One of only 25 young people globally selected to the program, 24-year-old Hull's goal is to develop an online educational resource around safeguarding in sport, with a focus on gender, disability and multicultural safeguarding.

The IOC Young Leader program is open to 20–28-year-olds worldwide and aims to empower young people to develop their own sports-based social business, leveraging the power of sport to make a positive difference in their local communities.

Perth local Hull saw the program as an unmissable opportunity to focus on a crucial area.

“Safeguarding is an important aspect to reduce the rates of sport dropout,” Hull said. “If we want teenagers to keep engaging in sport long term and reduce the rate of dropout amongst teenagers around that 13 to 15-year-old age group, then ensuring that our spaces are safe is vital.

“It is a topic that I've thought about for a long time, it's something that I've wanted to work in, and something I'm really passionate about, I just needed the avenue to implement it, which is what the IOC Young Leaders programme provides me.

“The core part of my project is an online resource that is specific to Western Australia, including legislation, the community and the structure of organisations across the state."

In particular, educating those in positions of authority like administrators, coaches, referees, and officials around safeguarding in sport and particularly around intersectional safeguarding.

“I also want to amplify the voices of local Western Australian athletes, allowing them to use this platform to tell their stories, to educate others and help them to better understand the experiences of grassroots and local athletes.”

After seeing the Young Leaders programme advertised on social media late last year, Grace decided to enrol herself in the 4-week learning sprint, a prerequisite to apply for the program, where she was one of over 400 participants.

“During the learning sprint, we had four weeks of sessions led by the team at the IOC. The sessions were on a range of topics including the Olympic values, Olympic legacy and the Olympic 2020+5 agenda."

Following the learning-sprint, Hull submitted her application for the Young Leaders Programme detailing the concept of her project and what she hoped to achieve. Just two months later, she was notified of her success.

“The programme is very competitive and there are so many great people out there applying to be a Young Leader,” Hull said.

“I was over the moon when I found out in February I had been selected as one of the 25 Young Leaders for 2023-2026.

“By that point I was so invested in my project, I had started thinking about it so much and I was having conversations with friends and family about what it could look like.

“I cannot even describe the feeling I felt when I found out, it was so exciting and as soon as I got the confirmation, I immediately started research.”

As part of the program, Grace will receive 10,000 CHF ($16,800 AUD) in seed funding to put towards implementing her project.

“We are very fortunate to receive financial support from the IOC and Young Leaders programme. It is a tiered approach, so we will receive the funding in instalments over the four-years of the programme,” Hull explained.

While the core part of Grace’s project is an online resource specific to Western Australia, she is hoping to one-day take the project nationwide and hopes safeguarding education becomes mandatory for all non-profit sporting clubs.

“If successful, the platform can be taken to a much larger scale,” Hull said.

“I will ensure the project is applicable to all sports and all levels of sport, from grassroots level sport all the way to high performance sport.

“I would love to see safeguarding education accessible to all sports and all people within an organisation.

“The way I see it, safeguarding is not just the responsibility of the member protection officer or the person that is taking safeguarding cases at the organisation, it is everyone’s business."

The AOC is committed to safeguarding athletes and officials. We continue to work with sports, looking at ways to create a sense of belonging and safety for all.