Category: Professional Sports
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Creating a New Horizon for Women in Coaching
By Lawrie Woodman “The number of women athletes at the Olympic Games is approaching 50 per cent. Over the last five Olympic Games (Summer and Winter) the number of female accredited coaches has hovered around 9-11%.” Summary There has been massive growth in girls’ and women’s participation in sport – this has not been matched…
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2019 Federal election – a sport perspective
By Greg Blood. Originally published by The Footy Almanac, 22 May 2019. With the Federal election campaign now over and the Coalition retaining office, you may be interested in my reflections on how sport was utilised by the Coalition and Labor during the campaign. In the lead up to and during the campaign I closely…
australiansportreflections
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Should Governments fund AFL and NRL high performance centres?
By Greg Blood. Originally published in The Footy Almanac, 16 April 2019. Note – this article has been updated in February 2024. The recent Morrison Federal Government budget announced $60m in funding for three AFL clubs (Brisbane, Carlton, Richmond) and one NRL club (North Queensland). This was followed up by the Morrison Government election announcement…
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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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…
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Why the professionalisation of women’s sport in Australia could put Olympic performances under threat
Originally published in The Roar, 6 October 2016. There are many positive developments happening in women’s sport in Australia but some of these developments may have a negative impact on Australian performances at the Olympics. The Hockeyroos, Opals and the Stingers have been medal performers since the 1990’s but none of these teams medalled at…
australiansportreflections