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AOC and ASC targeting Top 5 together

 

AOC and ASC targeting Top 5 together

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AOC
AOC and ASC targeting Top 5 together

TEAM: ASC Chairman John Wylie confirmed today the Australian Olympic Committee target of top 5 on the medal tally at the 2016 Olympic Games is a joint goal.

TEAM: Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Chairman John Wylie confirmed today the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) target of top 5 on the medal tally at the 2016 Olympic Games is a joint goal. 

He told the AOC Annual General Meeting in Sydney the relationships between the ASC, AIS and AOC is "unforseen since the lead-up to Sydney 2000 and the closest in history".

“The significance of the fact the Australian Sports Commission has adopted this target cannot be overstated,” Wylie said. 

“Your goal is now our goal. As a result Australia’s performance in Rio will be the real test for the ASC and (Australian Institute of Sport) AIS. 

“I think (top 5) is a courageous stance by the AOC and one I am particularly proud given we have dropped from fifth to tenth and getting back to fifth will take double the gold medals of London. This is a turnaround story!

“Seemingly it will be a lot harder to finish fifth in Rio and the Olympics of 2020 than it was in Sydney 2000. The world has changed.”

Wylie confirmed that there was no push to increase government funding to achieve this goal which highlights, “the self-belief and vote of confidence in Australia’s sports men and women, notwithstanding the negative comments around Australian sport in recent times,” Wylie said.

"We’re taking this stance because we believe profoundly in the Australian Olympic movement and the global competitiveness of our athletes. 

“We have no doubt these are tough targets to achieve but we believe that setting high expectations matters. It matters because the only way to achieve hard things is to set tough goals. 

“We do not except and we deny categorically the defeatist mentality and attitude of the Crawford Report. ‘That it’s all got a bit too hard and we should lower our expectations’. What’s next?”

Wylie outlined the benefits to community and youth that having success in high performance sport internationally brings.

The other ASC targets are top five at the Paralympic Games, top 15 at the Winter Olympics, 20 World Champions per year and number one nation in the Commonwealth.

ASC changes to assist reach targets

He reaffirmed to the 200 or so delegates from all summer and winter sports federations that change was needed to achieve these goals and the new funding model being aligned with targets, as recently announced to all sports, was one of these changes.Wylie strongly believes that sports improving their financial strength and governance will have a big impact on the success of their athletes. He highlighted that sport reliance on government funding had increased over the past decade and he warned that there is too much reliance on Government funding with some sports having 80 per cent of their revenue coming from Government and the average of the top 15 sports was 65%. 

“This will mean being innovative and creative in increasing revenue and reducing costs,” Wylie said.

He outlined that the ASC would be setting up a news sponsorship unit in Sydney or Melbourne in consultation with sports and to assist sports. He also believes the ASC can assist sports get TV coverage for their sports which will benefit them commercially.

“We think there is an interesting opportunity right now to develop a dedicated and exclusive multi-sports broadcast channel for sports who currently struggle to attract broadcast partners individually. By pooling resources your sports could produce a viable broadcast product.”

Wylie said finally the ASC wants to help sports increase their philanthropic support.All of these measures would assist sports having greater financial standing and deliver the challenging targets for performance on the field of play.

AOC

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