Women’s sports teams score grants to go for national glory

Eight Western Australian women's sports National League teams have scored grants totalling $320,000 in funding awarded by the Sport and Recreation Minister.

There is an increasing community demand for women's sport in WA and the State Government is committed to driving the growth and development of the sector by helping to remove barriers to female participation.

The Women's National League Grants Program funding will go to a variety of different State sporting organisations, from hockey to basketball, wheelchair basketball, soccer, ice hockey, netball, volleyball and water polo. The money will be used towards the costs associated with operating a women's team in a national league competition such as competition entry fees, court hire, player contracts, insurance and medical fees, as well as travel and accommodation when playing interstate.

The funding will be allocated as follows:

• $50,000 for Hockey WA for Women's Perth Thundersticks;
• $50,000 to Basketball WA for Perth Lynx;
• $10,000 to Basketball WA for Perth Wheelcats;
• $50,000 to Football West for Perth Glory;
• $20,000 to Ice Hockey WA for Perth Inferno;
• $40,000 to Netball WA for West Coast Fever;
• $50,000 to Volleyball WA for Women's Volleyball Steel; and
• $50,000 to Water Polo WA for the UWA Torpedoes and Fremantle Mariners Women's Teams.

The Women's National League Teams Grant Program is administered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. The goals are to:

• support the sustainability of women's national league teams based in WA;
• strengthen pathways and programs for women to compete at high-performance level;
• establish strong financial models to support teams' operations; and
• reduce the financial burden for participating athletes at high-performance level.