That’s a wrap: December at the AIS and a look back at 2025

It’s been another big year at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), and there’s no signs of slowing down as we race towards the end of 2025. 

Christmas might be just a week away, but the AIS Campus remains a hive of activity. 

Nearly 500 athletes and support staff from seven sports are on site this month for 11 high performance camps, including four Gymnastics Australia development camps, a Table Tennis Australia youth camp, and Artistic Swimming Australia’s junior and senior squads. 

Opals legend Lauran Jackson’s She Hoops program also returned with a camp to boost the skills and confidence of young women in basketball. 

Meanwhile, the AIS Arena has been abuzz with basketball action, hosting a Sydney Kings versus Adelaide 36ers NBL clash alongside WNBL University of Canberra Capitals games. 

Around the ground in 2025 

The AIS Campus supported an extensive calendar of events this year, including 25 swimming and 50 athletics carnivals, nine national championships, several local and state-level competitions, and multi-day conferences and learning workshops. 

The AIS Arena hosted 33 events in 2025 and continues to attract strong crowds, including when the venue transformed into an ice rink for the Canberra Brave and when it hosted Australia’s first international boccia championship in more than a decade.  

A campus refresh is enhancing the on-site experience with new interactive Sportex exhibits, the introduction of premium tours, a refreshed synthetic field, new Altitude House accommodation, and an environmental chamber nearing completion, with more exciting works to come as part of the AIS Podium Project. 

High performance action  

In addition to the sport programs based at the AIS year-round, almost 6,000 athletes, staff and coaches from 33 sports attended 187 high performance camps over the past 12 months. 

Many of these camps played a critical role in preparing athletes for major international competitions, with June and July bringing in several winter athletes preparing for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The campus also welcomed a range of international teams including the British and Irish Lions rugby union team, the USA women’s rugby team and New Zealand’s VolleyFerns.    Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year in sport, with January set to host nearly double the number of high performance training camps at the AIS, including 11 dedicated to swimming and athletics alone. 

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