Some of Australia’s best young Indigenous athletes are making names for themselves in the world of elite sport with a helping hand from the Australian Sports Commission.

Indigenous basketball sensation Patrick Mills, a former AIS scholarship holder, is a prime example of an athlete who benefited from the Indigenous Sport Program’s Elite Indigenous Travel and Accommodation Assistance Program (EITAAP).

Mills first received an EITAAP grant in 2004 when he competed in the School Sport Tour of New Zealand. He went on to compete in the 2007 Under 19 FIBA World Championships in Serbia.

Mills has since gained celebrity status in the United States where he plays point guard for the St Mary’s College team, enjoying one of its best ever seasons in the highly competitive college basketball scene.

Mills has proven to be an inspiring role model for other Indigenous athletes who aspire to achieve their sporting goals.

The Australian Sports Commission’s Indigenous Sport Program in partnership with the Department of Health and Ageing, provides (EITAAP) grants to Indigenous sportspeople over 12 years of age for travel assistance which allows them to represent their state/territory at national sporting events and selection in Australian teams for international competition.

The grants are also available to support the travel and accommodation of Indigenous coaches, managers, trainers and officials.

Since 2002, more than 3200 Indigenous sportspeople have received EITAAP grants to pursue their sporting dreams.

Some of the leading Indigenous athletes to receive EITAAP grants include:

• Nathan Jawai (basketball) – a former AIS scholarship holder, dubbed the ‘Aussie Shaq’ he plays for the Cairns Taipans in the National Basketball League (NBL). He is touted as one of the next big things in Australian basketball. He won the Most Valuable Player award in the NBL versus World All Star match in December 2007.

• Bo De La Cruz (touch football) – current member of the Australian Touch Team and arguably one of the best female touch players in the world.

• Brett Lee (triathlon) – has represented Australia and is will potentially be Australia’s biggest name in Men’s Triathlon in the coming years.

• Robert Crowther (track and field) – 2006 World Junior Long Jump Champion (Beijing), 2007 World University Games Long Jump Champion. Currently in contention for the Australian Olympic team for Beijing 2008.

• Khalen Young (BMX rider) – won the BMX Supercross World Cup in Madrid, Spain in April 2007.

The ASC remains committed through its Indigenous Sport Program to improving the access and opportunities for Indigenous Australians to participate in organised sport and physical activity and creating pathways for identifying and developing Indigenous talent.