3 September 2008
Funding boost for country kids’ rural sport fund
Sport and Recreation Minister Clayton Cosgrove has today announced a funding boost to help support children and young
people’s participation in sport in rural areas.
The Rural Travel Fund has been bolstered by an additional $52,000 for 2008/09 increasing the total fund to $424,132.
The fund, provided by the government agency Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) to local councils, is available to
schools and clubs in rural areas to subsidise travel costs for junior teams participating in local competitions.
“The Rural Travel Fund has successfully helped clubs and schools subsidise travel costs since its introduction in 2003.
This increase recognises the need to respond to pressures on the fund and to ensure country kids are assisted in gaining
access to sport and recreation,” said Mr Cosgrove.
A total of 37 territorial authorities around the country are eligible with a minimum allocation of $9,500 to each
authority.
Further detail about the Rural Travel Fund - including how money is redistributed to rural sports clubs and rural school
teams by the territorial authorities - is available on the SPARC website – www.sparc.org.nz
Today’s announcement to help rural young people get involved in sport and recreation follows Mr Cosgrove’s announcement
in June that funding support for the annual Area Schools Association tournament for rural schools will continue.
ENDS