Australian Institute of Sport

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Logo of the Australian Institute of Sport

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) leads the development of elite sport and is widely acknowledged in Australia and internationally as a world best practice model for elite athlete development. The AIS is a pre-eminent elite sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services.

The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 65 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the institute's programs are located in other Australian cities. The AIS is a division of the Australian Sports Commission.

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[edit] History

Front of the AIS, Sports Visitor Centre on the left, AIS arena at the back right
Front of the AIS, Sports Visitor Centre on the left, AIS arena at the back right

Set up in 1981 after the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games in which Australia failed to win a gold medal (regarded as a severe national embarrassment in Australia), the Institute's well-funded programs (and more generally the generous funding for elite sporting programs) are regarded as a major reason for Australia's success in international sporting competition.

Shortly after its inception in 1981, the AIS held a competition for a symbol that would depict the AIS aim of "achieving supremacy in sport". Over 500 designs were submitted. The winner was a design student from Bendigo in Victoria, Rose-Marie Derrico. Her design shows an athlete with hands clasped above the head in recognition of victory. The colours of the logo are red and blue, which are the same colours as the Australian flag.

A brief overview of the history of the AIS follows:

Year Event
1981 AIS officially opened by the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser
Don Talbot appointed inaugural Director of the AIS
Eight founding sports were basketball, gymnastics, netball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and weight lifting
1982 36 current and former AIS athletes competed in three sports and won 25 of the 107 medals won by Australia at the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia
1983 Gymnastics training hall, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and swimming complex completed
1984 Frank Stewart Training Centre for netball, basketball, football and weightlifting completed
Diving program in Brisbane and hockey program in Perth established
Dr John Cheffers appointed Director of the AIS
32 current and former AIS athletes competed in four sports and won seven of the 24 medals won by Australia at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, United States
AIS Athlete of the Year - Karen Phillips (swimming)
1985 Squash program in Brisbane and men's water polo and rowing in Canberra established
Sports Science and Sports Medicine, Halls of Residence and administration buildings completed
AIS Athlete of the Year - Michele Pearson (swimming)
1986 Men's cricket program in Adelaide established
Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland - 75 current and former AIS athletes competed in five sports and won 52 of the 120 medals won by Australia
AIS Athlete of the Year - James Galloway (rowing)
1987 Cycling program in Adelaide established
Australian Sports Commission and AIS merge
Ronald Harvey appointed Director of the AIS
AIS Athlete of the Year - Kerry Saxby (track and field)
1988 Rugby Union program in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra established
Talent Identification program established
Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea - 118 current and former AIS athletes competed in 13 sports and won six of 14 medals won by Australia
AIS Athlete of the Year - Kerry Saxby (track and field)
1989 AIS canoe facility opened on the Gold Coast
AIS Athlete of the Year - Kerry Saxby (track and field)
1990 Men's volleyball program in Sydney established
Robert de Castella appointed Director of the AIS
National Sport Information Centre launched
Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand - 87 current and former AIS athletes competed in six sports and won 77 of the 162 medals won by Australia
AIS Athlete of the Year - Steve McGlede (track cycling)
2001 Basketballer and AIS graduate Lauren Jackson chosen by the Seattle Storm as the top overall pick in the WNBA Draft
2003 Lauren Jackson won her first WNBA MVP award.
2005 AIS graduate Andrew Bogut, playing basketball for the University of Utah, won the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the top player in U.S. college basketball. Later, he was selected first overall in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming the first Australian so honoured.
2007 Lauren Jackson won WNBA MVP honours for the second time.

[edit] Institute

The AIS employs over 190 staff, including 70 coaches to directly support AIS athletes. In addition to coaching staff, the AIS employs a large number of staff who work in Sports Medicine, Education and Technology, which includes disciplines such as sports nutrition, performance analysis, physiology, biomechanics, applied research, talent search, athlete career education, strength and conditioning, psychology and physical therapies.

Outside the front of the main building are a number of sculptures, such as Acrobats by John Robinson, which shows one acrobat holding another upside down one with just one hand. Also is The Basketballer, one of three works which were commissioned by AMP Limited to celebrate the 2000 Paralympic Olympic games. It was brought to the front of the AIS in June 2003.

The AIS competes in the Victorian Premier League football tournament,Women's National Basketball League, South East Australian Basketball League and the Commonwealth Bank Trophy Netball League.

[edit] Programmes

The AIS offers scholarships to over 700 athletes each in year across 35 programs in 26 different sports. Scholarships are also currently offered to athletes with disabilities in athletics, swimming and skiing.

In 2004/5, the AIS offers Scholarship programmes for the following sports:

[edit] Olympic Winter Institute of Australia

The AIS and the Australian Olympic Committee formed the Australian Institute of Winter Sports after the 1998 Winter Olympics. The organisation was renamed to the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia on July 1, 2001. It provides training in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing (including aerial and mogul), snowboarding, short track speed skating and figure skating. It is also a partner with the AIS in skeleton (toboganning).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Australian Institute of Sport


Coordinates: 35°14′50″S, 149°06′15″E