State athletics bodies slam Athletics Australia for lack of leadership

The presidents of eight of Australia’s state athletics bodies have delivered a scathing letter to the Athletics Australia board accusing the national sports organisation of lacking thought leadership, failing to support coaches, not completing commercial agreements and even calling for Chief Executive Darren Gocher to undertake leadership coaching.

As reported by the ABC, the letter from all eight presidents of the state member associations, raised specific issues and expressed their "concerns with the current leadership of Athletics Australia".

Delivered in October, the letter advises “it is the view of the presidents that leadership practices are at the core of these issues and we ask that this be addressed through performance management, development and coaching."

In response, Athletics Australia President, Mark Arbib downplayed its significance, telling the ABC it was "standard practice" to prepare for an annual meeting of presidents.

Arbib, who was Federal Minister for Sport from 2010 to 2012, stated “this year’s letter helped focus us on administrative areas that needed attention and effort; from my perspective it was extremely helpful and gave the meeting real purpose."

He said the Athletics Australia board continues to work with management and had put in place an independent review of culture and staff practices before the letter had been received.

Advising that the postponement of the Olympics, cancellation of events and the closure of Melbourne offices due to COVID restrictions "has created great stress and disappointment for our athletes, coaches and team", Arbib stated "I am proud of the way our athletics community have responded to the challenges, it has tested us at every level of the organisation and we will emerge stronger in the future," he said.

The letter sets out issues the state presidents wished to "escalate" to the board, including a snap 30% rise in insurance premiums and employee attrition estimated at 75% since the appointment of the current Chief Executive, Darren Gocher.

A statement provided by Athletics Australia said it has reduced insurance rises to 10% and attrition was much lower after redundancies and terminations were taken into account.

The letter describes management of and support for coaches and officials as "sub-par", and stated commercial and digital agreements "remain outstanding".

Athletics Australia responded by saying "we have this month appointed a senior corporate services manager to assist management and our staff in these areas."

The state president’s letter also recommended "leadership coaching and development" for senior leaders including the Gocher.

According to Athletics Australia's statement, Gocher "has undertaken significant leadership and coaching programs in his current role and throughout his career".

It also noted his salary had been "significantly reduced at Mr Gocher's request" during the COVID period.

On Friday, Arbib released a statement announcing that sports lawyer Eugenie Buckley had resigned from the Athletics Australia board. Her departure came in the week following the Annual General Meeting.

Kate Palmer, the former Chief Executive of Sport Australia, has joined the board.

Last month, 25-year-old Queensland heptathlete Tori West told The Townsville Bulletin she had not been contacted by anyone from Athletics Australia for six months, despite being the top-ranked Australian.

Athletics Australia recently announced 152 athletes would receive funding under the National Athlete Support Structure (NASS), which supports athletes who have demonstrated the greatest potential to achieve medals.

West was overlooked for selection despite scoring 6028 points earlier this year, above the performance level set out in the NASS policy.

Athletics Australia said in a statement “(West) is unfortunately not a NASS member, and therefore not an athlete we see in contention for the Olympic Games, but all our selection materials are available online and we will ensure she and her coach have the information they need.”

Athletics Australia is currently undergoing a merger with Little Athletics.

It receives more than $10 million each year in Federal Government funding.

Images: Heptathlete Tori West claimed last month nobody from Athletics Australia had spoken to her for six months (top, credit: Facebook) and the administration of Athletics Australia, led by Chief Executive Darren Gocher (centre), has been criticised by state athletics presidents (below, supplied).