Australia’s Olympic movement facing messy clean-up after AOC vote

NO matter who wins the bloody Olympic voting shootout between John Coates and Danni Roche on Saturday a far more important question hangs in the air.

Robert Craddock

less than 2 min read

May 4, 2017 - 9:56PM

John Coates goes head-to-head with AOC challenge Danni Roche on Saturday.

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NO matter who wins the bloody Olympic voting shootout between John Coates and Danni Roche on Saturday a far more important question hangs in the air.

What happens next? Will the sports that support the losing nominee for the Australia Olympic Committee presidency feel marginalised?

Will there be paybacks for the losers and saloon passages for those who backed the winner?

Will the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Olympic Committee stop firing mortar guns at each other and be able to work in harmony?

John Coates goes head-to-head with AOC challenge Danni Roche on Saturday.

Australia’s Olympic movement is in crisis and rocked to the core. Australia’s 40 Olympic sports feel nervous and vulnerable and so they should be.

Civil wars do that to people.

The viciousness of the campaign has denigrated the credibility of the Olympic movement.

The sports will vote in secret on Saturday but it won’t take long for “who voted for whom’’ stories to filter out.

ROCKET SCIENCE: How does the AOC vote work?

It took one of the smallest Olympic sports that does not receive any Olympic funding, Judo, to put things in perspective when it spoke up about the need for change no matter who wins.

“They must stop warring and learn how to work together,’’ Judo Australia chief executive Alex Valentine said.

“There is so much synergy between them if they can work things out.’’

AOC contender Danni Roche ahead of the vote. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Change is essential. More consultation with Olympic sports and less strongarmed tactics. More transparency. Better funding of the smaller sports. A sensible reduction in the pay-packets of Olympic officials.

No longer can the Australian Olympic movement sustain a model where the combined salaries of the three top administrators comes to almost 10 times the combined funding of 10 smallest Olympic sports.

The argument that Coates is worth $700,000 a year because he could earn that much and more taking board positions lacks credibility in a world where many sportspeople are pursuing the Olympic dream on starvation rations.

The landscape for tomorrow’s vote could hardly be more dramatic and contrasting.

It’s man versus woman. Sydney (Coates) versus Melbourne (Roche). Liberal (Roche) versus Labor (Coates).

The crafty old fox against the younger generation.

With 93 votes to be counted it promises to be a cliffhanger.

And then comes the part that really matters.

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