With the result of the Federal election now decided a new Minister for Sport has been appointed.

On behalf of all at the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Board members we would like to officially welcome Senator the Hon. Mark Arbib to the role.

The ASC looks forward to forming a strong relationship with the Minister as we continue to implement the new direction for Australian sport on behalf of the Government.

Minister Arbib comes to the role at an exciting time for sport in this country as we move to enhance our sporting system to ensure continued international success, strengthen sporting pathways and increase the number of Australians participating in sport.

High performance funding allocations

After several months of consultation and liaison between the ASC and our Australian sport system partners it was very pleasing to see the new additional high performance funding allocations announced early in September.

Ultimately the big winners in this announcement are Australia's elite athletes who'll benefit from the allocation to national sporting organisations of $23.2 million in new high performance sport funding. The new high performance funding injections range from $200 000 to $3 million per annum, benefiting 25 Olympic, Paralympic and non-Olympic Australian sporting bodies.

Now that the Federal election result is confirmed, the ASC will look to finalise processing bids for new participation funding and ensure that it is appropriately allocated to deliver the Government's desired increase in sports participation at all levels.

Commonwealth Games

We would like to acknowledge all of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athletes competing at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, which start early next month.

The ASC has always made the effort to stop and acknowledge what a special achievement it is for an athlete to be selected to represent their country. The Commission has a long tradition of making a strong contribution to our Commonwealth Games success and we are sure our current representatives will do us all proud.

We also wish to acknowledge the AIS coaches and support staff who have been selected to go to Delhi. We know your hard work and dedication in supporting our elite athletes plays a significant role in their success. 

Good luck to all involved in Delhi 2010.

The Hon. Warwick Smith AM
Chairman ASC Board

Prof. Peter Fricker OAM
Acting Chief Executive Officer ASC