Funding Boost for Australia’s Paralympic Athletes

Western Australia’s Sport and Recreation Minister Mia Davies has announced the WA State Government will commit $150,000 towards the Australian Paralympic Committee’s Team Appeal for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

The funding boost will provide much needed support to the Australian Paralympic Team that will likely number more than 150 athletes.

Minister Davies highlighted the impact of the Australian Paralympic Team not only for its sporting prowess but for its ability to resonate across the community.

“The Australian Paralympic Team is an important sporting team on the national landscape and they help shape community attitudes towards disability,” Ms Davies said.

“These athletes are great role models to encourage West Australians with disability to participate in sport and are wonderful ambassadors for the power of sport,” the Minister said.

The Australian Paralympic Committee has received funding from the Department of Sport and Recreation to put towards their team appeal.

Kate McLoughlin, Australian Paralympic Team Chef de Mission for Rio 2016 said, “West Australian athletes have a proud record of success at the Paralympic Games and we are grateful that this new funding from the Western Australian Government will help the next generation to build on that record.”

Australia has competed at every Paralympic Games and finished in the top five at every summer competition since Barcelona in 1992.

In London, Western Australia’s Paralympic athletes contributed to seven medals, with swimmer Kat Downie earning dual gold, whilst seven athletes (four men and three women) were part of the silver medal winning Australian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams. Hand cyclist Nigel Barley won silver in the road race, whilst track and field athlete Brad Scott claimed silver and bronze medals from his two events.

Ms Davies said Western Australia’s success in high performance sport continued to highlight the importance of sport and recreation for future generations.

“The Paralympics and Olympics also encourage many young people at grassroots level to try a sport or continue to pursue their dreams towards high performance and this has such a positive impact on creating active communities,” Ms Davies said.

The 2016 Rio Paralympic Games will be held from September 7-18 and will see more than 4350 athletes competing from 178 nations across 22 sports.