Australian Sailing has welcomed the announcement by Federal Government and Sports Minister, Richard Colbeck, which has outlined a $50.6 million dollar investment into high performance sport over the next two years.

Australian Institute of Sport will distribute the high-performance grants, which come at a crucial time for athletes who are now planning for a delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“Australian Sailing would like to thank Minister Colbeck and the Federal Government for their support of our high performance athletes,” said Australian Sailing President, Daniel Belcher.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has cast so much uncertainty over the plans of our Australian Sailing Team athletes, especially those already selected for the Tokyo Games. This news gives us some certainty as we start preparing our athletes for their re-set campaigns.

“Plenty of hard work went in to making this funding a reality. We are grateful to John Wylie and the Board of Sport Australia for their contribution and for championing the interests of Australian high performance athletes at this time.”

Australian sailors have been particularly successful at recent Olympics having collected 11 medals at the past three Games, including six gold.

“This is all about the athletes,” Belcher continued. “They have faced an unprecedented global pandemic that effectively took their meticulously laid out four-year plans and binned them.

“As they now come out of isolation and re-commence training and eventually racing, they know they have the certainty they need regarding what support they will have around them.

“With this funding secured, the Australian Sailing Team can start securing the athlete, coach and support staff details for the next period. This gives our athletes the best opportunity to succeed on the waters of Enoshima in July 2021.”

Australian Sailing would like to acknowledge the hard work done by Sport Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Olympic Committee to secure the funding.

Above: image credit Beau Outteridge