SURFING –
Bateau Bay resident and surfer, Jess Grimwood, is a participant in a new AIS program designed to help women in sport gain new skills and new opportunities.
The AIS Accelerate program aims to create pathways for Australian athletes outside of their sport.
“I’m working in commentary for Surfing NSW now and this program is going to set me up with a network to form career pathways,” Grimwood said.
Among the 33 women participating in the two professional development programs with the Australian Institute of Sport, are Olympic gold medalists, world champions and specialists preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
These programs are designed to increase the representation of women across all roles in Australian Sport.
Olympic gold medalists, Sally Pearson and Juliet Haslam, retired tennis champion, Casey Dellaqua; multiple lawn bowls world champion, Karen Murphy; and, former Australian Matilda’s footballer, Michelle Heyman, are among the 17 women who will be part of the inaugural AIS Accelerate Program.
“I’m involved with surfing NSW, they run a lot of events and I’m pretty involved in a lot of them behind the scenes, “ Grimwood said.
“It is fitting that this announcement is occurring in National Careers Week because these AIS programs show the incredible diversity of career options available to women in sport and other industries,” Grimwood said.
These women have proudly represented Australia as athletes, so the AIS Accelerate program is about recognising the leadership ability that they already have and providing professional development for them to become representatives for progress in sport.
Four of the participants are still in training for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which is a testament to the way that they are able to balance their athletic careers with their education and professional ambition,” Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, said.
Harry Mulholland