Since its inception in 1985, the Illawarra Academy of Sport is, and has been, a centre of excellence for the region supporting over 8,000 promising athletes representing a variety of sporting disciplines, and producing 23 Olympians/Paralympians, 20 Commonwealth Games representatives, 11 world champions and 75 senior national team representatives.

In 2025, the Illawarra Academy of Sport celebrated their 40-year anniversary with the 40th Anniversary & 2025 Athlete Awards Night held in September.

The event was a star-studded night with nearly 300 guests in attendance, including Australia’s greatest Olympian and IAS alumni athlete Emma McKeon AM and fellow Olympians and IAS alumni Kieran Govers, Ryan Gregson, and one of Australia’s greatest ever cyclists Brad McGee OAM.

Snowboard cross athlete Marci Davis-Cook was the star of the show at the Illawarra Academy of Sport 40th Anniversary & 2025 Athlete Awards Night as she claimed the prestigious DRB Group Tobin Family Athlete of the Year Award.

In the night’s other major awards, tennis athlete Zac Richter won the DRB Group Athlete Leadership Award and BMX athlete Rojan Fernandez won the BaiMed Commitment to Excellence Award.

Other athlete of the year winners on the night included Jack Gibson (para sports), Riley Saville (basketball), Lucy Allen (road/track cycling), Isaac Baez (BMX), Ethan Aleckson (mountain bike), Sage Laird  (golf), Justin Murray (hockey), Izzy Christian (netball), Lily Martin (netball umpire), Ginger Siasat (rugby 7’s), Jake Barritt (triathlon) and Lewis Ebdon (volleyball), while triathlon coach Ben Bell won the Coach of the Year Award.