The Australian Paralympic Committee’s relationship with WorkCover NSW has been significantly strengthened following an announcement this week by the NSW Government.
NSW Finance Minister Joe Tripodi announced an expansion of the support by WorkCover NSW for the Australian Paralympic Committee(APC) to help ensure the delivery of programs and events for emerging athletes through to the London Paralympic Games in 2012.
Jason Hellwig, APC Acting CEO, welcomed the new agreement, acknowledging WorkCover NSW as a valuable partner and supporter of Australia’s Paralympic athletes.
“WorkCover NSW is a wonderful organisation, with which the APC has enjoyed an excellent relationship with since 2001. This new agreement only enhances that relationship,” Mr Hellwig said.
“The APC is currently working on a range of new initiatives and we will continue to work closely with WorkCover to ensure further mutual growth and success.”
With $300,000 committed in sponsorship for 2008/09, key elements of the partnership include more extensive athlete development and a continuation of the highly successful WorkCover Paralympic Speakers Program. The deal also includes the establishment of a WorkCover NSW Development Scholarship that will provide Paralympic Athletes with direct funding that will contribute to covering training and equipment costs.
The Workcover Paralympic Speakers Program raises awareness about workplace safety and injury prevention, with Paralympic athletes drawing on their own experiences and sharing stories of despair, courage and triumph. In its seven-year history so far, hundreds of talks have been conducted as part of the WorkCover NSW campaign to reduce the number of preventable accidents in the workplace.