Australia's fall from the top five Olympics nations has forced the Australian Institute of Sport "to rebrand itself," according to Margie McDonald of THE AUSTRALIAN.
A new gold logo "has replaced the old one, and a greater push to market the AIS's facilities and expertise has begun." The best minds in sport came together and created the "Winning Edge" document for future performance outcomes in the post-London environment. The new logo "is one part of the AIS changes." The other key components are:
- The Winning Edge policy thrashed out between the major sport stakeholders, headed by the Australian Sports Commission and Australian Olympic Committee.
- The push for greater commercial use of the AIS's cutting-edge facilities, which in turn could attract more sponsors (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/3).
SWIM TEAM: In Sydney, Nicole Jeffery reported new Australian Olympic team chief Kitty Chiller "held out an olive branch to the Australian swimming team," saying she wanted "to build bridges that would prevent the cultural failures that so detracted from the performances" at the London Games. Chiller traveled to Perth "to meet the management of the team, the swimmers' leadership group, and address the larger swimming team during the Aquatic Super Series." She said that she "wanted to reassure the swimmers that the 2016 team would not be held to account for the sins of past teams" (
THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/3).
