![Keira Buckpitt [left] from the Illawarra Academy of Sport and photographed with former Hockeyroo, Kate Jenner, a graduate of the Northern Inland Academy of Sport. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/z8hBhxAZcc6GAanbqacDHK/575ef71f-9d9f-42a7-b134-44fec44d4087.jpg/r0_0_1024_768_w576_h298_fmax.webp "Keira Buckpitt [left] from the Illawarra Academy of Sport and photographed with former Hockeyroo, Kate Jenner, a graduate of the Northern Inland Academy of Sport. Picture supplied")
The first intake of regional athletes targeted for "the game-changing" NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) 'Ready' PURSU32+ RAS Talent Program will receive their initial taste of the rigors and demands of a high-performance sports program when they attend a camp at Sydney Olympic Park this weekend.
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The athletes selected to attend the camp were identified by the Regional Academies of Sport (RAS), a collaborative partner of the program.
The athletes were then invited to submit an expression of interest which was a key step in the selection process.
Ulladulla Boardrider member and Culburra Beach resident Keira Buckpitt is one of the athletes selected.
The aspiring athletes were not only selected based on performance but the process also considered those who displayed the potential to progress to elite level competition and ultimately the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as their resilience, aptitude, determination, and the support [encouragement] provided to them by their family.
Keira plans to make the most of the opportunity.
"It's crazy, really. I never thought there was going to be a program for these communities based away from the city," Keira said.
"It's really good having something giving us the opportunities just like the city kids have - the kids who have it all at their fingertips."
Through a series of camps and online webinars, the athletes will have access to NSWIS coaches, sports scientists and nutritionists, and access to information about such things as strength and conditioning training.
NSWIS chief executive Kevin Thompson described the pilot program as one that will change the game for athletes from regional and remote areas in NSW.
Brett O'Farrell, Chair of NSW Regional Academies of Sport, said the NSWIS 'Ready' Pursu32+ program had the potential to help the nation's future sporting heroes.
Andrew Logan, NSWIS's Director, Coaching, Regional and Talent, said the athletes attending the camp in Sydney this Friday and Saturday would not only be put through a battery of tests, but they would also hear from four-time Olympian and medal-winning diver, Melissa Wu.
