The Western Australian Institute of Sport has today received a significant boost in its preparations for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games after the WA State Government increased its funding to close to $25 million for the next four years.
The quadrennial funding boost of $4.285 million, takes the State Government’s support of WAIS to $24,684,590 for the next Olympic and Paralympic period, a commitment that Sport and Recreation Minister Terry Waldron believes will help ensure WA continues to produce elite high performance athletes at the highest level.
“This money goes towards core operations which are focused on supporting quality athletes with quality training environments and competition opportunities,” Mr Waldron said.
The funding boost comes in addition to the $33.73 million already committed to the development of the new WAIS High Performance Service Centre in Mt Claremont which was announced in May.
“We want to ensure our representation on the Olympic team reflects our population compared to the rest of Australia,” he said.
“Success in elite and international sports creates national pride and inspires grass roots participation, protecting the legacy for future generations.”
WAIS Executive Director Mr Steven Lawrence welcomed the news and said the government’s extended support would continue to lay the foundation for a bright future in Western Australian elite sport.
“We are very appreciative that the Minister and State Government have been willing to provide funding that will help us close critical gaps in support to WA athletes focussed on representing Australia at Rio and World Championships in over 20 sports in the lead up to these Games,”Mr Lawrence said.
$19.346 million of this funding has been approved from the Community Sports Lotteries Account funded by Lotterywest.
Work on the WAIS High Performance Service Centre is due to commence in the second half of 2013, with completion expected towards the end of 2014.
