Change Our Game Women in Governance Program candidates announced

07 March 2022
Emma Hocking and Nicholas Hussain - Geelong Swimming Club
Written by: Swimming Victoria

Last week, Change Our Game announced 46 Victorian women selected to take part in an initiative to support their success in senior governance roles in the sport and recreation sector. The Change Our Game Women in Governance Program supports women working and volunteering in the sport and recreation sector to gain the knowledge, skills and support to excel in board positions at a regional, state and national level. This includes a comprehensive overview of the main components of directorship including governance, strategy, risk and finance.

Geelong Swimming Club Committee member, Emma Hocking was selected amongst the group of women from professional sporting codes, Summer and Winter Olympic sports, local community clubs and the University sector.

Emma feels very honoured and privileged to be selected to participate in the Change Our Game Women in Governance Program. “After a competitive selection process, I am excited for the opportunity to learn not only from the program itself, but to learn from the selected women who come from a range of organisations within the sporting industry. I look forward to sharing and applying my learning with the committee and further developing our club” she said.

Geelong Swimming Club President, Glenn Benson said, “It has been great to welcome Emma to our committee after being a competitive member of our club for 10 years. With Emma’s swimming background and the knowledge and skills she will gain through the governance training, we are excited about the capability this will add to swimming in Geelong.”

The Office for Women in Sport and Recreation has partnered with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) to deliver the three-day program. The Change Our Game Women in Governance Program follows a successful pilot program last year, which saw 25 women graduate.

SV Board members Michelle Harris and Ella Keogh were part of the pilot. Here’s what they had to say about the program.

“I had always wanted to complete the AICD course, and the Change Our Game program provided a fantastic opportunity to undertake the challenging study with other leading women from the community sport sector.  We were able to discuss real life examples and then network to support each other following the program.  I also felt more confident after completing the course to step up to the Swimming Victoria Board which has been a fantastic experience to date.”
- Michelle Harris

"The course gave me skills and insights into directorship that would have otherwise taken years to develop. I feel far more confident as a Board member with financial documents and risk management."
- Ella Keogh

Congratulations Emma, Swimming Victoria is excited to see you develop your skills to impact the Victorian swimming community.

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