❓ Mr Britza inquires about the benefits of the new WAIS high-performance centre for elite athletes. The Minister details the facility's features, its importance for athlete development, and the government's investment in sport.
AnsweredQoN 698Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE
OF SPORT — HIGH-PERFORMANCE SERVICE CENTRE
698. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Sport and Recreation:
Before I ask my question, I want to
acknowledge students in the gallery from Santa Maria College, which is in the
seat of Alfred Cove.
I noted with interest that Western
Australia's Carrie Smith and Ella Clark took home both female and youth
sailor of the year awards at the 2013 Australian Yachting Awards held recently
in Sydney. With this in mind, can the minister please inform the house how
these and other elite athletes in Western Australia benefit from the Liberal–National
government's investment in the new high-performance centre for the
Western Australian Institute of Sport?
OF SPORT — HIGH-PERFORMANCE SERVICE CENTRE
698. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Sport and Recreation:
Before I ask my question, I want to
acknowledge students in the gallery from Santa Maria College, which is in the
seat of Alfred Cove.
I noted with interest that Western
Australia's Carrie Smith and Ella Clark took home both female and youth
sailor of the year awards at the 2013 Australian Yachting Awards held recently
in Sydney. With this in mind, can the minister please inform the house how
these and other elite athletes in Western Australia benefit from the Liberal–National
government's investment in the new high-performance centre for the
Western Australian Institute of Sport?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Morley very
much for his question, which is very timely.
This morning we undertook a very
important milestone with the turning of the first sod for the new $33.7 million
Western Australian Institute of Sport high-performance service centre out there
at Mt Claremont. It was great to have some of the finest athletes who have come
through WAIS—Kim Mickle, Lauren Mitchell and Shaun Norris—there
with us. I will just quickly acknowledge Kim Mickle, who won the silver medal
for javelin at this year's World Championships. She has worked hard for
many years, so well done to Kim; it was great to see her there.
This project, along with other
sporting projects we have run under this government, has been carefully
planned. This new facility will support and greatly assist our athletes,
particularly those who vie for high honours at the Olympic and Paralympic
events, at the Commonwealth Games and at World Championships. It will also
nurture our young aspiring athletes as they come through the development
pathways to be able to come to what will be a state-of-the-art facility. It
will be absolutely fantastic.
The existing WAIS facility, which
was built way back in the 1980s and is about 26 years old, has done a good job
but by today's standards is serviceable at best. Most noticeably, and
one aspect that the Premier and I saw when we were there some time ago, was no
access or really poor access for our sportsmen and sportswomen who have a
disability. This, along with a lot of other new amenities, will be addressed in
this new service centre that we are building.
It will have the latest technology
in it, particularly for the sports science and recovery areas. It will have
laboratories for research and development. It will be one of the best
facilities in Australia. The staff and the coaching staff there have pretty
average facilities at the moment, and when they move into this centre they will
have decent facilities in which to operate. That will ensure, along with the
athletes' facilities, that we can attract the best athletes and attract
and retain the best coaches, which will be great for our sport in Western
Australia.
Just quickly, it will include a
state-of-the-art testing and training facility, hydrotherapy and recovery
pools, an indoor runway and a strengthening and conditioning gym. I will not go
on but it will have all the modern things they need. WAIS runs programs for
about 250 athletes across 11 dedicated sports, as well as for a host of
athletes outside those dedicated sports. It is also the national base for our
javelin and pole vault programs; so it is a very important facility.
This morning we also announced the
builder, Esslemont Cockram, which has been awarded the contract to deliver this
facility to be completed by early 2015. It will be a staged completion, so that
it will actually start operating in late 2014. It really adds to that fantastic sporting complex. This is delivery at
a high-performance level. The government has shown over the past five years
that it has delivered facilities and programs, particularly at the grassroots
level, where we are building a base. We have introduced new talent development
programs and pathways for people and now this facility, which is a great achievement
for sport in Western Australia.
much for his question, which is very timely.
This morning we undertook a very
important milestone with the turning of the first sod for the new $33.7 million
Western Australian Institute of Sport high-performance service centre out there
at Mt Claremont. It was great to have some of the finest athletes who have come
through WAIS—Kim Mickle, Lauren Mitchell and Shaun Norris—there
with us. I will just quickly acknowledge Kim Mickle, who won the silver medal
for javelin at this year's World Championships. She has worked hard for
many years, so well done to Kim; it was great to see her there.
This project, along with other
sporting projects we have run under this government, has been carefully
planned. This new facility will support and greatly assist our athletes,
particularly those who vie for high honours at the Olympic and Paralympic
events, at the Commonwealth Games and at World Championships. It will also
nurture our young aspiring athletes as they come through the development
pathways to be able to come to what will be a state-of-the-art facility. It
will be absolutely fantastic.
The existing WAIS facility, which
was built way back in the 1980s and is about 26 years old, has done a good job
but by today's standards is serviceable at best. Most noticeably, and
one aspect that the Premier and I saw when we were there some time ago, was no
access or really poor access for our sportsmen and sportswomen who have a
disability. This, along with a lot of other new amenities, will be addressed in
this new service centre that we are building.
It will have the latest technology
in it, particularly for the sports science and recovery areas. It will have
laboratories for research and development. It will be one of the best
facilities in Australia. The staff and the coaching staff there have pretty
average facilities at the moment, and when they move into this centre they will
have decent facilities in which to operate. That will ensure, along with the
athletes' facilities, that we can attract the best athletes and attract
and retain the best coaches, which will be great for our sport in Western
Australia.
Just quickly, it will include a
state-of-the-art testing and training facility, hydrotherapy and recovery
pools, an indoor runway and a strengthening and conditioning gym. I will not go
on but it will have all the modern things they need. WAIS runs programs for
about 250 athletes across 11 dedicated sports, as well as for a host of
athletes outside those dedicated sports. It is also the national base for our
javelin and pole vault programs; so it is a very important facility.
This morning we also announced the
builder, Esslemont Cockram, which has been awarded the contract to deliver this
facility to be completed by early 2015. It will be a staged completion, so that
it will actually start operating in late 2014. It really adds to that fantastic sporting complex. This is delivery at
a high-performance level. The government has shown over the past five years
that it has delivered facilities and programs, particularly at the grassroots
level, where we are building a base. We have introduced new talent development
programs and pathways for people and now this facility, which is a great achievement
for sport in Western Australia.
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