This year is a historical one for the IAS, with 281 athletes across 12 different sports programs (girls Australian football, athletes with disabilities, basketball, cycling, golf, hockey, lonestar, netball, netball umpires, rugby union, swimming and triathlon) gaining a scholarship - making it their biggest ever cohort.

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Their largest program this year in their girls Australian Football one, with 41 athletes selected across both the under 16s and 18s age groups, including Shoalhaven's Yasmin and Amelia Anderson, Madison Carr, Isabella McConville, Nayana Patmore, Ruby Reid, Taylah Clarke, Nikki Murray and Riley Sutherland - with the latter seven all playing for the Bomaderry Tigers.

Four Shoalhaven products (Tori and Remi Martin, Indiana Hayburn and Toby Royston) are in the basketball program, while Joshua Ludman, Coby Muir, Hugh Vaughan and Liam Wallis were all selected for cycling.

Netball quartet Taryn Drewe, Julia Edwards, Liana Taufa'ao and Brooke Mayor, swimmers Bailey Caple and Talika Irvine, triathletes Zara Jobson and Zac Peters and golfers Bella-Rose Pond and Sienna Clarke have also been named - as has netball umpire Madelyn Black.

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Rounding out the Shoalhaven contingent are the lonestars, who come from 11 different sports.

They include Kirra Dale (surf lifesaving), Kate Drinkwater (soccer/football), Lois Fleming (showjumping equestrian), Malia and Parri Barrele (both tennis and beach volleyball), Keira Buckpitt (surfing), Riley Anthes (swimming), Oliver Driscoll (Australian football), Stephen Pearson (baseball), Mireille and Alexandria Smith (both volleyball) and Jake Treyvaud (MMA wrestling).

This year's scholarships run from October through to September 2021, with the Illawarra Academy of Sport's main induction and testing day held on October 10.