The AIS Accelerate program provides a unique experience for retired women athletes who are pursuing career options in the sport sector. The program, which is supported through the Office for Women, has a career and personal development focus and provides opportunities to acquire knowledge, skills and tools to navigate a professional career in sport.
The program will be tailored to meet the needs of the successful group applicants, ensuring that learning opportunities are directed to have the greatest impact. The program will be delivered through a mixture of in-person residential workshops, online learning and one-on-one career practitioner support.
The program will cover areas such as:
- debriefing the athletic experience
- personal values, purpose and strengths
- understanding the 2023 sport landscape and opportunities
- career transitions and expert career support
- developing a career action plan
- fast tracking career advice
- building professional networks
The key objectives of the Athlete Accelerate Program are to:
"The Accelerate program provides a critical link between your achievements as an elite athlete and your progression into the other side of sport. It assisted in fast tracking me into working in the sport system and allowed me to dig deeper and feel more confident and equipped to be a high performer on the other side of the sidelines."
Eliza Stankovic-Mowle, Commonwealth Games wheelchair athletics medallist, now Athletics Australia Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement Coordinator
Program dates
2024 program dates are being finalised and will be published here when available.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the program, participants will need to be:
- A retired, former podium level (ready, potential or podium) categorised athlete and/or a national team representative of a recognised funded sport.
- A woman aged 18 years or over.
- An Australian citizen or have been granted permanent residence status.
- Available for all program dates.
Participants need to:
- Where possible, identify a sponsor currently employed within the sports sector to support the application. A sponsor is someone in a senior leadership role who can influence and advocate on behalf of the applicant.
- Not be an employee of Sport Australia or the Australian Institute of Sport when applying for the program with the exception of applicants engaged on a casual arrangement.
Contact
For further information please contact: accelerateprogram@ausport.gov.au