2019 Annual Report CELEBRATING 70 YEARS page 1 VISION Gymnastics is recognised as the foundation for movement, enriching and energising bodies for life MISSION To promote our brand, develop our people and grow our sport VALUES Respect our People Excellence in Delivery Act as One Lead with Integrity page 2 Contents CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS TO GO TO EACH PAGE. 04 President’s Report 05 ceo’s Report 06 Gymnastics Australia Board 07 Gymnastics Australia Staff 08 2019 Gymnastics Year in Review 09 A Message from sport australia 11 Celebrating 70 Years 13 Business Operations 14 Marketing, Commercial and Events 15 Member Services 16 Member Services • Department Reports 17 Child Safety 18 High Performance 19 High Performance • Event Results 25 High Performance • Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement 26 State and Territory Key Achievements 27 Oceania Gymnastics Union Report 28 World Gymnaestrada 31 Gymnastics for All 32 Men’s Artistic Gymnastics 33 Women’s Artistic Gymnastics 34 Rhythmic Gymnastics 35 Trampoline Gymnastics 36 Aerobic Gymnastics 37 Acrobatic Gymnastics 38 Awards, Hall of Fame and Life Members 40 Financial Report page 3 President’s Report To support GA in achieving its HP targets, an Olympic Gymsport Advisory Committee was created to bring together key stakeholders from within GA and from the broader HP sport sector to provide advice to the National Performance Director and CEO on strategic issues relevant to the Olympic Gymsports. In the Olympic arena, I was incredibly proud to see Georgia Godwin and Tyson Bull earn Australia’s first named Tokyo Gymnastics Australia (GA) had another successful and Olympic quota positions for Gymnastics. Georgia and Tyson challenging year and I am proud of the growth and achieved this significant accomplishment by reaching the successes that were achieved in 2019. Accomplishments finals at the 2019 World Artistic Championships. were seen in every area of the business; from the outstanding display of quality GA events, highlighted by The GA High Performance team take a holistic approach the Melbourne World Cup, to the implementation of the to the development of our athletes and this was further new Child Safe and Member Protection Policies and the strengthened in 2019 with the release of our Body Positive wide range of pleasing international competition results Guidelines. This incredibly successful document attracted including two Olympic quota positions being earned. international acclaim and further positioned GA as a leader in the national sporting landscape. From a financial perspective, after a difficult 2018, significant and necessary progress was made in improving After the creation of the Oceania Gymnastics Union (OGU) fiscal controls and reporting and a modest operating in the year prior, 2019 saw many wonderful achievements surplus. This was the result of a disciplined and focused and milestones for the growth of OGU. From volunteer approach to all decisions being made by the Board and GA programs and coach education to an increased voice management and I thank all those involved in this process. within the International Gymnastics Federation, the OGU I have every confidence that this result will provide the has enjoyed a great year, including securing a major foundations for a more sustainable and secure future for equipment partner for the region. OGU plays a vital role the organisation and for our sport. in the future development and growth of gymnastics in the region and provides an incredible opportunity to unite Throughout the year, GA further solidified its position as many communities across Oceania. I am very proud of the a leader in child safety with the launch of a new stand- leading role that Gymnastics Australia plays in the OGU. alone Child Safe Policy (CSP) alongside a comprehensively reviewed and updated Member Protection Policy (MPP). I would like to acknowledge and thank GA CEO Kitty Both policies were the result of more than nine months Chiller AM, for her admirable worth ethic and continued consultation and review with key child safe industry outstanding leadership of the organisation. Kitty, the senior partners. These policies provide clear and comprehensive leadership team and all GA staff have once again showed guidelines for the safety and wellbeing of children within that their collective effort has delivered meaningful results the sport of gymnastics — an area that remains a key during the year that will importantly ensure a strong future priority for the organisation. for Gymnastics in Australia. The two policies were supported by a Child Safe To the GA Board, thank you for your continued Commitment Statement co-signed by GA CEO, Kitty commitment, wise counsel and passion for our sport. Chiller AM and the Executive Directors of all eight GA As a Board, we look forward to continuing to work Association Members. It follows a similar statement collaboratively with clubs and states to ensure the future signed in 2018 by myself and the Presidents of all State prosperity of our sport. and Territory Associations. Aligning with these policies was And to finish, a key achievement in 2019 was the the introduction of a new Travel Policy aimed at providing establishment of the Gymnastics in Australia Working more efficient, effective and safe travel for athletes, staff, Group, with the clear mandate to build a strong and parents and guardians with a focus on travel for athletes sustainable future for our sport in a collaborative manner. under 12 years of age. With a nationally agreed Terms of Reference and equal In 2019, GA established a clear purpose for its Olympic membership representation of GA Directors, Member Gymsport High Performance (HP) program — to create Association Presidents and Club representatives, the and lead a united national high-performance system that formation of the Working Group was an historic and critical enables Australian Olympic Gymsport athletes to achieve step toward ensuring our sport has the most effective, consistent and sustainable international success and medal- efficient and relevant governance and operating structure winning results at international benchmark events (BMEs) for the benefit of all our club and individual members. in disciplines on the Olympic program. sam mckay — president page 4 ceo’s Report expand program delivery through coach education and club capacity building and create increased community awareness of the importance of fundamental movement and physical literacy through a national marketing campaign. In addition to this, GA secured funding, also from Sport Australia, to implement the Fitter for Life program nationally. Fitter for Life is a gymnastics-based program specifically for the over 50s. The funding has enabled the program to be reviewed and aligned in both the sport and health sectors. 2019 was an especially significant year for Gymnastics Our State and Territory Member Associations also Australia (GA) as we recognised our 70th birthday and benefitted from these grants to deliver KinderGym and celebrated the rich history of our sport. Since the Australian Fitter for Life programs locally. Gymnastics Federation was formed in 1949 with the first member associations being Queensland, New South Wales The ongoing success of our athletes on the international and Victoria, we have come a long way, to now have stage is a credit to the dedication and commitment of our eight State and Territory Member Associations and over gymnasts, coaches and support staff. In 2019, Australian 230,000 individual members. We celebrated this significant athletes in all gymsports again competed all over the milestone and all those who have contributed over the globe. From the Artistic World Cup series that started years with a special section on the GA website and a here in Melbourne in February 2019, to the inaugural function during the National Clubs Carnival. Junior Artistic World Championships, and the record- sized team participating in Gymnaestrada, our athletes Operationally, it was another extremely busy yet rewarding rose to the challenge and represented our sport and our year with significant change across many areas of the country with pride. organisation, all aimed at delivering the most effective and efficient service to all our members. Special mention must be made to Tyson Bull and Georgia Godwin, who both earned quota places for We underwent a significant review of our operations and the Tokyo Olympic Games by reaching the finals at services and in line with our value proposition, realigned the 2019 Stuttgart Artistic World Championships. It our Club Services and Participation and Education and was disappointing to see our WAG team miss Olympic Gymsport Services teams to create a Member Services qualification again by just one place and the very smallest Department. This restructure, along with the appointment of margins. Elite high-performance sport is cutthroat at of a new General Manager to manage the team, better the top end, but this disappointment will only fuel even positioned GA to leverage and maximise our industry greater ambition for the future. profile and create direct member benefits for our clubs through participation programs, government grants and I would like to acknowledge and thank all our coaches, education resources. as they are the lifeblood of our sport, along with the judges who also dedicate an incredible amount of time It was pleasing to yet again see gymnastics ranked so throughout the year. Our sport of gymnastics would not be highly in the nation’s largest and most comprehensive sport what it is today without the thousands of volunteers who and physical activity survey ‘AusPlay’. Gymnastics sat in the commit these countless hours. top three participation sports for boys and girls for the age bracket of 0–4 and was in the top five for the female age Finally, I would like to thank all the GA staff for their brackets of 5–8 and 9–14. incredible hard work and dedication to the sport and for contributing to a fantastic culture in the organisation This data shows the incredibly important role that that encourages and exhibits a focus on delivering to gymnastics plays in developing the physical literacy, our members first and foremost.