Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Women in Sport Aotearoa
Over the past few weeks, we have seen unprecedented disruption at all levels of sport and recreation in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.
Women in Sport Aotearoa and our partners at Trans-Tasman Business Circle SportsConnect are delighted to bring you a free series of live interviews with key leaders.
Date: Friday 22 May 2020
Time: 13.30 (dial in from 13.25)
(To avoid long queues in the waiting room on the day we do recommend you register in advance)
Dr. Bridie O’Donnell, Director, Office for Women in Sport & Recreation, Victorian State Government
We are delighted to welcome sports reporter Zoë George as our moderator this week.
Over recent weeks, there has been much discussion about the similarities and differences between New Zealand and Australia when it comes to lockdown measures to fight COVID-19. Much of our professional sport is connected across the Tasman, and we have similar sporting structures in place across all levels from elite to grassroots. Therefore, it’s a great moment to catch-up with Dr. Bridie O’Donnell to understand how Australian sport has been faring during the pandemic and what plans are in place for recovery and rebuild. In particular, we’re looking forward to understanding how Victoria has moved to support women’s sport, protecting the momentum built since its landmark ‘Inquiry into Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation’ report was published in November 2015.
In particular, Bridie will talk about:
– The Australian sports system and the impact of COVID-19 at all levels; what recovery/rebuild will look like
– The progressive nature of Victoria when it comes to women’s sport and the results achieved since 2015
– How leaders have moved to protect women’s sport in the wake of COVID-19 and what the future will look like
– How the New Zealand and Australian sports systems compare and what we can learn from one another
ABOUT BRIDIE
Dr Bridie O’Donnell graduated Valedictorian from the University of QLD Medical School and was awarded the JRS Lahz prize for Most Outstanding Intern of the Year. She competed as an elite rower and an Ironman triathlete while working as a junior doctor, and then gave up working full time to race in Europe as a professional cyclist in Europe and the US from 2008-2012, working part time every summer as an ICU Fellow and Orthopaedic assistant to fund her cycling career. Bridie represented AUS three times at cycling world championships, and then returned home to Melbourne to work at the Epworth hospital as a behaviour change physician. In 2016, she broke the UCI Women’s Hour World Record riding 46.882km at sea level. In 2017 Dr O’Donnell was appointed the inaugural head of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation and in 2018 she published ‘Life and Death – a cycling memoir.’ Her role in the Victorian Government is leading the first office of its kind in Australia and directs investment into the community to level the playing field for women and girls in sport and recreation.
Leadership from Lockdown is a brand new series designed to:
– Listen to the stories of a varied range of top leaders from across sport and active recreation
– Explore the major decisions they have made (or reacted to) and their decision-making processes
– Understand the practicalities of managing staff, stakeholders and volunteers through significant change
– Find out about the process of redeveloping an organisational strategic plan and budget “on the fly”
– Learn about opportunities and challenges unique to their particular position or type of organisation
– Hear authentic insights about the journey they have been on personally, as they lead from lockdown
