CEO Update

I hope this email finds you in good health and good spirits. It is an incredibly challenging time for parts of Australia and for parts of the world and we hope that our community are staying safe and staying connected.

In this edition of the Shooting Australia CEO Update;

• High Performance Program and Athletes
• Event and Competition Planning
• Australian Shooting Reference Group
• My Top 10 Media stories and initiatives
• Reflections after one year as CEO

Competition and Event Planning

Shooting Australia is currently liaising with National Member Organisations and where relevant, their State and Territory Associations, to establish a schedule for the 2021 Shooting Australia Performance Series.  This planning is a collaboration with our High Performance team and is being conducted with consideration of the following guiding principles;

1. The Australian Olympic and Paralympic Shooting Team’s are provided with the opportunity to compete in the highest possible level of competition, ahead of the two Games that have been postponed to 2021.
2. Australian athletes can access meaningful domestic competition as they strive for Australian Team selection for future International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) competition.
3. Where possible, Shooting Australia will partner with existing events on the Australian domestic calendar.

While we are not at the stage of making any announcements, when we do it goes without saying that everything will be subject to change. In addition to domestic event planning, the ISSF are conducting their own event planning for their international events from 2021 to 2024. It is anticipated that we will be able to communicate their planned schedule by the end of September this year.

Australian Shooting Reference Group

The Australian Shooting Reference Group (ASRG) has been formed to create a platform for discussion and action regarding the activities and interests of Shooting Australia and our Member Organisations.  Through focused discussion and action on key projects identified and agreed to, we are working collaboratively on the following key areas, with the mandate to find clarity on the roles and responsibilities of our organisations as they relate to the following key areas;

• Participation & Sport Development
• Brand, Media and Communications
• Pathways, Competition and High Performance
• Coaching and Officiating Pathways and Accreditation
• Policies and Industry Leadership

Some great progress has been made on two initiatives that have been worked on by the ASRG;

Back to the Range Campaign;

• Four of our five Member Organisations** have collaborated with Shooting Australia on a media campaign to encourage club members to get ‘Back to the Range’, following closures due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• While only preliminary reporting from the campaign have been observed, it appears  that higher than anticipated results have been achieved and we can only hope that this can make an impact on member retention at club level.
• You can view the videos created for the campaign here – enjoy!

**Note, Pistol Australia elected to produce their own digital campaign to assist in the retention of members and all reports are that this campaign has also performed strongly. You can view their video here.

Development Coordinator Pilot

• Shooting Australia is partnering with National Member Organisations and South Australian based State Associations, in an initiative that will see a Development Coordinator employed by Shooting Australia to work with State Associations and Clubs in South Australia with the aim to strengthen pathways, retain/grow club membership levels and build the capacity of the sport at a grassroots level.
• The initiative is being piloted in South Australia on the back of funding for the role being sourced through the South Australian Office for Recreation Sport and Racing. We hope that this proof of concept can help unlock funding opportunities in other states and territories, that can see the position replicated across the country in years to come.
• If you or someone you know might be interested in the role, check out the advertisement and send us an application!

The CEO Top Ten!

As Shooting Australia continues to double our efforts on media output, especially throughout the COVID-19 period, I’m continually impressed at the stories that are being told on national and regional TV News services, on national and regional print and online news websites, via social media and of course, on our own streaming platform – SATV. I’m cognisant that if you live in Perth, you may not see the story that airs on Channel 7 News in Adelaide (and so on), so I thought I’d give you a look at my Top Ten stories since the Olympic Team Announcement.

These Top Ten stories were chosen to demonstrate the breadth of media coverage secured since the Olympic team announcement. The list covers television news bulletins, dedicated national and metropolitan sports radio programs, metropolitan, suburban and regional print media.

Click here to see the CEO Top Ten!

Reflections after one year as CEO

It’s the people that matter

How time flies and what a huge year it has been! One thing is for sure, I’ve loved every minute of my time as the CEO of Shooting Australia and I am continually humbled to have the opportunity to play a leadership role in this sport. And I do mean that the way it is written, by no means do I see myself as ‘the’ leader of this sport, but I do relish the opportunity to play a role in leading the sport into the future.  Understanding where we have come from, to me, is incredibly important if you’re going to pay a lead role in setting the direction of the sport going forward. This is an ongoing task and I am striving to continue to learn about the history of the sport and people behind it.

It’s the people that I’ve been so impressed with. Whether it has been the athletes that have competed at international events that we have hosted like the World Shooting Para Sport World Championships or the Oceania Shooting Federation Championships; or whether it has been the people behind the scenes – the volunteers and officials – I’ve been continually impressed at the quality of person that is involved in the shooting sports we cover.

The WSPS World Championships held in Sydney in October last year, from an organisational point of view, was a huge undertaking from our staff and the officials and volunteers to deliver this event to a world class standard. Thanks again to everyone who was involved, and we hope to host an event of this calibre again in Australia soon.

As this year commenced Australia was contending with bushfire disaster in many areas, which had a direct impact on a number of our clubs, athletes, coaches and officials. It almost delayed the start of the Olympic Nomination Series that was set to begin in January, but I would like to say to anyone of the Australian Shooting family who is still picking up the pieces from this national disaster, our thoughts and best wishes are with you!

The Olympic Nomination Series

Of course, the Olympic Nomination Series did go ahead and across the three disciplines that were held across the country throughout January, February and March, we were treated to a truly elite level of competition. The high standards were not limited to the athletes either, with competition administrators and officials facilitating a world class level of competition. I had the privilege of travelling to a number of these events and seeing firsthand, the level of commitment and excellence that was put into this series from all who took part. Thanks again to all the organisations who partnered with us to deliver a highly successful series. glad

Leading into the final event of the series, the Shooting Australia Open, some athletes had developed leads that were going to guarantee their ticket to Tokyo, while for a number of events and athletes, there was nothing in it and everything hinged on a strong performance at the last event. At the same time, Australia (and the world) was rocked by the emergence and ongoing spread of the Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19. Restrictions on mass gatherings and social distancing guidelines followed and were becoming more stringent every day, were we going to be able to complete the Olympic Nomination Series? One hundred and one other questions were being asked simultaneously as we scrambled to contend with the rapidly changing information, and we looked for the clearest crystal ball to help predict what would happen next.

Administratively, it was an intense period and I was incredibly fortunate to have a group of staff that showed nerves of steel, along with a responsive and adaptive Board who’s support during this time I am very grateful for. I stand by our decision to cancel the Shooting Australia Open and provide the athletes that had been training and competing for this moment for years, with a revised invitational event that would complete the series. For many of us, it was a 14 day week that led into this event. An event that could be staged well within the social distancing guidelines of the time. An event that we owed it to the athletes to stage. An event that we had to be sure, would not put the health and safety of any of our athletes, coaches, staff, officials and volunteers at risk. To all the people who took part in this event – thank you! There were different levels of risk for all stakeholders in the event. Thank you all for responsibly observing the guidelines that were put in place to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19.

Congratulations to the athletes for their performances across the series. Performances that were underpinned by years of preparation and a huge amount of professionalism.

Tokyo 2020 (2021) and the Australian Shooting Olympic Team Announcement

With the Olympic Nomination Series complete, the 2020 Olympic Games Nomination Criteria outlined that the Nomination Panel would meet and that we would have a few days to formerly nominate the team to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). From there, the AOC Selection Panel would meet and effectively use our nominations to select the Australian Shooting Team to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Shortly after that, athletes would be notified of their selection / non- selection and the team would be announced. While this process played out in the same order, what was to take a week took three and there were plenty of twists and turns along the way.

On the day our Nomination Panel met to consider selections, the AOC announced that they could not see a way that they could safely send the Australian Olympic Team to the Tokyo Olympic Games that would commence in July, 2020. My inbox goes crazy and my phone rings off the hook. On the day before we were due to nominate our team to the AOC, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announce that the games will be postponed. We receive a time extension on the date to nominate the team. The IOC announce a new date for the games, one year on. Questions, questions, questions - should we nominate the team? Can we wait until next year? We were scurrying for answers and working in close contact with the AOC to determine the answers.

In the end, it was our duty to recognise the blood, sweat and tears that the athletes (and their coaches) had put in for the past three or four years and nominate the team to the AOC within the parameters of the Nomination Criteria. While there were some close calls (which by the way is a testament to the quality of competition), whether we had picked the team this year or next, there were always going to be some close calls and to those athletes who have missed out, I reiterate my condolences to you all. Of course, I’d like to again congratulate that team that has been selected and on behalf of the staff at Shooting Australia, we look forward to continuing to work with you to prepare you as best we can under the circumstance, for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, to be held in 2021!

The COVID-19 Pandemic

This CEO update coincides with a time when we would have expected to see the Australian Shooting Team at the Tokyo Olympic Games, striving to achieve their personal best and working together to achieve goals that at one point in time, may have seemed unreachable. Instead, we find ourselves contending with one of the most challenging global situations for generations. A situation that for some of us in Australia or around the world, feels like the goals of our community are far beyond our reach.

It is a time that calls for leadership; for us to be accountable and to lead by example. It is a time that calls for unity; caring about our people and working together as one. It is a time that calls for courage and integrity; to have conviction in our actions, to do the right thing and have respect for ourselves and others around us. Leadership, Unity, Courage and Integrity are some of the values that Shooting Australia chooses to stand by and I hope that no matter what situation you are personally facing, that the behaviours that underpin these words can help guide you through a period of adversity and towards a period of prosperity.

There are many opportunities ahead of us and for shooting sports in the future. In my view, the most pressing challenge is for us as a collective of sports, to gain clarity on what our roles and responsibilities are and then to work together to achieve a set of goals that will sustain the sport into the future.

To everyone out there in the Australian Shooting community, stay well and stay connected!

Regards,

Luke van Kempen

CEO – Shooting Australia