The Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis today officially opened the new Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) Halls of Residence at the AIS Campus in Bruce, Canberra.

• The new AIS Halls of Residence is a key part in the Australian Government’s $74 million commitment (announced in the May Federal Budget of 2002) to the redevelopment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to ensure the continuous improvement and future success of Australian sport.

• The three-storey $20 million athlete residences will accommodate 144 live-in scholarship holders in state-of-the-art, self-contained units for elite Australian athletes.

• Other key elements of the AIS redevelopment project include a new $17 million AIS hub for sports science and medicine, a $17 million Recovery and Swimming Centre with a high-tech 50 metre 10 lane pool and a new sports development centre for the Australian Sports Commission.

• AIS facilities and services have been improved and transformed by the Australian Government’s $74 million AIS redevelopment project.

• The AIS was officially opened by the then Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Malcolm Fraser in 26 January 1981. The Institute was established as Australia’s national centre for the training and development of elite athletes and teams.

• The foundation eight sports programs include basketball, gymnastics, netball, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field and weightlifting.

• The original AIS Residence opened in 1985 and consisted of 21 flats, a dining room, study and recreational facilities. Some of the first athletes in residence at this time included Luc Longley (basketball), Darren Cahill (tennis) and Vicki Wilson (netball).

• Over 26 years, the AIS has evolved into the nation’s premier sports training institution, making a major contribution to Australia’s sporting success by identifying, developing and producing champions.

• More than 6,000 athletes have passed through the AIS since its establishment in 1981. By 2006, approximately 700 athletes were on scholarship at the Institute in 35 separate programs across 26 sports.

• The AIS offers up to 700 athlete scholarships annually. These athletes receive top-level coaching, access to equipment, sports science and sports medicine facilities, accommodation, meals and travel, and assistance with education and career planning.

• AIS nutrition caters for AIS athletes in the dining hall serving per week up to 1100 litres milk, 960 tubs yoghurt, 860 litres juice and 120 kilograms of bananas.

Media contact: Richard Howes on (02) 6214 1456 or 0408 662 123 or Media Manager Simon Langford on 0418 605 541

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

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