Category: History
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Contribution of Australian sport administrators to international sport
By Greg Blood Australian sport administrators have filled significant positions in international sport. John Coates has often argued that Australian sport administrators need to hold significant Australian positions particularly President/Chair for several years before standing for positions on international sports federations. I recently researched Ray Godkin’s sport administration career for his Wikipedia article and it…
australiansportreflections
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Contribution of Overseas Coaches to the AIS and Australian Sport
By Greg Blood The recent passing of former AIS Swimming Coach Gennadi Touretski made me reflect on the contribution of overseas coaches to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Australian high performance sport system since 1981. In 1981, inaugural AIS Head Coaches included four overseas highly credentialled coaches – Kelvin Giles (athletics from England),…
australiansportreflections
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Vale Peter Bowman – ‘Unsung’ Pioneer AIS Administrator
By Greg Blood With the recent death of Peter Bowman, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) lost one of its founding staff. I have great memories of Bowman’s 20 years at the AIS and this includes the first time I met him – my interview in early 1983 for the librarian position at the AIS…
australiansportreflections
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The Winning Diet : Australian Institute of Sport’s Nutrition Dept. Contribution to Australian Sport
By Greg Blood. I have recently reflected on the fact that the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has had several long-term leaders that have made significant contributions to their professional discipline and to Australian sport. Professor Louise Burke is one of them. This article will outline from my perspective the reasons why AIS Nutrition lead…
australiansportreflections
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Commemoration of Athletes and Racing Animals in Regional and Rural Australia
By Greg Blood. Orginally published in the Australian Society for Sports History Bulletin No. 71 , February 2020. Sport plays a significant role in rural and regional Australia. Cashman stated that ‘Bush sport, like city sport, is a way of emphasising community and locality but the former can also be a gesture of defiance against…
australiansportreflections
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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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Sports Rorts II – A case of very bad politics not good policy
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Footy Almanac, 12 February 2020. I have observed closely the last two Federal elections from a sporting perspective and found that both the Coalition and Labor have used ‘sport’ to promote their case for election to particularly marginal or contestable electorates. From the data I collected from the…
australiansportreflections
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A critique of the national sport plan
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 3 August 2018. The long-awaited national sport plan Sport 2030 has been released and has an ambitious vision for Australia “to be the world’s most active and healthy sporting nation, known for its integrity and sporting success”. I believe that with this vision it should have be called ‘National Sport…
australiansportreflections
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How long can the proposed National Sports Plan survive?
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Roar, 13 May 2018 The Australian Government is due to release the long awaited first official National Sports Plan in the next few months. I have concerns about the future of the plan and not necessarily its direction. Why? The increasing political instability in Australian Governments and the…
australiansportreflections