On Saturday 20 May, we were thrilled to deliver the program to 58 Club Captains, Vice Captains and emerging leaders who were nominated by their clubs for the skills they have shown both in and out of the pool.
The day started with a session facilitated by Margot Foster AM OLY, Olympic Bronze medal rower, governance expert and Founder of The Boardroom School. Margot led a workshop on Governance and the role committees play in swimming clubs. She took the group through the functions and roles of the committee and what an effective, well governed committee looks like.
After a quick lunch break, the athletes were lucky to hear from Rita Nehme. Rita is the Social Impact and Sustainability Manager at Richmond Football Club, where she leads strategies and initiatives including their Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. She ran a workshop designed around Swimming Victoria’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy, which was recently launched.
The session explored the concepts of diversity and inclusion and encouraged the athletes to reflect on what they mean to them and their clubs. They were given an overview of Swimming Victoria’s DEI Strategy and developed actions to implement at their clubs to contribute to diversity and inclusion.
We asked the participants what they enjoyed most about the day, here’s what they had to say:
“I enjoyed meeting and talking to more swimmers my age and seeing their perspectives of leadership within the swimming community.”
“Being able to communicate with different leaders and learning new strategies.”
We look forward to seeing the athletes put these skills to use as leaders both in and out of the pool. We will continue to work with them on their personal development and are keen to develop them into a youth voice group, to help us remain engaged with their age group as we shape the sport for the future.
