Sport Australia Podcast

Rugby league legend, Kangaroos head coach and former Queensland mentor, Mal Meninga, joins this episode of the Sport Australia Podcast coaching and officiating series. He talks about his pathway from grassroots through to playing and coaching rugby league at the highest level. He says selecting players with the right attitude is often more important than pure skill when it comes to creating a winning representative team. For more information on this series, head to...

Behavioural Epidemiologist Professor Rochelle Eime joins the Coaching and Officiating podcast series in this episode to talk about the importance of fun and inclusive sporting environments for participants and volunteers, regardless of age, gender or skill. She has over 15 years of research experience specifically relating to the sport and recreation sectors relating to both public health and sport management. For more information on this series, head to...

International Rugby Coach and former AFL premiership player Mick Byrne join this episode of the Sport Australia Coaching and Officiating Podcast. He talks of good coaches needing to continually ask questions of players from an under-10s level right through to the elite to ensure understanding. The importance of having fun creates an enjoyable and productive learning environment, allowing players to find things out for themselves and problem solve. For more information on this series, head...

Australian Cricket Umpire Claire Polosak, who became the first female in the world to be part of the officiating team for a male Test, joins the Sport Australia Coaching and Officiating Podcast series. In this Podcast, Claire talks of the importance of not aiming for 100% perfection when officiating but rather focusing on the processes you go through to help you reach your decisions. She also talks of the importance of enjoyment of the game at a Community level. For more information on this...

Louise Sauvage is recognised not just for the extraordinarily successful career as a Paralympic wheelchair racer, but for her pioneering efforts in raising the profile and perception of Paralympic sport and athletes in Australia and all around the world. In this episode of the Sport Australia Coaching and Officiating podcast, she talks about the need for coaches to be able to adapt to meet the needs of their athletes. As the coach of athletes at varying skill levels, ages and physical...

Sport Australia’s acting Chief Executive Officer Rob Dalton introduces our newest Podcast series on Coaching and Officiating. Rob has coached at local, state and elite level, and he talks of the importance of modernising the learning experience, to get great coaches and experts, their tips and content down to local levels. Ensuring as a sector we address the barriers and revolutionise the experience for participants is crucial to our success. Read more and find some of our coaching and...

Sport Australia’s new Podcast series on Coaching and Officiating is coming soon. In this series we chat with some of Australia’s leading sport coaches, athletes, and officials – including Paralympic legend and coach Louise Sauvage, Basketball coach Carrie Graf, former AFL Player and Rugby Union Coach Mick Byrne, Cricket legend and coach Greg Chappell and many other industry experts on the modernisation of coaching and officiating. Be sure to subscribe today to make sure you don’t miss an...

In this Sport Australia Podcast episode we hear from our latest recipient of the Sport Australia Media Awards lifetime achievement award for sports journalism, Jim Maxwell AM. The ABC commentator accepted the honour from his home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs with the 19th annual Sport Australia Media Awards announced online due to COVID-19. Maxwell reflects on his career which started at the ABC in 1973, how the game and commentary has changed, and returning to the commentary box after...

This episode of the Sport Australia Podcast concludes our series on the Sport Governance Principles. We focus on the section titled “The Game is Changing” which looks at contemporary and stable governance structures that help sports achieve their purpose, and deliver timely responses to market needs. We are joined by James Sutherland, CEO of Golf Australia and previous CEO of Cricket Australia. He says sports should think about why they want they want to be great, and understand the...

This episode discusses Principle Nine, the Scorecard, talking about creating internal review systems that enable continuous improvement. This helps monitor performance, track progress against strategy and address issues of concern. We are joined by John Lee – a board member of Netball Australia and former CEO of Australian Sailing and two NRL clubs. He has worked in a variety of roles in government, tourism, sport, major events and transport. He says the best organisations operate with good...

This edition of the Sport Australia Podcast series on the Sport Governance Principles continues with a focus on Principle Eight – The Best and Fairest. This principle is about creating a system with measures and protocols to protect an organisation’s integrity and safeguard its participants. We are joined by David Sharpe, CEO of Sport Integrity Australia and former CEO of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA). Sport Integrity Australia combined the functions of ASADA and the...

How should sporting organisations tackle risk? This episode of the Sport Australia Podcast delves into the Sport Governance Principles – Principle Seven – The Defence. A board should proactively protect the organisation with robust processes for managing risk. We are joined by Jaquie Scammell, a renowned people expert for internal and external relations. She has published two books on business, ‘Service Mindset’ and ‘Service Habits’, and is on the board of Sport Inclusion Australia. Read...

The Sport Australia Podcast continues its series on the new Sport Governance Principles with a closer look at Principle Six – the Playbook. This is about creating processes that ensure accountability and transparency. We are joined by Carolyn Campbell, Chair of Sport New South Wales and former CEO of Netball New South Wales. She says it's essential that directors ask questions and seek information or clarity if required so they understand their responsibilities. Read more about the episode...

The Sport Australia Podcast continues to delve into the Sport Governance Principles with a closer look at Principle Five - the Rule Book. This principle looks at how an organisation should define and document its structure, and the duties, responsibilities and powers of its members, directors, committees and management. We are joined by the CEO of Athletics West, Vince Del Prete, who led the merger of Little Athletics WA and Athletics WA to create the new organisation this year. He says...

Australian Sports Commission Board Member Pippa Downes joins us in this episode of the Sport Australia Podcast in our series on the new Sport Governance Principles. Today’s focus is on Principle Four – The Players and the value of diversity in boards. Ms Downes has more than 25 years’ experience in global financial services, and is a former director of Swimming Australia and Sydney Olympic Park and as an athlete represented Australia in swimming and Hong Kong in Rugby 7s. Pippa talks about...

In this episode of the Sport Australia Podcast, we continue our series on the new Sport Governance Principles. Today, we turn our attention to Principle Three - The Gameplan, a clear vision that informs strategy. We are joined by Rob Scott, Chair of Rowing Australia and Managing Director and Chief Executive of Wesfarmers, who talks about the board's role overseeing the development of an organisation’s vision and strategy as well as determining what success looks like. The Sport Governance...

Episode 3 of the Sport Australia Podcast continues with our series on the new Sport Governance Principles. Today we are discussing ‘Principle 2: The Team; with Australian Sailing CEO, and President of Commonwealth Games Australia, Ben Houston. Ben discusses how sailing worked together to govern collaboratively and create alignment to maximise efficient use of resources and implement whole-of-sport plans for the sport. He says the One Sailing project required building trust through...

The Sport Australia Podcast continues to bring the new Sport Governance Principles to life, this episode we’re speaking with three-time Olympic gold medallist and world champion swimmer Petria Thomas. The discussion focuses on Principle One - The Spirit of the Game where Petria discusses how an organisation’s culture and behaviours should be underpinned by values which are embedded in board decisions and actions. Petria is Australia’s chef de mission for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in...

Welcome to Sport Australia’s new podcast! We’re kicking off with a series that brings the new Sport Governance Principles to life, speaking with special guests about their advice and experience with governance that’s applicable for all sporting organisations, large or small. Joining us in this episode is Peggy O'Neal, President of Richmond Football Club in the AFL, who offers advice for aspiring board members, talks about the relationship between the board and CEO and gives her definition of...

The Sport Australia podcast team is here to help boost your sporting experiences. No matter what role you play, we talk participation, coaching, administration, officiating, volunteering and more. From grassroots to grand slams, our trusted experts share tips, tools and real life experiences so you can get results for you and your sport.