The AIS is calling on early-career coaches to take part in the second National Generation 2032 (Gen32) Program, an initiative aimed at providing a pathway to the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games coaching ranks.

Run in collaboration between the AIS and national sporting organisations and state sport institutes and academies, the Gen32 Program provides early-career coaches a two-year paid internship within national sporting programs.

The success of the program was clear to see at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with eight Gen32 coaches, including boxing’s Shara Romer, proudly representing Australia against the world’s best.

Romer was a regular sight in her athlete’s corners, with the Queenslander working alongside head coach Santiago Nieva and Marcos Amado to support Australia’s biggest ever Olympic boxing team.

While Romer will be continuing for a third year as part of Gen32’s extension for women coaches, she says the support and learnings during the program so far have been invaluable.

“Participating in the Gen32 Program has significantly expanded my understanding of high performance across various dimensions,” Romer said.

“I have experienced personal growth, fostering a deeper belief in my boxing knowledge and capabilities.”

Athletics coach Danny Kevan was another of the Gen32 cohort in Paris, looking after his two Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) athletes Ella Pardy and Rhiannon Clarke, as well as working with Paralympic debutant and bronze medallist Mali Lovell.

It was a successful Games for both his sprinters, with Pardy running a season-best in the 100m heats, while Clarke ran two personal-best times in the space of seven hours to finish just 0.19s off the podium in the final.

Kevan said the past two years working with the AIS and WAIS have been transformative.

“The Gen32 Program has been an amazing stepping stone,” he said.

“It’s allowed me to experience full time coaching within the national system and exposed me to some of the best coaches in Australia and the world.”

As well as offering up to 20 salaried positions offered to coaches transitioning from careers as athletes or other high performance backgrounds, the 2025-26 Gen 32 Program will also provide learning opportunity places for coaches already employed within the high performance sport system.

Gen32 is also designed to cater for the modern coach, with childcare support and flexible working arrangements available for coaches with children on top of their paid coaching apprenticeship.

The program is one of the cornerstones of the recently launched AIS High Performance Coach Development Strategy, high performance sport’s roadmap to enhancing the depth and diversity within Australia’s high performance coaching ranks.

Applications for the 2025-26 Gen32 Program will be open until 15 October, with successful recipients starting in January 2025. For more information and to apply, visit the AIS website.