OTC: Premier Colin Barnett and the Minister for Sport and Recreation Mia Davies have officially opened the $33.73 million WAIS High Performance Service Centre in Mt Claremont.
The facility will provide WA’s Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls with a world class training facility as they prepare for the 2016 Rio Games.
Premier Barnett highlighted the facility and said it would provide a strong future for WA’s elite athletes.
“This highly sophisticated service centre will ensure West Australian athletes remain at the forefront of high performance sport,” the Premier said.
“Among the new facilities, the centre contains three purpose-built hydrotherapy pools that are the best of their kind in Australia. I’m sure these will be a welcome change for our athletes who used to conduct recovery sessions in wheelie bins filled with ice.”
Ms Davies said WAIS worked with more than 250 athletes across 11 dedicated sporting programs including cycling, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, hockey and kayaking, as well as individual athletes from other sports.
“It is also home to the national training programs for pole vault and javelin, which is why it was so important to have a proper indoor throwing facility,” she said.
“Importantly, unlike the old building, every corner of this facility is accessible to athletes in a wheelchair.”
WAIS Chairman Mr Grant Boyce thanked the WA state government and said the new home for WAIS was a fantastic reflection of the Institute’s past achievements and future opportunities.
"We are very thankful to the WA state government for the significant investment that they have made to ensure this vision became a reality. We have been provided with a facility that will be the envy of the nation, one that will ensure WAIS continues to produce champions well into the future,” he said.
WAIS Executive Director Mr Steve Lawrence said the facility presented a wonderful opportunity for WA’s high performance athletes.
“WA athletes who aspire to be champions now have access to facilities that are essential to supporting the journey to the highly competitive world of international sport,” he said.
2012 London Olympic kayaker Alana Nicholls was one a number of WAIS athletes present this morning and she admitted the facility had gone beyond her wildest dreams.
“It's massive and impressive and I'm totally blown away at how advanced it is. Thanks to all involved in getting this up and running,” she said.
The WAIS High Performance Service Centre includes a range of features that were not previously available to athletes, including; indoor training and analysis, a purpose built recovery centre and specialised athlete amenities.
Another marked improvement ensures that all corners of the new facility are fully accessible to wheelchair athletes providing WA’s Paralympic hopefuls with unprecedented training opportunities.
Key components of the WAIS High Performance Service Centre:
• A 260 m2 hydrotherapy based recovery centre
• A 625 m2 multi purpose indoor sport science testing area
• A five lane 80m runway for biomechanical analysis of technique and specialised training
• A 715 m2 strength and conditioning gym
• A 280 m2 laboratory, including a 70 m2 heat/humidity/altitude laboratory
• Athlete amenities including study zone, kitchen and recreation area, which can also be utilised as an altitude house.
Western Australian Institute of Sport
