Deadline: 19-May-23
The Women’s Sports Foundation is seeking applications for the Travel & Training Fund.
The Travel & Training Fund was established in 1984 to provide direct financial assistance to female athletes with potential to be elite who have demonstrated financial need and would not otherwise be able to afford basic necessities like coaching, travel and equipment to achieve even higher performance levels and rankings without the help. Requests for assistance are considered for coaching, specialized training, equipment, attire and/or travel and will be based, in part, on need. The Fund is replenished through individual, foundation and corporate contributions.
Funding Information
- Individual grants will vary between $2,500 and $10,000. Up to $100,000 in grants will be awarded each calendar year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Individual applicants and all members of a team must be female U.S. citizens or legal residents and be eligible to compete for a U.S. national team.
- Applicants must have amateur status.
- Applicants must demonstrate financial need. The WSF approves grants that will have a significant and lasting impact on the applicant. A request needs to demonstrate a visible, apparent and immediate financial need and be consistent with the Travel & Training Fund’s mission.
- Applicants must have a successful competitive record within their sport and/or age group.
- Applicants must demonstrate the ability, based on competitive record and years in training, to reach and compete at an elite level. Those that have competed regionally (outside their state), nationally and/or internationally and/or are ranked by a national governing body.
- In order to qualify for a team application, a team must consist of two or more females.
- An individual or team may be awarded only one grant per calendar year and a maximum of three grants to an individual or team in a lifetime.
Ineligible
- High school, college, university (intercollegiate or club) or community recreation sports teams cannot apply.
- Any athlete who is a member of a team already applying for a team grant may not also apply for an individual grant in the same grant period.
Grant Criteria
A Selection Committee will evaluate each application based on the selection criteria below:
- Financial need
- Present and potential level and ranking
- Lack of financial support from traditional sources (ie. endorsements, National Governing Body stipends)
- Role of award in continued participation and advancement in sport
- Potential impact of grant on advancing women in sports
- Contribution to greater visibility of female athletes
- Priority given to those who present a plan for reimbursing the grant in the future, whether financially or otherwise contributing to women’s sports
- Grant Allocation
- Grants can be used for coaching, specialized training, equipment, attire and/or travel.
Grant Requirements
Grant recipients must agree to the following:
- To use the grant for its intended purpose. (e.g. coaching, equipment or travel expenses)
- To participate in the Athlete Ambassador Program that entails one face-to-face visit with a WSF grantee and at least one virtual connection a year. Ambassadors will be matched with the grantees closest to their communities. (Face-to-face visits are TBD based on COVID-19 restrictions.)
- To include recognition of your grant and of the Women’s Sports Foundation and Michelob ULTRA, for recipients 21 years of age or older, in all publicity surrounding your involvement in sports.
For more information, visit Women’s Sports Foundation.