Prime Minister's Athlete Scholarships
Prime Minister's Athlete Scholarships
The Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship programme is a Government initiative managed by the NZ Academy of Sport. The goal of the programme is to assist talented and elite athletes achieve tertiary and vocational qualifications while pursuing excellence in sport. In 2005 so far, 500 athletes across 50 sports have been awarded a scholarship.
The Government established the Prime Minister's Athlete Scholarships in late 2000 to enable emerging and talented New Zealanders to concurrently pursue tertiary study and elite level sport development.
The Programme pays fees up to $10,000 a year and a living allowance of up to $6,000 a year to successful scholarship recipients, dependent on the athlete’s sporting performance and study load.
The Programme is managed by SPARC and administered by the New Zealand Academy of Sport regional operations. Scholarships are aligned to SPARC’s High Performance Strategy 2006-2012 and must impact SPARC’s high performance mission, More New Zealanders winning on the world stage.
2009 scholarships
In 2009, approximately 402 athletes across 26 national sport organisations (NSOs) were awarded scholarships. Below is the list of 2009 recipients as at 16 June 2009:
2009 eligibility criteria
The applicant must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- Be capable of impacting SPARC's High Performance mission, "More New Zealanders winning on the world stage". Any athlete from any sport may be able to impact this mission. Carded athletes in the supported sports and athletes receiving PEG's are already recognised as being able to impact SPARC's High Performance mission.
- Submit a complete application
- Be endorsed by their NSO leading up to and during the scholarship
- Have met all athlete requirements whilst studying under scholarship in the previous 12 months, unless the NZAS agrees otherwise (athletes re-applying for a scholarship only)
Your National Sporting Organisation must also ensure they have no outstanding requirements in any of the four Prime Minister's Scholarship Programmes for your application to be considered.
There is also a Gold-level Scholarship, which helps athletes study after they are carded and/or retire.
Learn more about the Gold-level Scholarship.
Who will receive a Scholarship for 2009?
With the funds available, it is unlikely that all applicants will receive a scholarship in 2009. Therefore applications will be assessed and prioritised by an assessment panel. The selection criteria are outlined in the Programme Guide (Word, 211 KB) and applicants prioritised for a scholarship are likely to be:
- World class athletes and/or athletes receiving PEGs
- Level 1 carded athletes
- Level 2 carded athletes
- Level 3 carded athletes
- Level 4 carded athletes and other athletes who have the potential to impact SPARC’s high performance mission.
What qualifications are eligible?
Athletes may enrol in any tertiary or vocational qualification that appears on the New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications. This includes most university and polytechnic qualifications, teaching courses and trade courses. The education provider (eg, the university or polytechnic) must be a New Zealand organisation.
How can I apply for a scholarship in 2009?
If you are planning to study at any stage during 2009 you should:
- Contact your National Sport Organisation (NSO) for their eligibility criteria and deadline date, which will be no later than 1 December 2008.
- Discuss your application with your Coach, Performance Planner and ACE Advisor (if you have one)
- Complete your application form online. If you are a Gold Level Scholarship applicant you MUST SUBMIT a hard copy application (Word, 169 KB).
- You will be notified in writing whether your application is successful or not by the NZ Academy of Sport by 24 December 2008.
Receiving payments
Fees are paid directly to the relevant education provider. Athletes' living allowances are credited to their nominated bank accounts.
To maintain payments, you must:
- pass all of your study,
- submit an electronic six-month progress report at the end of each six-month period (due 1 July and 1 December each year),
- attend an anti-doping seminar in the first 12 months in which the scholarship is awarded and once every alternate year thereafter whilst on scholarship and
- meet any tax and income declaration requirements.
Change of contact details
If you've changed your contact details since your application or since you submitted your last six-monthly progress report, please complete the Change of Contact Details form.
Where can I find out more information?
Full conditions on which scholarships are awarded are set out in the plain-English Programme Guide (Word, 211 KB). Contact your Athlete Career and Education (ACE) Advisor or the Prime Minister's Athlete Scholarship coordinator at your nearest NZ Academy of Sport regional operation if you have further queries.
Updated | 16 Jun 2009.
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