Backing female athletes to thrive at every stage

By Mary Bolling

CQUniversity is helping ensure Australia is home to the best-supported female athletes in the world, partnering with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for the Women in Sport Congress in 2026.

CQU is a University Sponsor of the biennial event, to be held in Brisbane from across 8-11 March, and coinciding with International Women’s Day.

Amongst global experts at the event, world-leading CQUniversity researcher Associate Professor Melanie Hayman will share her ground-breaking work to support elite athletes through pregnancy and postpartum.

Earlier this year, Assoc Prof Hayman and her team developed the AIS Best-Practice Recommendations to Support Elite Athletes from Preconception to Parenthood, the world’s most comprehensive initiative to guide sporting clubs and organisations in athlete support.  

Built on four years of research, the recommendations normalise parenting for elite sportspeople, and empower sporting bodies to consider family commitments in their training schedules and competition expectations.

Assoc Prof Hayman will share the research findings, as part of panel conversation Reproductive Realities: Supporting Elite Athletes Through Every Stage of Parenthood.

“Our research shows the right support through preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and parenting can enhance not just wellbeing and family connection, but also the on-field performance of elite athletes during critical life stages,” Assoc Prof Hayman said.

“Through the Parenthood Recommendations, Australian sport has an opportunity to create an environment where parent athletes thrive – at home, and all the way to the podium.”

Recently, Assoc Prof Hayman also shared her insights with player groups from the AFLW and NRLW. 

She is also on a health taskforce for the global Women’s Tennis Association, and next year will present research for the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Women in Sport Congress (WISC) will host global leaders to share research, innovations and best practices in supporting female athletes, across injury prevention, concussion management, menstruation and hormones, performance demands on female bodies, and more.

WISC is part of the AIS’s broader commitment to making Australia home to the most supported female athletes in the world.

With the theme “The Lifecycle of the Female Athlete: From Adolescence to Retirement”, the Congress is a neat fit with CQUniversity’s transformative work to support women in sport, and grow both grassroots participation, and elite performance. 

CQUniversity is a leading university in SPORT (Sport and exercise, Physical activity, Occupational and Rehabilitation Therapies), working with grassroots, government and industry partners for improved health, wellbeing, community and performance outcomes.

It’s also a member of the AIS Elite Sport Education Network, offering flexible and tailored support for elite sportspeople to achieve their education and performance goals.

Learn more about sport research and opportunities via the SPORT at CQUniversity website.