Elite Young Athletes Head to Tamworth for 2025 Your Local Club Academy Games

The Games will bring together close to 2000 athletes, coaches and supporters from all 11 Regional Academies of Sport (RAS) across NSW, alongside guest teams from Sydney. Competing academies include Central Coast, Far West, Illawarra, Hunter, North Coast, Northern Inland, South East, South West Sydney, Southern, Western Region and Western Sydney.

Athletes will showcase their talents in eight sports: basketball, cycling (MTB), golf, hockey, netball, triathlon, softball and indoor volleyball. 

NIAS CEO Shona Eichorn expressed her excitement: “The 2025 Your Local Club Academy Games will be a celebration of talent, determination and community spirit. We invite everyone to witness the power of sport to unite and inspire.”

The 2025 Your Local Club Academy Games is proudly supported by ClubsNSW (Your Local Club) and coincides with the celebration of 20 years of partnership between ClubsNSW and RAS. We also extend our thanks to major partners the NSW Government in the Office of Sport, Tamworth City Council, Regional Australia Bank, The University of New England, Regional Academies of Sport and Northern Inland Academy of Sport. 

Across the Academy Games weekend, RASi have also announced an exciting Pathways in Sport Q&A Education Workshop, supported by the Office of Sport. This workshop will provide valuable insights into achieving success in sports, featuring Dr Juanita Weissensteiner, Olympians Emma Jeffcoat, Marianna Tolo and Katie Ebzery, and Basketball Australia representatives Nat Hurst and Michaela Ruef. This exclusive Q&A session is open to athletes, coaches and parents from all levels of sport and is free to attend. The event will be held at the show court at Tamworth Sports Dome from 4pm-5pm on April 12 and anyone in the community is welcome to attend.

Additionally, in collaboration with Basketball Australia and Basketball NSW, the She Hoops program with special guest Lauren Jackson will be held on 11 April. She Hoops will bring a girls’ basketball clinic to Tamworth, led by seven-time WNBL champion and former Australian Opal, Nat Hurst, who joins as Head Coach and Official Ambassador of the Play Our Way program. Guest playerMikaela Ruef will also be in attendance. These high-energy clinics are designed for girls of all skill levels, offering a fun and supportive environment to grow and learn.

Athletes from the RAS in NSW have achieved remarkable success on the world stage, particularly at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Our alumni brought home a total of eight medals, including four gold, two silver and two bronze. 

Notable performances include Jessica Fox, who won two gold medals in Canoe Slalom, her sister Noemie Fox with a gold in Kayak Cross, and Emma McKeon, who secured a gold, a silver and two bronze medals in swimming. These outstanding achievements underscore the exceptional talent and dedication nurtured within the RAS system, demonstrating our commitment to developing world-class athletes.

For more information, visit www.academygames.com.au.