It has been an exciting year for Australian sport and we now turn to celebrating the achievements of our athletes and teams on the world stage at national awards ceremonies.

There will be an opportunity for the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and its partners to recognise some outstanding performances by our athletes and teams at the AIS Awards taking place at the AIS Arena in Canberra on Friday, 16 November.

There is a strong list of contenders of Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists among this year’s AIS Athlete of the Year Awards finalists including: Tom Slingsby and Malcolm Page (sailing); Evan O’Hanlon (athletics); Ellie Cole (Paralympic swimming); Anna Meares (cycling) and Alicia Coutts (swimming).

In an eventful month, the AIS continues its leadership role for high performance sport in Australia, hosting the World Class to World Best: Australia’s High Performance Sports Conference 2012 in Canberra from 21-23 November.

The conference will bring together high performance coaches, directors, managers and support staff to discuss approaches to support performance sports in Australia.

It will focus on strategies and approaches to achieving high performance outcomes and increased international success and highlight the themes of athlete pathways, coaching, program psychology and leadership for high performance sport. 

While on the topic of High Performance, stay tuned for forthcoming announcements on the ASC’s proposed strategic direction to get Australia back at the top of its game on the world sporting stage.

Registrations have also opened for Australia’s leading sports forum: Our Sporting Future (OSF) 2013 taking place in Melbourne from 10–12 April 2013. Put this date in your diaries and take advantage of the special early bird registration. 

OSF 2013 will provide a great networking opportunity for our partners within the sport sector and offer practical insights into leading strategies and current ideas integral to the growth of Australia’s sporting success.

In other news, the ASC Annual Report 2011-12 was tabled in Parliament last month. Copies of the report are now available on the ASC website.

Until next time.

Simon Hollingsworth

ASC CEO