The Australian Institute of Sport

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) leads the development of elite sport and is widely acknowledged in Australia and internationally as a world best practice model for elite athlete development. The AIS is a pre-eminent elite sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services.

The complex is located on a 65 hectare site, it has been progressively established from 1977 and officially opened in 1981. Today, the AIS campus also boasts training facilities for a wide range of sporting acumens and can accommodate up to 300 resident and visiting athletes, including specialist junior residences.

All facilities have been purpose built, which means that they have unique sport-specific features. Among them are the swimming centre, which has underwater and overhead camera tracking to help biomechanical testing.

In line with the AIS philosophy of continuous improvement, the AIS campus in Canberra is set to expand even further. From 2004 to 2007, it is planning to build new athlete residential accommodation and dining facilities, a new AIS services hub incorporating a coaches services centre and an athlete physical development and recovery centre, and new physiology laboratories. There will also be a new aquatic testing and training centre, and improvements to current gymnastics, combat sports, rowing, netball and basketball training venues.

For the upgrade of the campus and new buildings, the AIS needed to upgrade their IT infrastructure to keep up with the latest technologies in assessing athletes and to be able to deliver information quickly.

Through GHD Pty Ltd and with a high level of input from the Australian Sports Commission, which is the overriding government body that manages the AIS, Siemon was the successful vendor awarded the cabling contract. This upgrade project will span a three (3) year period.

The 1st stage of the upgrade was to replace the existing fibre for the campus backbone. This stage went out to tender and Diverse Data picked up the project. They decided to standardise on the Siemon XGLO 10 Gip Singlemode fibre solution to be the link between the Main Administration building, Main Residential Building and IT Building. Siemon's XGLO singlemode optical fibre cable is perfectly suited for the support of extended distance 10 Gigabit Ethernet (> 550m) applications as well as emerging applications, such as 40 Gb/s Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), that will operate at speeds beyond 10Gb/s. XGLO singlemode cables are constructed from optical fibres that exhibit low and stable insertion loss performance over the entire operating range (including the 1400 nm "water peak" band) to ensure compatibility with coarse wavelength (CWDM) and dense wavelength (DWDM) applications. This stage has been completed with Diverse Data being able to offer a Siemon 20 year XGLO warranty, which covers product, labour and full applications assurance.

The AIS Service Hub, SDEC and Athletes Residences will be upgraded with a Siemon Category 6 solution. Siemon's Category 6 solution represents exceptional value, with margin on all parameters beyond category 6 and Power Sum ACR out to 250 MHz. From the telecommunications room to the work area, all Siemon System 6 products exceed connecting hardware and channel performance specifications set forth for category 6 by the TIA/EIA and ISO/IEC. Siemon's System 6 cabling solution is backed by Siemon's exclusive 20-year warranty, providing 100% coverage of products, cabling performance and applications, when installed by a Siemon Certified Installer.

Diverse Data was succcessful in picking up the SDEC building which is nearly completed and Absolute Cabling has just picked up the Athletes Residences which will be completed towards the end of this year. Both these companies are Siemon Certified Installers.

For the swimming pool they have chosen to use Siemon Industrial MAX 6 connectivity. Siemon's Industrial MAX 6 outlets and patch cords provide an IP66/67 rated seal, protecting plug and jack contacts from dust, moisture, vibration, and common cleaning chemicals. This solution is ideal for this type of environment. The Industrial MAX outlet features an unshielded (UTP) category 6 MAX module housed in a protective shell. The outlet's outer housing is made of durable, chemical-resistant, industrial-grade thermoplastic and features Siemon's patent-pending bayonet-style mating design. Category 6 performance is guaranteed in harsh environments. Multisystem Communications was the successful installer to pick up this stage and they mentioned " they found the product very easy to use and easily accessible. Product was delivered on time which enabled them to meet all deadlines."

Completion of this site upgrade is expected in 2007.