Athletes across the country are big winners after the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Board last week allocated a record amount of funding to national sporting organisations (NSOs). After receiving bids from many NSOs, the ASC injected sports with record amounts - over $23 million - of new high performance funding.

These strategic investments, allocated to help drive Australia's continued sporting success, will be used by NSOs to fund high performance outcomes. These funding investments range from $200 000 to $3 million per annum, benefiting 25 Olympic, Paralympic and non-Olympic Australian sporting bodies.

Chair of the ASC Board the Hon. Warwick Smith AM said the extra funding is part of the largest package ever allocated to Australian sport.

'This is a package of firsts, in that it's the single biggest investment in our sporting history, the largest level of funding ever provided to Paralympic sport and the first time key sport partners, such as state and territory institutes and academies of sport and state and territory departments of sport and recreation, have collaborated on a Commonwealth funding decision in the interests of Australia's sporting future,' Mr Smith said.

'We believe that this high performance funding will provide exciting new opportunities for Australian sporting organisations and the elite athletes that all Australians are so proud of.

'This was a record amount yet a finite amount, and we were not able to provide all NSOs with extra financial support,' Mr Smith said. 'We have distributed the funding as evenly and responsibly as possible and believe this will help spearhead Australian elite sport through to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and beyond.'

This funding is in addition to the current baseline high performance funding NSOs will continue to receive. On top of this support, the ASC will continue to assist sporting organisations with access to coaching and officiating programs, governance support, planning and education opportunities and assistance with becoming more inclusive - particularly in the areas of Indigenous sport, women's sport, disabled sport and junior sport.

The Government tasked the ASC with implementing the new direction and distribution of funding as part of the Australian sport reform package Australian Sport: The Pathway to Success.

The ASC will continue to work closely with sports to assist them in strengthening their case for future bids so that all sports have the potential to access extra funding.

The ASC determined how best to invest the additional high performance funding using an improved assessment framework based on the existing 'Excellence, Relevance and Effectiveness' criteria.

Mr Smith welcomed the support of both sides of politics for this allocation of high performance funding immediately, to meet the needs of sports.