Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) athletes Evie Saunders and Brin Liddell have been recognised as up-and-coming stars by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF), receiving Tier 2 and Tier 3 scholarships respectively as part of the organisations 2023 Scholarship and Mentoring Program.

The three-tiered program awards annual funding of $150,000 across 32 scholarships to support the next generation of Australia’s sporting stars on their journey to excellence and success in sport and in life.

Saunders, who has been establishing herself on the international scene as part of the ASF program, will receive a grant of $5,000 plus support from SAHOF and its esteemed member base over the next 16 months.

“I have an amazing but jam-packed calendar of sailing planned next year, so it is really exciting to be involved with SAHOF as a scholarship recipient for 2024 as I seek to gain more experience towards my goal of Olympic Gold,” said Saunders.

Australian Sailing CEO, Ben Houston says that Australian Sailing is incredibly proud of the dedicated young athletes.

“Evie continues to affirm has proven herself as to be an elite sailor and is thoroughly deserving of this SAHOF Scholarship,” started Houston.

“She announced herself on the world stage when she won Silver at the 2022 Youth Sailing World Championships in The Hague, and then taking out the Australian Sailing Youth Sailor of the Year Award later that year.

“Her home clubs of Manly Yacht Club and Double Bay Sailing Club are incredibly proud of her achievements and continue to support her as she positively progresses along the performance pathway.”

A rising star in the Nacra 17 class, Brin is a hardworking and committed member of the ASF Program and is also continuing his development through the Australian Sailing Performance Pathway.

“Brin no doubt has a bright future in the sport, as displayed by him and his teammate Rhiannan Brown’s bronze medal podium performance at the 2023 Junior World Championships and at the recent (open) Sailing World Championships where they finished 19^th,” said Houston.

“Australian Sailing would like to thank Sport Australia Hall of Fame and congratulate Evie and Brin on this achievement.”

For more information on the scholarship program, please click here.