Commonwealth Games Australia today announced it had approved the distribution of $1M to partner sports as part of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Podium Initiative.
The funding was shared amongst 15 of the 18 program sports for the Gold Coast 2018 Games, and also includes support for a project to be delivered in partnership with the Australia Paralympic Committee.
The $1M in Gold Coast 2018 Podium Initiative funding has been provided over and above Commonwealth Games Australia’s existing funding initiatives which include $8M committed to sports as part of the Gold Coast Gold preparation funding, $2M in dAIS funding and the $800,000 distributed annually to emerging athletes as part of the Commonwealth Games Australia NextGEN program.
Commonwealth Games Australia CEO Craig Phillips said the podium initiative had received a great response from partner National Sporting Organisations.
“We asked sports to apply for funding for new programs or initiatives that they considered could help an athlete take the step from medal chance, to podium athlete,” Phillips said.
“The response was terrific and it really demonstrated how committed our partner sports are to achieving success on the Gold Coast in 2018.
“We have ambitions to be the leading nation in the Commonwealth and we really hope this initiative can help us reach that aspiration,” he said.
As part of the Gold Coast 2018 Podium Initiative, Commonwealth Games Australia collaborated closely with the Australian high performance system including the AIS, the Australian Paralympic Committee, state sports institutes and the national sporting organisations.
Phillips said success on the Gold Coast would take a team effort.
“This has been a great example of how close collaboration with our stakeholders can create strong outcomes for Australian sport,” Phillips said.
“We are proud to support our partner sports through our various programs such as the Gold Coast 2018 Podium Initiative and we will continue to work in partnership with the Australian sports system to achieve the best outcomes for sports and athletes.
