Future Green and Gold talent search
Olympic, Paralympic and in the case of bowls, Commonwealth Games champions aren’t made overnight.
Australia’s high performance sector has come together to launch the nation’s greatest ever talent search – Future Green and Gold – to unearth and support the next generation of sporting talent ahead of the Brisbane 2023 Olympics.
The Future Green and Gold campaign, which is the first time the high performance sector has come together to deliver a talent search designed to find future sports stars and fast-track them to the elite level, gets underway next month.
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has partnered with all state institutes, Paralympics Australia and more than 40 major sports.
The future stars will follow in the footsteps of hundreds of Australian Olympians and Paralympians who were discovered through talent programs such as Alyce Wood (kayaking), Jacob Clear (kayaking) Paige Greco (para cycling) and Ameera Lee (para archery).
More than a third of the 2024 Australian Paralympic team were found through talent searches.
Executive General Manager of AIS Performance Matti Clements said this campaign aims to maximise Australia’s chances of international success.
“We have an ambitious goal to have the best Olympic and Paralympic team ever in Brisbane and to achieve this we need to significantly boost our current talent pool, in particular our para athletes,” Clements said.
“Off the back of Australia’s success in Paris, this is the best time to leverage that passion and encourage eligible Australians to put their names forward.”
The search will target Australians aged 13-23 (for Olympic sports) and 13 plus (for Paralympic sports), with no prior sporting experience is required.
The opportunity will also be on offer to current athletes looking to transition to a different sport, joining the likes of Tara Rigney who transferred from netball to rowing and Danielle Scott who switched from gymnastics to aerial skiing.
Bowls Australia’s Performance Director & National Coach Gary Willis said Bowls Australia were optimistic and appreciative of the Future Green and Gold campaign.
“Bowls Australia’s High Performance team are aligned with, and fully supportive of, the Future Green and Gold campaign, and are hopeful the program will unearth future international stars in both the open and para categories, with a particular interest in athletes looking to transition to bowls from other sports, given our sport allows you to have a far longer competitive career,” Willis said.
Eligible participants will be invited to their closest clinic, where their strengths and skills will be measured, with those who demonstrate potential undertaking a trial with a recommended sport before being offered a position within a Talent Development Program.
Over the coming weeks, the talent search team will be on the ground in each State and Territory searching for the next crop of green and gold athletes.
The campaign kicks off in Adelaide in early October, and more information about the Future Green and Gold campaign can be found here.
