A slice of the Gold Coast came to Canberra recently, as the Australian Sports Commission welcomed an executive group from the organising committee of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games to the AIS.
With the build-up to the Games in full swing, GOLDOC Chair Peter Beattie, CEO Mark Peters and President of Commonwealth Games Australia Sam Coffa presented a commemorative GC2018 surfboard to ASC CEO Kate Palmer and AIS Director Matt Favier.
The two organisations, along with Commonwealth Games Australia, share a unique partnership. The AIS and Commonwealth Games Australia are combining resources to boost grants to athletes in the lead up to Gold Coast 2018.
The AIS provides $12 million annually in direct grants to athletes, known as dAIS. Commonwealth Games Australia will injected a further $2 million dollars into the dAIS scheme before Gold Coast 2018 and it has already helped support more than 200 athletes across 19 sports. This includes:
topping-up payments to 122 athletes already supported by dAISproviding grants to 86 new emerging athletes.
With just on a year to go to the start of the Games, GOLDOC Chair Peter Beattie says preparations are going smoothly.
“The Commonwealth Games are on track, they’re on budget and they’re on time and they’re going to be sensational and you’re going to love every bit of it as athletes from all over the world come,” Mr Beattie said.
ASC CEO Kate Palmer encouraged all visitors to Canberra to get behind Australia’s athletes.
“From our perspective we want everyone that comes to this to precinct - and there are thousands of people that do - to actually walk past the surfboard and remember that they need to go out and buy a ticket and watch the Commonwealth Games at a home games, “ she said. “I know our athletes are really excited about that opportunity to compete in a home Games, there’s nothing like that.”
Athletes Chris Remkes (Gymnastics), Jess Aungles (Para Swimming) and Rachel Neylan (Cycling) attended the handover ceremony and are aiming to compete at a home Commonwealth Games.
"The Commonwealth Games is a big goal for me over the next 12 months," Neylan said. "There is a real high-performance drop-in hub here in Canberra ... there are some of the best sports science and sports medicine brains in the world."
Attribution: Australian Sports Commission — http://www.ausport.gov.au.