Women's Talent Coach Program
A biennial leadership development program targeting women in senior leadership roles within the HP sector, part of the Talent Programs for Women.
The Talent Program for coaches' targets women who coach within the High Performance (HP) system and undertake a senior leadership role within their NSO/D or NIN and are responsible for decision-making, strategy, and leadership, looking to progress to the next level in their career.
This program will not only meet the needs of the Australian HP system to increase the depth of diversity in its workforce but also aligns with the Federal Government’s, Office for Women, Women in Leadership strategic goals of increasing women’s representation in leadership positions across all fields and sectors.
Key Objectives
The key objectives of the ASC Talent Program for Women in Coaching are:
- To provide opportunities and remove barriers for personal and professional development.
- To build upon knowledge of the Women in HP Coaching (WiHPC) project and Talent Program impact.
- To support and advance women in coaching leadership roles in Australian sport.
- To support, retain and progress targeted talented women in Coaching roles can challenge the status quo and increase diversity in sport.
Program Content
The program covers areas such as leadership presence, decision making, professional networking and targeted bespoke development needs of the group. It will be designed to deliver transformational leadership skills for women in coaching roles who are ready to progress to their next leadership position in Australian sport.
Program Structure
The Women's Talent Coach Program will be conducted every second year. The program is founded upon the HP Leadership Framework, the HP Coach Development Framework and The Leadership Circle. It will be a blend of learning programs and targeted Community of Practice (CoP) online sessions connected to the learning outcomes.
The architecture will be comprised of:
- Two residential face-to-face sessions over a 12-month period
- Residential 1: 9 - 12 March 2026 in Brisbane
- Residential 2: 7 - 11 September 2026 in Canberra
- Monthly CoP sessions, connected to the residentials
- The Leadership Circle will underpin the learning framework.
2025-26 Participants
16 Women Coaches were selected into the 2025-26 program in October 2025, and the program will conclude in November 2026.
Name | Sport | Role |
|---|---|---|
Ali Bombardier | Alpine Skiing | Head Coach and Para Teams Manager, Snow Australia |
Alice Ingley | Archery | Archery Head Coach, Victorian Institute of Sport |
Cat Berry | Para Shooting | Para Lead / Precision Manager, Shooting Australia |
Hally Chapman | Rowing | National Talent ID and US Based Women's Lead Coach, Rowing Australia |
Janelle Pallister | Swimming | Head Coach, Rackley Swimming, Kawana |
Kaarle McCulloch | Cycling | National Women's Sprint Coach, AusCycling |
Katie Edwards | Athletics | High Performance Coach, Able and Para: Head of Sport, Pymble Ladies' College |
Leanne Choo | Badminton | National Head Coach, Badminton Australia |
Maggie Meng | Para Table Tennis | National Team Head Coach, Table Tennis Australia |
Meg Hall | Triathlon | Head of Paralympic Program, AusTriathlon |
Mel Tantrum | Swimming Para | National Head Coach Paralympic Program, Swimming Australia |
Non Stanford-Royle | Triathlon | Head Coach of the AusTriathlon Ascent Academy |
Renae Garlepp | Basketball | Assistant Coach, Australian Opals, Basketball Australia, Head Coach, Australian u19s (Gems), Basketball Australia, Head Coach, Sydney Flames |
Renee McElduff | Aerials | Victorian Institute of Sport Continental Head Coach, Olympic Winter Institute of Australia |
Shari Duffy | Skateboarding | National Technical Lead, Skate Australia |
Vanessa Bof | Cycling | Para Lead Cycling Coach, Victorian Institute of Sport |
Further Information
If you have any questions, please contact hpcoachdevelopment@ausport.gov.au
Additional information on the Women's Talent Programs can be found here