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 AIS visitor centre in Canberra | |
| Abbreviation | AIS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1981; 44 years ago (1981) |
| Type | Government agency |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | High performance sport training institution |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 35°14′50″S149°06′15″E / 35.24722°S 149.10417°E /-35.24722; 149.10417 |
Region served | Australia |
Parent organisation | Australian Sports Commission |
| Affiliations | National Institute Network |
| Staff | 428 (ASC)[1] |
| Website | ais |
TheAustralian Institute of Sport (AIS) is ahigh performance sports training institution in Australia.[2] The institute's 66-hectare (163-acre) headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb ofBruce,Canberra.[3] The AIS is a division of theAustralian Sports Commission (ASC).
Two reports were the basis for developing the AIS:The Role, Scope and Development of Recreation in Australia (1973)[4] byJohn Bloomfield andReport of the Australian Sports Institute Study Group (1975)[5] (group chaired by Allan Coles). The need for the AIS was compounded in 1976 when the Australian Olympic team failed to win a gold medal at theMontreal Olympics, which was regarded as a national embarrassment for Australia. The institute's well-funded programs (and more generally the generous funding for elite sporting programs by Australian and State Governments) have been regarded as a major reason for Australia's recent success in international sporting competitions.
In 2011, Minister for SportMark Arbib announced the AIS would take responsibility for the strategic direction ofhigh performance sport in Australia.[6] In November 2012, the ASC released "Australia's Winning Edge 2012–2022", a high performance sport plan, which highlighted a new role for the AIS particularly in terms of developing coaches and talent identification but not directly managing national sports organisations elite athlete programs as it had done since 1981.[7]
A brief overview of the history of the AIS follows.[8]
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Establishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) announced byBob Ellicott, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment, on 25 January |
| 1981 | AIS officially opened by Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser on 26 January |
| Don Talbot appointed inaugural director of the AIS andKevan Gosper Chairman of the AIS Board | |
| Eight founding sports werebasketball,gymnastics,netball,swimming,tennis,track and field,soccer, andweightlifting | |
| 1982 | Commonwealth Games, Brisbane – 37 current and former AIS athletes competed three sports and won 12 gold, 12 silver and 7 bronze medals. Australia won 107 medals |
| 1983 | Facility development – Gymnastics training hall, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and swimming complex completed |
| 1984 | Facility development –Frank Stewart Training Centre fornetball,basketball andweightlifting completed |
| Diving program inBrisbane andhockey program inPerth established | |
| John Cheffers appointed director of the AIS | |
| Olympic Games, Los Angeles, United States – 33 current and former competed in four sports and won 5 silver and 2 bronze medals.Australia won 24 medals. | |
| 1985 | Squash program inBrisbane and men'swater polo androwing inCanberra established |
| Facility development – Sports Science and Sports Medicine, Halls of Residence and administration buildings completed | |
| John Bloomfield replaces Kevan Gosper as AIS Chairman | |
| 1986 | Men'scricket program inAdelaide established |
| Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh, Scotland – 75 current and former AIS athletes competed in five sports and won 19 gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze medals, Australia won 121 medals | |
| 1987 | Cycling program inAdelaide established |
| Announcement of the merger ofAustralian Sports Commission and AIS | |
| Ronald Harvey appointed director of the AIS | |
| 1988 | Rugby Union program inBrisbane,Sydney andCanberra established |
| Olympic Games, Seoul, South Korea – 118 current and former athletes competing in thirteen sports and won 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze medals,Australia won 14 medals | |
| Paralympic Games, Seoul, South Korea – 1 current athlete and won 2 gold medals, Australia won 96 medals | |
| 1989 | Facility development – AIScanoeing facility opened on theGold Coast |
| 1990 | Men'svolleyball program inSydney established |
| Robert de Castella appointed director of the AIS | |
| National Sport Information Centre launched | |
| Commonwealth Games, Auckland, New Zealand – 87 current and former AIS athletes competed in six sports and won 25 gold, 25 silver and 27 bronze medals, Australia won 162 medals | |
| 1991 | Oceania Olympic Training Centre established in Canberra |
| Men's Road Cycling program established in Canberra | |
| Lifeskills for Elite Athletes Program (LEAP) commenced | |
| 1992 | Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain – 139 current and former athletes competed in thirteen sports and won 3 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals,Australia won 27 medals |
| Golf program inMelbourne program established | |
| Paralympic Games, Barcelona, Spain – 12 current and former athletes competed in two sports and won 10 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals, Australia won 76 medals | |
| 1993 | Women's Road Cycling inCanberra,Women's Softball inBrisbane andWomen's volleyball inPerth programs established |
| 1994 | Commonwealth Games, Victoria, Canada – 87 current and former AIS athletes competed in five sports and won 35 gold, 16 silver and 15 bronze medals, Australia won 184 medals |
| 1995 | Mountain Biking program inCanberra established |
| John Boultbee appointed as AIS director | |
| 1996 | Olympic Games, Atlanta, United States – 207 current and former AIS athletes competed in thirteen sports and won 4 gold, 7 silver and 17 bronze medals,Australia won 41 medals |
| Paralympic Games, Atlanta, United States – 26 current and former AIS athletes competed in seven sports and won 22 gold, 22 silver and 5 bronze medals, Australia won 106 medals | |
| 1997 | Boxing,Wrestling,Archery,Shooting inCanberra andAustralian Football inMelbourne programs established |
| 1998 | Women's Football began as an Olympic Athlete Program (OAP) initiative July 1998. In May 2000, Women's Football was made a permanent program |
| Australian Institute of Winter Sports (AIWS) established by the Australian Olympic Committee and the AIS | |
| Commonwealth, Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 138 current and former AIS athletes competed in twelve sports and won 34 gold, 29 silver and 21 bronze medals, Australia won 200 medals | |
| Winter Olympic Games, Nagano – 8 athletes competed in three sports and won 1 bronze medal for Australia | |
| 2000 | Olympic Games, Sydney – 319 current and former athletes competed in nineteen sports and won 8 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals,Australia won 58 medals |
| Paralympic Games, Sydney – 54 current and former athletes won 29 gold, 17 silver and 15 bronze medals, Australia won 149 medals | |
| Sailing andSlalom Canoeing inSydney, and camps basedWomen's Cricket andtriathlon programs established | |
| 2001 | Michael Scott appointed director of the AIS |
| Rugby league (decentralised) andAlpine Skiing for Athletes with Disabilities Programs established | |
| 2002 | Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City, United States – 23 current and former athletes competed in five sports and won 2 gold medals, Australia won 2 medals |
| Winter Paralympics, Salt Lake City, United States – 6 current and former athletes competed in one sport and won 6 gold and 1 silver medal, Australia won 7 medals | |
| Commonwealth Games, Manchester, England – 168 current and former athletes competed in fifteen sports and won 45 gold, 23 silver and 34 bronze medals, Australia won 207 medals | |
| 2003 | Facility development – Archery Centre and AIS Rowing Centre extension opened. AIS Golf facility located atMoonah Links, near Rye on Victoria'sMornington Peninsula opened |
| 2004 | Olympic Games, Athens, Greece – 289 current and former athletes competed in 20 sports and won 10 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals,Australia won 49 medals |
| Paralympic Games, Athens, Greece – 47 current and former athletes won 13 gold, 27 silver and 23 bronze medals, Australia won 100 medals | |
| Cricket Academy moves to Brisbane | |
| 2005 | Professor Peter Fricker appointed director of the AIS |
| Facility development – New extension to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Diving dry land training facility at theSleeman Centre inChandler, Queensland opened | |
| AIS/AVFBeach Volleyball National Centre of Excellence launched | |
| 2006 | Facility development – New $17 million Aquatics Training and Recovery Centre was constructed. The 50 metre training pool has a range of high-tech performance analysis devices and biomechanical systems including instrumented start blocks and turn walls, timing gates, strategically placed cameras, filming dolly and tracks |
| Winter Olympics, Turin, Italy – 23 current and former athletes competed in six sports and won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal, Australia won 3 medals | |
| Winter Paralympics, Turin, Italy – 9 current and former athletes competed in one sport and won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal, Australia won 2 medals | |
| Commonwealth Games, Melbourne – 177 current and former athletes competed in 13 sports and won 42 gold, 34 silver and 34 bronze medals, Australia won 222 medals | |
| 2007 | Facility development – AIS Hub opened. The AIS hub features a 110-metre indoor running track (with jumping pit), new physiology laboratories and an enhanced strength and conditioning gymnasium New AIS Athlete Residences opened |
| 2008 | Olympic Games, Beijing, China – 263 current and former AIS athletes won 7 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze medals,Australia won 46 medals |
| Paralympic Games Beijing – 47 current and former AIS athletes won 18 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals,Australia won 79 medals | |
| 2010 | Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver, Canada – 22 current and former AIS athletes won 1 gold, and 1 silver medal |
| Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver, canada – 9 current AIS athletes won 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, Australia won a total of 4 medals | |
| Commonwealth Games, New Delhi, INdia – 158 current and former (including Paralympic scholarship holders) competed in 12 sports and won 88 medals; 41 gold, 23 silver and 24 bronze, Australia won a total of 177 medals | |
| 2011 | -European Training Centre opened inGavirate,province of Varese,Italy |
| 2012 | Matt Favier commenced as director of the AIS in March[9] |
| Australia's Winning Edge strategy provides a new leadership direction for the AIS, with national sports organisations taking full responsibility for AIS sports programs at the end of 2013[10] | |
| 2013 | AIS Combat Centre established |
| 2014 | Australian Institute of Sport launched a new brand and logo[11] |
| Annual awards renamed AIS Sport Performance Awards. | |
| The former archery centre converted to the Football Centre | |
| 2017 | Matt Favier resigns as AIS director in June[12] |
| Peter Conde appointed ninth AIS director in August | |
| The NBA Academy opened at the AIS in Canberra, sharing facilities with Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence[13] | |
| 2018 | Australian Government launched the National Sport Plan, Sport 2030 |
| 2019 | The AIS, in partnership with Volleyball Australia launched the first Australian all-weather beach volleyball training facility on the AIS Canberra campus |
| 2020 | The AIS helped to deliver the $6.5m water jump in Brisbane for Australian aspiring Winter Athletes to train at home |
| 2022 | The AIS/ASC published the National Sport Research Agenda[14] |
| The AIS became an active partner in one of 11IOC Research Centres for 2023–2026, led by La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine[15] | |
| 2025 | AIS releases updated National Science and Research Priorities for High Performance Sport ahead of the2028 Summer Olympics[16] |
The AIS employs a number of staff who primarily work inSports Science andSports Medicine, which includes disciplines such assports nutrition, performance analysis, skill acquisition,physiology, recovery,biomechanics, athlete career education,strength andconditioning, psychology,physical therapies, talent identification, and applied performance research.
There are a number of sculptures located throughout the Bruce Campus, such as 'Acrobats', 'Gymnast', 'Pole Vaulter' and 'Soccer Players' byJohn Robinson and the 'Swimmer' byGuy Boyd. After the Sydney 2000 Olympics, two of the three sculptures - ' Gymnast' and 'Wheelchair Basketballer' - that were located on theSydney Tower Eye prior to the Olympics were installed at the AIS.
TheAIS Arena is a 4,200 capacityindoor stadium which has been used for sports such as basketball, gymnastics and volleyball as well as music concerts. Directly adjacent to, but not strictly part of the institute is the 25,000 capacity outdoorCanberra Stadium which has hosted matches of all the major forms offootball played in Australia.
In 2005, 2009, and 2010 the institute won awards at the prestigious Canberra and Capital Region Tourism Awards.[17] These awards were given in recognition of the daily public tours that are available. Each tour, which takes in several different buildings of the institute as well as the arena and the Sportex zone, is led by an athlete currently training there.[18]
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 Rose-Marie Derrico, a design student fromBendigo, Victoria. Her design showed an athlete with hands clasped above the head in recognition of victory. The colours of the logo were red, white and blue, which are the same colours as the Australian flag.
On 3 February 2014, the AIS launched a new logo in line with its new direction as outlined in its Winning Edge program that was launched in 2012.[11]Landor Associates designed the new brand and logo. The gold in the brand representing Australia's pursuit of gold.[19]
From 2014, as a result of Australia's Winning Edge 2012-2023 strategy,[10] the AIS no longer directly offered scholarships to athletes. As a result of the strategy, many national sporting organisations are utilizing the AIS facilities and services on an ongoing or regular basis. Several national sports organisations have located their national centres for excellence at the AIS. These include:Basketball Australia Centre for Excellence,[20]Netball Australia Centre for Excellence,[21]Football Federation of Australia Centre of Excellence,Rowing Australia National Training Centre,Volleyball Australia Centre of Excellence, andSwimming Australia National Training Centre.[citation needed]
The AIS does continue to support other athletes in other sports however they are self funded and not under the National Training Centre banner.[citation needed]
Up until 2013, the AIS offered scholarships to athletes across 36 programs in 26 different sports:[22]
Sports that previously had an AIS program but were discontinued prior to 2013 included:weightlifting,water polo (men),volleyball (women),wrestling,shooting,archery,boxing (1997 - 2010) andgolf. .
The head coach for the AIS boxing program from 1997 to 2010 wasBodo Andreass.
Many prominent Australian athletes have taken up AIS scholarships. In 2001, the AIS established theBest of the Best Award to recognise highly performed AIS athletes. As of 2011, the following athletes have been recognised -Alisa Camplin,Robert De Castella,John Eales,Simon Fairweather,Neil Fuller,Bridgette Gusterson,Rechelle Hawkes,Shane Kelly,Luc Longley,Michelle Martin,Glenn McGrath,Michael Klim,Michael Milton,Clint Robinson,Louise Sauvage,Kate Slatter,Zali Steggall,Mark Viduka,Vicki Wilson,Todd Woodbridge,Lauren Jackson,Chantelle Newbery,Petria Thomas,Kerry Saxby-Junna,Jamie Dwyer,Anna Meares,Malcolm Page,Ricky Ponting,Oenone Wood andMatthew Cowdrey.[23] In August 2013,Stuart O'Grady was indefinitely suspended from the 'Best of the Best' due to his admission to doping in 1998.[24]
TheAustralian Institute of Sport Alumni highlights the many prominent Australian athletes that the AIS has assisted.
Since 1984, the AIS has named an Athlete of the Year. For the first twenty years, the award was predominately made to one athlete only. In 2004 a male and female athlete were awarded with the accolade; and the awarding has varied over the ensuing years.
| Year | Female athlete(s) | Male athlete(s) | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Sport | Name | Sport | ||
| 1984 | Karen Phillips | Swimming | no award | ||
| 1985 | Michele Pearson | Swimming | no award | ||
| 1986 | no award | James Galloway | Rowing | ||
| 1987 | Kerry Saxby | Track and field | no award | ||
| 1988 | Kerry Saxby | Track and field | no award | ||
| 1989 | Kerry Saxby | Track and field | no award | ||
| 1990 | no award | Steve McGlede | Track cycling | ||
| 1991 | Linley Frame | Swimming | no award | ||
| 1992 | no award | Clint Robinson | Flatwater canoeing | ||
| 1993 | World Junior Female Basketball Team | Men's Track Cycling Pursuit Team | |||
| 1994 | Australian Women's Hockey Team | no award | |||
| 1995 | no award | Shane Kelly | Track cycling | ||
| 1996 | Rowing | no award | |||
| 1997 | Louise Sauvage | Track and field | no award | ||
| 1998 | no award | Michael Klim | Swimming | ||
| 1999 | no award | Michael Klim | Swimming | ||
| 2000 | no award | Simon Fairweather | Archery | ||
| 2001 |
| Philippe Rizzo | Gymnastics | ||
| 2002 | Petria Thomas | Swimming | no award | ||
| 2003 | no award | Nathan Baggaley | Flatwater canoeing | ||
| 2004 | Petria Thomas | Swimming | Ryan Bayley | Track cycling | |
| 2005 | no award | ||||
| 2006 | no award | Philippe Rizzo | Gymnastics | ||
| 2007 | Anna Meares | Track cycling | Nathan Deakes | Track and field | |
| 2008 | no award |
| |||
| 2009 | Emma Moffatt | Triathlon | Brenton Rickard | Swimming | |
| 2010 | Lydia Lassila | Freestyle skiing | no award | ||
| 2011 | Anna Meares | Track cycling | no award | ||
| 2012 | Alicia Coutts | Swimming | Tom Slingsby | Sailing | [25] |
| 2013 |
| no award | [26] | ||
| 2014 | Jessica Fox | Slalom canoeing | no award | [27] | |
| 2015 | Emily Seebohm | Swimming | Jason Day | Golf | [28] |
| 2016 | Kim Brennan | Rowing | Kyle Chalmers | Swimming | |
| 2017 | Sally Pearson | Athletics | Scott James | Winter sport | [29] |
AIS was established to provide high level coaching to Australian athletes. Since its establishment in 1981, the AIS has employed highly credentialed Australian and international coaches. Original coaches were -Bill Sweetenham andDennis Pursley (swimming),Wilma Shakespear in netball,Adrian Hurley andPatrick Hunt (basketball), Peter Lloyd and Kazuyu Honda (gymnastics),Jimmy Shoulder (football),Ray Ruffels andHelen Gourlay (tennis), Kelvin Giles,Gary Knoke and Merv Kemp (track and field), and Lyn Jones (weightlifting).
Other notable AIS coaches -Charlie Walsh (cycling),Barry Dancer andRichard Charlesworth(hockey),Terry Gathercole (swimming),Marty Clarke (basketball).
AIS established sports medicine and sports science services and research programs when established in 1981.Dr Dick Telford was its first Co-ordinator of Sports Science and Medicine. Other notable staff have included:Dr Peter Fricker,Professor Allan Hahn,Professor Louise Burke,Dr Bruce Mason andKeith Lyons.
The current Chief Medical Officer of the AIS is David Hughes. The AIS Sports Medicine department in 2020 released guidelines on themanagement of COVID-19 in athletes and a template forreturn to sport in Australia after the Coronavirus lockdown. These guidelines were used by the Australian government National Cabinet and the various Australian state governments to recommend stages for recommencing sport after the vast majority closed down in late March to early May 2020. Generally the doctors working at the AIS have beensports medicine specialists qualified through theAustralasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians.
Under the leadership ofPaolo Menaspà, AIS Chief Science Officer, in March 2022 the AIS released the National High Performance Sport Research Agenda, designed to prioritise resources in areas of critical importance to Australia's high performance sport system.[30] In July 2022 the AIS awarded grants to six Australian research teams, aimed at optimising the performance of alite athletes, coaches and support staff.[31] The document "Recommendations for conducting AIS-supported research in high performance sport" was also released in 2022.[32] The National Sport Research Agenda[14] and the Future of Australian Sport, Megatrends shaping the sport sector over coming decades[33], were released in December 2022. In August 2023 the AIS, together with Australia's Chief ScientistCathy Foley, organised the Quantum Meets Sport workshop[34], a world first which led to the Queensland Government committing $8.5 million to support quantum research with an impact on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games[35][36]. The National Science and Research Priorities for High Performance Sport were updated and released in March 2025, recognising matters that are important to the Australian HP system toward the2028 Summer Olympics.[37]
The AIS and theAustralian Olympic Committee formed the Australian Institute of Winter Sports after the1998 Winter Olympics. The organisation was renamed to the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia on 1 July 2001. It provides training inalpine skiing,freestyle skiing (including aerial and mogul),snowboarding,short track speed skating andfigure skating. It is also a partner with the AIS inskeleton (toboganning).
The Elite Athlete Education Network (EAEN), formerly known as the Elite Athlete Friendly Universities (EAFU) network, is a network of universities and other education providers who are committed to supporting elite student athletes in partnership with the Australian Institute of Sport. The guiding principles which underpin the network include:[38]
The AIS Men's Basketball Program played in theSouth East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) between 1982 and 2010.[39] The team was coached byPatrick Hunt from 1982 to 1992, thenGordie McLeod (1993–97), Frank Arsego (1998–2002), andMarty Clarke (2003–10).[40] They made the playoffs just six times,[40] but behind coach Arsego and future NBA playerAndrew Bogut, the AIS won the 2002East Conference championship.[41][42][43] They went on to lose 98–93 to theHobart Chargers in the 2002National Championship game.[44] Following the 2010 season, the program had a change of direction and withdrew from the SEABL.[45]
In 2014, after Basketball Australia assumed responsibility of the AIS basketball program,[46] the team returned to the SEABL under a new moniker, theBasketball Australia Centre of Excellence (BA CoE).[39] TheAIS women's team originally played in theWNBL from 1983 to 2012, before being resurrected in 2014 alongside the men's team, thus entering the SEABL for the first time.[46]
Both teams were ineligible for the playoffs between 2014 and 2017 due to not playing full seasons. With a change to playing full seasons in 2018, both teams became eligible for the playoffs for the first time.[47] Following the demise of the SEABL, both BA Centre of Excellence teams played in the inauguralNBL1 season in2019.[48]
In 2020 and 2021, both BA Centre of Excellence teams competed in theWaratah League.[49][50][51] The men's team were crowned co-champions of the 2021 season.[52]
In2022, both BA Centre of Excellence teams were entered into the NBL1 as part of a Wildcard conference playing against the top teams from all five NBL1 State Conferences.[53]
In2023, both BA Centre of Excellence teams played in theNBL1 East.[54] In2025, the women's team reach the NBL1 East Grand Final,[55] where they lost 89–61 to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[56][57]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help){{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)In the East Conference, the Australian Institute of Sport beat Geelong Supercats 111-100. Another Giant, Rhys Carter, had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists for the AIS to be chosen finals MVP.
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| National | |
