STRATEGIC REVIEW OF ATHLETICS TERMS OF REFERENCE

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1 STRATEGIC REVIEW OF ATHLETICS TERMS OF REFERENCE Background Athletics is a truly international sport which is rightly seen as core to both the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Success in athletics is always celebrated by the Australian public. Australia has a proud history in the sport at the Olympics starting in 1896 with Edwin Flack and maintained to this day by Sally Pearson. In between, names like Herb Elliott, Cathy Freeman, Steve Hooker, Marlene Matthews and Shirley Strickland are legendary. At a junior level athletics is a popular foundation sport, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of young children who often go on to pursue other sporting endeavours. Over the past 10 years a number of internal and external reviews (most notably the Elliott Review in 2004) have been undertaken in athletics with recommendations on high performance, administration, governance, athlete pathway and club structure among them. Despite this, the sport is not achieving its potential. It is arguable that in a highly competitive sporting marketplace both internationally and within Australia, the sport is struggling to hold its position. This is not to say that progress has not been made over the years however, significant challenges remain. The failed merger between Athletics Australia (AA) and Australian Little Athletics in 2013 means that there is continuing disjointed governance and athlete pathways from junior to senior. This, together with high performance program management and cultural issues, reflect broader systemic issues in the sport of athletics. Greater unity of purpose across athletics will help the sport achieve its potential. Purpose and Scope of Review The key priorities of the review are to: 1. Identify actions to ensure that all parts of athletics in Australia are unified, inclusive and working effectively together and there is agreement on the respective roles and accountabilities of AA as the sport s national body, its Member Organisations and other athletics organisations and groups. This will include analysis and recommendations on how the role of the national body can most effectively be undertaken to ensure unity of purpose and structure for the whole sport. 2. Consider and make recommendations on the optimal structure and investment approach for athletics high performance program (for both able-bodied and para disciplines) that increases Australian international success and competitive depth in the sport. A particular area of focus will be how to enhance the relationship between AA and its high performance athletes and coaches, and identify the mutual obligations of all parties. 3. Identify opportunities to improve and integrate pathways in the sport across age groups, and address current attrition from the sport for teenage athletes.. 1

2 The Review will: examine the sport s governance, administration, pathway and high performance programs as well as the support provided by various Governments, sports institutes and agencies; identify the common objectives of athletics and consult widely with the sport s stakeholders to analyse the current arrangements for design and delivery, to ensure athletics can achieve best practice outcomes for the whole sport; and examine the strategic governance of the sport to analyse the broader impact on decision making, revenue growth, pathway investment and greater system alignment from grassroots to high performance. Work to be undertaken will include: 1. Analysing the strengths and weaknesses of athletics administrative and governance structures around high performance (able-bodied and para disciplines), including strategic planning, resource management, performance reporting and monitoring and risk management including: a. the domestic, national and international competition structure b. the participation pathway and community level governance structures c. effectiveness of talent identification and development programs d. coaching support, investment and development to ensure Australian athletes have access to the best coaching possible e. current and previous Olympic, Commonwealth Games and Paralympic teams including current team leadership f. high performance management, coaching and athlete support services g. relevant competitor country analysis h. any additional matters considered necessary by the Review Panel. Analyse and identify opportunities for athletics to address athlete participation pathways and address member attrition to enable the sport to increase participation and optimise whole-of-sport commercial partnerships. 2. Consider any opportunities relevant to ensuring that the sport of athletics is positioned to capitalise on high performance, industry and community changes into the future. Stakeholders to be consulted include: AA Board and staff; state members: coaches; athletes; high performance personnel; Australian Little Athletics and its community; appropriate government agencies (including Institutes of Sport); commercial partners and operators in the running events market; other related parties in sport including the AOC, APC, and ACGA; and any other relevant persons from athletics or the broader Australian sport system. In seeking stakeholders views, the Review Panel will instigate a process to ensure that participants can submit their views confidentially if required in order to receive frank and open input to assist in the Panel s deliberations. 2

3 3. Benchmark athletics high performance programs (able-bodied and para disciplines) and administration against other leading athletics nations. It will also consider the approaches of other leading Australian sports. 4. Other factors that may be considered within the review: a. any impediments to athletics ability to deliver the recommendations of the review, including applicable transition requirements for the Panel s recommendations (if required) b. any differences in aims, objectives or pathway between AA and its member states c. use of ASC funding d. any risks and opportunities. Review Panel The Review Panel will be Chaired by John Buchanan, supported by a Panel comprising of Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, Dr Lynne Williams, Mark Bartels and Matthew Favier. Details of the Review Panel s qualifications is provided at Attachment A. Review Timetable The review is to be commenced as soon as practicable. The Review Panel will report by December

4 John Buchanan (chair) John Buchanan is a former first class cricketer who made his name as one of the most successful coaches in international cricket history having led Australia through a remarkable period of success between 1999 and Thorough preparation, attention to detail and ground breaking technological analysis of both his players and opponents were the hallmarks of his tenure which included a world record 16 straight Test match victories, 21 consecutive one day international wins and victory in two World Cups. Buchanan earned his reputation as an enterprising coach during a five year reign as coach of the Queensland cricket team where he delivered the state its first Sheffield Shield title in His stint there resulted in two Shield wins and two domestic one day titles. John has also coached Indian Premier League team the Kolkata Knight Riders and has been a consultant for the England cricket team and more recently director of cricket for New Zealand. Recently he was appointed by the National Rugby League to review the sport s refereeing ranks. He has also written If Better Is Possible about leadership. John has a degree in human movement, a teaching diploma and a master of arts in sports administration. He has held positions with the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, the Department of Tourism, Sports and Racing and lectured at the University of Canberra. He currently runs a consultancy business, Buchanan Success Coaching, which takes lessons of sport and converts them to principles for business. John was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame in Melinda Gainsford-Taylor Melinda Gainsford-Taylor is one of the truly great runners of Australian athletics history. Melinda is a three time Olympian and is the current Australian Record Holder in the 200m sprint. Melinda also held the Australian Record in the 100m, for some 20 years, until it was recently broken by Melissa Breen. At Sydney 2000, she was voted the female Captain of the team. As popular with the media as she is with the greater public, Melinda s relaxed and endearing personality, combined with her professional approach, make her a respected member of the Australian sporting and business community. Melinda has become a successful media commentator working across the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. Since retirement Melinda has been a National Selector for Track and Field and continues the role as the team heads towards the 2016 Rio Olympics. Melinda has been involved in extensive media and corporate work as well as conducting athletics coaching clinics around the country to inspire young children to pursue their dreams. She coaches kids from all sporting codes to help them with explosive speed and is currently expanding this business into local sporting clubs and schools. 4

5 Lynne Williams Lynne is currently chair of the Victorian Government Procurement Board, and is a Commissioner on the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, and on the Victorian Building Authority. She is also a member of the Victorian Legal Services Board and also sits on the Melbourne University Sport Board and the Board of the Faculty of Business and Economics. Lynne held senior executive positions in both the Victorian and Federal public services during a career spanning more than 30 year including at Victorian Treasury and Finance, Premier and Cabinet and Industry departments as well as the Federal Productivity Commission and Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research. She resigned from the position of Under Secretary in the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance in June 2011 and since then has undertaken reviews of the Victorian Climate Change Act 2010 and the State Services Authority in She was also on the 2012 Steering Committee that reviewed Federal Treasury Forecasts. Lynne has a Masters in economics from the University of Melbourne and the London School of Economics and a PhD from Monash University. In her youth, Lynne represented Australia in two World Cross Country Championships, won numerous Australian and Victorian track, road and cross country championships and held the Australian record for 3km on the track and 10km on the road. She continues her interest in running through semi-regular jogs, and through her association with Athletics International (Australia) (AI), a group of former elite athletes whose objectives include assisting young and emerging athletes and providing social opportunities for its members. Lynne has been Vice President of AI since Mark Bartels Mark has had a successful 30-year career in the investment banking and securities industries where he has been one of Australia s leading capital markets advisors to many of Australia s largest companies. He is currently the investment manager for investment management firm Great Eastern Capital, having previously held a range of senior management positions in the financial services industry. These roles included Chairman of Equity Capital Markets at Nomura Australia and before then Citigroup Australia. He has served as a member of the Joint National Listing Advisory Committee (Melbourne) of the Australian Securities Exchange. Mark has a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University. Mark was one of Australia s leading junior middle distance runners winning a number of Victorian Junior Men s Championships and placed 3rd in the Junior Men s 800m championship of Australia. More recently he has continued to be involved in junior athletics as a parent via his two children who have competed in Little Athletics in Victoria and School Sports Victoria over the last seven years. 5

6 Matt Favier Since becoming Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Director in March 2012, Matt Favier has been instrumental in the development and implementation Australia s Winning Edge , the AIS game plan for moving from world class to world best. Matt Favier was appointed in 2013, by John Coates AM, as the Deputy Chef de Mission for the 2016 Australian Olympic Team where his focus will be on performance excellence. Originally from Tully, North Queensland, Matt was an Australian international 800m runner and held a scholarship at the AIS from He has also coached athletics successfully in Australia and the UK. Matt has a degree in physical education, an MBA from the University of Technology Sydney and over 20 years of experience in high-performance sport. As Director of the AIS he has a key role in aligning the high-performance responsibilities of the AIS with national sport organisations (NSOs) and state-based institutes of sport, to deliver on the targets outlined in Australia s Winning Edge. Matt oversees the five branches of the AIS including: Performance Investment; High Performance; Athletes, Coaching and Leadership; Performance Science and Innovation; and Performance Preparation. His previous roles include working with the Queensland Academy of Sport, NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, Athletics Australia and the Australian Paralympic Committee. He also has international experience working with UK Athletics and most recently UK Sport, where he oversaw the programs of Olympic medal-winning athletes and their coaches with integrated support service delivery. 6