Twenty-two coaches from 14 sports will share in $130,000 through the Australian Institute of Sport's (AIS) 2026 High Performance Coach Development Initiatives Grants, with AusTriathlon's Dan Atkins awarded the inaugural Paul Perkins Scholarship.
The annual grants program supports high performance coaches to pursue projects, initiatives that further develop their coaching practice and strengthen Australia's high performance sport system, with 2026 recipients taking on international collaborations, immersive learning experiences and specialist coaching qualifications.
Atkins, coach of 2025 triathlon world champion Matt Hauser, is the first recipient of the scholarship established to recognise the significant contribution Associate Professor Paul Perkins has made to the development of Australian high performance coaches.
AIS Director Matti Clements said investing in coaches was critical to the continued success of Australian sport.
"Behind every successful athlete and team is a coach who is continually learning, evolving and finding new ways to help others perform at their best," Clements said.
"These grants recognise the commitment coaches make to their own development and provide opportunities for them to pursue learning experiences that will have a direct impact on their coaching practice and the environments they create.
Clements praised Paul Perkins, a champion of collaboration and sharing of coaching wisdom.
"Paul has made an extraordinary contribution to the development of coaches across the country, and this scholarship is a fitting recognition of that legacy," Clements said.
"His work has always been about helping coaches grow, connect and learn from one another, and that's exactly what this scholarship is designed to encourage."
The Paul Perkins Scholarship supports a project that not only advances the recipient's own development, but generates insights that can benefit coaches across the wider high performance system.
Dan Atkins will use the inaugural scholarship to explore how best to manage a broad support team to create a medal winning podium project.
"Being awarded the Paul Perkins Scholarship is a huge honour," Atkins said. "Paul is a mentor and role model of mine, so I'd like to thank Paul and the committee for seeing my potential.
"This grant is a signal that giving back to coaches matters and I'll do everything I can to make it count."
The 2026 grant recipients will undertake projects aligned to their individual coach development plans and share their learnings with fellow coaches at an AIS workshop in Canberra in 2027.
2026 High Performance Coach Development Initiative Grant Recipients
- Dan Atkins - Triathlon (Paul Perkins Scholarship)
- Erica Li - Artistic Swimming
- Jack Edwards - Athletics
- Zenon Kowalczyk- Athletics
- John Nicolosi -Athletics
- Justin Rinaldi - Athletics
- Leanne Choo - Badminton
- Jessica Haintz - Gymnastics
- Rebecca Keller - Lacrosse
- Reg Tayler - Rugby
- Arthur Brett - Sailing
- Tristan Brown - Sailing
- Mikael Lundh - Sailing
- Jay Thompson - Surfing
- Josh Smith - Swimming
- Samantha Janssen - Triathlon
- Aaron Royle - Triathlon
- Nicole Hannan - Volleyball
- Tim Hamill - Water Polo
- Alina McMaster - Winter
- Tayla Ford - Wrestling
- Jayden Lawrence - Wrestling
