Celebrating 20 years

This year marks a significant milestone for the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and its Principal Partner ClubsNSW as the two organisations celebrate 20 years of partnership in sport.

Since 1995 ClubsNSW has provided over $1m per year in sponsorship support to the NSWIS, including vital funding leading into the establishment of the Institute in 1996.

The support offered by ClubsNSW has played a pivotal role in the success of elite NSW athletes in the past two decades, with NSWIS athletes going on to win over 200 Olympic & Paralympic medals, and over 200 senior & junior world championship gold medals since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

NSWIS Chief Executive and three-time Olympian Charles Turner said the backing from ClubsNSW has been invaluable to the Institute’s operations.

“Quite simply, without ClubsNSW this organisation would not exist, and the athletes we support would not be afforded the same opportunities they are today,” Turner explained.

“We have seen a number of great athletes come through these doors, from Louise Sauvage, Alyson Annan and Brad McGee, to Ian Thorpe, Matthew Mitcham, Kurt Fearnley, James Magnussen and Jessica Fox.

“ClubsNSW has been instrumental in assisting these athletes as they chase their sporting goals, and as an organisation the backing of ClubsNSW has allowed us to achieve our vision of having our fingerprint on crowded podiums.”

ClubsNSW Chairman Peter Newell OAM said ClubsNSW was proud to have had such a profound impact on sport in Australia.

“Clubs have been backing sport in NSW and Australia for years, and assisting in the establishment of the NSWIS was a natural step for us to help talented athletes make the step from junior to elite sport,” Newell said.

“As the years have gone on we have witnessed a host of fantastic sporting achievements from NSWIS scholarship holders. Sport is a fantastic way of bringing communities together, and there is no higher honour than for an athlete to represent Australia at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“With our help, hundreds of elite NSWIS athletes have been able to achieve those feats, and that has made ClubsNSW proud to be the Principal Partner of the NSW Institute of Sport.”