Meet some of the AIS team who will be behind-the-scenes in Birmingham

29 July 2022

The AIS is proud of our role supporting this Commonwealth Games campaign, including those in our own AIS family who are on the ground in Birmingham.

All the focus will deservedly be on our Australian athletes in Birmingham, with the team of more than 430 athletes ready to perform and inspire their families, friends, communities and Australia.

The AIS is proud of our role supporting this Commonwealth Games campaign, including those in our own AIS family who are on the ground in Birmingham.

Meet some of the AIS team who will be behind-the-scenes in Birmingham delivering support across areas such as medicine, psychology, recovery, physiotherapy and logistics.

AIS PhD Scholar Dr Mat Mooney will monitor Team Australia’s health in Birmingham using new portable BioFire units.

AIS PhD Scholar Dr Mat Mooney will monitor Team Australia’s health in Birmingham using new portable BioFire units. The AIS’s early investment in the cutting-edge medical technology will enable rapid lab-quality testing at the Games so that hundreds of athletes and staff can receive a quick and accurate diagnosis, then provided with targeted care or returned quickly to training and competition.

“Communicable disease is the most frequent cause of time lost to training and competition. Anything we can do to reduce the burden of illness in the team throughout the Games is going to pay dividends from a performance perspective,” said Mat.

AIS Clinician and Mental Health Manager with the AIS Mental Health Referral Network Matt Butterworth will be one of two Team Psychologists who will directly support staff and athletes across the Australian Team with their psychological needs.

“Being the AIS Mental Health Manager allows me and my team to help whole populations of people within sport, so it is great to be able to support the Australian Team in Birmingham as well as seeing people coming together from around the world, striving for their best performance,” said Matt.

AIS Clinician and Mental Health Manager with the AIS Mental Health Referral Network Matt Butterworth will be one of two Team Psychologists.

AIS REST Hub Senior Adviser Steph Shell will head Team Australia’s recovery from competition as Lead Recovery Physiologist in Birmingham, assisted by AIS Senior Recovery Physiologist Alice Wallett. The pair will coordinate the official team Recovery Hub, which includes ice baths, inflatable compression, and cooling or heating strategies at competition venues and accommodation sites.

“I am looking forward to sharing my first Commonwealth Games experience with my colleague Steph Shell,” said Alice. “We started at AIS together in 2016 as Post Graduate Scholars fresh out of university. Since then, we have both graduated our PhD’s, gone to our first Olympic Games together and now work closely in the REST Hub!”

AIS REST Hub Senior Adviser Steph Shell and AIS Senior Recovery Physiologist Alice Wallett are in Birmingham.

AIS Senior Physiotherapist Josh Rigg will work directly with the Gymnastics team, while AIS High Performance Camps Project Officer Caren Hugginson and Leadership and CultureProject Officer Nathan Johnson will provide valuable support to the athletes and teams via the HQ Operations Team at the main athlete village.

“We will be the beating heart of the village ensuring everything is running as smoothly as possible, and to get everyone where they need to go!,” said Johnson who is proud to be wearing the green and gold. “This is my first major Games experience and while not competing, it’s an honour to represent one’s country and hope to play a part in helping our athletes and support staff achieve their goals.”

The AIS invests strongly in our Commonwealth Games athletes and campaigns, through funding, innovation and technology, medicine and sport science, wellbeing and community engagement, coaching and leadership, and high performance facilities.

Check out more stories that show how the AIS is proud to be part of every Games athlete.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games | Australian Institute of Sport (ais.gov.au)

Culture Project Officer Nathan Johnson will provide valuable support to the athletes and teams via the HQ Operations Team at the main athlete village.