Sports Science and Administration
The establishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra almost 30 years ago has been the catalyst for the development of significant sports science and sports administration expertise.
Outstanding athletic performances combined with skilled coaches, world-class facilities and cutting-edge sports science and sports medicine services have given the AIS an international reputation as a world's best practice model for high performance athlete development. This capability is now beginning to leverage related sports industry investment and expertise to Canberra.
The AIS specialises in the sport science areas of nutrition, biomechanics, physiology, and performance psychology. In recent years, a number of spin-off sports companies have emerged from Canberra, supplying expertise and sytems to Australian and international customers.
The Institute's Applied Research Centre is focused on increasing the capacity for research across diverse disciplines that comprise the Sports Science and Sports Medicine Departments of the AIS. The Centre welcomes external collaborators who can demonstrate technology or innovation that will have a direct performance outcome for AIS athletes.
The AIS currently offers scholarships to 700 athletes each year in 36 separate programs, covering 30 sports. The Institute employs around 75 coaches to help elite athletes achieve their goals and maximise their performance. Since the establishment of the AIS, the number of medals won by Australian athletes at the Summer Olympic Games increased from five in 1976 to a peak of 58 at the Sydney Games in 2000. A total of 142 medals have been won by athletes from the AIS since its establishment.
The ACT has the highest sports and physical recreation participation rate of any jurisdiction in Australia at 79.5 per cent, and a variety of state-of-the-art sporting facilities. It is also the only Australian city within two hours drive to the snowfields and associated alpine sports.
Case Study: AIS Altitude House
Endurance athletes benefit from living at altitude and training at sea level. An increased volume of red blood cells have proven to have a beneficial effect on the athlete's performance.
But what if you live in a country without the opportunity to live at altitude? The AIS tackled this problem by developing the Altitude House. Using technology developed in collobaration with a small Canberra technology business Kinetic Performance, the AIS built a facility that enables athletes to live and sleep at altitude, without leaving the AIS. The Altitude House has three bedrooms, a kitchen and bathrooms - effectively a small hotel located within the AIS Physiology Department.
The technology developed by Kinetic Performance uses an innovative model designed on safety, low maintenance and cost effectiveness. Altitude training has become a critical part of the endurance athlete's preparation and the AIS Altitude House is in constant demand by some of Australia's leading athletes. The concept has spread both domestically and globally.
Case Study: AIS Technology Pool
Swimming is by far Australia's most successful Olympic sport. Many have cited Australia's vast coastline and warm weather as the major reasons for this success. Science and technology have made an important contribution with the development, for example, of the AIS Technology Pool. Dr Bruce Mason, with 25 years of expertise in swimming, designed the pool with the bold goal of developing the most innovative swimming facility in the world.
The pool has over 50 cameras positioned both above and below the water. Every movement of the swimmer is captured, analysed and fed back in real time, enabling coaches and athletes to receive instantaneous feedback on performance. Instrumented start blocks provide information on starting technique, which is critical in sprint events.
Recently, through collaboration with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation (CSIRO), the AIS has embarked on an ambitious project in 'computational fluid dynamics' and 'small particle hydrodynamics'. The results will give Australian coaches cutting edge modelling on swimming performance and where gains can be made. Another collaborative project with Canberra based organisation National ICT Australia (NICTA) has seen the development of an algorithm that quantifies swimming training loads.
For further information contact:
www.ausport.gov.au
www.business.act.gov.au
Phone Canberra Connect:
1800 244 650 (Australia)
+61 13 22 81 (International)
