Swimming Australia appoints Chelsea Warr to its Board

Swimming Australia has appointed Chelsea Warr to its Board of Directors for a three-year term. Her leadership has delivered transformational results across Olympic, Paralympic, and professional sport - both in Australia and internationally.

With more than 25 years of experience across the global sporting landscape, Warr brings deep expertise in strategy, fit-for-purpose governance, and the design and delivery of systems that drive sustainable sporting excellence.

Swimming Australia Interim Chair Chris Fydler welcomed the appointment and said the combination of Warr’s global experience and local connections was a coup for Swimming Australia and would ensure the Dolphins continued to be Australia’s most successful Olympic and Paralympic sport.

Fydler noted “Chelsea’s wealth of experience in high performance sport and pathways, her in-depth knowledge of transformational change management and strategy into real impact at the frontline made her a unanimous choice and perfect fit for Swimming Australia.

“Chelsea brings dual insight from two home Games - Sydney 2000 and London 2012-and this gives her a unique understanding of the scale, opportunity, and legacy that Brisbane 2032 can offer. 

"She will bring an invaluable focus on maximising our opportunities leading into the 2032 Brisbane Games as we engage the broader ecosystem to inspire Australia through swimming.”

Warr spent 20 years within the Great Britain’s high-performance system, including key roles of Deputy Director, and then Director of Performance, where she was the key architect overseeing the investment, strategy and organisational health of 48 sports.

Her leadership helped propel Great Britain to second on the medal table at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, following their highly successful home Games at London 2012.

This historic achievement marked the first time in 122 years that a nation improved both its medal count, and the breadth of sports that won medals, at a Games following a home Games.

More recently, as Chief Executive of the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), Warr led the delivery of a 2032 Strategy, introducing innovative system-wide initiatives, such as 2032 Coaching Programs, Next Gen talent identification strategies, and the delivery of enhanced technical services to Queensland’s most promising athletes.

She played a pivotal role in supporting Swimming Australia’s Dolphins and Flippers programs, which will bring frontline insights to the Board on creating pathway to podium links.

Her career spans senior executive, board, and advisory roles across Australia, the UK, and Asia.

She has served on the Boards of British Tennis and the UK Sports Institute, ensuring strong organisational backbones to underpin club and community, coaching, major event, facility, commercial, and performance pathways programs.

Warr shared “I’m honoured to join the Board at such a pivotal moment for Swimming Australia. With Brisbane 2032 on the horizon, teamwork has never been more important.

"I’m excited about how we can work even more closely with our swimmers, coaches, clubs, member organisations, and partners to deliver on the 2032 Strategy—uniting and inspiring Australians, as swimming so powerfully can."