is also pleased to welcome new netball head coach Linda Macleod (Dubbo). Linda has extensive experience in her sport and will be an invaluable addition to WRAS netball program and athletes.

WRAS Sports Development Manager Brett Coxsedge said ‘the Academy is very excited to have many of our head coaches return for the upcoming year. It is a clear sign of strength and stability in the programs that WRAS operates. These local coaches are volunteers and give up their own free time to share their wealth of knowledge with the regions talented athletes. We greatly appreciate their support and look forward to working with them all.’

Applications are now also open for apprentice, assistant and satellite coaches as well as squad managers (applications close 6 September 2010).

For more information, please contact the Western Region Academy of Sport on 6338 4821 or visit the website www.wras.org.au

END

The Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) in conjunction with Basketball NSW is conducting a specialist talent search program in search for ‘undiscovered’ talent. 

The program called Where’s Dunkin’? is aimed at identifying exceptionally tall male and female athletes with the aim to see if they have the potential to become an elite basketball player.  ‘Dunkin’ will initially be identified utilising several simple physical tests that focus on the key physical attributes of an elite basketball player such as height, arm span and vertical jump.

WRAS Executive Officer Nancy Haslop said “While we would love to find the next Andrew Bogut or Lauren Jackson, we are initially setting modest goals and hoping to find athletes who have the capacity to develop and show the potential progress to state or national level. You don’t have to have played basketball in the past.  While there are no guarantees, there is no doubt that this is a great opportunity for the right person”

The talent search program has three phases. Phase one involves athletes in years 7-9 submitting an expression of interest form by Friday 20 August. To be eligible athletes must be at least 183cm tall for males and 175cm for females. Phase two will involve confirmation of eligibility by the Academy staff while phase three will see a trial conducted on Saturday 28 August from 11.30am-1.30pm at the Charles Sturt University gymnasium in Bathurst.

WRAS has had previous success with its ‘Where’s Dunkin’? program. Current WRAS high performance squad member Laurence Mifsud was identified through the same program several years ago. Laurence was selected in the U18 Country State team this year and is currently in the U18 Australian Development Squad.  

For more information, please contact the Western Region Academy of Sport on 6338 4821 or visit the website www.wras.org.au

END

Over 120 Western Region Academy of Sport athletes and squad staff from across the region will converge on Wallerawang this weekend for a three day live in training camp commencing on Friday 5th February. Participants from the basketball, golf, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, officiating, and members of the lone star squad will participate in a variety of development and education sessions in Portland, Wallerawang and Lithgow.

The Combined WRAS Camp which is sponsored by Delta Electricity has become an annual event rotating each year between Wallerawang and Dubbo. It is anticipated that over 100 parents and family members will also be in attendance. The basketball, netball and officiating squads will make use of the excellent facilities at the Wallerawang Indoor Sports Centre, while the Hockey squad will be hosted by the Lithgow Hockey Association. The lawn bowlers will have a big weekend with practice sessions scheduled at the Lithgow City Bowling Club whilst the golf squad will practice at both the Portland and Lithgow Golf Clubs.

Education sessions have been planned for Saturday morning with a pool recovery at the Lithgow Pool on Saturday afternoon. A number of highly regarded coaches, specialists and sports scientists will be travelling to Wallerawang for the weekend. They include Ron Clarke from the Sports Drug Education Unit, massage therapist and speed coach Paul Unsworth from Bathurst, as well as Super 14 rugby referee Nathan Pearce.

Academy Executive Officer, Nancy Haslop said “This will be the third occasion we have had a combined WRAS camp at Wallerawang. The camp is a vital component of the WRAS calendar and a weekend that everyone looks forward to. It’s a great opportunity for all athletes and squad staff to get to know not only everyone within their squad, but also those from the other Academy programs. It’s always good to hold Academy activities in Wallerawang and WRAS has again had overwhelming support from the community which we really appreciate. Delta Electricity has also come on board as a sponsor and we would like to thank them for their support”.

The WRAS will also conduct a “Fitness Challenge” which will be sponsored by Delta Electricity on Saturday 6th February from 10am-12noon at the Lithgow Valley Plaza. School children (primary and high school) will be able to receive free testing assessments from the WRAS sports science staff as well as compare themselves to other Lithgow school children with prizes being given out to participants.

Local coaches and athletes are also invited to witness the training sessions, details of times for the squads are available by phoning the Academy on 6338 4821.

For further information please contact Brett Coxsedge (WRAS Sports Development Manager) on 63384821.

Over 120 Western Region Academy of Sport athletes and squad staff from across the region will converge on Wallerawang this weekend for a three day live in training camp commencing on Friday 5th February. Participants from the basketball, golf, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, officiating, and members of the lone star squad will participate in a variety of development and education sessions in Portland, Wallerawang and Lithgow.

The Combined WRAS Camp which is sponsored by Delta Electricity has become an annual event rotating each year between Wallerawang and Dubbo. It is anticipated that over 100 parents and family members will also be in attendance. The basketball, netball and officiating squads will make use of the excellent facilities at the Wallerawang Indoor Sports Centre, while the Hockey squad will be hosted by the Lithgow Hockey Association. The lawn bowlers will have a big weekend with practice sessions scheduled at the Lithgow City Bowling Club whilst the golf squad will practice at both the Portland and Lithgow Golf Clubs.

Education sessions have been planned for Saturday morning with a pool recovery at the Lithgow Pool on Saturday afternoon. A number of highly regarded coaches, specialists and sports scientists will be travelling to Wallerawang for the weekend. They include Ron Clarke from the Sports Drug Education Unit, massage therapist and speed coach Paul Unsworth from Bathurst, as well as Super 14 rugby referee Nathan Pearce.

Academy Executive Officer, Nancy Haslop said “This will be the third occasion we have had a combined WRAS camp at Wallerawang. The camp is a vital component of the WRAS calendar and a weekend that everyone looks forward to. It’s a great opportunity for all athletes and squad staff to get to know not only everyone within their squad, but also those from the other Academy programs. It’s always good to hold Academy activities in Wallerawang and WRAS has again had overwhelming support from the community which we really appreciate. Delta Electricity has also come on board as a sponsor and we would like to thank them for their support”.

The WRAS will also conduct a “Fitness Challenge” which will be sponsored by Delta Electricity on Saturday 6th February from 10am-12noon at the Lithgow Valley Plaza. School children (primary and high school) will be able to receive free testing assessments from the WRAS sports science staff as well as compare themselves to other Lithgow school children with prizes being given out to participants.

Local coaches and athletes are also invited to witness the training sessions, details of times for the squads are available by phoning the Academy on 6338 4821.

The Western Region Academy of Sport’s netball squad will travel to New Zealand’s North Island for the annual Bay of Plenty Tour this Saturday. The squad will fly out on January 16 and return on January 24.

The tour will involve the WRAS Squad in a camp with the Bay of Plenty squad over a five-day period with the focus being on training and development. The squad will also take in some sightseeing, experience a cultural exchange and participate in some match play on the final day. Read the rest of this entry »

New South Wales Institute of Sport Regional hockey coach Judith Laing will conduct special training sessions for athletes in the NSWIS emerging talent squad and Western Region Academy of Sport squads next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Orange and Bathurst Hockey Centres.

The WRAS squad consists of some of the most talented junior hockey players in the region from Bathurst, Orange, Lithgow, Parkes, Dubbo and Cowra.

Head WRAS Coach Wayne Gaynor of Lithgow and other members of the WRAS coaching staff will also be attending and lending a hand at Laing’s training sessions. The sessions will focus on the refinement of individual skills and the integration of these skills into team based concepts.

Head Coach Wayne Gaynor highlighted the excitement of having Laing coach the WRAS athletes. “It is great to have Judith visit again and share her expertise and knowledge with the WRAS hockey squad. Her visit will provide a great opportunity for all the athletes to learn and develop their individual and team playing skills, whilst coaches will be able to further their knowledge by watching a great coach in action.”

Local hockey players and coaches are invited to watch the training session which will provide a great opportunity to witness the latest training techniques and drills.

Training commences at the Orange Hockey Fields on Monday 18th January from 4-6pm and Tuesday 19th from 7-8.30am. Sessions at the Bathurst Hockey Centre will be conducted on Tuesday 19th January from 4-6pm and Wednesday 20th January from 6.30-10.30am.

END

For further information please contact Brett Coxsedge (WRAS Sports Development Manager) on 63384821.