Salv Carmusciano, the new CEO of The Illawarra Academy of Sport (IAS), is determined to help the 270 young sports stars recently enrolled for 2024 to become both great athletes and great people.
“Yes, you need to have a certain level of athletic ability to be lucky enough to be part of the academy, but once you're in our thought process is to really help to nurture you to be the best person you can be,” Salv said.
The IAS is the region’s premier training academy for young athletes, with a 30-year history of supporting high achievers, including 15 Olympians, 11 World Champions, 20 Commonwealth Games representatives and 75 senior team national representatives.
“We have an intake of roughly about 300 athletes per year,” Salv said.
“We're lucky to have had some real talented athletes, such as [swimmer] Emma McKeon, who obviously took the last Olympics by storm.”
Salv took on the CEO role in October, bringing nearly three decades of sports administration expertise to the academy.
He started his career in AFL, contributed to Football Australia and played a role in founding the Macarthur Football Association. Salv joined the IAS due to a shared mindset, seeing an opportunity to align his values with the organisation.
“I could see that they weren't just about the development of the athlete but of the actual person as a whole,” Salv said.
Beyond honing emerging athlete’s skills, the academy strives to empower them to excel both in sport and life.
“Fundamentally, it's about developing the best person that we can,” Salv said.
“A lot of our athletes, whilst they will not have gone on to achieve the best in their chosen field at Olympic Games or anything like that, you know, a lot of our athletes have come through and have become very successful in business, which we're really proud of.”
The IAS features a program for para-athletes that has had substantial fundraising support thanks to a two-year collaboration with the Illawarra Great Walk. This and a strong partnership with Paralympics Australia helps the academy deliver equal opportunities for para-athletes.
“It's probably one of the strongest programmes we have,” Salv said.
“Through the fundraising initiative, that money is going to go towards purchasing specialised gym equipment for those particular athletes, which we'll scatter across the Illawarra.”
Since it was founded in 1985, the academy has provided emerging athletes with a pathway to excellence in more than 25 sports, including basketball, cycling, hockey, netball and triathlon.
“I've only been with the academy for no more than five weeks now and one thing I've learned very quickly is that the academy is very well respected,” Salv said.
“It’s pleasing to see the athletes that come through our program, one thing they sign up for as part of a scholarship is to give back to the community and be involved.
“We're really proud of the way our athletes represent the academy and themselves in the community.”
The IAS has welcomed 270 young people as part of its 2024 intake. It is a diverse group – half are women and 18% are First Nations athletes – and the academy is thrilled to offer an excellent program to these promising sports stars.
“It's really to provide them with the best program we can while they're in the academy, to be the best they can be as both an athlete and as a person,” Salv said.
For more information on the IAS and their programs for athletes, visit the website.
