This free online course assists board and committee members to develop a strong positive culture in their sporting organisation.
The Spirit of the Game helps board and committee members understand:
Number of years as a director/board member: 30+ years
Andrew Ireland is a former AFL player and former highly successful football administrator who was involved with several premierships throughout his career.
Ireland joined the Sydney Swans in 2002 as General Manager of Football before taking over as CEO in September 2009, a role he held until his retirement in December 2018. Prior to these positions, he held the role of CEO at the Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions between 1990-2001.
Ireland oversaw a strong and successful football program during his time at the Swans along with outstanding growth in commercial areas of the Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Life Member of the AFL, the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions. In December 2018, he was appointed as a Commissioner of Sport Australia.
Number of years as a director/board member: 5
Annabelle is a Paralympic Gold Medallist, international motivational speaker and consultant, lawyer, brand ambassador, board director, TV presenter and mum.
Competing in two Paralympic Games, Annabelle captained the Australian Paralympic Swim Team, broke five world records, and won numerous medals for Australia - including gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Previously an in-house counsel for the Australian Olympic Committee, Annabelle is a strong advocate for the rights of athletes with disability and, at the age of 24, was awarded with the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to sport.
She is also a highly recognised and respected sports broadcaster, having most recently anchored Australia’s coverage of the Tokyo Paralympics and Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Annabelle is Vice President of Paralympics Australia and a director of Swimming Australia. She is also a Member of the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal and International Cricket Council Code of Conduct Commission.
Number of years as a director/board member: 15
Hish is the Chair of Tenpin Bowling Australia, having previously chaired both the Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Technology and Digital Transformation Advisory Board.
He is a director of several tech companies including Storyflik, a CultureTech business focused on digital storytelling and AI, and DataMTX, an international IT services firm with expertise in Data Analytics, Blockchain and other capabilities.
His diverse interests have seen him working across sports such as Tennis, Cricket, Badminton, Football and Rugby Union.
Hish is a Non-Executive Director (NED) on several boards and passionate about creating skills-based volunteering opportunities, workplace culture, commercialisation, and renewable energy.
Number of years as a director/board member: 11+
Kate is an admitted solicitor, government senior executive and national board chair with a reputation for using advocacy and communication to build organisational culture, governance reform, financial and strategic transformation.
Kate led the Industry Capability branch at the Australian Sports Commission, during which she facilitated the codesign of the Sport Governance Principles and Sport Governance Standards, oversaw the establishment of the Australian Sport Learning Centre, as well as the strategic creation of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion team.
The first female Chair of Judo Australia, Kate led the transformation of the national body into a highly effective and capable national sporting organisation. During her tenure, Kate also led the collaboration which established Combat Institute of Australia – the first multi-combat sport high performance entity in the world.
Kate is Managing Director and Principal Consultant at KJC, and serves as a Gender Equity Commissioner for the International Judo Federation and Director of AUSactive (formally Fitness Australia).
Number of years as a director/board member: 22+
Peggy is the immediate past president of the Richmond Football Club (2013-2022), having led the Club to three AFL premierships in four years (2017, 2019 and 2020).
Specialising in superannuation and financial services law for more than 25 years, Peggy was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws for her work in gender equality and developing women sport leaders.
In June 2019, Peggy was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to Australian rules football, financial services law, and women in leadership roles.
Peggy served for three years on Victoria's Ministerial Council on Women's Equality and was a director of VicHealth from 2020-2022.
Peggy was named Melbournian of the Year for 2021 and became the Chancellor of RMIT University on 1 January 2022. In June 2022, she received the Vicsport award for "Outstanding Contribution to Sport".
Peggy is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a member of Chief Executive Women and the Melbourne Forum.
For further information or to request assistance from the Sport Governance and Organisational Enhancement team, please contact sportsgovernance@ausport.gov.au.