Annual Report Contents a Message from the Chair of The
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ANNUAL REPORT CONTENTS A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE A message from the Chair of the Australian Sports Commission 1 AUSTRALIAN SPORTS COMMISSION JOHN WYLIE AM 2020: A Year Like No Other 2 Board of Directors 6 The start of 2020 has been an bests throughout the year and Sport Australia invests in sports extraordinarily tough time for took the title at the IAAF World participation programs, from our Painting the Big Picture 10 Australians, including all of us Championships in Doha. Dylan Alcott national Sporting Schools program committed to sport. added three more Grand Slam quad for younger children through to the State of the Game 12 wheelchair singles trophies to the Better Ageing program aimed at The impact of bushfires and the cabinet and Sailing duo Matt Belcher Australians aged 65 and over. Declaration of Commitment 14 COVID-19 pandemic have been and Will Ryan claimed the men’s confronting for communities, where 470 World Championship. In the So many of these grants fuel Suncorp Super Netball From the Hub 16 we all know sport plays such an pool, our swimmers won seven aspirations. Our Local Sporting important role. gold medals at the FINA World Champions program supports 9,000 Suncorp Super Netball: The Digital Game 20 Championships, placing Australia children a year to reach for their At the Australian Sports Commission fourth on the medal tally. sporting dreams. Together Apart 22 (ASC), comprising Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), This year our inspiring women’s Our Women Leaders in Sport Delivering Diamonds 24 our energy is focused on supporting cricket team won a fifth World T20 program and the AIS Talent program our partners through these times title, drawing a record crowd of 86,174 provide opportunities for women Commercial Crunch 28 as we continue to advocate the to the MCG. How fitting that this to progress their professional importance of sport to our historical moment fell on International development in all roles across sport. Financial Overview 30 economy, productivity, health, Women’s Day. These results are a wellbeing and culture. testament to the tenacity and passion We continue to work with sports Year in Review 31 of athletes, coaches, sports staff and to modernise traditional governance We believe whole-heartedly that sporting organisations, which know structures in Australian sporting 2020 Partners 32 when we get through this challenging we have all the skills and abilities to organisations and we continue to period, sport will play a prominent achieve success. I am proud too of encourage environments that are Commonwealth Games Australia proudly supporting our netballers 34 role in lifting the nation’s energy and the service our organisation provides inclusive, diverse, safe and welcoming, spirits again. to Australian sport each year, on making sport the benchmark for a behalf of the Australian Government. more equitable society. Times such as these can also make us more appreciative of what we do have The ASC, through Sport Australia and This was to be the year of the 2020 and of the success we have achieved. the AIS, delivers 25,000 grants a year. Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo. Netball Australia respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians Instead, it has been postponed to of the lands on which we live and work. Netball is played in communities Success in sport is always hard The AIS, funds and prepares 2021, with the Olympic Games to be across Australia and we acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait fought. But it’s a fight Australian our Olympic, Paralympic and held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we high-performance sport welcomes Commonwealth Games to and the Paralympics from 24 August play and recognise the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres as it continues to achieve success. represent us at the highest level to 5 September 2021. Strait Islander peoples to our game. in international competition. Last year the wonderful Ash Barty We have already witnessed a great We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging and commit won the French Open and became In the past few years, we have deal of positivity from athletes who to working respectfully to honour their ongoing cultural and spiritual our first female No.1 tennis player enhanced our support to athlete now need to re-set. I’m confident, connections to this country and recognise the role and value of culture since her idol, Evonne Goolagong wellbeing and engagement, a move as a united sport system, we will in all our communities. Cawley, in 1976. Javelin-thrower that is essential, especially in the do the same. Kelsey Lee-Barber set personal current environment. A MESSAGE FroM THE CHAIR OF THE AUStralIan SportS COMMISSIon | 1 Time seemed to move by different Within 22 days of the successful the backing of corporate partners rules in 2020, and it’s hard to believe fundraiser that farewelled long- Suncorp, Origin, HCF and Woolworths. that we began the year by pouring serving head coach Lisa Alexander, our energies into the bushfire crisis, the focus had switched from a For our youngest participants, unaware that the world was on the desire to help those affected by the launch of Suncorp NetSetGO precipice of a global pandemic the catastrophic blazes and Playground, scheduled for 2021, was Queensland’s summer floods to accelerated to support parents and However, this year of extreme increasingly urgent warning signs coaches to deliver the sessions in a disruption and difficulty was also that the fast-spreading coronavirus remote location. one of great opportunity. Amid the would leave no sport untouched. adversity of 2020 came significant The fate of Suncorp Super Netball achievement, showcasing our Despite the complexities of the was far more complex. Among the resilience and capacity to adapt federated structure and complications myriad of options - including format, and innovate during such involved with navigating eight sets timing, length and location - extraordinary times. of government rules, it was essential cancellation was unthinkable, given amid the chaos to make considered the strong but silent determination With community sport largely on moves swiftly. The Team Girls Cup that the country’s leading women’s hold, the Origin Diamonds’ program in Sydney and National Netball sport would remain visible in this time postponed, development pathway Championships in Hobart were of crisis for so many. events cancelled and the elite Suncorp the earliest casualties. The Deakin Super Netball competition relocated University Australian Netball League It would ultimately be the first and reimagined in a Queensland hub, was next. domestic women’s league to return to it was essential to find different and our screens, but it would take many creative ways to deliver and engage. Aside from the health and wellbeing months of negotiation before the first priorities, all decisions were based whistle on August 1. Often, no sooner As we look at where we are, where around the need to protect Netball in had a crisis management meeting we are headed and where we want the Australian system and ensure its devised a new plan than the situation to be for our centenary celebrations survival into 2021 and beyond. As case would change; a border would close, A in 2027, what has been the most numbers rose, and borders closed, or a new obstacle emerged. challenging period in our proud non-essential personnel and services history is poised to become a catalyst were cut and salaries reduced for the After initial concerns, a hub was for lasting change at all levels. skeleton staff that remained, even as required and with the generous working hours increased. assistance of the Queensland Through the ground-breaking government that effectively saved the independent State of the Game To ensure the health of our Member season, an affordable financial option YEAR Review led by former national captain Organisations, Netball Australia supported by the clubs, players and Liz Ellis AO, the largest research issued COVID grants to each of the officials was found. project the sport has ever undertaken, States and Territories - a $2.4 million we asked questions of ourselves and injection into the netball economy to We received incredible support and others and over 10,000 respondents assist them to deal with the impact of co-operation from our broadcast and across more than 60 cohorts replied. COVID-19 on their grassroots bases. commercial partners on a journey that we believe ultimately strengthened LIKE And we have not just heard but truly On March 23, the shopfront window these relationships. We also have listened to our diverse Netball Nation, that is Suncorp Super Netball was immense pride in what was as we commit to implementing the delayed from its original May 2 start achieved on and off the court: report’s eight core recommendations date, but its delivery was prioritised, the professionalism of the athletes and working co-operatively with given its commercial importance and and officials who sacrificed so much, internal stakeholders who have the trickle-down benefits of major and from the staff who worked such demonstrated their desire to do so in broadcast and sponsor partnerships to long hours to deliver the product. NO a crucial next step to reimagining the the broader netball community. Along game’s future. with the desire to protect existing Remarkably, all 60 games were assets came another need in this time played via a rolling, condensed However, the COVID-19 pandemic did of crisis: to be open to opportunity. fixture, with viewership up across all not come with a strategic playbook. platforms and increases in every As international competition took its As part of a major digital pivot, a metric except - for obvious reasons - regular January pause at the start of deal was struck with online provider match attendance figures.