But it has also sounded a note of concern for the future.
More than 20 year-two athletes graduated from the OAS at a function in Dunedin last night.
They can now apply to continue being supported by the academy as year three-plus scholarship athletes.
As ever, the list included promising athletes from a remarkably diverse range of sports.
Graduands included rising netballers Grace Southby and Jess Tyrrell, mountain biking star Nico Arnold, world cup luger Flyn Coburn, hurdler/ vaulter Cole Gibbons, ice dancer Hannah Sime, and hockey/ handball player Lachie Colquhoun.
The OAS scholarship athletes this year were New Zealand under-19 road cycling champion James Gardner, Otago basketballer Hannah Matehaere, netball/cricket player Harriet Cuttance, kayaker Jade Tierney and surf life-savers Molly Shiv-nan, Claudia Kelly and Olive Pearce.
The support offered by the academy was also diverse, programme manager Carmel Leslie said in the annual report.
It fostered the athletes’ development with education, consultation and physical development, and had a growing focus on health and wellbeing.
This year featured the highest number of applicants — no fewer than 60 — for the year-one programme, and it was "a difficult undertaking" to determine the final cut.
"We have some very dedicated and clever athletes achieving some impressive results," Leslie said.
"However, our focus at the academy is selecting those athletes who are not only talented but ambitious, determined and who have great attitudes."
The OAS might be based in Dunedin but it has three athletes in Oamaru and two from Central Otago.
It also held the Elite Motorsport Academy camp in Dunedin for an 18th year.
While the OAS is doing good work in the present, its future is less clear.
There could be ramifications from the work High Performance Sport New Zealand was doing on its 2024 strategy, particularly around regional sport, OAS chairman Steve Brocklebank said in the annual report.
That had "left us in a holding pattern and unsure about our future," Brocklebank said.
"However, we continue to be dedicated to supporting Otago athletes and teams, and the academy will continue to deliver the services to our athletes that we have provided so well in the past 20-plus years."
The academy reported a loss for the financial year of $6605 on revenue of about $163,000.
Its equity dropped to $3979, although the parent Academy South Island Education Trust’s equity was stable at about $55,000.
Brocklebank said the academy would need to source more funding if it was to continue to operate at its current level.
"We will need to identify and encourage support for our athletes from businesses and trusts in Otago in order to survive as an organisation.
"We receive no funding support from our national sporting organisations or any other public funding."
