Young athletes can sometimes face barriers to fulfilling their athletic potential, such as distance, cost and time constraints. During our community consultation for Activate! Queensland, athletes told us it would be helpful to receive their travel subsidies prior to travelling to competitions.

From January 2020, the Emerging Athlete Pathways program includes a trial of pre-event payments, further assisting talented young athletes on their pathway to elite success.

This means eligible Queensland athletes and officials who are under the age of 18 and need to travel at least 250km one way to their event, may be able to apply for a travel subsidy before they compete.

Athletes and officials such as coaches, referees and scorers can apply for $200 for a state or state school event, $400 for a national or national school event, or $600 for an international event.

Emerging Athlete Pathways is an initiative under the Activate! Queensland 2019-2029 strategy and aims to assist the next generation of Queensland's sporting talent, and inspire others to lead an active lifestyle.

To find out more about the program and the application process, visit qld.gov.au/emergingathletepathways.