The third AIS Women in Sport Congress (WISC) has wrapped up in Brisbane, with delegates riding a wave of energy amid a call to arms to turn research into action in pursuit of world-leading female health and performance outcomes.
More than 400 delegates attended the landmark four-day event, which concluded at the Queensland Academy of Sport on Wednesday after two days of a packed speaking schedule at the W Hotel that featured a host of experts from Australia and around the world.
The program had something for everyone, from cutting-edge medical research to leadership insights, cultural connection and a presentation from Wing Commander Sally Knox and five female aviators, which took guests inside the high-stakes world of flying fighter jets for the Royal Australian Air Force.
"We've had 400 delegates here from all around the world, all really focused on female athlete health and performance, so some really great discussions… inspirational and aspirational," Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Director Matti Clements said.
"Now it's really important to take this away and put it into action."
One of the highlights was a keynote address from 2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg, the first astronaut to qualify under and Australian flag and Australia's first female astronaut.
Her session had the entire room transfixed as she detailed not just the gruelling journey to astronaut qualification with the European Space Agency, but her lessons on high performance and the enduring search for excellence.
"I like to see the mind as not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be lit," Bennell-Pegg told the room. "We need to stop wondering if women belong. We belong wherever the future is being written… holding the pen, holding the throttle, or on the podium."
The third iteration of WISC, which is held every two years, showed why it has become such a powerhouse conference in female health and performance, and why it attracts heavyweight experts and guests from all corners of the globe.
Many of those shared their insights across the event and praised the opportunity to network and collaborate on the important work that will elevate the sporting experience for female athletes at all levels of competition.
Some of the recurring themes included the push for an amplified athlete voice in decisions over health, training and performance, and the call for more male coaches, leaders, researchers and practitioners to arm themselves with the knowledge and skills to ensure they create the best environments for female athletes.
"I think that's one of the things I really would love to see in the evolution of WISC," Clements said.
"Women talking to women won't always impact change. Women talking to everyone about what's required for a female athlete, that's how you get change.
"It will be interesting in a couple of years' time to see what the hot topics are then. And I'm hopeful that some of the stuff that we've discussed in the past doesn't need to be discussed, because it's just business as usual."
WISC co-chair Dr Rach Harris, a sport and exercise medicine physician and lead of the AIS Female Performance and Health Initiative, said it was imperative to keep up the momentum and energy in a bid to create lasting change.
"We have to truly advance the health and performance on the Golden Runway to 2032, so our women and girls can have their dream moment, their gold medal moment, in whatever form that comes, at a home Olympic or Paralympic Games," Dr Harris said.
"We need to act now and in an ongoing way, in a genuine, fully resourced way, answering the questions that we need to answer and having the people in the room that need hear it, including the athletes and coaches."
"Lets all go out there make it happen."
WISC continues to set the agenda and frame the discussion around female health and performance and shapes as a key event as Australia moves ever closer to a home Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane in 2032.
