ASIDE from representing Australia in their chosen sport, what do Bathurst cyclist Mark Renshaw, triathlete Tamsyn Moana-Veale and hockey talent Tamsin Bunt have in common?
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Those three stars - and many more like them - benefited from the Western Region Academy of Sport's program before they went on to wear the green and gold.
WRAS has long acted as a pathway for the best athletes across the Central West and now a new initiative is set to provide even greater opportunities.
WRAS joins 10 other regional academies of sport in forming a partnership with the NSW Institute of Sport.
A four-year agreement which will run throughout the next Olympic cycle, the partnership will leverage off regional environments and world class NSWIS high performance expertise to develop coaches, identify emerging athletes and nurture sporting talent through to the elite level of competition.
NSWIS chief executive officer Kevin Thompson spoke about the importance of the agreement for Australian and NSW high performance sporting systems.
"Regional academies of sport and NSWIS have joined forces to address a fundamental gap existing in the national high-performance system," Thompson said.
"By leveraging off our respective resources and expertise, together we can work towards achieving the vision of more NSW athletes representing Australia and winning medals at major international events."
The partnership will initially focus on identifying and supporting the transition of talented athletes into high performance pathways, as well as selecting regional coaches to participate in development opportunities.
It is hoped the partnership will lay the foundation for the development of a NSW Talent Unit which would further advance inclusive talent initiatives across the state.
