INTERVIEW
An interview with John Brammall Reflections on his Presidency At the 2004 Annual General Meeting, John Brammall stepped down from the role of President of Orienteering Australia after a fouryear term, bringing an end to seven years of involvement on the national executive. He had previously been Vice President Development for three years. The Australian Orienteer talked with John about his time as President.
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Why did you decide to call it a day?
It wasn’t an easy decision, because I so much enjoy my involvement in Orienteering administration at all levels. I felt I had been in the position long enough and that there needed to be a change of leadership. We have an energetic and dynamic leadership team, and there has to be some turnover among our office bearers to keep that dynamism and bring in fresh approaches and new ideas.
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Are you satisfied with what you achieved during your Presidency?
Well, what was achieved can’t be regarded as my achievements – they are the achievements of the Board and the Council – a strong team of committed volunteers. And yes, I feel really satisfied with what the Council and Board achieved over the last four years.
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What would be the highlights of those achievements?
Actually I looked back on an article in The Australian Orienteer just after I was elected. In that I listed some goals that I wanted to aim for. They included a review of our management structure, a need to move away form the “them-and-us” culture that had tended to permeate Council meetings and was prevalent among our elite orienteers, and the necessity to get some younger blood into the management of Orienteering. We certainly achieved these. The review of structure expanded the size of the Board and gave Councillor status to the representative of our elite athletes. The revised structure has enabled a much better focus on the high performance area through the new position of Director, High Performance, and also the appointment of a new contract officer as Manager, High Performance. And with Mike Dowling and Jason McCrae in those positions (respectively), we have some younger blood and dynamic people driving the HP side of things. I feel particularly satisfied that we achieved the culture change that we did. The “them-and-usness” has gone. The energies of those at the Conference are now much more purposefully directed, and the elites, too, have a much better perspective of their place in Orienteering Australia.
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This magazine carried a couple of articles over the last year that seemed to suggest that the review of management didn’t achieve much other than cosmetic changes. I felt those articles were pushing a particular point of view, and maybe the writers weren’t as well informed as they could have been about the actual changes that were made and the flow on from those changes.
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Why wasn’t there a response from the Board or Council on this issue?
40 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2004
I did write a letter to the editor following the second article. Maybe if the issue had been raised in less critical terms we might have pursued it, but it would have been difficult to do that, especially when the criticism was so ill-founded. I think that maybe the aspect of this that bugs me most is that the articles were written by people who have had a long and distinguished involvement in Orienteering Australia. If they really had a concern about management, why didn’t they express it formally to the Board or Council? If they wanted the Board to consider a particular course of action such as seeking an external reviewer, why didn’t they put proposals to Council?
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What are the positives that you feel you have gained from your experience as President?
I’ve found the job immensely rewarding. I’ve already mentioned what I see as the main achievements over the last few years, but on top of that I’ve had the experience of working with a really great team. I can’t speak highly enough of the Board team of Dave Lotty, Kathy Liley, Bob Mouatt, Bob Allison, Hugh Cameron and Mike Dowling. My reward has been working with these, our contract officers and the many other volunteers within our sport as colleagues and friends.
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There must have been things you wanted to accomplish, but didn’t …?
Oh, for sure. There is always room for making management more efficient, for improving communication, and I think we really need to do more to recognise our human resources – our elite team members, our administrators, coaches and controllers at all levels. There are still policies to be refined and developed – various government departments will make sure of that. Grappling with their demands is not easy – but we do it and we do it well. Orienteering is regarded as a really well administered sport in Australia.
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And where to for you, now that you have stepped down?
Life is certainly quieter – and that’s maybe just as well as it’s giving me the break to come to terms with a reconditioned hip. It’s going well, and hopefully I’ll be back to running almost in time for Aust Champs this year! I still have an involvement at the IOF level as a member of the Events Program Group, and I will be an Australian delegate at the IOF Congress in Sweden in September. I’ve also been nominated to the IOF Council – but getting elected will be pretty hard, I think. Apart from that, I’m the Controller for the 2004 Australian Champs in Tasmania – among other things.
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Finally - anything else to add?
Yes – three things. First, it was a real thrill and honour to be awarded the Silva Trophy for Services to Orienteering at the presentation dinner at Easter. But the award to me was really to the whole team of Board and Council members and volunteer administrators throughout Australia with whom I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years. Thank you all. Second, I want to wish Bob McCreddin well for his term in office. I know Bob will give it his all, even though he’s probably wondering just what he’s let himself in for. I have distant memories of that frightening learning curve when I suddenly found myself President. Good luck Bob! And can I also congratulate Andy Hogg for taking on the position of Director (Technical). I didn’t succeed in handing the Presidency over to someone from a younger generation, but with Mike Dowling and Andy as Directors on the Board, that average age is starting to come down! Third, I have to admit that at times I let the presidential tasks take control of my life – well Valerie’s and my lives! Over the years there have had to be plenty of compromises in the Brammall household. Fortunately we both love our involvement in Orienteering, and we still regret that we didn’t find the sport until about 1986 – all those wasted years before that! But without Valerie’s love and support I couldn’t have maintained my energy and commitment over the last seven years, and especially the last four as President. Thank’s love!
