Hi, I’m Emily Harvey and I was  in Sports Leadership Development program.

I started at GKR Karate in 2014 when I was 5 with the greatest goal to get my black belt by the age of 14. I was told many times by so many different people that I could never achieve that, however in November 2023 at the age of 14 I had been asked to go for my black belt grading on the 26th of November.

Starting off after many small competitions such as regional and state I slowly got into my first Nationals in 2018 winning a bronze medal in kumite (fighting) and then 5 years later after training hours upon hours I participated in the 2023 Nationals in QLD in front of over 3000 spectators and 650 competitors and ended up winning Silver for Kumite, Silver in Team Kata and a Bronze for Team Kumite. I competed in the 14-15 years brown belt - black belt division.

Karate has been the biggest part of my life and carrying my biggest achievements. It showed me how to fight and protect myself, taught me discipline and confidence. I have been taking part in the instructor training program for the past few months teaching me how to become a Karate instructor and to help people achieve the same things I did. 

On the 26th of November 2023, my Black Belt grading went for about 3 and a half hours where I showed all the training of everything, I have learnt over the past 9.5 years. After all the pain, sweat and tears I was finally called up to the front to receive my black belt and my goal was finally complete. After almost 10 years of training, I have earned 20 medals and a black belt and all I can tell you is to set a goal with what you want to do and stick to it and work for it, don't let anybody tell you that you can’t achieve it because you can.

Hi, I’m  Peyton Jarosz  and I was in the Sports Leadership Development program.

I started competitive archery in 2022 and became the under-14 girls' recurve national and state indoor champion, I also was the state outdoor champion and came second nationally.

In 2023 I was selected to be part of the archery Australia National Pathways Squad which is designed to identify talented archers across Australia and support them towards entering the national recurve program, the program gave me the chance to attend the AIS twice for training camps. I was also selected to represent Australia in the 2023 Trans Tasman challenge.

In 2023 I also competed and came first at the state target championships,  I was selected to be part of the Victorian youth team for the indoor nationals. My team placed second and individually I placed 1st in the state indoor championships and third nationally.  At the 2023 youth outdoor nationals, I came 5th and 1st for the state. I am now working towards the Youth Nationals for 2024 and hope to continue to improve my shooting.

Hi, my name is Cooper Bishop-Worn, and I am currently in the Sports Leadership Development program.

Baseball has been a lifelong passion of mine, even though it isn’t one of the more popular sports in Australia. Despite this, I’ve committed myself fully to the game and have been fortunate to gain extensive experience over the years.

I’ve had the privilege of playing in multiple representative squads, which has been instrumental in my development as a player. One of the highlights so far was representing Victoria at the Australian Youth Championships, specifically in the U16 Tournament. Most recently, I participated in the 2024 Australian Youth Championships, which was a significant experience for me.

In 2023, the Geelong Advertiser recognized my potential, naming me a rising star to watch in the Geelong Baseball Association. Being identified as one of the most promising junior players in the region has been an incredible honor, and it motivates me to keep pushing my limits in the sport I love.