Bunbury sports academy launched

The inaugural patron of a sport academy based in south-west Western Australia says the launch of the academy is a huge win for local young sportsmen and women.

The South West Academy of Sport was launched at the weekend, with the four inaugural sports of hockey, soccer, basketball and Australian Rules Football being announced.

It was developed to the specifications designed by the late ABC sports broadcaster Wally Foreman who completed a study into the academy shortly before he died in 2006.

Dr Ern Manea says eventually people will come from Perth to Bunbury to train.

"Young people from here are totally dependent on their mothers to drive them to Perth to get training so that they could hold their places in the state teams," he said.

"It is a very important step forward and I hope it gets good enough so that mothers from Perth have to drive their kids down here."

The academy will offer 50 scholarships to individual athletes.