The Wauchope-Bonny Hills Surf Life Saving Club member suffered the injury eight weeks ago and was due to race in the Australian Championships at Tweed Heads at the start of March.

As it turned out, the championships were cancelled which gave the teenager more time to recover from the injury to her right shoulder.

Now she has the added benefit of receiving $500 as part of the Federally funded Local Sporting Champions award.

The LSC program is an Australian government initiative designed to provide financial assistance for young sportsmen and women aged 12-18.

Sargeant regularly travels from the Mid-North Coast to locations around New South Wales and Queensland pursuing competition each year.

She travels to Queensland at least four times annually, so the funding will help ease the financial pressure on her family.

“It definitely helps mum and dad and the money that you need to spend when you’re travelling all the time,” the teenager said.

Sargeant was the age champion at school and finished second in the surf ski division at the country age championships.

She took up surf life saving seven years ago and father, John, said it was the influence of older brother Jason that played a role in building her confidence around the water.

“We moved to the coast from Gulgong, so it was more of a confidence thing that her and her brother went to the beach and learnt to swim,” he said.

“She was going to race at the Australian Championships at Tweed Heads with a bung shoulder until they cancelled the event.”