Victorian Institute of Sport Case Study

Case Study

A Unified Digital Ecosystem for Elite Sport

DETAILS

Client: Victorian Institute of Sport

Connecting athletes, staff and community through a unified high-performance digital platform

GETTING TO KNOW VIS

The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is a leader in high performance sport in Victoria, delivering holistic support that empowers athletes to succeed in sport and life, while promoting wellbeing and instilling pride within the Victorian community.

Over 35 years, VIS has built an exceptional track record, producing 37 Olympic champions, 42 Paralympic champions, 121 Commonwealth champions and 107 world champions, a testament to the strength of its integrated high-performance model.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Layercake designed and delivered an integrated digital platform that unifies a public-facing website with a Learning Management System (LMS), supporting more than 400 athletes across 45 sports.

The solution provides athletes with streamlined, centralised access to training resources and educational content, while also showcasing VIS’s world-class facilities and high performance programs to the broader Victorian community.

OPPORTUNITY

VIS required a modern digital platform capable of serving two distinct audiences: engaging the Victorian community while delivering robust, high performance tools for its elite athlete program.

Existing systems were fragmented and siloed, creating inefficiencies for athletes accessing education and training resources and opportunities for community engagement. At the same time, VIS lacked a cohesive digital presence to effectively showcase its Olympic and Paralympic-standard facilities, communicate its impact and reflect its position as a leader in high performance sport.

This presented an opportunity to unify systems, streamline athlete services and elevate VIS’s digital brand experience.

SOLUTION

Layercake delivered a scalable WordPress-based digital ecosystem comprising:

A dynamic public website showcasing VIS facilities, athlete achievements and community programs
An integrated Learning Management System (LearnDash) to support athlete education and development
A secure athlete profile system integrated with WordPress user management
A fully mobile-responsive experience, ensuring seamless access across devices
A platform that can deliver both future commercial and engagement opportunities

Together, these components form a unified platform that supports operational efficiency, enhances the athlete experience and strengthens VIS’s public presence.

IMPACT

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The new platform centralises athlete services into a single, streamlined digital environment, significantly reducing administrative complexity for VIS’s 115+ staff and improving operational efficiency across the organisation.

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Athletes now benefit from seamless access to educational content and training resources, enhancing their day-to-day experience and supporting high performance outcomes.

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Externally, the public-facing website provides an elevated way for the community to engage with the VIS through its newly formed ‘Engage’ offerings. The public can easily browse and book experiences that are tailored to their learning needs.

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The website’s visual design enhances VIS’s digital presence, clearly positioning it as Victoria’s premier high performance sports institute and reinforcing its mission to inspire the community through elite athlete achievement.

what the client said

“Working with Layercake was a collaborative and dedicated experience from start to finish. The team took the time to understand the complexity of our high performance environment and translated that into a digital solution that supports both our athletes and staff. Communication throughout the project was clear, proactive and solutions focused. Layercake managed the process efficiently, providing consistent updates, assisting with challenges as they emerged, and delivering on the agreed timelines and budget. The quality of the final platform has exceeded expectations, with feedback from internal stakeholders and external partners being highly positive. It has streamlined internal operations, improved the athlete experience and elevated our public digital presence. We now have a scalable, integrated system that reflects the professionalism and performance standards of the Victorian Institute of Sport.”

Mark brown

IT Manager, Victorian Institute of Sport