AIS Vienna Receives Prestigious QPA Award for Athletic Excellence

Feb 25

We are thrilled to announce that AIS Vienna is one of the first two international schools in the world – and the first in Europe – to receive the prestigious Quality Program Assessment (QPA) Award. This honor, accredited by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) in the United States, recognizes excellence in athletic program administration. Winners are announced annually in December.

The QPA process is an in-depth and rigorous evaluation of an athletic program, setting a global benchmark for excellence. While international schools undergo regular accreditation by various external agencies, no other assessment evaluates athletics as comprehensively as the QPA.

To earn this distinction, a school must have an athletic administrator who is an active NIAAA member and score over 80% in each of the 10 assessment categories, which include:

Philosophy
Educational Compatibility
Mentoring Staff & Student Leaders
Program Safety & Risk Management
Communication - Program Access and Equity
Budget and Supplementary Fundraising
Personnel & Program Assessment
Technology
Sports Medicine
Innovation & Creative Leadership Strategies

Until 2023, only 67 schools had received the QPA Award. In 2024, AIS Vienna and Escuela Internacional Sampedrana (EIS) in Honduras became the first-ever international schools to achieve this recognition – a milestone in international school athletics.

We are incredibly proud of our Athletics Department for this achievement and their commitment to excellence, leadership, and student development. A great big thank you goes out to Nick DeForest, Assistant Director of the Events Office, and Lucija Perktold, ASA Coordinator and Assistant to the Events Office, who were both instrumental in pulling all the necessary data and information together.

Learn more about the NIAAA and the QPA Award.

Discover AISV Athletics.