Canberra - a winning location for sports science and administration

More than 500 entities and businesses are directly involved in the sport and recreation sector in Canberra, employing over 7,000 people and contributing to an annual turnover of more than A$1 billion.

Strengths in the sector include:

• facility development and management;
• event management and promotion;
• sports medicine services;
• product design and innovation; and
• coaching and programs aimed at increasing health and participation in sport and recreation.

Employment in the sector has grown strongly - for example, by 82% in the racing industry and 107% in sports and physical education services between 1996 and 2001.

Canberra's national league teams, including rugby's Brumbies, rugby league's Raiders and basketball's Capitals, have achieved huge success in their fields.

At the community level, Canberra's adults and children are 5.5% more likely to participate in sport and recreation than the rest of Australia - a result of the quality of the region's sport systems, infrastructure and facilities.

Businesses in Canberra are tapping into Australia's growing export markets for sporting goods and services. The market will be worth an estimated A$1.3 billion by 2006.

Canberra's main sports exports include:

• institution building;
• education;
• coaching;
• sports science and medicine; and
• events and sports tourism.

The focus is on emerging markets such as China, South East Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and the South Pacific as well as the UK and Northern England.

Sport science and performance

Canberra is home to the powerhouses behind Australia's worldwide reputation for sporting prowess and achievement . These are -

• the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)  and the
• the Australian Sports Commission (ASC)

Canberra is also the base for a number of peak industry bodies and national sporting organisations including the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) and the Confederation of Australian Sport . Canberra's sports sector is vibrant and burgeoning as the ACT has built the skills, knowledge and export outlook to capitalise on a market worth an estimated A$1.3 billion.

The AIS is acclaimed as a world best practice model for elite athlete development. It's reputation for excellence in sports training is based on a record of achievement, world-class facilities and sports science and sports medicine services. It employs some of the world’s leading authorities in physiology, biomechanics, psychology, performance analysis, nutrition and sports medicine.

The ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) is part of a national network of elite training centres across Australia that develop athletes in a local setting.

ACTAS provides up to 275 scholarships and services covering more than 30 sports and works closely with services at the AIS. ACTAS athletes have been extremely successful, having won 11 gold, 8 silver and 11 bronze medals in successive Commonwealth and Olympic Games - a total of 30 medals in 23 events since 1998.

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) sets national sports policies and funds national sporting organisations in Australia on behalf of the Australian Government. Its task is twofold:

• to develop elite sporting excellence through the AIS; and
• to get more Australians involved in everyday sport and recreational activity.

National organisations use the Australian Sports Commission's support and advice to make their sports more inviting, safer and better managed and more commercially focused.

Sport and RecreationACT is the local governing body for sports policy and development comprising the ACT Academy of Sport, Sport and Recreation Development and Policy units.

State sporting organisations use Sport and RecreationACT’s support to develop better management practices, sports infrastructure and professionalism, elite athlete success and to increase local sport and recreation participation.

Sport and RecreationACT works closely with ACTSport , Canberra's local sports industry group, to deliver a variety of programs aimed at educating the local sports sector and achieving the above goals.

Graduates from the University of Canberra's (UC) Centre for Sports Studies now fill a large number of key professional positions in the sports industry in Australia and overseas. The Centre offers undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in coaching science, sports management and sports media.

The Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) also offers certificate and associate diploma qualifications in sport and recreation coaching and administration. Students are able to seek credit for prior learning if they choose to go onto the sports studies degree program at the University of Canberra.