Vibrant Games only 500 days away and not a day to waste

RIO 2016: The first Olympic Games in South America are now only 500 days away and the prospect of representingAustralia in Rio de Janeiro is what drives athletes all around the country every day in training.

At present over 1200 athletes are considered to be in contention for the final Team.

Leading this Australian Team in Rio de Janeiro will be Sydney 2000 modern pentathlete KittyChiller. Chiller has beentravelling the country since November meeting around 1000 athletes and officials for the IGNITE the Dream series,along with motivating maestro and coach Laurie Lawrence, Olympic legends from all eras and AOC staff.

"The IGNITE roadshow has shown us just how dedicated Australia’s athletes are to wearing the green and gold in 2016and how much they love learning about Australia’s rich Olympic history," Chiller said.

"It is not easy to be the best in the world but we know that with a strong team culture in Rio athletes will adapt well tothe challenges and reach their potential in competition. Just as importantly we want all athletes and officials to have a‘life best experience’.

"With the performance focussed environment that we will create for our athletes in Rio, I am confident that we canmix it with the best in the world."

800m runner AlexRowe, 22, who last year equalled the Australian record of 1968 Olympic champion Ralph Doubell isdesperate to achieve his first Olympic blazer.

"It’s 500 days to go to Rio and I’m so excited and I can’t wait to hopefully make my way onto the team," Rowe said."I’m training really hard and doing everything I can to be there."

If you have been to a Games before that doesn’t mean the desire for Rio 2016 is any less.

LouiseBawden represented at the Sydney 2000 Games for Indoor Volleyball and then 12 years later on the beachcourts in London. She now has a new playing partner and is chasing a medal on Copacabana Beach.

"The Rio Olympics have a double meaning because personally it would be my third Olympics, which is quite specialand I’d be proud of, but for my partner TaliquaClancy it will be her first Olympics. So it’ll be a special achievement forus both," Bawden, who will be 35 on day 2 of Rio 2016 said.

Clancy is a former world junior medallist and this proud indigenous women will be 24 at her first Games.

"500 days to go comes at the same time as the qualification period for us for the Olympics begins so we’re alreadyfocused on the Games," Bawden added.

It is a crucial time for Australia to secure places on the start line and athletes to start meeting selection criteria. Todate places have been earned across Equestrian, Sailing and Shooting. It is anticipated the 2016 Australian OlympicTeam will reach 470 athletes across 40 disciplines (see attachment).

This dedication of Australia’s Rio hopefuls is being matched by the urgency of construction workers and organisers inBrazil. The Olympic Village is nearing completion, Olympic Park is taking shape and great progress has been made toget the massive project back on schedule.

Australian Olympic Committee Secretary‐General FionadeJong returned from a meeting of Olympic Committees inRio just last week and she was impressed by the progress she saw.

"Much progress has been made with the venue readiness, particularly in the Deodoro zone," de Jong said.

"By all accounts, I’m confident it will be a vibrant, playful environment for our 2016 Olympians to call home duringtheir Olympic Games. There’s no doubt the excitement is beginning to mount in the city and they will welcome theworld to the Games in their own Brazilian way and are looking to inject the local culture on these Games."

Golf and Rugby Sevens are two new exciting additions to the program for the Rio 2016 Games.

"Rugby Sevens inclusion in the Olympics has impacted our sport a great deal‐not only in Australia but all over theworld," SharniWilliams,captain of the world no.2 Australian women’s team, said. "Women’s Rugby Sevens, forexample, is now classed as one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

"In Australia, it is a very exciting time for the sport. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has implemented its Pathway toGold program while the Australian Girls Sevens team won the Gold Medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing lastyear.

"The ARU centralised the Rugby Sevens Men’s and Women’s program in January 2014, enabling us to prepareproperly and train as a professional squad."

The Women’s Rugby Sevens squad is benefiting from Direct Athlete Funding from the Australian Olympic Committeevia the adidasMedalIncentiveFunding. Ten players from the 2015 squad were recently paid $10,000 each for theirbronze medal performance in their 2014 benchmark event. Today Williams accepted a cheque for $100,000 on behalfof her Team.

Players from the silver medal winning squad from the recent 2015 benchmark event are due to receive $13,400 eachin early 2016. This means several players will be paid $23,400 to help with their Rio preparations. Across 370 athletepayments so far this quadrennial (2013‐2016) $3.6 million has been paid, with a budget of $5.1 million for the quad(see attachment).

Former captain of the 15‐a‐side teamShannonParryis so thankful for the funding assistance.

"I speak on behalf of the entire squad when I say that we are extremely grateful for the support adidas has given theAustralian Women’s Sevens side through the Medal Incentive Funding initiative," Parry said.

"The funding plays an important part in allowing us to focus on our career as elite athletes as we strive forqualification for Rio 2016. We have a lot of hard work to do before we can even think of pulling on the green and goldin Rio – and this funding will assist greatly with our preparations."

While the adidas funding is making a big difference to athlete preparation, it is what they provide athletes to wear atthe Games that adidas are particularly proud of. General Manager of adidas Pacific, SteveCastledine explained.

"We’re extremely excited about the new uniforms we’re supplying Australian athletes for Rio in 2016, which willfeature the latest in garment technology and innovation, while making a youthful and forward thinking statement."

In a matter of weeks adidas will showcase the prized green and gold gear that Australia’s athletes will wear at Rio2016 to Kitty Chiller, with an official launch of the uniform in mid‐2016.

Coinciding with 500 days to Rio, Slater & Gordon was announced as a new sponsor of the Australian Olympic Team. The Australian firm becomes the first Official Law Firm of an Australian Olympic Team and they have signed until after theTokyo 2020 Games.

Their considerable contribution incorporates legal support services for athletes and officials and a financialcontribution to help prepare and send athletes to the Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games and Youth OlympicGames (see attachment).

Michael Bushell, Group Managing Director of Sports Marketing and Management‐the AOC’s sponsorship agent‐said,"We have been experiencing strong momentum since late last year and tracking well towards our $40 m target. Weare currently in various stages of negotiation with five companies for exclusive category partnerships."

AdditionalInformationat500DaystoGo:

‐ The next Campaign Rio Forum will be held at the end of March in Canberra. The collaboration between the AOC, AISand APC continues to strengthen the high performance focus for the 2016 Team.

‐ The Request Phase for Tickets will start for Australian fans in April from AOC Ticketing Agent CoSport

‐ The first athletes in the Sailing Section for Rio 2016 will be named in mid‐December. It is possible that athletes inModern Pentathlon, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Trampolining could fulfil selection criteria before then. The final Teamwill be known mid July 2016 ahead of the Games starting on 5 August.

‐ The final 3 #IGNITEtheDream sessions will be held in May (2xCanberra and 1xSydney). The IGNITE series will havereached over 1,000 athletes and officials.

‐ Golf and Rugby Sevens have been added to the program for Rio 2016.

‐ For all the latest Rio news, qualification documentation and Games overview go tohttp://corporate.olympics.com.au/games/rio‐2016

‐ The Official Website of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team will be launched on 5 August 2015, which will be one yearuntil the Opening Ceremony.

‐ The ASPIRE national series, a follow‐up to the IGNITE series, will commence in November 2015 and run over thesummer around Australia. The focus will be on bringing together Rio hopefuls (athletes and officials) from all sportsand providing them with the latest information from Rio and discussing Games logistics, outfitting, data consolidation,Team briefings, plus opportunities for media.

‐ If the Australian Team reaches the forecasted 470 athletes it will be the second biggest away Team after Athens 2004with 482 athletes. There were 410 at London 2012 and 436 at Beijing 2008. http://corporate.olympics.com.au/games‐at‐a‐glance/olympic‐games

‐ Equestrian rider Andrew Hoy is aiming for Rio 2016 to be his 8th Games!! (he was also selected for Moscow 1980). Hoy,who was the flag bearer in 1996, has won 3 gold and 1 silver medal. He will be 57 come Rio 2016.

‐ The 2016 Australian Olympic Team stretch target for medals is to place within the top five nations on the gold medaland total medal standings (whatever the number of medals required); and win medals in more than the 13 sportsdisciplines in which the Australian Olympic Team won medals at the 2012 Olympic Games.

‐ Australia finished the 2014 Benchmark Events tally equal 7th on number of gold (13) and total medals (43).

‐ The budget for the 2016 Australian Olympic Team is $32 million ($12m to prepare and $20m to send the Team).

‐ The sponsorship target for the quad (2013 – 2016) is $40million, to cover the Summer Games, Winter Games andYouth. The AOC’s Sponsorship Agency, Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), confirmed they are tracking wellfor this target and momentum is building not only for Rio 2016 but Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020, due to thefavourable time zone and proximity to Asia.

‐ Five new partners have signed since the start of 2015. All Australian Olympic Team sponsorship Partners and Suppliers‐http://corporate.olympics.com.au/footer/the‐aoc/state‐olympic‐councils/sponsors

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