I am fortunate to have been the recipient of two of these awards and they have been of great assistance to me as I pursue my sporting dream of representing Australia in Athletics at the Paralympics. Both the awards have assisted me with the day to day practicalities of training and competing in my chosen events of Shot Put and Discus. I live in a regional area of Queensland, so each week, twice a week I make a three hour round trip to travel to Brisbane for training. The grant monies help cover the cost of my travel and training fees. This has been a great help to me as last year I was able to travel to the USA to compete in the World Dwarf Games where I won three gold medals and set a World Dwarf Games record and this year I was able to make my goal of winning the Australian Open Women’s Discus and place third in Shot Put, setting a new Australian record for my classification. Sporting Dreams Foundation is important not only because of the financial assistance it offers but also for the recognition, encouragement and inspiration it gives as we strive to reach our sporting dreams.
Claire Keefer- athletics