WAIS sailor Zac Littlewood awarded Sport Australia Hall of Fame 2022 Tier 1 Scholarship

Published On: 4 October 2021

WAIS sailor and recently crowned Under 21 World Champion Zac Littlewood has been awarded a Sport Australia Hall of Fame 2021 Tier 1 Scholarship.

The program will see Littlewood mentored by former WAIS scholarship holder and Olympic gold medallist Steve Hooker.

After starting sailing in 2009 at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, the rising star made his first junior national team just three years later. He would go on to become Australia’s youngest open world champion after winning the Laser Radial Men’s World Championships in Germany in 2018, aged just 18.

A dual national and Oceania Champion, the biggest result of his still young career came in August when he claimed gold at the U21 World Championships in Poland.

“I was incredibly happy and honoured to find out that I was chosen as a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Tier 1 recipient for 2022,” said Littlewood.

“Looking at all the past winners of the Scholarship and what they have achieved after receiving this support, is a real inspiration and motivation for myself. Having access to Steve Hooker who has reached the pinnacle of his sport is exciting and I look forward to learning as much as I can from his experiences as well as his feedback on what I can do better as an athlete and how to increase sponsorship and funding.”

Steve Hooker, one of WAIS’ most successful athletes looks forward to working with Littlewood over the coming year.

I think it’s so important to have Mentors that are away from your sport and from different networks than you’re from. It means you’ve got that person in your life that has no vested interest, who you can bounce ideas off and be truly honest with about however you’re feeling. I’m looking forward to being that person

for Zac

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Scholarship Holders will be announced in the coming weeks. Tier 2 scholarships provide 10 athletes with a $5,000 sporting expenses grant each, SAHOF encouragement and support. Tier 3 provides 16 athletes with $2,500 sporting grants each, SAHOF encouragement and support.