NIAS received a bronze award at the NSW Sports Safety Awards in Sydney recently for its Joblink Plus Regional Athlete and Coaching Education program (RACE).

Tamworth Regional Council also awarded NIAS an Access award for its recently-launched Lonestar Athlete with A Disability Program.

“It topped off a good year,” NIAS executive officer Peter Annis Brown said yesterday.

“It makes a lot of what we do worthwhile. I’ve got some great staff and I have a very, very active board.”

NIAS is also targeting cycling and lawn bowls to join its long list of sporting squads.

NIAS has been talking to the Royal NSW Bowling Association and NSW Cycling Federation about their additions and Annis-Brown is confident they will be up and running in time to compete at the Academy Games in Armidale (October 7-9).

NIAS is hosting those multi-sport Games including athletes from the other academies across the State.

It has been granted to Armidale for three years.

Also adding to the excitement of those Games is the fact Clubs NSW have come on board as the community partner for the three years.

“It’s terrific having an organisation like that backing the Games,” Annis-Brown said.

“We’ll see how they can become more involved.”

He said the University of New England was an ideal venue for the Academy Games, with all the events being able to be run at UNE or close by.