AIS Hub supports Australian Olympians and Paralympians in Paris with performance analysis

July 27, 2024

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has advised it has become home to a team of analysts working around the clock to deliver Australian athletes an extra edge against their competitors.

They will be supporting swimming, surfing, hockey, equestrian, badminton, boccia, cycling, table tennis and wheelchair rugby. Every sport that has asked for extra support has received it.

The AIS Paris Performance Analysis Hub will see collaboration across sports, disciplines and organisations in the high performance system to ensure Australian athletes perform at their best and to fast-track development of world-class practitioners.

Performance analysts play a critical part in competition collecting video, analysing footage and providing feedback in preparation for the next game or event.

AIS National Performance Analysis Network Lead Alison Alcock noted "we knew a number of sports were planning to have remote analysts, and they were keen to make them feel part of a wider team given most of the work will happen in the middle of the night.”

Alcock developed the idea for the Hub when it became clear there were sports that wanted extra support but didn't have the people to provide it, and many analysts in the system who couldn't go to Paris.

Alcock added "we realised these skilled practitioners will be able to help sports, while getting a cool professional development opportunity being exposed to other sports and disciplines.”

There will be 20 performance analysts, nine data analysts/engineers and five Paralympics Australia staff working in the Hub across the Games with practitioners coming from national sporting organisations, the AIS and the national institute network.

One of the analysts taking part is Peter Browne, a performance scientist at the Victorian Institute of Sport.

Browne usually works with netball but will be turning his skills to Para-table tennis for the Paralympics.

Browne shared "Going to an Olympics or Paralympics is the dream, but it's very difficult to get there. This is one way to support the team and potentially have a lot of impact on their performance.”

Previously only a few Para-table tennis athletes could be supported, but this time with three practitioners dedicated to the sport, the full team of 12 athletes will receive feedback.

Working alongside the performance practitioners will be a group of data analysts focusing on the Paralympics. These analysts will use insights from the Games to help answer long-term strategic questions as we look towards Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

Ensuring those involved in the Hub have a strong connection to Paris is a top priority for Alcock who added “we will be arranging video calls and tours so they can see the set up and the impact they are having.

"The aim is to be the best supported team in Paris, either by increasing performance analysis resources for sports, or by providing analysis to sports that don’t usually have access to it.”

Image top: 20 performance analysts, nine data analysts/engineers and five Paralympics Australia staff will work in the Hub across the Games. Image above: Athletics Australia Performance Intelligence Lead, Mitchell Mooney, analyses a race in the Hub. Credit: AIS

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