How the AOC will elect its president and board

THE Australian Olympic Committee will elect a president, vice president and board on Saturday morning using an exhaustive voting system. HERE’S HOW

Danni Roche and John Coates are the two candidates for the AOC’s presidency.

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THE Australian Olympic Committee will elect a new president, vice president and board on Saturday morning using an exhaustive voting system.

The meeting begins at 9am on Saturday morning, with incumbent John Coates challenged by former Olympian Danni Roche for the presidency.

It is not known how long the voting process will take.

HOW IT WORKS

An exhaustive voting process will be used with the candidate with the least number of votes eliminated at the end of each round.

■ The board is elected one by one.

■ Successful candidates need 50 per cent plus one.

■ If absolute majority is not achieved, lowest polling candidate eliminated and vote is retaken.

■ This continues until a candidate has absolute majority.

■ This is the process for all seven board positions.

*Consultants EY (formerly Ernst and Young) are official scrutineers

*Coates and Roche have been invited to appoint their own scrutineer for presidential ballot

THE CANDIDATES

President (two nominations, one position)

John Coates: Incumbent. Held the role, unchallenged, since 1990. International Olympic Committee vice-president; Court of Arbitration for Sport president. Six-time former Australian Olympic team chef de mission.

Danni Roche: Challenger. Olympic hockey gold medallist at 1996 Games. Australian Sports Commission board member; former Hockey Australia director; currently senior investment manager at Ord Minnett.

John Coates has fought hard to keep the presidency. Picture: AP

Former Olympic hockey champ Danni Roche is bidding to topple Coates. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Vice-president (three nominations, two positions)

Helen Browlee: Incumbent. NSW Olympic Council president. Oceania Canoeing president.

Ian Chesterman: Incumbent. Australian winter Olympic team chef de mission for 2018 Games, his sixth Games as team leader.

Andrew Plympton: Australian Sports Commission board member. Former Sailing Australia president and St Kilda Football Club president.

Board (10 nominations, seven positions)

Matt Allen: Sailing Australia president. Competed in 27 Sydney to Hobart yacht races.

Mark Arbib: Incumbent. Former federal sports minister. Athletics Australia president.

Craig Carracher: Incumbent. Volleyball Australia president. Oceania Volleyball president.

Kitty Chiller: Incumbent. Chef de mission at the 2016 Rio Games. Olympian in modern pentathlon at 2000 Sydney Games.

Evelyn Halls: Australian Fencing Federation president. Dual Olympian in fencing (2000, 2004).

Rechelle Hawkes: Triple Olympic gold medallist in hockey. Australian captain for eight years, competed at four Olympics.

David Hynes: Baseball Australia president. Olympian in baseball at 1996 Games.

Nicole Livingstone: Incumbent. Swimming Australia chair of high performance committee. Triple Olympic medallist in swimming.

Michael Murphy: Diving Australia chairman. Former diving national selector. Dual Olympian in diving (1992, 1996).

Danielle Woodward: Incumbent. Australian team deputy chef de mission at 2016 Rio Games. Triple Olympian in canoeing, silver medallist at 1992 Barcelona Games.

WHO GETS TO VOTE?

93 votes in total will be cast (IOC delegate James Tomkins will be absent, no proxy)

12 votes — executive members — Coates, Brownlee, Matt Carroll (CEO), Chesterman, Arbib, Carracher, Chiller, Nick Green, Steve Hooker (Athletes’ Commission representative), Livingstone, Plympton, Woodward

66 votes — 33 summer Olympic sports with two votes each, includes swimming, athletics, cycling, sailing, rowing and equestrian

14 votes — Seven winter Olympic sports with two votes each, includes curling, ice hockey, luge, snowboard and 1 vote — AOC Athletes’ Commission (deputy chair, Kim Brennan)

1978

Elected to a (now defunct) position of Honorary Secretary of Australian Amateur Rowing Council (now known as Rowing Australia).

1981

Becomes a member of the AOC

1983-1988

Becomes president of Australian Amateur Rowing Council (now known as Rowing Australia).

1984

Australia’s Deputy Chef De Mission for Los Angeles Games

1985-1990

Becomes vice president of the AOC

1988-2008

Australia’s Chef de Mission at Seoul, Barcelona (’92), Atlanta (’96), Sydney (’00), Athens (’04) and Beijing (’08).

1990

A year after being made a member of the Order of Australia, Coates is voted in a president of the AOC

1992-2014

Council member of the World Rowing Federation (FISA)

1994

Becomes a member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport

1995-2010

In the same year as becoming an Officer of the Order of Australia, Coates becomes vice president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport

2000

Senior Vice-President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Sydney in 2000. A year later he becomes a member of the IOC

2005-2012

Coordination for the Games of the XXX Olympiad London 2012

2009

Elected as a member of the executive board of the IOC (until 2013)

2011

Becomes president of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport

2013-present

Elected vice president of the IOC

2013-present

Chair of the following Commissions: Coordination for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020

Originally published as How the AOC will elect its president and board