New chance for athlete funding after Commonwealth Games axing

The not-for-profit athlete support organisation will be able to offer fully-funded individual athlete scholarships to its holistic programs for the first time.

WestVic Academy of Sport chief executive officer Shenae Keleher said the organisation had been successful in seeking a City of Ballarat partnership grant that was heavily reliant on a home Commonwealth Games readiness.

The Victorian government axed plans in July 2023 to host a regional Games in 2026, with Ballarat set to host a string of events headlined by athletics' track and field program at Mars Stadium.

Ms Keleher said this instead allowed WestVic to review its scholarships.

"We wanted to offer a bit more structure," Ms Keleher said.

"...The majority of our athletes are at high school and are busy with a heavy load of multiple sports and school and work but a lot of supports were duplicated."

Scholarships will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and flexible to individual athlete needs to reach the highest levels they can in their chosen sport.

WestVic has a host of performance and well-being connections to service providers across the region and can offer financial support for equipment and travel and education.

This was formally offered to individual athletes on a partially-funded basis.

WestVic will continue to work with some sporting bodies on a teams basis that best fits athletes needs, such as football.

The individual athlete program has previously supported athletes such as world champion para-cyclist Alana Forster, rising track cyclist Graeme Frislie - both of whom have captured national road cycling titles in Ballarat - and international wheel racer Sam Rizzo.

Ms Keleher said the key requirement for scholarship recipients is to give back to community sport in a volunteering capacity for at least four hours.

WestVic has 25 scholarship positions open with applications closing on March 3. Details: westvicsport.org.au.