Welcome to the April edition of Australian Sport Online, my first as Acting CEO of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) following some recent leadership changes. I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to lead the ASC and look forward to seeing the wider work of the ASC in action.

So why am I writing to you in this capacity? As many of you know, earlier this month, ASC Chairman, the Hon. Warwick Smith AM, announced the departure of CEO Matt Miller. In making this announcement, Mr Smith recognised the significant contribution that Matt had made over the past two years in his tenure as CEO, particularly in leading the implementation of some major reforms for the Australian sport sector.

As we say goodbye and wish Matt the very best for the future, we also look to the future for Australian sport, and reaffirm the ASC’s commitment to staying on course and getting on with the job.

From my perspective, and that of the leadership team at the ASC, it is important to point out that our strategic direction is not changing and the ASC will continue to lead and deliver on the Government’s directions for sport announced in May 2010. It is very much ‘business as usual’, and in this regard I would like to highlight two important initiatives.

Supporting our athletes on their journey to London

The Australian Government recently announced record funding to support Australia’s elite athletes. This is great news for our current and rising sport stars because it means more than $7 million in funding will be made available to 665 elite Australian athletes across 30 sports. Many athletes are already reaping the benefits of the funding and, for the first time, athletes with disability will receive the same level of direct support as their able-bodied counterparts.

The Direct Athlete Support funding scheme managed by the ASC will provide these athletes with much-needed assistance in their preparations for London, including supporting their attendance at international sporting events and ensuring they receive access to essential training support.

Working together to improve sport strategies

The ASC was pleased to meet with representatives from a large number of national sporting organisations in Sydney and Melbourne recently to discuss the development of a number of national strategies, what they mean for sports and how sports would like to be engaged in the development process.

It was great to see so many sports attend the recent meetings to talk about these strategies and provide valuable feedback to inform the ongoing work of the ASC.

The national sport strategies under development cover priority areas including:

• volunteering
  
• education
  
• integrity
  
• women and sport
  
• eLearning
  
• high performance.

It is important to note that the ASC recognises that coaching is also considered a high priority, and now that the structure of the ASC has been bedded down, a new national coaching strategy will be the next cab off the rank.

I look forward to catching up with many of you over the coming period as the ASC gets on with the job of leading and supporting Australian sport.

Peter
Professor Peter Fricker OAM
A/g Chief Executive Officer, Australian Sports Commission