First female President named by Gymnastics Australia Board

Gymnastics Australia has appointed Jacqui Briggs-Weatherill as its new President - the first female to take on the role in the sport's 65 year history.

A Director at Gymnastics Australia for the past two years, Briggs-Weatherill was appointed to the role of President, replacing outgoing President Grant Harrison following a Board meeting on 28th June 2014.

Briggs-Weatherill is Chief Executive at Victoria's Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and is also a Director of the Australian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association (ACCA).

Speaking of her appointment, Briggs-Weatherill said that she was excited to lead Gymnastics Australia towards achieving its strategic priorities and targets within the current Olympic cycle.

Briggs-Weatherill explained "the sport of gymnastics is of growing national importance to this country, with our participation rates increasing considerably in recent years.

"I see my role as President is to strengthen the board's leadership capacity, to facilitate our success in achieving our strategic goals.

"The board of Gymnastics Australia is committed to delivering an integrated system that supports all gymnasts to excel and achieve their personal best, whether they are an elite athlete or a participant in KinderGym.

"We've got a lot of work to do if we are to win medals at the next Olympics."

Briggs-Weatherill brings a wealth of leadership to the role, having a long history in directorial roles including as Chair and Director of the Hume Region Primary Care Partnership, President and Director of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Coalition for Victoria, Director of the High Country Library Corporation, Director of Inner East Community Health, Director of Foundation Boroondara and Director of the North East Tracks Learning and Employment Network.

As well as participating in gymnastics at a young age as both a gymnast and then coach, Briggs-Weatherill has been heavily involved in sport and recreation throughout her career, working in recreation facility management within local government and the YMCA and also lecturing at the School of Sport and Exercise Science at Victoria University.

Briggs-Weatherill is a member of the Institute of Public Administration (IPAA), the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and, Parks and Leisure Australia (PLA). She is also a Fellow of Local Government Professionals (LGPro).

Other appointments to the Gymnastics Australia Board include:

Vice President: Michael Burnett

Nominations Committee: Tim Frampton (Chair)

High Performance Committee: Brennon Dowrick (Chair)

Finance and Audit Committee: Michael Burnett (Chair), Anita Hobson-Powell, Geoff Moon.

Awards Committee: Frances Crampton (Chair), Anita Hobson-Powell.

Recruitment and Remuneration Committee: Jacqui Briggs-Weatherill (Chair), Michael Burnett, Anita Hobson-Powell.

Gymnastics Australia also announced that it has exceeded the Australian Sports Commission's minimum targets set for gender representation, with females comprising more than 40% of the body's Board.

Click here to visit the Gymnastics Australia website.