With the London Olympic and Paralympic Games just over 250 days away, the best sporting minds in the country are taking two of those days out to gather at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to finalise their Winning Ways for London.
The 2011 National Elite Sports Council (NESC) Forum, themed Winning Ways, will begin at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra this morning.
The two day conference which has attracted over 300 delegates from across Australia’s high performance sector will be crucial in outlining a pathway in the lead up to London and beyond. Attendees include the leaders of all the State Institutes and the AIS, Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates, Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib as well as coaches and services providers from an array of Olympic and Paralympic sports.
The fifth biennial conference will provide an important platform for all attendees to provide leadership, gauge ideas and come together in a new spirit of cooperation.
NESC Chairman Steve Lawrence said the theme of the conference, Winning Ways, was apt in the current sporting environment.
“Winning a gold medal, or indeed a medal of any colour at an Olympic or Paralympic Games, is an incredible feat, and one that is becoming more difficult every four year cycle,” Lawrence said
“By coming together as a high performance sector so close to the London Games we can work together as a nation and really bring about a new spirit of cooperation. After all, we are all working towards a common goal at the end of the day – medals for Australia
“There is a fantastic line up of international speakers at the conference, including UK Sport’s Head of Innovation Dr Scott Drawer and the leader of Canada’s recent Olympic successes Alex Baumann, and I expect the next two days to be a fantastic boost to our preparations for London.”
NESC was established in 1993 and comprises the Directors of Australia’s key State, Territory and National Sports Institutes and Academies.
The NESC network is collectively responsible to its stakeholder governments and strategic partners for provision of ‘the daily training and high performance sport servicing environment’ for the majority of Australia’s high performance athletes and programs on the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games schedules.
To view the NESC Program visit www.ausport.gov.au/about/events/2011_nesc_forum/program
