The Port Macquarie Hastings Sporting Fund oversees the annual Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship as part of the Sunrise Hastings Sports Awards. The Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship is a $5,000 Council contribution to a local athlete who is between 13-21 years of age competing at State, National or International sporting level. The scholarship assists with registration fees, equipment, and costs associated with travel to sporting events outside the Port Macquarie Hastings Local Government Area.
Applications for 2023 are now closed.
Scholarship and award category winners were announced at the Sunrise Hastings Sports Awards breakfast on 20 October 2023. For information on the Sports Awards, visit the Port Macquarie-Hastings Sport Awards website.
Applicants must be:
Some sports are not recognised, so please check with your sporting organisation. For example, the following sports are not Australian Sports Commission recognised National Sporting Organisations:
Check the full eligibility conditions for the scholarship at Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship Guidelines(PDF, 247KB).
Applications for the Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship are now closed for 2023.
The 2023 Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship winner was Skyla Lange for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Paralympian Ryley Batt is a former recipient of the Wayne Richards Sporting Scholarship.
The scholarship was established as a tribute to the late former Mayor, Wayne Richards, who was a passionate supporter of youth and sport in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region. He was instrumental in the formation of the Mayor's Sporting Fund in 1999.
The scholarship was launched in 2004.