If you're serious about being an athlete, you'll have to devote time and money towards achieving your goals. Funds needed for travel, equipment, training and insurance can add up, and competitive prize money or the salary from your job may not always cover your expenses. Fortunately, many organizations offer grant money to aspiring athletes to help offset the costs of pursuing their passions.
Women's Sports Foundation Grants
The Women's Sports Foundation offers four different grants to help female athletes achieve their goals. The Foundation's Travel and Training Fund offers financial assistance to aspiring female athletes to help offset the financial burden of elite-level competition and training. The Jump Start Grant Program provides monetary support to young ladies in need interested in participating in motor sports. For women training in Judo, the Rusty Kanokogi Fund for the Advancement of U.S. Judo provides money for competitive female judokas to concentrate on training. Last, the Dorothy Harris Endowed Scholarship provides grant money to female graduate students in the field of sport management, sport psychology, sport sociology or physical education.
Olympic Athlete Grants
The United States Olympic Committee's Athlete Support Program offers several grant opportunities for athletes, including tuition grants and direct athlete support dollars. The USOC also offers Olympic Winter Games Legacy Scholarships for 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Alumni as well as other athletes residing, training and attending school in Utah. The B.J. Stupak Olympic Scholarship Program, a federally funded grant program, provides monetary assistance to Olympic-aspiring student athletes approved to live and train at any of the country's Olympic training centers. Finally, the William E. Simon Olympic Trust for the Support of Athletes gives grant funds based on need to athletes not qualified for other forms of support.
Grants for Challenged Athletes
The Challenged Athletes Foundation provides grants to those with physical disabilities to pursue athletic endeavors. The Foundation's Access for Athletes program provides monetary grants for competition and training expenses as well as necessary equipment such as sports prosthetics, sports wheelchairs, mono skis and handcycles. To qualify, an athlete's disability must be recognized by International Paralympic Committee classifications. A separate grant program called Operation Rebound offers athletic assistance and support to first responders, active military service members as well as veterans who have sustained permanent physical injuries.
USA Track and Field Foundation Grants
The USA Track and Field Foundation offers Elite Athlete Development Grants to post-collegiate U.S.-born track and field athletes. To qualify for the funds, athletes must rank in the top 10 nationwide in their event, have at minimum the IAAF "B" standard --- preferably an "A" standard --- and have a track and field related income of less than $30,000 (as of January 2011). Athletes may use the grant funds to pay coaching fees, training costs, travel expenses, health insurance and injury care and prevention.
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