Category: Author – Greg Blood
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History of Elite Australian Coaches Working Overseas
By Greg Blood After the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics, there was some anxiety in the Australian sport system concerning the brain drain of elite Australian coaches. In 2006, it was reported that the AIS would spend “almost $5 million over the next four years to fend off international poachers intent on cherry-picking Australia’s best coaches”.…
australiansportreflections
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Short History of Australian Elite Coaches Transitioning to High Performance Management
By Greg Blood The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) prior to the cessation of sports programs in 2013 frequently facilitated AIS coaches in transferring into its high performance management areas. It should be remembered that the inaugural AIS Director Don Talbot had an extensive swimming coaching career in Australia, Canada and the United States prior…
australiansportreflections
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Vale Professor John Bloomfield AO – Gentle Giant of the Australian Sport System
By Greg Blood Professor John Bloomfield AO was one of the main architects and drivers of the modern Australian sport system. Bob Ellicott, the Minister for Sport responsible for establishing the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), gave enormous credit to Bloomfield for his strategy and development of sports and recreation reports in the lead up…
australiansportreflections
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Sport and Federal Politics – Importance of Relationship Building by National Sports Organisations
By Greg Blood With a new Federal Parliament under way, it is important that national sports organisations educate and lobby existing and new Parliamentarians regarding their sport and its needs. It is not enough to just work with the Federal Government’s primary sport agency – Australian Sports Commission. The 47th Federal Parliament commenced on 26…
australiansportreflections
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Who would be an Australian sport administrator today?
By Greg Blood Who would be a sport administrator – paid or volunteer these days? Sport administration has never been so complex and demanding. Recently I participated in a future of sport in Australia research project and my main thesis was that it may be difficult to attract and retain qualified and experienced sports administrators…
australiansportreflections
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Sport and the 2022 Australian Federal Election
By Greg Blood Who said sport and politics don’t or should not mix? In many ways, sport and politics has become more intertwined in recent years. This has occurred through linking political/social issues such as same sex marriage, racism and climate change, “sport-barreling” and more recently transgender issues in sport. In 2021, Prime Minister Morrison…
australiansportreflections
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From Sporting Cripples to Powerful Advocates – How the Paralympic Movement Arrived at its Alcott Moment.
By Greg Blood and Tony Naar The announcement of Dylan Alcott as 2022 Australian of the Year is a significant milestone. Alcott became the first Australian with a visible disability to be awarded this honour. Not only that, but Alcott is a Paralympian, the first to be honoured as Australian of the Year in the…
australiansportreflections
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Reflecting on Australian Sport in 2021 – Another Year of Living with Covid
By Greg Blood 2021 was another difficult year for athletes, coaches and administrators. It is worthwhile documenting how Australian sport managed the many obstacles thrown up by COVID and the achievements of Australian athletes and teams. A major change during 2021 has been Sport Integrity Australia taking charge of major integrity issues that have beset…
australiansportreflections
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History of Federal Ministers of Sport and Their Shadows : Their Tenure and Significant Contribution – Updated 2023
By Greg Blood The development of sport in Australia since 1972 has been significantly progressed by Federal Ministers of Sport and at times Shadow Ministers of Sport. Listed are Federal Ministers of Sport and their Shadows since 1972. The objective of this list was to look at the longevity of Ministers and highlighting significant policies…
australiansportreflections
Abbott Government, Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Sports Commission, Author – Greg Blood, Fraser Government, Gillard Government, Government Policy, Hawke Government, History, Howard Government, Keating Government, Morrison Government, Politics, Rudd Government, Turnbull Government, Whitlam Government -
Who Were the Former ASC CEO’s and AIS Director’s? Do Their Backgrounds Provide Insights Into Experience and Qualities of Required for 2022 ASC and AIS Leadership Positions.
By Greg Blood Two important and critical Australian Government sport leadership positions – Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Director of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) – have recently been advertised. It is worth reflecting on the previous occupants of these critical positions and their background prior to their appointment.…
australiansportreflections