11 sporting organisations secure funding for infrastructure projects across Australia

More than $1.15 million has been awarded by the Australian Government and Australian Institute of Sport to 11 National Sporting Organisations. The funding will boost the sporting infrastructure projects for Artistic Swimming, Boxing Australia, Diving Australia, Fencing Australia, Judo Australia, Skate Australia, Snow Australia, Softball Australia, Surfing Australia, Volleyball Australia and Wheelchair Rugby.

Following a record medal haul at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Snow Australia is one of the 11 sports set to benefit from the latest round of the AIS’s $2.5 million Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program.

The grant to Snow Australia will fund new gym equipment and infrastructure at the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne. It is among a host of projects, including a soft-land air-bag for Diving Australia in Brisbane, video equipment for Wheelchair Rugby in Melbourne, specialist training mats for Judo Australia and electronic daily training equipment for Artistic Swimming in Perth.

Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck says the targeted grants program is about ensuring all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports had the opportunity to grow and noted “this program is aimed at some sports with smaller AIS-funding budgets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have big aspirations to grow and take on the world’s best.

“We saw recently how Australia’s Winter Olympic team collected a record four medals in Beijing. Skate Australia and Surfing Australia got medals in their Olympic debuts in Tokyo last year. These are sports that are going to benefit from this grants program.

“With these latest grants, the AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program has now committed more than $2.1million to 20 National Sporting Organisations.”

AIS Director Sport Strategy and Investment Alex Newton says the Small NSO Infrastructure Grant is an example of how AIS funding meets the unique needs of sports.

“Supported by the Australian Government, the AIS recently committed $257 million in long-term funding to Olympic and Paralympic sports in preparation for the 2024 Paris Games. That gives sports greater clarity and certainty to plan ahead. In addition, initiatives like the AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program give us the opportunity to consult with sports to identify targeted projects that will build their high performance sporting environments.  We have been delighted with the projects we have been able to fund so far, and with one grant round left in April, we encourage any small NSO who has an infrastructure project to get in touch with us.”

The AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grants awarded in this round include:

• Artistic Swimming: Training equipment for National Training Centre in Perth, including underwater cameras.

• Boxing Australia: Software for online coaching tools for pathway athletes, and strength and condition equipment

• Diving Australia: Training equipment for Brisbane Podium Centre, including Air Bag for soft landing training

• Fencing Australia: Training equipment for the National Training Centres in Sydney and Melbourne, including video technology, fencing dummies and strength and conditioning equipment.

• Judo Australia: Specialist training and competition mats for five full mat areas.

• Skate Australia: Video technology and associated IT infrastructure.

• Snow Australia: Rubberised flooring and gym equipment for National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne

• Softball Australia: Video technology and analysis software/hardware

• Surfing Australia: Video technology and analysis software/hardware

• Volleyball Australia: portable solution office space at the Beach courts in Brisbane.

• Wheelchair Rugby: Video technology and analysis software/hardware

Fresh from a record medal haul for Australia at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chief Executive of Snow Australia, Michael Kennedy, says the grant will help to equip the gym at the upgraded National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) in Jindabyne. The total $11.5 million NSTC project is underway and includes an airbag jump, strength and conditioning facilities, sports science and a learning hub for athletes. It is funded in partnership between the NSW Government, Snow Australia and philanthropist John Hancock.

“With the project now underway, Snow Australia is delighted to receive support from the AIS by way of a funding grant for key high performance infrastructure components for the NSTC Building,” Kennedy says. “The funding will deliver specialised high performance flooring throughout the high performance spaces in the building along with funding to purchase new gym equipment to fit out the expanded gym space. We are grateful for the support of the AIS at this critical initial stage of the project development and look forward to a great partnership from an NSTC perspective for many years to come.”

National Sporting Organisations outlined their plans for the grants

National High Performance Director of Surfing Australia Kate Wilcomes says the grant enables the sport to continue advancing its coaching analysis from its Olympic debut in Tokyo last year: “The AIS Small NSO Infrastructure grant will support Australian Surfers in having access to a world-class video coaching platform, and technological systems to enhance performance. The aim is to maximise surfers’ training time in both training and competitive surfing environments.”

National Performance Director of Wheelchair Rugby for Paralympics Australia Paul Kiteley says: “The AIS Small NSO Infrastructure grant funding will have a profound and positive impact on the day-to-day training design and athlete feedback processes of the Australian Wheelchair Rugby program. The funding will enable us to install and gain access to multiple camera angles and a pan-tilt-zoom camera at our major training hubs, with the ability to access the footage live using an iOS device. This will provide insights and information greater than we have been able to achieve previously and allow the coaching and analysis team to provide immediate vital feedback to athletes.”

Skate Australia snared a gold medal in its Olympic debut in Tokyo last year with Keegan Palmer and High Performance Systems Lead David Aitken says the grant is a big boost for Paris 2024 preparations: “This grant provides us with the opportunity to fast-track our resource development within the critical area of performance analysis both within competition and training. Performance analysis coupled with performance modelling and prediction has already proven to have a positive impact for the sport. Resources from this grant, combined with some great coaches and motivated performance analysts and data scientists, will hopefully lead to even better outcomes in 2024 and beyond.”

General Manager of Boxing Australia Dinah Glykidis says the grant will greatly assist the development of emerging high performance boxers across the country. “This grant will enhance our Futures Program nationally with various equipment to be distributed to our State Futures Program to ensure our upcoming athletes have world-class equipment to further improve training. An online video analysis system will be introduced to assist our National Coach to start to work with our State Futures Coaches to improve training techniques and overall performance. This will provide the athletes on a smaller scale the expectations and to assist with their transition into the High-Performance Program.”  

Image: National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne