The AW&E Managers this week came together for the first time at the AIS in Canberra, with the two-day conference a chance to collaborate and share learnings from across the system.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) funds more than 30 AW&E Managers across high performance sporting organisations and the National Institutes and Academies. The Managers provide direct support to athletes, providing them with opportunities for personal and professional development, as well as access to the AIS Mental Health Referral Network and community engagement initiatives.

AIS Director Matti Clements, who established the AW&E Network in her previous position as Director of People Development and Wellbeing, said the Managers are crucial to ensuring Australia’s athletes are successful in both sport and in life.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the work our AW&E Managers have done over the past two years to support our athletes,” Ms Clements said.

“This has been an unprecedented time for Australian high performance sport and the fact that our Australian athletes have continued to thrive on the international stage is partly in credit to this network of AW&E Managers who are a guiding presence.

“In addition to dealing the impacts of a global pandemic, our athletes have been managing a packed calendar, with next month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to be the fifth pinnacle event in the space of 12 months.

“The AIS, through the Australian Sports Commission, is dedicated to ensuring our athletes have the right environment for sustainable success and that wouldn’t be possible without our AW&E Managers.”