Chance for Brisbane Games to breathe fresh life into AIS

Then there's waiting for Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympics - the third Summer Games on Australian soil which comfortably boasts the longest gestation period we've seen.

I must admit, there was damn sight more apathy from my side of the fence when it came to this latest announcement than in 1993 when Sydney won hosting rights.

Just a couple of weeks after my eighth birthday, Mum came and woke me up early one morning and we traipsed out to our Crest Road lounge room in Queanbeyan to flick on the television.

It was a cubed number, 34cm wide if my memory serves me correctly with a faded grey UHF box perched atop which allowed us to tune into the commercial networks.

When the International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced Sydney would host the 2000 Games, Mum jumped off the couch with joy and a cherished childhood memory was created. To this day it remains one of my fondest recollections of an ever-distant youth.

Fast forward 28 years to Wednesday night, and I learned the good news through a little pop-up notification on my smartphone, about 90 minutes after the announcement.

Delighted I was, once more, to think the Olympics would be on home soil, but I can't pretend I was awash with the euphoria that Mr Samaranch sparked within me in 1993.

In any event, we have another Australian Olympics to look forward to, albeit one which will be contested by a raft of next-generation stars who are yet to make their public bow.

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From a Canberra perspective, the most exciting element of Brisbane's successful bid is the catalyst this can, and should provide, to breathe fresh life into the Australian Institute of Sport.

By the time Brisbane 2032 rolls around, the AIS will have just celebrated its 51^st birthday.

On its 40^th earlier this year, most commentators were more interested in taking a swipe at the Institute's outdated facilities rather than showcasing the direction the AIS had taken in the post London 2012 era.

Yes the AIS is certainly not the hive of activity it was during its zenith two decades ago in the lead up to the Sydney Games.

But it remains the foundation stone of elite Australian sport, nowadays as the head of a National Institute Network under which the other states operate. And was referred to as such as part of the Brisbane bid.

At any one time the AIS still assists 2200 athletes, while it invests $145m per annum across 38 sports.

The residence halls certainly aren't as vibrant as they once were, nor do they need to be given the development of world-class institutes in major cities across the country.

Yet the AIS remains on the cutting edge of sporting technology, and some of their training facilities remain second to none.

The Brisbane Games offers an opportunity to not only create substantial infrastructure in south-east Queensland across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, but to reinvigorate the AIS, upgrade the tired old facilities, and return its reputation as a centre of global sporting excellence.

Perhaps its best role this time around is not as a training base in the lead up to Brisbane, but as a centre for nurturing that next generation of sporting talent.

"The AIS has already been placing a strong emphasis on coaching development and supporting athlete pathways, including establishing a National Coach Development Taskforce last year," AIS chief Peter Conde said.

"This work is vital in identifying, supporting and progressing our best young sporting talent."

Australian Sports Commission chair Josephine Sukkar said the 11-year lead in to Brisbane provided the country with a huge opportunity.

"We must take advantage of the laser-like focus hosting a home Games presents us," Sukkar said.

"It is a chance to drive sport participation, re-invigorate volunteering, elevate our inspiring sporting heroes and continue building our vision for sustainable success."