The Australian Government and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) have delivered a big boost to 11 smaller National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), awarding more than $1.15m for sporting infrastructure projects around the country.

Following a record medal haul at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Snow Australia is one of the 11 sports set to benefit from the latest round of the AIS’s $2.5 million Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program.

The grant to Snow Australia will fund new gym equipment and infrastructure at the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne. It is among a host of projects, including a soft-land air-bag for Diving Australia in Brisbane, video equipment for Wheelchair Rugby in Melbourne, specialist training mats for Judo Australia and electronic daily training equipment for Artistic Swimming in Perth.

Sports Minister Richard Colbeck says the targeted grants program is about ensuring all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports had the opportunity to grow.

“This program is aimed at sports with smaller budgets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have big aspirations to grow and take on the world’s best,” Minister Colbeck says.

“We saw recently how Australia’s Winter Olympic team collected a record four medals in Beijing. Skate Australia and Surfing Australia got medals in their Olympic debuts in Tokyo last year. These are sports that are going to benefit from this grants program.

“With these latest grants, the AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program has now committed more than $2.1million to 20 National Sporting Organisations.”

AIS Director Sport Strategy and Investment Alex Newton says the Small NSO Infrastructure Grant is an example of how AIS funding meets the unique needs of sports.

“Supported by the Australian Government, the AIS recently committed $257m in long-term funding to Olympic and Paralympic sports in preparation for the 2024 Paris Games. That gives sports greater clarity and certainty to plan ahead. In addition, initiatives like the AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grant program give us the opportunity to consult with sports to identify targeted projects that will build their high performance sporting environments.  We have been delighted with the projects we have been able to fund so far, and with one grant round left in April, we encourage any small NSO who has an infrastructure project to get in touch with us.”

The AIS Small NSO Infrastructure Grants awarded in this round include:

• Artistic Swimming: Training equipment for National Training Centre, including underwater cameras.
• Boxing Australia: Software for online coaching tools for pathway athletes, and strength and condition equipment
• Diving Australia: Training equipment for Brisbane Podium Centre, including Air Bag for soft landing training
• Fencing Australia: Training equipment for the National Training Centres in Sydney and Melbourne, including video technology, fencing dummies and strength and conditioning equipment.
• Judo Australia: Specialist training and competition mats for five full mat areas.
• Skate Australia: Video technology and associated IT infrastructure.
• Snow Australia: Rubberised flooring and gym equipment for National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne
• Softball Australia: Video technology and analysis software/hardware
• Surfing Australia: Video technology and analysis software/hardware
• Volleyball Australia: portable solution office space at the Beach courts in Brisbane.
• Wheelchair Rugby: Video technology and analysis software/hardware

Performance Pathway Director of Artistic Swimming, Richard Vaughan, says “the grant will help to equip the new national training centre which is supported by Hancock Prospecting. We will have a state of art under and above water camera system which can be viewed side by side, integrated with video analysis software which will allow the coaches to provide increased support to athletes. There will also be a new underwater speaker, athlete coach team communication headsets and team heart rate tracking technology.”