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With the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games soon to be celebrated, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is looking to double the number of Paralympic coaches to ensure the nation’s Paralympic athletes have access to the world’s best coaches in the lead up to Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

Project Para is one of several new ambitious initiatives identified in the recently released AIS HP Coach Development Strategy, a roadmap to ensure Australian athletes have access to world’s best coaching on the road to Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

Project Para has two aims:

• support and elevate the coaches currently supporting Paralympic athletes
• double the number of Para coaches in Australian sport.

Matti Clements, Australian Sports Commission Executive General Manager of AIS Performance, said the time is now to ensure our Para athletes reach their full potential in eight years’ time.

Clements noted “we all want the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games to be a success and to achieve that we need more coaches.

“While we have incredible coaches supporting our Paralympians in Paris, success in Brisbane will require twice the number of coaches currently working in Para sport in Australia.

“Through collaboration with Paralympics Australia, the State and Territory Sport Institutes, and the National Sporting Organisations, we believe this target is achievable and will lay a foundation for Australia’s most successful era in Para sport history.”

Project Para was designed in partnership with Paralympics Australia to support the systemwide commitment in Australia’s High Performance 2032+ Strategy (HP 2032+ Strategy) to reduce inequality for Para athletes.

It has been made possible through the support of the Australian Government, which will invest a record $54.9million in Para sport over the next two years, doubling existing funding.

Four-time Paralympian Louise Sauvage, who is in the final preparations of preparing two-time Paralympic gold medallist Madison de Rozario for Paris added “the role of the coach within our high performance sport system is so important.

“I have been fortunate to have been involved in several of the AIS initiatives, the AIS Summit Program in particular, which have contributed significantly to my ongoing growth and development as a coach.

“The increased emphasis on support of Paralympic coaches, is both exciting and crucial on the road to Brisbane 2032.”

Along with Project Para, the AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy outlines established programs and initiatives such as the Women in High Performance Coaching Action Plan – the blueprint to address the underrepresentation of women in coaching – as well as the Gen 32 and Summit Coach programs.

The strategy also aligns with the HP 2032+ Strategy vision to win well through measures to improve coach wellbeing. 

Table Tennis National Para Program General Manager Sue Stevenson enthused “We are very excited to support the new AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy.

“This new strategy will play an important role in offering the professional development and coach education needed to support our current and future Para coaches for LA 2028, Brisbane 2032, and beyond”.

To learn more about Project Para and the AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy visit: www.ais.gov.au/coach-development

Image. Credit: Paralympics Australia

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