TIGERS CLUB NEWS ARCHIVE

TIGERS NEWS January 2006
ELITE ATHLETES AT QHS

The Queanbeyan Tigers Football Club is pleased to announce their involvement with the Elite Sports Program which will commence in 2006 at Queanbeyan High School. Encompassing three sports ¿ AFL, Rugby Union and Netball, the program is designed to identify talented athletes in those sports and through the assistance of Clubs in the area, provide specialist coaching to further develop their talents.

The AFL component is partnered with the Tigers Football Club. Jordan Longmore, Administration Manager of the organisation, believes that this is a very positive step forward in AFL development in the region. ñThe inclusion of AFL in the Elite Sports Program at Queanbeyan High compliments the already existing involvement of the Tigers Club in the South East Region Academy of Sport. Through the SERAS program, a number of talented players have relocated to the Queanbeyan area to further their development in AFL with the Tigers and this opportunity at QHS allows them to maintain their academic education, while also continuing their AFL development.î

This program gives local talented athletes more opportunity to move into AFL development programs, for example the Swans Academy, the Talented Player Program and the TAC Cup. Already seven local players have been identified for the AFL component ¿ Stephen Foden, Jeremy Fitzgerald, Callum Birtles, Andrew Downey, Robbie Kell, Matt Hewat and Matt Hilder. All of these athletes have played football with the Queanbeyan Tigers Football Club and were participants of the under 15 Grand Final team in 2006.

Wayne Southwell, the coordinator of the program at QHS considers the program to be an excellent opportunity for the high school to encourage elite athletes to participate in sports programs specifically designed to their requirements. The program is still in its infancy, but with support of local sporting organisations, exciting developments can be expected.

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