Minutes of the AGM held Saturday 10 May 2014

Transcription

1 Minutes of the AGM held Saturday 10 May 2014

2 ABN Reg No. A J MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING held in the Foundation hall Ground Level, Museum of Contemporary Art 140 George Street SYDNEY on Saturday 10 May 2014 At 09:00 (available on the AOC s website olympics.com.au)

3 MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Held at the Foundation Hall Ground Level, Museum of Contemporary Art 140 George Street, Sydney on Saturday 14 May 2014 at 09:00 1. Opening and welcome by the President The meeting was declared open at 09:00 by the President, Mr John Coates. The President welcomed all those in attendance particularly: Life members, Phil Coles, Doug Donoghue, Ron Harvey, Geoff Henke and Michael Wenden IOC Member, James Tomkins Athletes Commission Member, Ramone Cooper Australian Sports Commission Chairman, John Wiley AOC Historian, Harry Gordon Andy Lang of EY Mike Bushell of Sports Marketing & Management Biathlon President, Grant Flanagan Curling President, Hugh Millikin Handball President, Alex Gavrilovic Sliding Sports President, Alex Zborowski Volleyball President, Craig Carracher Yachting President, Matt Allen Equestrian President, Dr Warwick Vale Representatives of the State Olympic Councils and Olympians Clubs Order of Merit Recipients Mrs Gina Rinehart who is represented by her daughter Ginia Rinehart and Laurie Lawrence Observers and members of the media The President recorded the apologies from: Honorary IOC Member, Kevan Gosper Life Members, John Devitt, Sir Donald Trescowthick and Arthur Tunstall The President noted that a list of apologies was included in additional materials for delegates. A record of those attending the meeting is annexed and marked A and a record of apologies is annexed and marked B. 2

4 A period of silence was observed in memory of: Helen Baird SA Olympic Council Charles Bazzano 1948 Olympic Games Cycling Robert Bignell 1956 Olympic Games Football Gregory Brough (Bronze Medallist) 1968 Olympic Games Swimming Robert Clark 1960 Olympic Games Wrestling Kevin Coote 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games Wrestling Ian Davies 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games Basketball John Dawe 1964 Olympic Games Sailing Basil Dickinson 1936 Olympic Games Athletics Jim Dunn (Official) 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games Equestrian Bill Holden 1956 Olympic Games Boxing Dr John Holt 1960 Olympic Games Shooting Bridget Hyem 1964 Olympic Games Equestrian Nancy Jarvis 1956 Olympic Games Athletics Henry Jolson OAM QC Former President, Australian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association, and CAS Arbitrator 3

5 Faith Leech (Gold Medallist) 1956 Olympic Games Swimming Peter McDermott 1968 Olympic Games Cycling Athol Macdonald 1976 Olympic Games Rowing David Power (Bronze Medallist 1960) 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games Athletics Paul Ramsay, AO Great friend of the Olympic Movement, in particular fundraising in NSW, and sports of sailing, rowing and rugby James Scanlon 1968 Olympic Games Equestrian Malcolm Shaw 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games - Rowing Albie Thomas 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games Athletics Billy Ward 2012 Olympic Games Boxing 2. Notice of Meeting Notice of the meeting having been posted on 10 March 2014, the President confirmed the meeting to have been properly constituted. 3. Confirmation of Minutes a) Business Arising The President referred to The Hon. Chris Schacht s recommendation from the previous Annual General Meeting that the AOC Executive consider establishing an award in the name of Peter Norman, Olympian and Silver Medallist and AFL player Nicky Winmar in recognition of the role athletes can play in the fight against racism. The President reminded the meeting it is a Fundamental Principle of Olympism that 6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement. Accordingly, the AOC Executive has determined that it is not necessary to establish an award related to the stand taken by the late Peter Norman in Mexico 1968 in relation to one of these forms of 4

6 discrimination, namely race and for which the President again commended Peter Norman as did Chef de Mission, Judy Patching at the time. Any recognition of footballer Nicky Winmar for his role in the fight against racism is a matter for the Australian Football League. b) The minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting held on 4 May 2013 were confirmed by the meeting. 4. Presentation by the Secretary General of the 2013 Annual Report, the Financial Statements of the Committee and the Independent Auditor s Report The Secretary General s address is annexed and marked C. In concluding his address, the Secretary General noted that the Committee s Independent Auditor, EY had reported that in their opinion: the Financial Report presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Australian Olympic Committee Incorporated as of 31 December 2013 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 2 to the Financial Statements. IT WAS RESOLVED that the 2013 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Committee and the Independent Auditor s Report thereon be received. 5. President s Address The President s address is annexed and marked D. In addition, he noted the appointment on 9 May 2014 by Federal Minister of Health and Sport The Hon. Peter Dutton of Ben McDevitt as the new ASADA Chief Executive. The President s Statement on this appointment was tabled and is annexed and marked E. 6. Address by the Chairman of the Australian Sports Commission, Mr John Wylie AM The Chairman of the Australian Sports Commission s address is annexed and marked F. 7. Award of the Order of Merit The President reminded the meeting that under the Constitution the Order of Merit may be conferred upon any person who, in the opinion of the Executive, has achieved remarkable merit in the sporting world either through his or her personal achievements or his or her contribution to the development of sport. The President reported that the Executive had determined to award, and he presented, the Order of Merit to:- Mrs Gina Rinehart (details annexed and marked G ) in recognition of her philanthropic support for sports, in particular athletes involved in swimming and volleyball. The award was accepted by Mrs Rinehart s daughter Ms Ginia Rinehart; and Mr Laurie Lawrence (details annexed and marked H ) in recognition of his contribution to Australian Olympic Teams over three decades. 5

7 8. General Business Presentation of the IOC Trophy: 150 Years, Pierre de Coubertin, Sport as a School of Life The President presented the IOC Trophy: 150 Years, Pierre de Coubertin, Sport as a School of Life to the Chairman of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), Mr John Wylie in recognition of the contribution of the ASC s Athlete Career and Education Program to the lives of Australian athletes. John Wylie accepted the IOC Trophy on behalf of the ASC, Australian Institute of Sport and State Institutes who participate in the Athlete Career and Education Program. There being no further business the President closed the meeting at 10:40am, thanking everyone for their attendance. JOHN D COATES President Date 6

8 A RECORD OF ATTENDANCE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS John Coates, President Peter Montgomery, Vice President Helen Brownlee, Vice President Kitty Chiller Nick Green Nicole Livingstone Craig Phillips, Secretary General Andrew Plympton James Tomkins, IOC Member Russell Withers Danielle Woodward ATHLETES COMMISSION Ramone Cooper LIFE MEMBERS Phil Coles Doug Donoghue Ronald Harvey Geoff Henke Michael Wenden NATIONAL FEDERATIONS - SUMMER Archery Martin Shaw Badminton Loke Poh Wong Geraldine Brown Boxing Jim Ferguson Phillip Goodes Cycling Melinda Tarrant Lyriane Beuzeville Fencing Andrew Ius Graham Markey Gymnastics Grant Harrison Mark Rendelll Athletics Peter Bromley Nick Moore Basketball Graeme Allen Rob Marcolina Canoeing Greg Doyle Robbie Stewart Equestrian Grant Baldock Warwick Vale Golf Stephen Pitt Handball Alex Gavrilovic Bronwyn Thompson

9 Hockey Tracey Scott Cam Vale Modern Pentathlon John Fernon Rugby William Pulver Swimming Mark Anderson Tennis Machar Reid Volleyball Craig Carracher Mathieu Meriaux Wrestling Kuldip Bassi David Boucher Judo Peter Hermann Rowing Andrew Dee Colin Smith Shooting Catherine Frettell Damien Marangon Taekwondo John Kotsifas Triathlon David Ferrier Anne Gripper Water Polo Chris Harrison Yachting Matthew Allen Phil Jones NATIONAL FEDERATIONS - WINTER Biathlon Grant Flanagan Genevieve Yan-Colebourn Ice Hockey Steve Ransome Ice Skating Cathy Taylor Ski and Snowboard Dean Gosper Michael Kennedy NATIONAL FEDERATIONS - RECOGNISED Air Sport Mike Close Curling Hugh Millikin Steve Johns Ice Racing Frank Anderson Luge Hannah Campbell-Pegg Sliding Sports Lisa Gowthorp Alex Zborowski Baseball David Hynes

10 Bocce Raymond Cher Netball Pam Smith Underwater Adrian Wayne Dancesport Stephen Edwards Squash John Small Waterski and Wakeboard Janice Thurgar STATE OLYMPIC COUNCILS Australian Capital Territory Olympic Council Bruce Coe Queensland Olympic Council Trevor Beckingham Natalie Cook Tasmanian Olympic Council Anthony Edwards Sally Napthali New South Wales Olympic Council James Edwards Shane Alvisio South Australian Olympic Council Penny Halliday Kirsty Withers Victorian Olympic Council Jeremy Thompson Maria Cabeliza Western Australian Olympic Council Jeff Healy Greg Kaeding MEDICAL COMMISSION Professor Peter Fricker Dr David Hughes OLYMPIANS CLUB OF AUSTRALIA Leon Wiegard

11 AWARDEES Ginia Rinehart (on behalf of Gina Rinehart) Laurie Lawrence Aaron Kierath (guest of Ginia Rinehart) Jason Morrison, (guest of Ginia Rinehart) GUESTS Simon Hollingsworth, Australian Sports Commission John Wylie, Australian Sports Commission OBSERVERS Margaret Blundell, Ice Racing Australia Dr Peter Braun Sarah Burston, NSW Olympic Council Mike Bushell, Sports Marketing & Management Harry Gordon, AOC Historian Joy Gordon John Heard, The Olympians Club of SA Jessica Hurford, Sports Marketing & Management Nicole Jeffrey, The Australian Bethanie Kearney, The Olympians Club of TAS Andy Lang, EY John Lehmann, News Corp Geoff Lipshut, Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Julie McDonald, The Olympians Club of QLD Damien Moston, Sports Marketing & Management Marty Rabjohns, The Olympians Club of ACT Margaret Ralston, Government of South Australia Shane Redenbach, Sports Marketing & Management Melina Simjanovic, Ice Skating Australia Kellie Snowden, SA Olympic Council David Spicer, ABC TV Liane Tooth, The Olympians Club of WA Lisa Zoomers, Queensland Olympic Council

12 AOC STAFF Kylie Algie Jennifer Anson Taya Conomos Julia Cook Frances Cordaro Fiona de Jong Julie Dunstan Lauren Fitzgerald Ben Graham Pamela Harris Megan Hor Raelene Mair Gabrielle Masson Lisa Millen Angela Monti Nicole Palmer Kylie Peake Andrew Reid Cheryl Ritchie Lisa Sams Caylie Saunders Megan Sissian Anthony Soulsby Mike Tancred Ben Troy Jocelyn Webb

13 B APOLOGIES FOR THE AOC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 10 MAY 2014 Life Members John Devitt, AM Kevan Gosper, AO Sir Donald Trescowthick, AC CBE, Arthur Tunstall, OBE, JP Executive Members Ian Chesterman Athletes Commission Alana Boyd Cate Campbell, OAM Kim Crow Steve Hooker, OAM Lydia Lassila, OAM Anna Meares, OAM Lauren Mitchell, Ken Wallace, OAM Loudy Wiggins Medical Commission Wendy Braybon Carolyn Broderick Gill Brewster, Victorian Olympic Council Robin Poke, ACT Olympic Council Archery: Brian Hagaman, President Badminton: Paul Brettell, CEO Cycling: Gerry Ryan, President Football: David Gallop, AM, CEO Luke Casserley, Head National Performance Tennis: Craig Tiley, CEO Luge: Karen Flynn Karate: Hani Zahra, National Secretary Orienteering: John Harding, CEO Skate Australia: Patricia Wallace, President Squash: Gary O Donnell, CEO Surfing: Andrew Stark, CEO Surf Life Saving: Graham Ford, President Greg Nance, CEO Waterski and Wakeboard: Gary Humphrey, CEO Legal & Accounting: Patrick George, Kennedys Rebekah Giles, Kennedys Abbie Lusthaus, EY Matthew Lynn, EY Awardee: Mrs Gina Rinehart Liz Dawson, NZOC Board Member Golf: Brad James, High Performance Director Judo: Michael Briers, Chairman Rugby: Michael Hawker, AM, Chairman Table Tennis: Will Goodier Peter Marriott, CEO Taekwondo: Daniel Trenton

14 "C" Secretary General s Address Annual General Meeting 10 May 2014 President Chairman, Australian Sports Commission John Wylie My AOC Executive Colleagues Life Members Delegates Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen Good morning. I am honoured to present to you the Australian Olympic Committee s Annual Report for the year The first Annual Report for the quadrennium and the 10th for me as Secretary General. President, with your agreement, I would ask that the Annual Report be taken as read. As I commence my address it is important that I acknowledge two people. Firstly, President, it would be remiss of me not to call on our Members to join me in congratulating you on your election last year to the Vice Presidency of the International Olympic Committee. You can be justifiably proud of this important personal achievement. Secondly, I wish to congratulate Ian Chesterman on his inspired leadership of our Team to Sochi for the Olympic Winter Games. Ian s integrity, compassion and commitment are well recognised by the athletes and the Team support personnel he so ably lead. Personally, I have had the great honour of serving as a member of Ian s Team Executive since Nagano in It has been one of the great pleasures of my time at the AOC. While not part of the reporting year, page 31 summarises the remarkable achievements of the 2014 Olympic Winter Team. Three medals two silver and one bronze, two further top five results, 15 top 10 performances and 27 Top 16 placings is a fantastic outcome for this 60 strong team 43 of whom were Olympic debutants. 1

15 They are a great source of inspiration to us all. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate their deeds of our Winter Olympians in the presence of Prime Minister Abbott last night. A more detailed report on the Team s achievements will be included in next year s Annual Report. President, being the Annual Report of an odd numbered year I would normally make some reference to last year being non Olympic. In fact, I even refer to it as such in my Secretary General s Review as I recall. But on reflection, I don t think it is valid for us to talk about Olympic versus non Olympic years anymore. Every year is an Olympic year for the AOC. Every day is an Olympic day. Our organisation is now fully engaged throughout the Olympiad on projects and initiatives which ultimately will lead to many members of the community having the opportunity to become Olympic. Some will become Olympians or Youth Olympians but many many more will not. However, this should not stop them from being Olympic. Let me explain. In January 2013, the AOC hosted the 6 th edition of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival the AYOF. A total of 1350 athletes from 34 nations came to Sydney to compete in 17 Olympic sports, 489 of this number were young Australians. We know from previous editions of the AYOF that a substantial number of the Australian athletes will ultimately become Olympians and even Olympic medallists. For those who don t, the AOC is proud that we have still been able to create opportunities for them to be Olympic. An experience we hope will remain with them for a lifetime. In a similar way, our Olympic Education programs give young people from throughout Australia the chance to be Olympic. Whether it is the successful Chat to a Champ program or the enduring Pierre de Coubertin Awards which have seen more than 12,000 students become recipients over the last 21 years the AOC continues to give young Australians ways to connect with the Olympic Movement. The Chair of our own Athletes Commission, Kim Crow, is a wonderful example of where an Olympic connection at a young age can lead. During August 2013, 8 young Pierre de Coubertin Award recipients from throughout Australia were selected to attend the 9 th International Pierre de Coubertin Youth Forum in Lillehammer, Norway. 2

16 The young Australians who attended the Forum developed lifelong friendships with other young people from around the world through the fellowship of Olympism. To my way of thinking, anyone who aspires, achieves and inspires others is acting in accordance with the Olympic ideals is being Olympic. The AOC is proud of the opportunities it provided throughout 2013 for young Australians to aspire, achieve and inspire. In 2013, the AOC appointed the 2016 Olympic Team Executive. Modern Pentathlon Olympian, Kitty Chiller will lead the Team as Chef de Mission. She will be supported by 4 Deputy Chefs de Mission Chris Fydler, Julien Prosser, Matt Favier and me. I know I speak for Kitty and the other Deputies when I say how proud we all are to be given this very special honour. The responsibility of leading Australia s next wave of Olympians is one we take very seriously. Yesterday, the AOC Executive approved the 2016 Team Strategic Plan. Our Vision Statement is: For the Australian Olympic Team to be the most respected team in the world. It is ambitious but it is an aspiration that has our 100% commitment. John Quincy Adams, the 6 th President of the United States, who must have been an Olympian at heart said: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. As the lead organisation for the Olympic Movement in Australia, the AOC must continue to inspire others. Or, at the very least, provide opportunities for others to inspire. All that we achieve as an organisation and the esteem with which we are held in the global Olympic community requires the contributions of many. The names of those to whom we are deeply indebted are appearing on the screen behind me. Their names will be included in the printed version of my report (see Attachment 1). To all of you thank you, thank you so much. Without you the AOC cannot succeed. President, I believe it is important that I draw the attention of our Members to the efforts of our hardworking and dedicated staff. While we are small in number there are only 28 of us down from 31 last year we never fail to deliver. As I conclude my address, I draw the attention of our Members to pages 68 through 92 of the Annual Report. These pages contain the Financial Statements and Independent Auditor s Report thereon. 3

17 In line with our commitment to complete transparency, our Annual Report and the Financial Statements are publicly available on olympics.com.au for all to see. As I do each year, I remind our members that the AOC reports to the standards required of a publicly listed company. We do this by choice. On pages 91 and 92 of the Annual Report, independent auditors, EY have reported to you that in their opinion: the financial report presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Australian Olympic Committee Incorporated as of 31 December 2013 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 2 to the financial statements. Note 2 can be found on pages 73 through 77 of the Annual Report. President, I commend the financial statements to you and invite you to now propose that the 2013 Annual Report, Financial Statements and the Independent Audit Report thereon, be received. Thank you. CRAIG PHILLIPS SECRETARY GENERAL 4

18 ATTACHMENT 1 The AOC thanks: AOF Investment Advisory Committee Mercer Investment Consulting Sports Marketing & Management Team Sponsors, Suppliers & Licensees State Olympic Councils Olympians Clubs of Australia International Olympic Committee Olympic Solidarity Oceania National Olympic Committees Australian Sports Commission Australian Institute of Sport Olympic Winter Institute of Australia State/Territory Institutes & Academies of Sport Allens Linklaters Johnson Winter & Slattery Lawyers Kennedys Minter Ellison EY National Federations AOC Executive AOC Commissions AOC Committees AOC Staff

19 D PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SATURDAY, 10 MAY AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TEAM, OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, SOCHI, RUSSIA Last night Prime Minister Tony Abbott joined us in recognising our 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Teams and Craig Phillips has detailed their excellent results in the Annual Report. In addition to the medals won by Torah Bright, David Morris and Lydia Lassila, what stood out for me were 2 other top 5 and 12 other top 10 results and the fact that 43 of our 60 member team were first-timers, all of which augers well for the next Winter Games in 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea. We have already appointed Ian Chesterman as Chef de Mission again in 2018 his sixth time AUSTRALIAN WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC TEAM, LILLEHAMMER And in the lead-up for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer in 2016 we have appointed Olympic Champion, Alisa Camplin as Chef de Mission of our Team her second time AUSTRALIAN YOUTH OLYMPIC TEAM, NANJING, CHINA Our next team will be the Australian Team for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in August of this year. Olympic Champion, Susie O Neill is our Chef de Mission of a team of 91 athletes aged and competing in 26 sports and disciplines, including two team sports women s rugby sevens and men s hockey five-a-side. Susie attended the Chef de Mission Seminar in late March and reports that our Chinese hosts are well organised. The Youth Olympic Village is a new apartment style complex with athletes walking through a corridor of culture and education program activities to access the one entrance to the residential zone. The sports venues are a mix of old and new and all excellent.

20 2 London 2012 Olympic Canoe Slalom silver medallist, Jessica Fox who won gold in our 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival and in the first Youth Olympic Games, has been appointed by the IOC as one of the Young Ambassadors who will share their experiences and mentor the athletes AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TEAM, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL I spoke with some concern on the topic of Rio s readiness at the second Campaign Rio Forum last week at Sydney Olympic Park. This followed my last visit there as a member of the IOC Rio 2016 Coordination Commission in mid-march and the specific and serious concerns raised by 17 of the International Federations when the IOC Executive Board met with them in Turkey early April. Since our Forum the feedback from IOC Games Director, Gilbert Felli, who was in Rio at the time as head of the task force the IOC has put in place to work with our partners in Rio, is more positive. Time remains of the essence but Mr Felli reports that things are moving in the right direction. Mr Felli and the organisers have developed a clear timetable for work to be undertaken between now and the next meeting of the IOC Coordination Commission at the end of September after the FIFA World Cup. Clearly that meeting will be critical. For its part, the Organising Committee remains confident that Rio will host an excellent Games that will be delivered absolutely within the agreed timelines and budgets. And as I have been repeating, there is no plan B. We (the IOC, the International Federations and the Organising Committee) have to make this happen by working together over the next two years. Campaign Rio, a collaborative initiative between the AOC, Australian Paralympic Committee and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was launched last year and last week s was the latest of two very successful High Performance Forums. Over 75 sport leaders attended the 3 days with 21 Olympic National Federations represented. The focus of the Forum was on Leadership and Culture and Values. We were honoured that the new Governor General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove attended and addressed the group on leading in a challenging environment. His words were inspiring to say the least. We also launched our approach to developing a Culture and Values Road Map which aims at implementing an 18 month program of education and awareness for our potential athletes. Our Rio Chef de Mission, Kitty Chiller announced our first 10 sport Team Leaders for the Rio Team. These positions will be responsible for the strategic planning and preparation of their respective sports, not only in respect of performance, but also culture and values and contribution to the broader Australian Team. The Forum was an enormous success and we have had excellent feedback from the sports in attendance.

21 3 As further evidence of the close cooperation enjoyed by our two organisations, the AOC recently renewed its recognition of the AIS as an Olympic Training Centre through until 31 December WORLD ANTI-DOPING CODE, 2015 In the Annual Report I drew attention to the changes to the World Anti-Doping Code, effective 1 January Shortly after its adoption on 15 November 2014, Craig Phillips provided member National Federations with WADA s summary of the Significant Changes between the 2009 Code and the 2015 Code, principal among which is increasing bans from 2 to 4 years for real cheats. The 2015 Code amendments support the increasing importance of investigations and use of intelligence in the fight against doping which has received quite some prominence here in Australia over the last eighteen months. Most pleasingly, amendments to the Code have been included to better reach Athlete Support Personnel who are involved in doping. We know that doping frequently involves coaches, trainers, or other Athlete Support Personnel and in many cases those Athlete Support Personnel were outside the jurisdiction of anti-doping authorities. Be aware that the new Article establishes that one of the roles and responsibilities of International Federations is to adopt rules which obligate their National Federations to require Athlete Support Personnel who participate in their activities to agree to be bound by anti-doping rules and the results management authority of applicable Anti-Doping Organizations. Article imposes this same responsibility on National Olympic Committees in respect of their National Federations. Also note Article 2.10 which adds a new anti-doping rule violation entitled Prohibited Association. This makes it an anti-doping rule violation for an Athlete or other Person (meaning a natural Person or an organisation or other entity) to associate in a professional or sports-related capacity with Athlete Support Personnel who are currently Ineligible (meaning the Athlete or other Person is barred on account of an anti-doping rule violation for a specified period of time from participating in any Competition or other activity or funding as provided in Article ), who have been convicted in a criminal, disciplinary, or professional proceeding for conduct that would constitute doping, for the longer of six years from the conviction/decision or the duration of the criminal, disciplinary, or professional sanction imposed; or someone who is serving as a front for such a Person. Before an Athlete is found to have violated this article, he or she must have received notice of the Athlete Support Personnel s disqualified status and the Consequence of continued association. The Athlete Support Personnel also has the opportunity to explain that the disqualified status is not applicable to him or her. Finally, this article does not apply in circumstances where the association is unavoidable, such as a child/parent or wife/husband relationship. The AOC Executive will be updating the AOC Anti-Doping By-Law at its November meeting to conform with the 2015 Code from 1 January 2015.

22 4 The AOC will also be drawing specific attention to the operation of the new anti-doping rule violation of Prohibited Association in its Team Membership Agreements for Athletes and Officials and requiring assurances of no such association as a condition for election to, and continuing membership of, the AOC Executive and Athletes Commission, or appointment to any commissions of, or employment with, the AOC. Member National Federations should similarly ensure that their Athlete Support Personnel are bound by the anti-doping rules and the new anti-doping rule violation of Prohibited Association is understood by their Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel and administrators. AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC FOUNDATION The Foundation was established in The members and Board of the Trustee of the Australian Olympic Foundation - that is, the Australian Olympic Foundation Limited - are the voting members of the Executive of the AOC from time to time. That being the case and being mindful that one of the purposes of establishing the Foundation was to separate it from the day to day activities and control of the AOC, we have continued the practice of reporting separately on the Foundation s activities and results. To that end, the 2013 Annual Report of the Foundation was circulated with the 2013 Annual Report of the AOC. It contains my Chairman s Review, at pages and from which you will note net assets grew from $115.6 million to $135.1 million over the calendar year. A copy of my report to the Board of the Foundation at its meeting yesterday has been distributed today for your information. Following an interim distribution of $1.15 million received by the AOC for the first quarter of this year total cash net assets stood at $134.2 million at 31 March Total distributions received by the AOC since 1 January 2001 when the Foundation received its $88.48 million legacy from Sydney hosting the 2000 Olympic Games now amount to $86.1 million. The Foundation s return as at 31 March 2014 on a per annum basis since inception is 8.0% p.a. which is 1.2% above its rolling 4 year return target of 6.8% p.a. It is the distributions from the Foundation, along with sponsorship and fundraising income, which enables the AOC to fulfil its role as an independent NOC and without the Government funding on which the great majority of NOCs depend. SUBMISSION FOR INCLUSION OF THE AOF IN TABLE IN SECTION INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1997 (CTH) (INCOME TAX ACT) A substantial share of the AOF s assets is held in shares in publicly-listed companies through managed funds. Consequently, much of the income received by the AOC is derived from franked dividends which have been paid to the AOF and subsequently distributed by the AOF to the

23 5 AOC. Franked dividends paid to the AOF have already been taxed by the companies issuing those dividends at the corporate tax rate of 30%. In general, most shareholders are entitled to a tax offset equal to the franking credit allocated to the dividend. Shareholders grossed up dividend, which includes both the dividend paid or credited to the shareholder and the allocated franking credit, is included in the shareholder s assessable income. Where the shareholder s marginal tax rate is less than the corporate tax rate of 30%, the excess franking credits are refundable. However, the AOF is not presently able to flow through franking credits to the AOC as the AOF is not a qualified person under the Income Tax Act in the same way as the Australian Sports Foundation, Girl Guides Australia, State and Territory branches of Girl Guides Australia, the Scout Association of Australia, State and Territory branches of the Scout Association of Australia, the Bradman Memorial Fund and the Amy Gillett Foundation. To become a qualified person and be able to flow through franking credits to the AOC, the AOF needs to be included in the Table of Recipients for Deductible Gifts for Sports and Recreation under section of the Income Tax Act such that it may be recognised as an exempt institution that is eligible for a refund, in the same way as the seven other funds and institutions mentioned are listed. Recognition as an exempt institution that is eligible for a refund will enable the AOF to seek a refund of franking credits from fully, or partially, franked dividends it receives from shares it holds in publicly-listed companies through managed funds. The AOC considers there are strong policy grounds for listing the AOF alongside these other funds and institutions and on 30 April 2014 made a submission to this effect to the Treasurer, The Hon Joe Hockey. The amount of these franking credits since 2001 totals $7.5 million and they have averaged $588,342 p.a. over the last 4 years. If the AOF is successful with its submission to the Treasurer, the AOC will increase its direct Medal Incentive Funding to medallists by the amount of the refunds and look to re-introduce the funding to 4 th and 5 th placegetters which was so effective in the lead-up to the Sydney Olympic Games. SPONSORSHIPS Our revenue target to achieve a balanced budget for the quadrennium is $40.2 million, which is a 9% increase on the $36.6 million of total sponsorship revenue achieved for the quadrennium. The value of sponsorships and supplier agreements contracted to date for is $24.8 million which compares with $32.6 million contracted at this time in the last Olympic quadrennium. Clearly we have some considerable way to go. For the quadrennium we have sponsors contracted to the value of $9.6 million.

24 6 USA BROADCASTING RIGHTS AWARDED TO NBCUNIVERSAL (NBCU) THROUGH TO 2032 Last Wednesday the IOC awarded NBCU the broadcast rights in the USA for the Olympic Games through to NBCU has acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile. The agreement from 2021 to 2032 is valued at USD7.65 billion, plus an additional USD100 million signing bonus to be used for the promotion of Olympism and the Olympic values between 2015 and I mention this because this agreement is a major contribution to the long-term financial stability of the entire Olympic Movement. The IOC distributes more than 90 per cent of the revenue it generates to support the International Sports Federations, the 204 National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams and the Organising Committees of each Olympic Games. OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020 Following his election as IOC President in September 2013, Dr Thomas Bach has embarked on a major review known as Olympic Agenda 2020 and which is intended to form the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement. First, the President collated his and the ideas of the other Presidential candidates, the IOC departments and Executive Board. The Executive Board spent four days discussing them in December with the debate centring around the three overarching themes of sustainability, credibility and youth and from which the ideas were structured into the following five themes: 1. Uniqueness of the Olympic Games 2. Athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement 3. Olympism in action: Keeping Olympism alive 365 days a year 4. The IOC s role: unity in diversity 5. IOC structure and organisation They were presented at the IOC Session in Sochi in February for preliminary discussion, with members making some 220 interventions. Submissions were then invited from International Federations, National Olympic Committees and members of the public, with some 40,000 received to date. You will find a copy of the Agenda 2020 discussion points on your tables together with the AOC submission prepared by Craig Phillips following input from our Executive (excluding me) and Athletes Commission. Working Groups are currently being set up with responsibility for sifting the suggestions before reaching recommendations to put before the Executive Board. They will then be referred to an Extraordinary Session of the IOC in December. This Session may well be the most significant in the history of the IOC since it constituted itself on 23 June JOHN COATES AC President

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27 ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION MR JOHN WYLIE AM F

28 CHAIR ASC: Speech to AOC AGM, 10 May 2013 Introduction Welcome and acknowledgements: AOC President Mr John Coates, AOC Board, President of the APC Glenn Tasker, NSO Presidents, AOC Life Members, Recipients of Olympic Orders of Merit, L&G Thank you John for the opportunity to address you today. Eighteen months into my tenure as Chair of the ASC, I am confident that the relationship between the ASC and AOC is the best it has been for many years. Our interactions have a unity of purpose. This was evident only two weeks ago when the Campaign Rio forum brought together our nation s best HP people at the AIS, the AOC and the APC. And as Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove spoke at the forum about the importance of sport to Australia, I sensed that everyone in the room myself included felt excited that we are all part of something bigger than any individual organisation the idea that when all is said and done, our efforts are about the singular concept of excellence by Australians for Australians. Today I want to talk about two things: First, I want to outline progress on the ASC s strategic agenda. Second, I will outline an important change that we intend to make to the way the AIS directly supports Olympic athletes. Reflections on Sochi Before I do that I d first like to say a couple of words about the Sochi Winter Olympics. I was fortunate to travel to Sochi for my first Winter Games. I was extremely impressed by what I witnessed from our Australian team. 1

29 While Australia s overall medal table placing fell short of aspirations, there were many positives. We had the largest number of Australians ever 60 - meeting Olympic qualifying standard to merit inclusion in our team. We had a very young team, providing great foundations for the future. We had brilliant and gutsy medal winning performances from David Morris, Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila. Lydia and Torah showed why they are such great Australian athletes and added further evidence as to how our female athletes continue to lead the way. David Morris silver must go down as one of the best examples in any event - let alone the harrowing aerials in applying exquisite judgment, and demonstrating nerves of steel to produce his best on the day, at the moment when it was needed. Superlative is an understatement. And we showed the increasing depth of our talent pool with 15 top 10s, 27 in the top 16, and we had 7 of the top 60 moguls competitors in the world, with 2 finishing in the top 10 an impressive achievement in a nonalpine country like Australia. The Sochi results I believe have reinforced the merits of a targeted investment approach by Australia. The AIS is now working closely with the AOC and OWIA to identify the best way to keep producing results in areas where Australia can produce world champions like aerials, snowboarding and moguls. 2

30 As Sochi fades into sporting history, Rio moves ever closer. This test looms for our athletes as one of their most challenging ever. I never cease to be impressed with the qualities of our young Olympic athletes their dedication, focus, resilience, leadership skills and general good nature. I have no doubt therefore that they will respond magnificently to the challenges of Rio, and indeed will find a way to flourish in what will be a chaotic and culturally novel environment. Update ASC Strategic Agenda I d like to turn now to progress on ASC s strategic agenda. I believe that since we launched Australia s Winning Edge, the ASC has demonstrated consistent and clear leadership of Australian sport. We have asked all of you to embrace change, and we have practiced what we have preached by changing ourselves. In short: Clear targets; streamlined investment linked to the targets; more responsibility for sport; more accountability of sports; and a changed AIS. You are all familiar with the challenging economic environment in Australia, and I don t wish to speculate on next week s Federal budget, save to say that the importance of sport to Australians is well understood by the Government and the PM. The PM s attendance last night at this busy time is indicative of his recognition of the importance of the Olympics to Australia. While most of you are aware of the changes to the AIS that have been implemented, you may be less familiar with the extent to which the broader ASC has itself changed. Over the past 4 years, the ASC has not been immune from cumulative efficiency dividends applied by Government to its budget. 3

31 The ASC Board is proud that all efficiency reductions have been found from the ASC s operational base so that funding for sports and athletes has been preserved, and in some cases increased. To achieve this the ASC has made cumulative operational savings of $20mpa since 2009/10, which will be ongoing into future years. The organisation is now 15% smaller than it was in The ASC will continue to focus on being as lean and agile as possible, and I commend Simon for his leadership in this regard. Aside from the new AIS approach to high performance sport, two central pillars of the ASC s reform agenda are the improved governance structures for sports and helping sports to generate more non-government revenue. The progress on governance reform over the past 12 months has been very satisfactory. Through the introduction of our new mandatory principles, a new sense of urgency and understanding of the need for sports to modernise has emerged. Four large sports have instituted significant constitutional reform, and they have all done it very quickly: swimming, basketball, rowing and two weeks ago Gerry Ryan achieved big reform in cycling. They have set a good example of what can be achieved, and changed the previously accepted paradigm that governance reform is a laborious five year exercise. At the risk of singling out one sport, I would like to acknowledge the work of John Bertrand, his Board and CEO Mark Anderson at Swimming Australia. The cultural transformation in this iconic sport serves as a great example of how turnarounds can occur quickly when accompanied by resolve, good leadership and commitment. A bit over 12 months ago, swimming faced many challenges. To see the rapid turnaround on display at the CW Games Trials last month was impressive. 4

32 Even more impressive than the change in structure was the demonstrable change in team culture a harder thing to do quickly. I am impressed by how the sport now benchmarks itself against the world. Well done John and team. As pleasingly, the reform effort has cascaded down beyond the seven sports and major work is underway across virtually every Olympic sport. So much so that by the end of this year, few sports will remain unchanged. I urge sports to use the ASC to help: we can use our cross-sport experience to your benefit. At the ASC we are devoting considerably more time to the second reform pillar of helping to make sports more commercial. Last year I spoke about how Australian sport needs to strengthen its social licence to seek Government funding by demonstrating greater capacity for self-help and generating more non-government revenues than they do today. This is even more important now with the tight fiscal environment. To that end, the ASC is: o Investing significantly more in the Australian Sports Foundation so it can help Australian sports raise more philanthropic and community funding o Working with some sports on some major philanthropic leadership gifts, and we were delighted to see what Gina Rinehart has done on this front for swimming and volleyball 5

33 o In the final stages of a business plan review of the opportunity for a common platform for sports outside the professional codes in media and broadcasting to allow sharing of costs and audience aggregation. Reform of Direct Athlete Support I d like to spend the rest of my address outlining an important new development by the ASC/AIS that was flagged by Minister for Health and Sport this morning. As I ve just explained, AWE is a system-wide strategic agenda. It seeks to exploit the ASC s helicopter view of the sports sector to drive top-down reform that will in the long run benefit Australian sport. Strategic reform is vital ultimately it is crucial for sustainable medium and long term success. But as Sun Tzu once said strategy without tactics is the longest route to victory. The ASC believes that a top down approach, while vital, cannot by itself result in improvement in our sporting system. What is equally vital is a bottom up focus on actions that can assist our athletes in direct, tangible and practical ways. This bottom up emphasis is then the second stage of the ASC s reform agenda, to complement our first phase top down approach. There is no better place to start in this second phase than with the athletes themselves. When all is said and done, at its heart AWE is about the possibly clichéd but incredibly real notion of helping our athletes achieve their sporting dreams on the world stage; to represent this great nation and to see that Australian flag flying high. 6

34 We are determined that our strategy has a practical impact for the young men and women who ultimately must walk from the silence of the call room, through the tunnel and onto the track; onto the pool deck; onto the court. Because when they stand at the start line, despite the endeavours of everyone who has helped them get to that point, it s they who must perform. The AIS s Direct Athlete Support scheme is without doubt the most tangible and direct form of support we provide for athletes. DAS is about creating time and space for an athlete to train, recover and compete. It ensures that all other investment in coaching, facilities, sports science and HP systems is optimised by reducing noise that would otherwise distract athletes. Many of you will be familiar with wonderful stories of how athletes of old balanced being an athlete with the other demands of life. In one of his many books, Young Men in a Hurry esteemed AOC Historian Harry Gordon noted that a year before the Rome Games Herb Elliott barely raced because he was trying to finish his studies, balance his finances and adapt to married life. There are legendary stories of John Landy working full days in Melbourne city, only to return home in the evening, have dinner, study for a few hours and then sneak out at 11pm to train on the dirt tracks around Central Park in Malvern East. It makes us admire these legends even more; but we should not think that in contemporary times we can ignore the fact that the demands of athletes are considerable: to train, recover properly, and to travel even more frequently than in the past. To paraphrase one coach, for an athlete to succeed you can t flirt with sport; you have to marry it. And that was a coach in the 1950s! 7

35 The need to boost DAS was identified by Simon and Matt and their team in Winning Edge. We have already increased it by $2 million per annum to bring our investment to $10.5 million a year across 600 athletes. Today I am announcing that the AIS will invest from existing resources an additional $1.6 million per annum into supporting Olympic athletes directly; the DAS program will be redesigned, renamed; and most importantly that a new category of athlete support will be established under an Emerging Athlete initiative to ensure young talent is supported on their journey. This $1.6 million pa increase in DAS funding, together with last year s $2m pa increase, represents a 43% increase in DAS funding from the ASC for our athletes in the past 18 months. In the present tough financial circumstances in Canberra, I am incredibly proud of that. I believe the Commission has got its priorities right. A critical feature of this re-designed approach is that it takes account of, and aligns with, the AOC s own investment in athletes via the Medal Incentive Fund. That $3.8m over the quadrennial is a terrific investment. I am very pleased by the AOC President s announcement today that the AOC will increase its MIF if it succeeds in obtaining the deductible status for the Australian Olympic Foundation. I am also pleased to advise that for Olympic Sports, the design of the new AIS athlete support program will create a virtual pool of funds that enables the AOC s support to medallists to form part of the overall offering to Olympic athletes. With our combined investments, the best Australian athletes will be getting the right support they need to succeed. 8

36 Key features of the DAS will be: o Our best ranked athletes will receive support commensurate with benchmarked nations. For example, a gold medallist can expect to receive around 30% more direct funding from the AIS. o Eligibility will be reduced from top 10 to top 8 and depth of field factors applied to reflect the true cases of podium potential o A new Emerging Athlete category will recognise and help young talent giving sports an opportunity to identify ways to retain and develop athletes in the pipeline. This new category will see more than 300 athletes receive up to $8000 per annum. o The total number of athletes supported will grow 37 %. Finding resources to allow this increase has not been easy; but we have identified operational savings within the ASC so this increase can be provided without reducing the pool of NSO grants. We also want to open the DAS funding pool for the first time to charitable donations so the funding pool will grow even bigger and Australians can support their favourite athletes. Of course, any good policy change requires consultation. We recognise that some sports currently supplement DAS to their athletes, and we expect that this new approach will free up some resources for sports to invest in different ways into pathway athletes. The AIS will be meeting with sports in the near future to finalise details so that the new program can be applied for the second half payments this year. 9

37 Conclusion These increases in our Direct Athlete Support Scheme are significant and tangible steps towards helping Australia succeed in world sport. It reflects our confidence in you and our confidence in the women and men who strive to the Olympic ideal of faster higher stronger in the pursuit of excellence for Australia. I am excited and energised by the progress being made by the Commission; and by our sense of common purpose with the AOC and the APC. It is an honour for all of us to serve Australian sport and Australian athletes, and to do everything we can to ensure that Australians continue to do us proud on the international sporting stage. Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. 10