05 Feb 2009

"Really impressed with the facilities and variety”, a “strong venue” and “great catering” were just some of the praise 25 local conference and meeting organisers heaped on the Australian Institute of Sport when visiting for a familiarisation in August.

Somewhat of a secret, yet iconic, location in the Canberra events community, the Australian Institute of Sport has been busy hosting a range of events including grand gala dinners, sports-themed lunches, conferences, expos and more.

The familiarisation, organised by the Canberra Convention Bureau, included a visit to Sportex, the Institute’s interactive sports exhibition space. Sportex is a perfect cocktail venue where up to 120 guests can try their hand at basketball, virtual rowing, football penalty shoot-outs, skateboarding and even rock climbing. It really is surprising how much fun you can have in high heels or suits!

Amongst the familiarisation guests was Sarah Smith, Travel Coordinator for the Grains Research and Development Corporation, a previous client of the AIS.

“The Grains Research and Development Corporation held a conference at the AIS in 2005, which included using Sportex, and would highly recommend the venue,” said Smith.

A unique offering of the AIS is that guests can get up-close and personal with AIS athletes, coaches and sports scientists. Familiarisation guests certainly took advantage of this, when AIS Volleyballer Will Thwaite and AIS Netballer Melanie Kitchin escorted the group around some of the many event venues.

Thwaite said, “I really like getting involved in these kind of events. It’s great to talk to visitors to the AIS about what we do here, our training, competition and what it takes to be an elite athlete. You can really tell that people are interested in what you’re saying.”