The Vision

Snow Australia has long held a vision for a National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC).  This aligns with best practice seen internationally and for many successful sports in Australia such as surfing, cycling and rowing.

A world-class facility for the development of Olympic and Paralympic snowsport athletes and coaches.
The concept of an NSTC in Jindabyne was first pitched to the NSW Government in July of 2017. In July of 2023, the key planks of that vision were delivered and the benefit to athletes from community level to High Performance became instantly tangible. The result was a $12.8 million investment into the future of our sport. 

The Elements

The NSTC comprises two main elements: The John Langley Hancock Building and the NSTC Park. 

Widely regarded as the best of its kind in the world, the NSTC Park boasts a large High Performance airbag with a smaller Development airbag alongside.

The NSTC Park has quickly become the focal point for all Park & Pipe related activities in Australia with our high performance athletes spending significant time honing their skills in an exclusive training environment. Importantly, the entire pathway including Emerging Talent athletes, pathway programs and individuals are able to access the airbag facility and regularly train alongside high performance athletes from Australia and visiting athletes and teams from overseas.

Importantly, the development bag and the community sessions have gained immense popularity. The NSTC Park is quickly becoming a focal point for local kids, families and community activities. This will only increase once the school opens on the Jindabyne Sport & Recreation site. 

The John Langley Hancock (JLH) building opened to athletes in July 2023. The expansion and upgrade of the NSTC building took over 18 months to complete. The building houses state of the art High Performance training areas, Sports Medicine & Recovery, an athlete and community learning hub, coaches’ areas, along with expanded administration facilities for Snow Australia and the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS).

Similar to NSTC Park, the JLH Building is open to community use and has welcomed both international and national teams and programs from a variety of summer and winter sports.

Community Acro sessions have returned to an expanded trampoline setup and the new High Performance Gym is widely-regarded as world-class with athletes across disciplines able to train together in the same space for the first time thanks to the expanded footprint. 

The high performance spaces, including the recovery, medical and athlete lounge, are delivered in partnership with NSWIS who undertake responsibility for day-to-day operations.  
 
Whilst the key high performance and community aspects of the NSTC are now in place, the master plan does recognise the need for additional athlete housing on site. This becomes the next clear opportunity to fundraise and collaborate in order to deliver this critical piece of the NSTC puzzle.

The Funding Story

The funding story for the NSTC is one of commitment and partnership on a significant scale.

The table below provides an overview of the funding commitment by source, however there are three main sources of revenue which have ultimately led to the delivery of this grand vision. 

The NSW Government committed $6.4 million to the project along with the land at the Jindabyne Jindabyne Sport & Recreation facility.  This was enough to facilitate the construction of the high performance airbag with the balance being allocated to the upgrade and expansion of the NSTC building. Ultimately it was the generosity of John & Gemma Hancock who provided one of the most substantial donations in Australian snowsports history, which enabled the full expansion of the NSTC building to progress. In recognition of this generosity the facility is now known as the John Langley Hancock Building.  

With the Performance Bag and building expansion (to cold shell) funded, Snow Australia turned its attention to raising funds for the functional fit-out of the building and expansion of the NSTC Park to incorporate community and development level access.

Thanks to three significant grant programmes made available by the NSW Government, Snow Australia was able to secure an additional $3.3 million in funding. These funds were directed towards the fit-out of the operational spaces within the JLH Building including a new Acro centre, learning hub, administration area, health and recovery spaces, specialised flooring for the high performance areas and athlete lounge.

In addition, the funds enabled the construction of the Clubhouse at the entrance of the NSTC Park along with external toilet facilities and safety netting. NSWIS contributed around $150k towards the building construction and a further $200k in equipment to fit-out the high performance spaces, which it now operates on a day-to-day basis as part of a long term agreement. The AIS contributed $344k towards high performance gym equipment.

Critically, the funding story was enabled and supported by the Snow Australia Board since inception. At each stage of the project the Snow Australia Board was asked for, and delivered, co-funding commitments to support both the various grant applications and the project itself. The Snow Australia Board endorsed the establishment and construction of the NSTC as its most significant infrastructure project ever and in doing so carefully endorsed the financial resources required to achieve operational completion. The confidence to commit to the funding was there due to the earlier establishment of the Snow Australia Future fund, created to underpin key legacy sport decisions and projects such as the NSTC.

The Funding Breakdown

The following summarises the overall funding matrix which enabled the construction of the NSTC.