New sports program
all funds and games

A new high performance game plan to move Australian sport from world class to world best has been unveiled by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC).
   Chair of the Commission, John Wylie said Australia’s Winning Edge outlined a new business model for the nation’s high performance sport sector.
   Mr Wylie said the plan sets out a course for Australia to become a top five nation at the Olympics and Paralympics; top 15 at the winter Olympics and Paralympics; No. 1 at the Commonwealth Games and home to more than 20 world champions annually.
Commission to boost sports success
   “In the past our international sporting achievements were the envy of the world,” Mr Wylie said.
   “However, many countries have now replicated our innovations and tapped in to our expertise.”
   He said international competition was intensifying and improving all the time and Australians wanted and expected the ASC to respond to the challenge and restore the nation’s pre-eminent position in world sport.
   “To do this we need a long-term plan to invest in sports where there is the best chance of success, implement a robust and goal-oriented planning cycle and ensure best practice governance and the right support is in place.”
   Mr Wylie said a new model of funding for sports would also be adopted, based on a set of investment principles that assessed a sport’s ability to contribute to the targets.
   He said the details of how sports performed against their plans would be made public every year through a State of Sports report giving transparency to national and international performance.
   He said there would be a greater focus on investing, developing and retaining coaches and more money would be invested in supporting more athletes.
   Talent identification is to become a focus with an annual ‘Sports Draft Camp’ to spot potential champions in Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.
   Chief executive of the ASC, Simon Hollingsworth said the plan in no way diminished the achievements of Australia’s athletes over the past decade.
   “However, in any area of human endeavour, there is one truism – past success is no guarantee of future performance,” Mr Hollingsworth said.
   “The success of these changes is dependent on all involved in high performance sport working together to move from world class to world best,” he said.
   The full game plan Australia’s Winning Edge can be accessed at this PS News link.
Edition 342, 4 December 2012
Have Your Say On This Story!comment
print
pdf
Email a friend

Click to visit the PSshop
Next