High Performance
Snow Australia has a proud tradition of supporting athletes in their sporting pursuits. The cornerstone to the success of our athletes and programs are the partnerships Snow Australia has with select institutes of sport. Snow Austraia has a long established program partnership with the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) to deliver strategic program outcomes for elite high performance programs, with the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) being the primary Institute partners for all Winter Sport Winning Edge, Tier 1 foundation sports. Snow Australia together with the OWIA, NSWIS and the VIS partner to deliver servicing, coordination and program opportunities for high performance winter sport athletes.
The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia
The aims of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia:
- To develop and prepare elite Australian athletes for their participation in Olympic Winter Games, World Championships and World Cup events in Olympic Winter Program and World Championship sports.
- To assist with the development and funding of high performance coaches with expertise in the Olympic winter sports programs.
- To assist the AOC in the attainment of its objectives through encouragement of elite performance by Australian athletes in winter sports.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) formed the Australian Institute of Winter Sports (AIWS) after the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, to enable the development of elite performances in winter sports by Australian athletes, through the provision of adequate funding, world-class sports programming and technical coaching. The clear objective of the OWIA is focusing resources on the areas where the best results and medals can be achieved at the Olympic Winter Games in 2018. Also important is the provision of experiences and fundamentals during the OWG quadrennial period, which may increase the possible medal tally at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
Programs:
Snowboard Cross
The OWIA Snowboard Cross program aims to provide contracted athletes with a world class program opportunity including world's best coaching, team management and support services.
The program is supported by:
- National Federation: Snow Australia
- Program Partners: Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Sponsors and Supporters: Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre
- Underpinning Program: New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Domestic Training Base: Perisher, Mt Hotham
Mogul Skiing
The OWIA Mogul Skiing program aims to provide contracted athletes with a world class program opportunity including world's best coaching, team management and support services.
The program is supported by:
- National Federation: Snow Australia
- Program Partners: Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Sponsors and Supporters: Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre
- Underpinning Program: New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Domestic Training Base: Perisher, NSTC , Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre
Aerial Skiing
The OWIA/VIS Aerial Skiing program aims to provide contracted athletes with a world class program opportunity including world's best coaching, team management and support services.
The program is supported by:
- National Federation: Snow Australia
- Program Partners: Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport, Victorian Institute of Sport
- Underpinning Program: Victorian Institute of Sport
- Sponsors and Supporters: Buller Ski Lifts, Mt Buller Alpine Resort Management Board, EltaMD, Snowbasin, Ogden Regional Medical Center
- Domestic Training Base: Mt Buller Ski Resort, Ski & Snowboard Australia Water Jump Park
- International Training Base: Snowbasin, UT, USA
Ski Cross:
The OWIA Ski Cross program aims to provide contracted athletes with a world class program opportunity including world's best coaching, team management and support services.
The program is supported by:
- National Federation: Snow Australia
- Program Partners: Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Sponsors and Supporters: Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre
- Underpinning Program: Ski and Snowboard Australia Devleopment Program
- Domestic Training Base: Perisher, Thredbo, Mt Hotham
Park and Pipe
The OWIA provides financial support to selected pro athletes in Snowboard and Freestyle in the disciplines of Halfpipe and Slopestyle respectively. The pro athletes selected are those athletes who are medal capable at benchmark events and most importantly are likely to contribute to Australia’s Winning Edge (AWE) medal targets at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
The program is supported by:
- National Federation: Snow Australia
- Program Partners: Australian Olympic Committee, Australian Institute of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Underpinning Program: New South Wales Institute of Sport
- Domestic Training Base: Perisher, Thredbo
NSW Institute of Sport
A Principal Partner of the national Olympic Winter Program, the NSWIS aims to provide facilities, performance services and leadership both domestically, with NSW Sport and Recreation, Thredbo and Perisher resorts, and internationally.
These programs are operated by NSWIS in partnership with SSA and OWIA, and include Freestyle Moguls, Park and Pipe (Ski and Snowboard) Snowboard Cross and Ski Cross. In addition, a small number of individual scholarships will be offered in the disciplines of Alpine and Cross Country Skiing. NSWIS Programs will support the daily training needs and aim to provide world-class coaching, training and competition, facilities and support services to improve athlete development.
Victorian Institute of Sport
The VIS operates a talent transfer program in partnership with SSA and the OWIA in the sport of Aerial Skiing. The program recruits athletes from an acrobatic background, teaching them to ski, with the aim of creating World Cup and Olympic champions. This program is restricted to a small intake of athletes each year.
The VIS offer limmited support through their individual athlete scholarship program, which is offered annually to athletes from sports which do not have a Tier 1 VIS program. Athletes are awarded individual scholarships by way of application in accordance with the VIS selection criteria.
Scholarship period runs from July 1st to June 30th each year, with applications generally opening in April. Information and application forms can be found on the VIS website.