Olympic Winter Institute

The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWI) was established in 1998 by the Australian Olympic Committee, and is supported by the Australian Sports Commission. It is responsible for operating Australian Institute of Sport programs in ice and snow sports for Australia’s world class elite athletes.

The OWI's new home at Medibank Icehouse is equipped with state-of-the-art ice training facilities for athletes, administration offices, conference rooms, video analysis facilities, medical suites and a fully equipped gymnasium.

These facilities further expand OWI’s programs in sports, such as figure skating, speed skating, aerial skiing, alpine skiing, skeleton, snowboarding, mogul skiing and ski cross in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

OWI Chairman Geoff Henke, one of the driving forces behind the development of the centre, has hailed the Docklands facility as "a brilliant concept that gives new life to the long tradition of ice sports in Melbourne, and the cornerstone of national excellence, producing future Olympic champions."

In mid-2010, the OWI plans to initiate several innovative talent search activities from its base at Medibank Icehouse. One of these will include finding talented in-line skaters throughout Australia who have the raw talent to transfer to short-track speed skating and become elite athletes.