Dr Heather MacGowan, OAM, Scholarship

The Dr Heather MacGowan, OAM, Scholarship recognises the life's work and achievements of an inspirational and extraordinary woman.

Heather had a long and distinguished career in sport and recreation in several States of Australia, in professional, academic and volunteer roles.

This scholarship acknowledges Heather's commitment and contribution to the sport and recreation industry in Western Australia.

The $10,000 scholarship will be awarded annually to a young person aged between 18 and 30 years.

The recipient must currently be working in the sport and recreation industry and be identified as having the potential to make a significant contribution to sport and recreation in the Western Australian community. 

The selection criteria are not based on academic qualifications.

Previous recipients

2004 Samantha Shields ($2,000)

Attendance at United States Aquatic Sports Convention.

Samantha was a Development Officer with the WA Swimming Association and used the scholarship to attend the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in North Carolina.

Sam found that USA swimming’s strength was in its people resources. She reported back with three key programs that would be of interest to Swimming in WA.

2005 Brodie Cotter ($2,000)

Visited Surfing Australia’s headquarters and High Performance Centres in New South Wales, plus completed a judging and officiating course. Brodie went on to work for Surfing Australia.

Brodie’s aim was to improve the integrity of surfing as a professional sport by introducing new and improved high performance coaching, creating new opportunities for participation within the sport and mentoring junior participants, to name a few.

Brodie had completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Edith Cowan University in Bunbury with a major in surf skills and junior development. The scholarship allowed her to visit Surfing Australia’s headquarters and High Performance Centres in New South Wales and complete a judging and officiating course. Brodie went on to take up a role with Surfing Australia.

2006 Daneka O’Brien ($2,000)

Attendance at ASICS Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport (Fiji).

Daneka attended a three-day conference, which she said inspired her to be fascinated about research that is currently underway in Australia and the world. The presentations extended Daneka’s knowledge and gave her the information she required to think more deeply about how she can put in place structures to develop physical activity programs for the community.

2008 Helen Cunningham ($10,000)

Research and observation of international best practice of the development of sustainable disability sport. The findings will be shared with key agencies in WA and Australia.

Attendance at the Australian New Zealand Law Association (ANZSLA) Conference.

During her time in the UK, Helen consulted with eight organisations to discuss how they contribute to inclusive and disability sport. Helen also attended the pre-Olympic Congress Conference in China. Helen’s study aimed to provide an holistic approach in examining how to increase participation rates of people with a disability in sport (from a national, state and club level), rather than merely focusing on the barriers to participation. A range of information was collated and the key findings were presented to industry personnel.

As a separate project, Helen also attended the ANZSLA Conference. “The ANZSLA Conference provided me with the opportunity to hear from the leaders in sports law in Australia and New Zealand, and enabled me to objectively look at how sport and recreation organisations in WA are supported and directed in this area," Helen said in her report. "The findings at the conference have, and will continue to, support my work and therefore the sport and recreation industry in WA.”

2009 Anna Sheppard ($10,000)

Attendance at the 2009 Physical Activity and Public Health Practitioners Course and visit to the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health.

The scholarship allowed Anna to further develop knowledge, skills, networks and contacts in the area of community and work-based initiatives to promote physical activity with a view to leading future programs in this area.

"My attendance at the 2009 Physical Activity and Public Health Practitioners Course on Community Interventions and my visit to the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health have allowed me to establish many professional networks around the globe," Anna said in her report. "It provided me with a great opportunity for professional development. The Practitioners Course in particular was a unique opportunity to interface with some of the world’s leading authorities, and to thoroughly examine the evidence and the theory underpinning health promotion and effective community physical activity interventions."

Anna said her visit to the UK allowed her the opportunity to find out about the programs that organisations such as the British Heart Foundation, Natural England, Walk England and Sustrans were currently operating.

“As a result, I am better placed to play a role in leading future physical activity programs in Western Australia,” she said.

2010 Darren Smith ($10,000)

Research into exploring and improving access and employment opportunities in the sport and recreation industry for remote Aboriginal communities.

The findings of Darren's research will be shared with key agencies in WA. Research will take place in remote Aboriginal communities of WA.

 

• Career Pathways Program
• Certificate IV Training and Assessment
• Governance/Leadership Workshops
• Assessors Course
• Workforce Planning Workshop
• FutureNow – Creative and Leisure Industries Training Council
• Professional Governance Development Opportunities
• Presenter/Facilitator Training Program
• Mentor Training Course