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The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia is a federal government-funded elite sports training institution of Australia for the purpose of training athletes and coaches in sports involved in the Winter Olympics.

The AIS and the Australian Olympic Committee formed the Australian Institute of Winter Sports after the 1998 Winter Olympics. The organisation was renamed to the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia on July 1, 2001. It provides training in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing (including aerial and mogul), snowboarding, short track speed skating and figure skating. It is also a partner with the AIS in skeleton (toboganning).

It was given a million-dollar annual budget and for the first time, Australia had a federal government-funded full-time training program to accompany the Australian Institute of Sport. The inaugural chairman was Geoff Henke who was the Australian Winter Olympic team manager from 1976 to 1994, and who was credited with improving Australia's performance in winter sports by making it a higher priority among his fellow administrators.[1] This led to a steady rise in the number of Australians who have won medals at World Cup events in the immediate years after the OWIA’s creation.[2]

The AOC is the peak body responsible for Australia's participation at the Olympics. Aside from funding the participation at the Olympics, it also provides money for the training and prepration of athletes. This occurs through funding of the OWIA, grants for athletes to travel overseas to compete, and by providing monetary awards to athletes and their coaches if they win medals at World Cup events or World Championships in the lead up to the Olympics. The funding of the OWIA by the AOC varies by year, but hovers between AUD500,000 and 1,000,000, with a higher budget in the years immediately before an Olympics.[3] Through the Australian Sports Commission, the federal government also sponsors OWIA to the tune of more than half a million dollars a year.[4] In 2009, the OWIA lobbied the government to increase its annual budget from AUD2.1m to AUD29.4m, which is still only a fraction of the AUD132m that Canada, the host of the 2010 Olympics is spending. Australia is aiming to win two medals in 2010.[5]

Ian Chesterman (born April 17, 1959) is a member of the Australian Olympic Committee and an Australian Winter Olympic administrator.

He has been the Chef de Mission (the head of the Australian delegation) at the 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Torino Winter Olympics. He was the general manager at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, being the deputy of Geoff Henke.

Australia had broken new ground during Chesterman's time in the upper reaches of winter sports administration. In 1994, Australia's short track relay team won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze.[1]

At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, to which Australia sent 24 athletes,[2] Zali Steggall[3] won the country's first individual medal with a bronze in slalom skiing.[4]

At the start of the 2002 Olympics, Chesterman addressed the team and said "historically our winter teams have been the child racked by self-doubt, shy in nature as we saw our big brother, our summer Games team, take on and conquer the world."[5] He added, "but over time we have developed a belief in ourselves".[5]

In 2002, Australia won two gold medals, having never previously won an Olympic event. Australia’s maiden gold medal came in highly unlikely circumstances. Steven Bradbury, a member of the bronze-winning 1994 relay team, won gold in short track speed skating when all of his competitors in the 1,000 m final crashed out on the final turn while jostling for the medal positions.[6] Alisa Camplin, who had never won a World Cup event, won the women's aerial skiing,[7][8] after overtaking her rivals' points tally on the second and final jump.[9]

In 2006, Australia sent 40 athletes to compete in 10 sports, a record number of competitors and events,[10][11] and Australian officials publicly declared their expectation of winning medals.[10] Camplin won bronze, her second Olympic medal.[8] Favourite Dale Begg-Smith won gold in moguls skiing.[12][10]