ANNUAL REPORT
2018
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
CONTENTS Partners
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Member States, Affiliations
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President’s Report
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Chief Executive Officer’s Report
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High Performance
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TID and Development Program
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Referee and Judges Committee Report
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Coaching Committee Report
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Women’s Boxing Report
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Anti-Doping and Medical Standing Committee Report
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Technical and Competitions Regulations Committee Report
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Message from the Australian Sports Commission
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Financial Report 2017 June 30 for the Year Ended
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PRINCIPAL PARTNER Boxing Australia would like to acknowledge and thank our principal partner, the Australian Sports Commission, for their ongoing support of Boxing in Australia.
MAJOR SPONSOR Boxing Australia is proud to be associated with Sting International and to have them as our Major sponsor in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
AFFILIATIONS: AIBA INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
COMMONWEALTH GAMES AUSTRALIA
BOXING AUSTRALIA MEMBERS
MEMBER ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES
Boxing ACT
Theresa Warwick – Boxing Australian Capital Territory Sean Fitzpartick – Boxing Australia (New South Wales) Byron Davis – Boxing Northern Territory Mark Evans - Boxing Queensland Allison Goodes – Boxing South Australia Scott Bailey – Boxing Tasmania David Cutting – Boxing Victoria Geoff Peterson – Boxing Western Australia
Boxing Australia (New South Wales) Boxing Northern Territory Boxing Queensland Boxing South Australia Boxing Tasmania Boxing Victoria Boxing Western Australia
BOARD OF BOXING AUSTRALIA Ted Tanner President Julia Felton Director Jim Ferguson Director Johan Linde Director Dean Groth Director Dr Garry Moore Director
MANAGEMENT Joshua O’Brien Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary Erin Williams National Finance Administrator Kevin Smith National Head Coach Don Abnett National Development Coach Paul Perkins National Development Manager Jamie Pittman National TID / Development Coordinator
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
PRESIDENT’S REPORT Boxing Australia has had another busy year. The Australian Amateur Boxing Union, Boxing Australia’s predecessor association, was formed in 1924 and at times I hear people talk of Australian Boxing having experienced ‘Golden eras’ in previous years, however, I believe that Australian Amateur Boxing in recent times has never been so active competition-wise and Sport development-wise. And, increasingly we are having international success. The achievement of the Australian Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Team in winning 8 medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games was a record medal haul – it is twice as many medals as the previous Australian Boxing Team record medal haul in the 88 year history of the Empire/Commonwealth Games. In the last year, as well as in the Commonwealth Games, Australian Amateur Boxing was represented by Teams in the 2017 Women’s Youth World Championships (Guwahati, India), the 2018 Men’s and Women’s Oceania Youth Championships (Apia, Samoa), the 2018 Men’s and Women’s Youth World Championships (Budapest, Hungary), the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and the 2018 Women’s Elite World Championships (New Delhi, India). The participation of Australian Teams in these and other international competitions during the year will be detailed elsewhere in Boxing Australia’s Annual Report. During the year there were some outstanding performances, the most successful coming from Skye Nicolson (Gold Medal – U 57 kg), Anja Stridsman (Gold Medal – U 60 kg), Harry Garside (Gold Medal – U 60 kg), Caitlin Parker (Silver Medal – U 75 kg), Jason Whateley (Silver Medal – U 91 kg), Taylah Robertson (Bronze Medal – U 51 kg), Kaye Scott (Bronze Medal – U 69 kg) and Clay Waterman (Bronze Medal – U 81 kg) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ella Boot (Bronze Medal – U 60 kg) at the 2017 Women’s Youth World Championships and four boxers into the final 8 in their weight categories at the 2018 Elite Women’s World Championships capped off with a Bronze Medal for Kristy Harris in the U 54 kg weight category. And, our Australian Men’s and Women’s Youth Team boxers won Gold in eleven of the twelve contested weight categories at the 2018 Oceania Youth Continental Championships. Major tournaments Boxing Australia conducted, from which these Australian Teams were selected, were the 2017 Men’s and Women’s Elite Australian Championships (Sydney), the 2018 Women’s Elite Australian Team Selection Trials (Perth) and the U19/U17/U15 Australian Championships (Perth). On behalf of the Boxing Australia Board I thank the Host Member Associations of these tournaments (Boxing Australia NSW and Boxing Western Australia) and their volunteers, as well as the participating R&J from across Australia, for their great help in making these tournaments successful. The Boxing Australia Board, in conjunction with Sport Australia and Commonwealth Games Australia, are planning that the success we are experiencing is built upon so that greater success - and Gold Medals - will be achieved in 2020 in Tokyo, 2022 in Birmingham and 2024 in Paris. However, this will require not just the Board and Member Associations but all of us to think ‘strategically’ – that is, to think and act in the best interests of Australian Boxing and, also, to continue our support and development of Australian Women’s Boxing. For Boxing to achieve this success will necessitate not only continued talent identification and development of Boxers but, also, development of the numbers and expertise of both our Coaches and our Referees and Judges. During 2018 our Member Associations approved a revamp of Boxing Australia’s High Performance Program and, in association with the implementation of the revamp
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
in 2019, improved Coach and R&J Development programs and opportunities for international experience for Coaches and R&Js will be provided. I wish to acknowledge the significant financial support of our Sport by Sport Australia and our appreciation of the valuable expertise and work of its Australian Institute of Sport Combat Centre staff to our Sport. Australian Amateur Boxing couldn’t be at its present level – which ‘international-wise’ I believe is top 20 – without this support. Our ‘goal’ is to move to a ‘Top 10 Boxing Nation in the World’ position and to be ‘Number 1’ in the Commonwealth. The very generous financial support of Commonwealth Games Australia is, also, gratefully acknowledged. I believe that CGA is very impressed with our Australian Boxing Team’s 8 medal ‘haul’ on the Gold Coast. And, the assistance of the Australian Olympic Committee to our sport men and women - it sends our boxers and coaches to the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games - is always gratefully received and appreciated. I thank STING, our equipment and apparel sponsor, for its continued support of our Sport in Australia (and worldwide). Thank you to Boxing Australia’s staff for their professionalism, ever cheerful personalities and long hours of work; Josh O’Brien our CEO, our National Administrator Erin Williams, Georgia Niedermeier during Erin’s maternity leave, Kevin Smith our National Coach, Don Abnett our National Development Coach, Jamie Pittman our National Regional Development Coach, and Paul Perkins our Participation Manager. And, I thank our Board members; Jim Ferguson, Julia Felton, Garry Moore, Dean Groth, Johan Linde, Kirsteen Maclean and Jack Pappas, as well as Samantha Cowan (who resigned during the year), for their generous contributions of time and help in conducting our Sport. We have an important lead-up period to the Tokyo Olympic Games now quickly approaching – I wish all our Boxers the greatest success in their endeavours in this time. With good wishes to all participants in our Sport, Ted Tanner
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT 2017/18 was a year of great success in and out of the ring. Headlined by the Elite World Championships Bronze medal won by Joe Goodall and the most medals won by an Australian team at a Commonwealth Games, winning 8 at Gold Coast 2018. The Commonwealth Games result is a real credit to the High Performance Centre of Excellence Program, with the 5 women on the team each winning a medal. I would like to acknowledge the support of the Australian Institute of Sport and Sport Australia, and a special thanks to Andrew Pratley, Michael Steinebronn and the AIS Combat Centre team for their support during the year. The High Performance Program’s focus now turns to Tokyo Olympics qualification, which, like 2016, is sure to be challenging however I am confident that given recent form that our boxers will be well represented in 2020. Following the Commonwealth Games, a comprehensive review of the BAL High Performance Program was conducted in an effort to build off the back of the recent success. The introduction of the new sub/pre-elite Futures Program is an exciting time for Boxing in Australia, which will identify and develop our international medallists of the future. Thank you to Craig Phillips and the Commonwealth Games Australia team for their vital support of this program. A major focus this year was improving the efficiency of BAL’s operations in several key areas, including finance, IT and competition management. Streamlining several of our processes has allowed the staff more time to focus on developing other important areas of our sport. Addressing communication breakdowns between BAL and stakeholders has been a big focus, thank you to the Member Associations for their cooperation as we work towards improving this important area of the organisation. I am looking forward to some new initiatives getting off the ground in 2018/19, including a new 2019-2022 Strategic Plan. Thank you to the staff for their hard work and dedication over the year; Kevin Smith, Don Abnett, Jamie Pittman, Erin Williams, Georgia Niedermeier, Paul Perkins and Paulo Cruise. Thank you also to President Ted Tanner and the Directors of the Board for their tireless work. It is an exciting time to be involved in Australian boxing, and I look forward to continued progress in 2018/19. Josh O’Brien
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
HIGH PERFORMANCE STATE Commonwealth Youth Games, Bahamas, July 2017
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
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2
1
Men’s World Championships, Hamburg, August 2017
1
Ahmet Comert, Turkey, September 2017
1
Silesian Open, Poland, September 2017
1
Boxam Youth, Spain, September 2017
1
Celtic Cup, Ireland, September 2017
3
1
Youth World Championships, India, November 2017
1
NZ Dual Match, Dec 2018
3
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Feliks Stamm, Poland, March 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, April 2018
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Youth Oceania, Samoa, May/June 2018
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1
1
2
3 1
21
13
8
Hamburg
3 Ireland
1
1 4
Spain
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Poland Bahamas
1 Turkey
1 India Samoa
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8 Gold Coast New Zealand
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
During the year there were some outstanding performances, the most successful coming from: Skye Nicolson (Gold Medal – U 57 kg), Anja Stridsman (Gold Medal – U 60 kg), Harry Garside (Gold Medal – U 60 kg), Caitlin Parker (Silver Medal – U 75 kg), Jason Whateley (Silver Medal – U 91 kg), Taylah Robertson (Bronze Medal – U 51 kg), Kaye Scott (Bronze Medal – U 69 kg) and Clay Waterman (Bronze Medal – U 81 kg) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ella Boot (Bronze Medal – U 60 kg) at the 2017 Women’s Youth World Championships and four boxers into the final 8 in their weight categories at the 2018 Elite Women’s World Championships capped off with a Bronze Medal for Kristy Harris in the U 54 kg weight category. And, our Australian Men’s and Women’s Youth Team boxers won Gold in eleven of the twelve contested weight categories at the 2018 Oceania Youth Continental Championships.
TRAINING CAMP
LOCATION
CoE Training Partners Camp, August 2017
AIS
Elite Women HP and Youth Women World Championship Preparation Camp, October 2017
AIS
Boxing CWG shadow Team Camp, December 2017
AIS
Pre-Commonwealth Games Camp 1, February 2018
Philippines
Pre-Commonwealth Games Camp 2, February 2018
Colorado/Philippines
CWG Preparation Camp with Internationals, March 2018 (India, N. Ireland, Nauru, NZ, PNG & Wales)
AIS
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
COACHING
970 accredited level one coaches
78 accredited level two coaches
2018 has been an exceptional year for boxing in Australia, under the guidance of Head Coach Kevin Smith, Australia’s performance in the ring this year has been outstanding topped off by the performance of the Australian team at the Commonwealth Games. These great performances, I believe can be attributed to the dedicated and passionate “home gym” coaches that give their time and expertise to the sport of boxing. Day in day out, opening their gyms, working mostly in a voluntary role, for the benefit of the community. Throughout Australia there are 970 accredited level one coaches and 78 level two coaches and Boxing Australia wishes to recognise the valuable input these coaches provide. With the help of the BA staff and the National coaching team we have achieved great progress in establishing a coach education framework that will give, not only our high performance coaches, but also our “grass roots” coaches a clear pathway to achieving their personal goals. Immediately after the Commonwealth Games Boxing Australia underwent a High Performance Review. Contained in that review a recommendation to rethink the “Coaching Structure”. The report recommended that Boxing Australia adopt a new and clearer coaching structure that would broadly have three positions:
1.
National Head Coach
2.
National Futures Coach
3.
Regional Futures Coaches
The recommendations of the report were accepted by the Member Associations at a forum held in Perth at the Australian U19 Championship. To that end, Boxing Australia and the High Performance Committee have been working toward implementing the recommendations and setting up the new “framework” for coaching in Australia. After a global search for suitable coaches to fulfil the role of the National Futures Coach, the High Performance Committee has after an extensive selection process, selected Mr Jamie Pittman as the best applicant to become our new National Futures Coach. Jamie brings an enormous wealth of experience at all levels of boxing to the role. Congratulations Jamie. The next stage to the restructure is to attract and identify suitable coaches who will work with Head Coach Kevin and Coach Jamie as “Regional Futures Coaches”.
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
What’s next? Once the new coaching structure is in place the Coaching Committee will be working toward the following goals:
3. Continuing Coach Education.
2. Aligning the 3 levels of coach qualification with a nationally recognised vocational qualification.
1. The new Level Three accreditation course is being reviewed by the Sports Commission for endorsement. Next year we hope to continue to develop a structured approach to coach education and development.
The BAL staff have worked on establishing an updated database of coaches in Australia. Now that this has been achieved we will start a process of communicating with coaches Australia wide. This will keep all our coaches informed and up to date.
In the next 12 months following the endorsement of the Level Three Coach qualification year we will be working towards aligning the three levels of coaching accreditation with a nationally recognised vocational qualification such as the Certificate III in Fitness.
Finally, on a personal note, for me this year has been extremely busy, however my highlight was the Commonwealth Games, not only the great success in the ring, but I had the privilege to volunteer at the International Training Facility and was able to witness some of the world’s leading coaches train their national teams. What I learnt from this, is that, what we do in Australia is equally professional (if not better) than the top nations. This means that the future of boxing in Australia is in good hand. Regards Dean
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
WOMEN’S BOXING IN AUSTRALIA 2016-2017 Women’s boxing is still growing strongly across Australia with an increased number of women registered across Australia. During the 2017-18 year there have been some great results internationally for Australian women such as:
2017 Youth Commonwealth Games - Ella Boot 60kg won Gold
131 accredited female coaches
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emale R&J at the AIBA level
2017 Youth World Championships - Ella Boot 60kg won Bronze 2018 Youth Olympic Games – Emma Lawson represented Australia 2018 Youth Oceania - Sophie Ingledew, Brittany Roll, Emma Lawson, and Caitlin Beckett won Gold. Monique Suraci qualified for Youth Worlds but had no opponent at Oceania. 2018 Feliks Stamm - Adriana Smith 51kg won silver and Jessica Rettalack 60kg won Bronze 2018 Commonwealth Games - Anja Stridsman and Skye Nicolson won Gold; Caitlin Parker won Silver and Kaye Scott and Taylah Robertson won Bronze. An amazing result for the Australian women all 5 that competed won a medal. 2017-18 saw the accreditation of 131 female coaches and 3 female R&J at the AIBA level. Ann Tindall qualified as an AIBA International Technical Officer in 2018. During 2017-18 the use of the Combat Centre for longer term training camps has resulted in greater success for our women. Both Kristy Harris and Anja Stridsman benefited from the access to the Sport Medicine team and Strength and Conditioning team to overcome severe injuries. In September 2018 AIBA held its first Gender Equity Forum in Bulgaria. The following women from Australia attended; Alison Goodes, Ann Tindall, Kirsteen MacLean and myself. It was a great honour to represent Australia at the event and we all came away with great learnings. In April and September 2018, I attended meetings of the AIBA Women’s Commission which were very productive and we are hopeful that our recommendations will be adopted by the AIBA Executive. Our first major success was the election of 4 women to the AIBA Executive Committee in November 2018. Gay Uera, from Naru, was elected from the Oceania region. 2018 marked my 8th year working on the AIBA Women’s Commission and I would be honoured if I were to be nominated again to represent Australia. The Women’s Commission has had many successes with women included in the Olympics, an increased number of weight divisions from 3 to 5 and women now fight 3x3 rounds. There is still a lot of work to be done. In 2019 we hope to be able to hold an Oceania Gender Equity Forum if we can get the funding. Overall Women’s boxing in Australia is becoming stronger and more successful each year. I believe all the Member Association Committees now have women on them. We are continuing to work to increase the number of women RJ and coaches. AIBA wants to increase the not only the number of AIBA qualified RJ and coaches but also the number of AIBA International Technical Officers and Administrators.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
REPORT BY THE FORMER CHAIRPERSON OF THE ANTI-DOPING AND MEDICAL STANDING COMMITTEE In June of this year, I resigned after serving for some six years as the Chairperson of BAL’s Anti-Doping and Medical Standing Committee. Over much of the last six years, Mr Alan Baker and Dr Peter Stickler served with me on the Committee. I would like to take this opportunity to again publicly thank them for their valuable contributions to the work of the Committee. Boxing in Australia is indeed fortunate to secure the services of volunteers such as Alan and Peter in the administration of the sport. Over the course of my years on the Committee, much of its time was taken up in reviewing and determining applications by boxers for approval to return to sparring and boxing after KOs and RSCs following head blows. During my time as Chairperson of the Committee, it dealt with over 50 of such applications; ultimately approving of 47 of them. Between the date of the last BAL AGM and the date of my resignation, the following three applications were received and approved by the Committee: November 2017: Mr Luke Adams April 2018:
Mr Thomas Roohan
April 2018:
Mr Bilal Hilwa.
As stated from time to time in its previous Annual Reports, the Committee takes all applications for approval to return to sparring and boxing very seriously; as indeed it must. The Committee owes a duty of care to all those boxers concerned to minimise the risks to their health associated with their return to active participation in our sport after suffering KOs and RSCs. This duty of care carries with it significant legal implications. More importantly, its proper discharge is vital to the health and wellbeing of our boxers. It is a duty which the Committee endeavours to discharge diligently and to the best of its collective ability. In addition to the processing of return to sparring and boxing approval applications, the Committee during my time as Chairperson revised relevant provisions in BAL’s Technical and Competition Regulations; largely in response to changes to AIBA’s regulatory requirements. It also provided advice on request with respect to a wide range of issues relating to the intersection of boxing and medicine. These issues included, but were by no means limited to, the places in boxing of: •
boxers who were actually or possibly HIV or Hepatitis positive;
•
transgender boxers;
•
boxers with breast implants; and
•
boxers with pacemakers and like implanted devices.
Following my resignation as Chairperson of the Committee, the Board of BAL unanimously elected Mr Johan Linde to take my place. Together with Alan Baker and Peter Stickler, Johan has since been working diligently in the discharge of the duties of the Committee. I wish him well as Chairperson. Overall, I enjoyed my time working on the Committee with Alan and Peter, and thank the Board for the opportunity to serve on it. Garry Moore 20 November 2018.
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
REPORT BY THE CURRENT CHAIRPERSON OF THE ANTI-DOPING AND MEDICAL STANDING COMMITTEE Since 11 June 2018, I have been the Chairperson of BAL’s Anti-Doping and Medical Standing Committee (the Committee) after nomination to the BAL Board (the Board) by Garry Moore, the previous Chairman of circa six years, who officially stepped down from this role. The Committee consists of Pete Stickler and Alan Baker (both continuing), and myself. Since taking over as Chairperson, the Committee has received and reviewed three applications for clearance for an athlete’s return to competitive boxing and sparring following a KO or RSCH – all of which have been approved. In addition, the Committee was asked to provide advice by the BAL Chairperson, Ted Tanner, on a difficult situation relating to an Australian Youth athlete competing at the 2018 Youth World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. This athlete was not allowed to compete on medical grounds, stemming from medical clearance forms in regard to hepatis B. Although best endeavours were made and additional paperwork clearing the athlete was provided, the AIBA technical delegate responsible did not allow the boxer to compete. Subsequently, the Committee provided advice as to this athlete’s eligibility to compete in Australia, and after reviewing all paperwork and other relevant information found this athlete was not a risk to himself or others, and would indeed be eligible to compete in Australia. BAL awaits AIBA’s further advice on this matter. I would very much like to thank Garry for his support and guidance in this role over the last five months (and I’m sure into the future as well), particularly given that 1) I am a new director on the Board, and 2) my background is not medicine or a related discipline. Garry’s sharp mind and methodical approach will be missed by the Committee. In addition, both Pete and Alan deserve wide acknowledgement and praise for their effort and diligence in attending to the matters presented to the Committee. They both have assisted with providing technical knowledge and insights which are important to ensure an appropriate, responsible outcome for our athletes. It is paramount that the instincts of the athlete (and sometimes the coach and parent) are kept in check by the need to ensure the safety and welfare of the athlete. The Committee plays an important role in this regard, along with referees and medical staff on the front line, and the coaches, parent, friends and other athletes who see the athlete every day. On behalf of the Committee, I submit this report to the Board.
Johan Linde 21 November 2018
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018
TECHNICAL AND COMPETITION REGULATIONS COMMITTEE For most of the year BAL’s Technical and Competition Regulations Committee was comprised of Jim Ferguson (Chair) and Wayne Rose. David Cutting stood aside for some time to devote his energies to other areas of Boxing but later again became an active member of the Committee. Both Wayne and David have continued to take a close interest in ensuring that our rules and regulations stay in tune with AIBA requirements and keep up with best international practice and I thank Wayne and David for their contribution. The role of the Technical and Competition Regulations Standing Committee is to keep BAL’s Technical and Competition Regulations under constant review and to advise the Board of proposed changes to the Regulations for its approval and to draft regulations as required by the Board for the effective operation of the sport. For a sport with a high level of regulatory requirement, and where regulations must keep pace with both domestic and international developments, it is an important role. During the previous year the Committee undertook an extensive review of the Technical and Competition Regulations to ensure they are fully compliant with the AIBA Regulations, accurately reflect the policies of BAL in respect to competition boxing within Australia, and are readily understandable by the Boxing Community. In the light of this major task, the work of the Committee during the year under review has been significantly less. The major work undertaken by the Committee has been a review of the BAL Regulations Relating to the Registration of Boxers by Member Associations to take account of the problem posed by Masters boxers resident in countries where there is no provision for the registration of Master boxers participating in Australia. Previously, a boxer could be registered by a Member Association if they were resident in the State or Territory within which that Member Association is incorporated. This, however, did not cover cases where boxers resident in some other countries, notably New Zealand and Oceania, could participate in Masters event in Australia and where the AIBA Technical Rules provision that visiting boxers must be members of or licenced with their National Federation did not apply. To overcome this problem, the Regulations Relating to the Registration of Boxers by Member Associations was amended to allow Masters boxers who are not registered with an AIBA National Federation, to compete in Australia provided they provide a commitment to comply with BAL’s regulations, confirmation from the National Boxing Federation of their home country that it has no objection to the boxer competing in a Masters event in Australia; and evidence that they have independent insurance adequate to cover them in Australia. Jim Ferguson (Chair)
ANNUAL REPORT 2018
MESSAGE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) thanks all of our partner national sporting organisations (NSOs) for your continued hard work and commitment to excellence. All of you understand innately the importance of sport in Australian life. It’s much more than a source of national identity and pride, it’s the fabric that binds us together - a common language for all, with multiplier benefits in health, education, social cohesion and the economy. There were many great sporting events to celebrate during the course of last year – the launch of both the AFL Women’s competition and the National Netball League with prime-time TV coverage, the Richmond Tigers’ win in the AFL, dominant performances by the Australian Ashes teams in the men’s and the women’s series, the Matildas winning the football Tournament of Nations and the Socceroos qualifying for this year’s World Cup in Russia – just to pick a few. Sport has traditionally been our national past-time. A competitive sporting spirit has been a natural part of our DNA. But like any industry, sport faces competition, from other entertainment options domestically or from other nations internationally. At the ASC, we are serious about taking on that competition. We appreciate the willingness of NSOs to embrace this challenge. We commend athletes for their dedicated commitment to training for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games this year and, further ahead, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. One of the most important long-term challenges for our country is to help our children be physically active, to participate in sport and enjoy its lifelong benefits. The ASC’s Sporting Schools program has reached more than 6,000 primary schools around Australia and now includes a targeted program for secondary schools. It is vital to ensure physical education is re-emphasised in the national school curriculum. To this end, the ASC has been doing ground-breaking work on physical literacy for young people and we look forward to rolling this out nationally in the year ahead. As the national leadership organisation for sport in Australia, the ASC is excited by the enthusiasm that the Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon. Bridget McKenzie, is showing for promoting physical activity for all Australians, and we continue to work with her on the National Sport Plan. This creates, for the first time, a comprehensive blueprint for Australian sport. It is an outstanding initiative and we thank the Minister for her commitment and those that contributed to the Plan. Finally, I say a big thank you to the army of volunteers – parents, coaches, officials and administrators - who contribute their time and services for the good of Australian sport. You bring community strength, passion and great value to the identity, productivity, cohesion and health of our nation. The ASC wishes you every success in the year ahead. We look forward to working closely with you for the common good of Australian sport. John Wylie AM Chair Australian Sports Commission
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