AIS calling on next generation of sport practitioners

Applications are now open for the 2025 AIS Practitioner Development Program with fifteen spots available.

In 2024 the program welcomed a mix of practitioners including physiotherapists, physicians, wellbeing managers, dieticians and sport scientists.

Starting on April 14, the Australian-first program is on offer to sport practitioners who are in the early stages of their career or new to high performance sport.

The six-month program involves a mix of in-person and online sessions focused on leveraging strengths, impactful communication, strategic decision-making, career planning and more.

“Sport practitioners play a crucial role in helping athletes reach their full potential…so it’s equally important we help practitioners reach theirs,” AIS Performance Support Development Advisor Jessey Visakan said.

“We’ve worked with a mix of experts to design an Australian-first program that helps practitioners build a strong career foundation and sets them up to become world-class."

The program has also seen several graduates take on senior roles in sport such as Dr Carlee Van Dyk who’s now the Chief Medical Office at Water Polo Australia.

"Becoming a well-rounded practitioner is essential to becoming an effective practitioner, and so an opportunity to develop these skills is critical," Dr Van Dyk said.

"Having evidence-based tools to support your development and progress in this area has certainly fast-tracked my ability to lead a team.

"Where I may have previously avoided a challenging conversation, I now feel capable of enacting these in a way that fosters collaboration and remains focused on what we are ultimately all there for - striving for the best outcomes for our athletes."

Connecting with practitioners from different fields is also seen as a major benefit.

"It was refreshing to see fifteen other people drop their guard and realise we often all struggle with the same things," Dr Van Dyk said.

"The group itself became an amazing resource, as we all had a diversity of experience and a wealth of exposure to different environments to draw from, which ultimately helped fast-track our problem solving and development."

Applications are open until Friday March 21. For more information click here: Practitioner Development Program | Australian Institute of Sport