Tokyo Olympics 2021: Hockey Australia president Melanie Woosnam to stand down

Fresh from a relatively successful Olympic campaign, Hockey Australia is set to undergo more major change with the organisation’s president deciding to stand down.

Hockey Australia President Melanie Woosnam will stand down in November, as the mass clean-out continues after a tumultuous 18 months.

She is the latest to decide to leave the organisation, with CEO Matt Favier officially departing on Friday – the day after the Kookaburras’ silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Both coaches from the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos have yet to be reappointed, and the futures of Colin Batch and Katrina Powell will likely be determined once a CEO and new high performance director are set in stone.

However, both are expected to be reappointed following their relatively successful campaigns, with the men losing a gold medal match in a shootout while the women went down 1-0 in a quarter-final after going through the group stage unbeaten.

While the men were one of the favourites for the gold, Powell – the two-time gold medallist – was thrown into the deep end in April after Paul Gaudoin stood down the day before their independent review’s findings were announced, which included 29 recommendations and a tag of a “dysfunctional culture”.

She has been widely praised for bringing the group together.

The Hockeyroos made the quarterfinals in Tokyo before a shock defeat.

It can also be revealed that HA is planning on relocating their program from Perth to the east coast in 2024.

In a wide-ranging interview with News Corp, Woosnam, who was the figurehead to cop the brunt of a player revolt that led to the historic independent review, said it was the right time to stand down.

“I just think it’s time at the end of the Olympics cycle and with a new CEO coming in, I feel it’s the right time to step down,” Woosnam said.

“It’s not essentially to do with the review, but I just think the timing is right for Hockey Australia and the organisation.

“There are some people on our board who are really starting to step up, and I think the states and territories are keen to see us progress.

“I won’t lie, the last 12-18 months with Covid haven’t been easy. It has been difficult and challenging trying to juggle a full-time job and this volunteer role. It’s probably the timing is just right.”

Woosnam, a former Hockeyroo, said she regretted some of her comments made throughout the tumultuous period either side of the new year, where she hit out at players who were leaking to the media as the group demanded change.

But upon reflection the outgoing HA President admitted the change was a positive for the program going forward.

The kookaburras came so close to winning a gold medal.

“Absolutely,” she said.

“It’s important that athletes have an opportunity to provide feedback and that they’re given that opportunity through a system and a process, and they feel like they can do that without fear or favour, that they’re not going to be judged or have any retribution if they do speak up, I think that’s really important.”

Meanwhile, Woosnam said the program, which has always been based in Perth, is likely to be moved from Perth when their contracts with Hockey WA, Sport and Rec WA and Curtin University are wrapped up by 2024.

“That’s something we’re reviewing as part of our post-Olympic review as well,” Woosnam said.

“People will make it all about location but, for us, it’s about what does world class look like?

“It’s actually more than the location, it’s the facilities, it’s the environment, career opportunities, support for the athletes, and 95 per cent of the cohort probably come from the east coast, so to have our program based on the west coast, is that the best thing for the program moving forward?

“Do we need to have the same program for men and women?

“Certainly something that came up recently in the Hockeyroos review is that we’re taking young girls out of their home environment and basing them on the other side of the country, is that providing the best and most conducive environment for them to perform?”

The Kookaburras return to Australia on Sunday afternoon.