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Australian Institute Of Sport




The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a specialised educational and training institution providing coaching for elite junior and senior athletes in a number of sports, many of them Olympic sports but including a number of others.

The Institute's headquarters is sited 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. It is a division of the Australian Sports Commission .

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 and for elite sporting programs) are regarded as a major reason for Australia's disproportionate success in international sporting competition.

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 programs for the following sports:
  • Archery, artistic gymnastics, athletes with disabilities, basketball, boxing, netball, rowing, soccer (men), soccer (women), triathlon, swimming, athletics, mens volleyball and water polo (men) administered from Canberra

  • Diving, squash, softball and cricket (men & women), administered from Brisbane

  • Sprint canoeing administered from the Gold Coast

  • Road cycling and track cycling administered from Adelaide

  • Australian football, tennis and winter sports (in partnership with the Olympic Winter Institute) administered from Melbourne

  • Golf administered from Mornington Peninsula (Victoria)

  • Rugby union (in partnership with the Australian Rugby Institute), Athletes with a Disability (AWD) - Alpine Skiing, sailing and Water Polo (women) and rugby league administered from Sydney

  • Hockey administered from Perth.


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, pyschology 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 Women's National Basketball League , South East Australian Basketball League and the Commonwealth Bank Trophy Netball League.


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) .


STATE/TERRITORY INSTITUTES AND ACADEMIES OF SPORT

In addition to the Australian Institute of Sport, each of the Australian states and territories operates their own institute or academy of sport (commonly referred to as the SIS/SAS network). Like the AIS, the institutes and academies seek to further the development of elite sport in their state or territory.


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