Category: Athletes
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The Relationship between the Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Sports Commission
By Greg Blood. Orginally published in Sporting Traditions, V35 (1) May 2018 Since the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Australian Sports Commission (ASC) have had several very public disagreements regarding the funding and direction of high performance sport. In 1980, the Fraser Government requested the then Australian Olympic Federation to boycott…
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The Australian Institute of Sport Story 1981-2013
By Greg Blood. Originally published Clyde Street Blog, 15 May 2018. In December 2012, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), as we know it, changed when the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) under Chair John Wylie launched its Australia’s Winning Edge 2012-2022 strategy. A major plank of the strategy was for the AIS to no longer directly manage…
australiansportreflections
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The impact of Sudanese-Australian athletes on the sporting landscape
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 1 August 2018. Last week, Joseph Deng, a former Sudanese refugee, broke the Australian 800 metres record, set by Ralph Doubell in winning gold in at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. This feat made me reflect on the impact Sudanese athletes are now having on Australian sport. These…
australiansportreflections
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How should we judge funding of Australian Olympic athletes and teams?
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 13 June 2018. Currently there is an interesting conundrum in Australian Olympic sport. The failure of the Australian Olympic team to achieve its target of the top five on the medal table at the Rio Olympics has raised questions about the suitability of medal targets. This failure…
australiansportreflections
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Remembering the contributions of AIS Men’s football to the Socceroos
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 27 April 2017. The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has announced that it will be closing its Centre of Excellence (originally AIS Men’s Football) at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra at the end of the year. It is worth reflecting on the contribution of the…
australiansportreflections
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Clubs are playing Russian roulette with long-term contracts
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 5 April 2017. worrying development in professional sport in Australia has been athletes signing long-term contracts, which could lead to the financial ruin of some clubs. Recent reports indicate that Greater Westerns Sydney Giants player Josh Kelly is being offered a nine-year, $9 million deal with North Melbourne Kangaroos.…
australiansportreflections
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Note to Australia: Winning isn’t everything
Originally published in The Roar, 18 October 2016 Thankfully the Essendon Football Club sports supplements saga has come to an end, but it was just another major example of poor governance at a professional sporting club. The Essendon Football Club is far from alone. In recent years there have been numerous examples of poor governance…