Hancock Prospecting increases support for Artistic Swimmers with Brisbane 2032 on the horizon

Artistic Swimming Australia (ASA) is delighted to announce that Hancock Prospecting (HPPL) has significantly increased its support for the growth of the sport as we build towards Paris 2024 and beyond.

The funding will see the establishment of a Centre of Excellence, funding for a full-time National Coach, athlete support, and support towards your competitions.

For the first time, swimmers on the national squad will receive direct funding from HPPL to cover living expenses and allow athletes.  It is expected funding will also be available for those juniors with the potential to aspire to the senior squad and Olympic representation with Brisbane 2032 on their horizon.

Initially, the support takes the team to Paris 2024, but it is anticipated that the funding will continue through to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

Our Patron, Mrs. Gina Rinehart, has had personal involvement in these negotiations and is very happy to give our sport some long-term certainty for the next 11 years.

“As the Patron of Artistic Swimming Australia and Artistic Swimming Western Australia, I am delighted to be able to say that we are going to support the Swimmers towards the 2024 Paris Olympics and beyond,” Mrs Rinehart said.

“Hancock Prospecting has been supporting our artistic swimmers since 2014, and we are not only proud of what the swimmers have achieved during that time, but also their excellent behaviour outside of the pool. They are always a delight to be with.  We wish these wonderful young ladies and role models all the very best for the future.”

ASA President Ben Howard said the engagement of the head coach is a major step forwards for our sport.

“On behalf of Artistic Swimming Australia, we’d sincerely like to thank our patron Mrs Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting for their continued investment in Artistic Swimming,” ASA President Ben Howard said.

“We’ve already seen the positive impact the previous funding had to Tokyo 2020, with personal best scores for Australia in both the team and duet.

“With increased investment not only in a Centre of Excellence but also to the athletes themselves, it enables our athletes to have more financial security and be able to stay in the sport longer. As a result, we have high hopes for continued improvement across the next Olympic cycle to Paris 2024 and, of course, building towards our home games in Brisbane in 2032.”

The HPPL support complements the support ASA receives from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for pathway athletes, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) for the Olympic preparations.

Trials are currently open for the Paris 2024 Australian Artistic Swimming Olympic squad. Their next competitions will be the US/Canadian World Series event in March, the Australian World Series event in May, before travelling to Japan for the Japan World Championships at the end of May.