Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was opened in 1981. AIS Sports Star of the Year (later named AIS Athlete of the Year) was first established in 1983/84 with the first winner being swimmer Karen Phillips.[1] In 1995, AIS Junior Athlete of the Year was established. Other major awards include AIS Team of The Year, AIS Coach of the Year and AIS Program of the Year.[2]
Other awards included: Sport Achievement Awards, Vocation Awards and Education Awards. There were several memorial scholarship awards that recognise the contribution of deceased AIS athletes, coaches and administrators - Brent Harding Memorial Award for Swimming, Nathan Meade Memorial Award for Diving, Gary Knoke Memorial Award for Athletics, Darren Smith Memorial Award for Road Cycling, Ben Mitchell Medal for AFL and Bob Staunton Memorial Award for Basketball.[2]
The awards were broadened in 2013 to include Direct Athlete Assistance recipients as well as AIS scholarship holders as part of the AIS Winning Edge Strategy.[3] The awards were renamed the AIS Sport Performance Awards (ASPAs) in 2014 with several new awards - Sport Personality of the Year, Para Performance of the Year, Community Club Award and Volunteer/Administrator Award.[4] In 2019, two awards - Sport Personality of the Year and Sporting Moment of the Year are decided by public vote.[4][5] There were no awards in 2020 and 2021 due to impact of COVID-19.
In 2002 as part of the AIS 21st birthday celebrations, 21 athletes were inducted into the AIS 'Best of the Best' hall of Fame. In 2006, four athletes were added and in 2011 another five athletes.
^ abDaly, John (1991). Quest for Excellence : the Australian Institute of Sport. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 231–234. ISBN0644136723.
^Commission, Australian Sports Commission; jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia; corporateName=Australian Sports. "Swimming makes a big splash at AIS Performance Awards". Australian Sports Commission. Retrieved 29 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)