It has been called the toughest sport in the world. It requires aggression, flair, strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, strength, dedication, control and many other skills. It also requires mental toughness and resolve. Gymnastics is a demanding sport, but it is also a close-knit sport. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Gymnastics program offers scholarship holders a chance to train to be the world's best while remaining in a warm and caring environment.

About AIS Gymnastics

Gymnastics was one of the eight founding sports of the AIS in 1981. It is based in Canberra and offers residential scholarships for males and females.

Although the major goal of the Gymnastics program is to develop gymnasts who can achieve Olympic results, the AIS and its staff have a holistic philosophy to each individual gymnast. They must grow and develop in all spheres of their personal development - educationally, socially, physically, morally, spiritually and, of course, gymnastically. If any of these components are ignored, the final gymnastic result will be impaired.

The AIS Gymnastics program has as its major tasks the development of internationally competitive gymnasts, and ensuring that each individual achieves in all other aspects of their life, such as education, social and moral development. With this in mind, the program is much more difficult than the club programs which provide gymnastic coaching to the community. The commitment by the gymnast and family is great and the demands are high, but ultimately the rewards are great. The more professional approach to gymnastics is a major change to the perception of the sport by the Australian community and the gymnastics community.

AIS scholarship holders have access to the world-class training hall with all equipment set up on a permanent basis. There is a 30m x 2m concrete pit filled with foam rubber, which is used for training. Recent advances to the facilities include the addition of plasma screen televisons attached to video cameras which can be focused on different apparatus and areas of the gym. This allows the athelete to complete a routine or skill and with the delayed feed back feature watch their routine or skill with the coach to correct and modify their technique.

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Australia is one of only two nations to have competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games

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