NSW Institute of Sport winter sports athletes are set to benefit from a $5 million funding package announced by the NSW Government on Friday.

The investment will be directed towards Ski and Snowboard Australia’s (SSA) National Snowsports Training Centre, including the development of a world-class airbag training facility in Jindabyne.

 

 

NSW Minister for Sport John Sidoti was joined by Deputy Premier John Barilaro at Perisher Ski Resort for the announcement and spoke of his excitement around how the funding would support Australian winter sports athletes.

“It is a modern investment that will go such a long way to helping our athletes,” Mr Sidoti said.

“Mark my words, we will be bringing gold medals home as a result of this technology.”

As the local Member for Monaro, Mr Barilaro was thrilled at what the investment would mean for the region’s economy.

“This facility will actually attract international athletes from all over the globe to this region,” he said.

“Uniquely, they’ll be training on a dry slope airbag (in Jindabyne) and then 40 minutes up the road, they’ll be here on the snow.”

 

 

NSWIS CEO Professor Kevin Thompson acknowledged how significant the investment would be for NSWIS scholarship holders, who will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the funding package.

“It’s a massive, massive thing for the athletes,” he said.

“It gives them that opportunity to train locally instead of having to travel internationally to train on an airbag.”

The Government investment will play a vital role in the ongoing development of Australian winter sports as NSWIS, together with SSA and the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, looks towards the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

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