A scholarship program run by Flinders ONEfitness is helping students juggle their sporting and academic commitments by providing a range of support strategies, funding and advice from professional health and fitness staff.
It’s an investment that paid off at the recent Australian Track Cycling Championships, where former student Steph Morton and current students Holly Takos and Rikki Belder showed the rest of Australia how to get the job done by winning the Elite Women’s Team Sprint.
Their success is part of a surge in women’s cycling success at Flinders, with Steph taking gold in the Women sprint final and Rikki taking silver in the Women 500 metre time trial.
Rikki was awarded an Elite National, and Elite International scholarship from Flinders ONEfitness at the recent Elite Athlete Awards presentations, and was also listed as an EAFU (Elite Athlete Friendly University) recognised athlete.
EAFU recognition means Flinders has made a commitment to supporting her in combining her sporting and academic endeavours by allowing her to negotiate and be provided with flexible study options throughout her time in the program.
Tessa Manning, another cyclist, who competes in CycloCross, was also awarded an Elite National, and Elite Local scholarship, along with a ONEfitness scholarship.
The ONEfitness scholarship provides her with access to the fitness centre, allowing her to benefit from physical preparation for her gruelling sport, limiting her travel time and allowing her to make the most efficient use of her study and training opportunities.
Fellow student and EAFU athlete Stacey Riedel is also a national level CycloCross athlete, rounding out a strong women’s field.
Stacey is a member of the Australian U23 women’s team, and competed at the 2017 UCI World Championships, and is the current Australian U23 title holder.
And it’s not only the women who are making grabbing headlines on their bikes, with the men’s cyclists at Flinders also enjoying top track success.
These include Michael Denton in the Australian Development Team – Mountain Bike; Rohan Wight in the Australian Senior Track Team; Cooper Sayers in the Junior World Track Championships and SASI athlete squad; and David Fumpson and Thomas Allford in the National Road Series.