Only 21% of all tennis coaches in Australia are female, prompting Tennis Australia Head of Women’s Professional Tennis Nicole Pratt to "address the disparity." In an "ongoing drive to increase the number and quality of female tennis coaches nationwide," eligible women can now access additional funding to pursue TA coaching qualifications. Scholarships will be awarded in four coaching categories -- junior development, club professional, master club professional and high performance (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 3/30).
The Australian Football League Players Association has reprimanded and fined five player managers for betting on AFL markets during '15. Luke Holland, Nick Gieschen, Wayne Loxley, Olaf Borutz and Garry Winter have been reprimanded and fined by the union's agents accreditation board. All the affected agents other than Winter were fined A$500 ($383), with Winter fined A$1,000 ($767) as he placed multiple bets. None of the bets were for amounts greater than A$100 ($77), while one was placed in a market for the Int'l rules Test (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/31).
Concerns around rider safety, cancelled races and a "protracted, arguably illogical, calendar" have triggered a formal review of Australia's domestic road cycling series. A working party convened by Cycling Australia CEO Nick Green will reportedly "consider merging some races in a new annual program so there is male and female competition" at every installment of what is presently known as the National Road Series, a competition credited with "grooming the likes of" int'l champion Robbie McEwen (THE AGE, 3/31).
