The scholars will each receive a grant of £5,000 to supplement  their personal development plans. Each candidate submitted a plan, supported by their respective CGA, showing how they will contribute to their development as leaders and to the wider communities within which they operate

The programme aims to empower women to grow as high performance coaches and leaders in their sport and community. It addresses the long-term challenges and opportunities for women participating and working in sport, focusing on personalised pathways to success. 

The intake will receive expert support from coaches Barbara Daniels and Sarah McQuade, as well as from the wider Commonwealth Sport movement. Daniels and McQuade are highly experienced in coaching, administration, consulting and high-performance development across a range of sports. 

The 14 participants, aged between 26 and 60, include a current international karate athlete, an ex-Olympic and Asian Games diver, those developing their coaching expertise as well as women who have a lifetime interest in sport.

The 2023 Commonwealth Sport Women’s Leadership Program Recipients are:

 

Recipient CGA Role
Gorata Kgathi Botswana Botswana Rugby Union, Women’s Representative
Joyce Juma Kenya Competing as a Karate Athlete and Running ‘Girl Power’ sessions for athletes within Kenya 
Anna Williams Sierra Leone President of Sierra Leone Gymnastics Federation
Irangani Rupasinghe Sri Lanka Recently retired Physical Ed. Lecturer. On the Board of Sri Lanka Athletics
Oluwaseun Nariwoh Nigeria Sports Development Office, Funder of APSEI
Nadine Jaeger Namibia NGB Gymnastics Coach at Crete GC
Ayushma Seebun Mauritius Team Manager of National Futsal Team 
Tinyiko Lucert Kamanga Zambia CGA Programs Officer /Olympafrica Centre Director
Thokozani Twanbilire Chalemba Malawi Acting Vice Gen. Sec for Malawi Volleyball Association 
Simelane Nokulunga Pretty Eswatini Projects Manager for Eswatini Olympic and CGA
Libby Barnett Jersey Sport Partnership Manager, Jersey Sport
Stephanie Duval Seychelles Sec. Gen. of Seychelles Women & Sports Association
Leong Mun Yee Malaysia National Team Diving Coach
Francis Tepaeru Brownw-Toa Cook Islands Cook Islands Rugby Union – VP.
Rugby League Secretary & Competition Coordinator

 

Each grant recipient has selected a local mentor who understands their respective sporting environment, while the Women’s Leadership Programme has provided each participant with an international mentor drawn from the Association of Commonwealth Universities. 

The Commonwealth Sport Women’s Leadership Programme began in 2018 as a comprehensive initiative aimed at supporting and empowering women from the Commonwealth on their personal development journeys. It is being run for the third time in 2023, having taken place previously around the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

To learn more about the Programmes’s previous recipients click here.