Daisy Thomas receives Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship

Daisy Thomas (Freestyle Skiing) and Noah Bradford (Cross Country/Biathlon) have been accepted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s 2025 Scholarship and Mentoring Program.

Daisy has been named as a Tier 1 Scholarship holder and will be mentored by Football pioneer Cheryl Salisbury. When she retired, Salisbury was Australia’s most capped player and has been credited with contributing to the rise of the Matildas, as captain from 2003 to 2009 and a veteran of two Olympics and four FIFA World Cups. 

Noah is a Tier 2 Scholarship recipient.

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. As well as funding via a sporting expenses grant, all three tiers include SAHOF encouragement and support via various initiatives throughout the program which is backed by the Australian Sports Commission incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport.

In addition to the one-on-one mentoring from Salisbury, Daisy will receive a $10,000 grant to contribute to training and competition costs. 

"I'm deeply honoured to be recognised by SAHOF as a promising freestyle skier with world-class potential," said Daisy. "This scholarship is invaluable, providing crucial resources for my transition into professional skiing.

"The one-on-one mentorship with Cheryl is particularly exciting because I am sure she will be able to offer guidance as I balance my post-Year 12 skiing career with the mental and emotional aspects of high-performance sport.

"This support is instrumental as I set my sights on qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games."

Australian Sports Commission Chair Kate Jenkins AO congratulated the 2025 scholarship recipients.

"The ASC is proud to support this program that helps athletes to reach their full potential and to bring out the best in everyone involved in sport," SHE SAID. "To receive a record number of applications is testament to the program’s success and it has been wonderful to see former scholarship recipients like Torrie Lewis, Caitlin Parker, Alex Saffy and Jesse Moore shine in Paris and inspire the next generation of athletes in the process.

“I wish the latest scholarship recipients every success and hope this extra financial support helps bring them a step closer to reaching their sporting goals.”

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s Scholarship and Mentoring Program has benefited 236 athletes in 56 sports. The program has been supported by 103 Mentors and has distributed more than $1 million in funding.

Many mentor-mentee relationships remain strong today, including Adam Gilchrist AM and 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist Caitlin Parker, Debbie Watson OAM and Anabelle Smith, Nick Farr-Jones AM and Ben Tudhope, Layne Beachley AO and Poppy Starr Olsen, and Dawn Fraser AC MBE and Torrie Lewis.