It is undoubtedly a critical time for sport with London 2012 in our sights, and it’s inspiring to see so many Australian athletes in preparation for medal winning performances at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Following the Minister for Sport Mark Arbib’s announcement of the Green and Gold project to support targeted Olympic sports, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has already seen an influx of state institute-based athletes. Swimmer Geoff Huegill, who announced his comeback to Olympic competition in January, is just one of the athletes to use the world-renown facilities at the AIS as part of his training.

The recent renewal of the AIS’s Olympic Training Centre status is an important step in continuing to drive Australia’s Olympic success. Its Olympic training status acknowledges the central role the AIS plays in supporting our athletes on their journey to London. Just as importantly, it demonstrates that the ASC is working closely with the likes of the Australian Olympic Committee along with state and territory institutes and academies of sport to ensure we can give our elite athletes the best possible support, now and into the future.

Launch of the European Training Centre

Earlier this month we officially opened the doors of ASC’s new European Training Centre (ETC) in Varese, Italy. This represents a significant milestone as Australian athletes now have a home away from home when training for international competition. It is fantastic that our athletes can access world-class and Australian-managed facilities in close proximity to many of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, including the upcoming London Olympics and Paralympics.

The ETC will be used by many sports including rowing, cycling, canoeing, athletics, triathlon, volleyball, basketball, tennis, archery, shooting – and the list goes on. As well as accommodation, the centre will provide world-class training facilities and services such as sports science and sports medicine, strength and conditioning and athlete career and education support where it is needed by our athletes competing in Europe.

ASC business changes to better support Australian sport

The ASC has recently finalised a number of organisational changes to ensure we can deliver on the government’s sport agenda and best support Australian sport. Like all government agencies we are operating in a tight financial environment. In response to some of the challenges we have faced in finding efficiencies and demonstrating our value, we have made some modifications to our structure, as well as reducing planned staffing levels and other operating costs.

We have combined the Sport Leadership and Community Sport Divisions to form the new Sport Strategy and Participation Division. These structural changes aim to ensure we can provide the leadership needed by Australian sport along with the necessary funding and organisational support in the most cost effective manner. 

The bottom line is that none of the additional funding of $48.3 million per annum will be used by the ASC. The $2.3 million originally proposed to be allocated to the ASC to enable it to implement the ‘Pathway to Success’ reforms will now be directed to sport initiatives including increased sports science and sports medicine research, grant funding for national sporting organisations and a new multicultural youth sport partnership program.

CEO dialogue

Last week I met with nearly 30 CEOs from national sporting organisations in Sydney and Melbourne as part of my ongoing dialogue with them on key issues facing them and Australian sport.

Among a wide variety of discussion points, these dialogues identified how the ASC can better support national sporting organisations in building and strengthening their relationships with state and territory governments as part of the overall goal of building a more cohesive and effective sport system. There is clear recognition by CEOs of the importance of forging strong relationships with state and territory sports agencies, particularly to ensure coherence of effort in areas such as participation growth strategies and sporting organisations’ business development activities. The ASC is committed to supporting engagements between these system partners.

Until next time
Matt Miller