ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

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Our Plan

We believe in the power of Athletics to have a positive impact on all West Australians through their

engagement in our sport (e.g. as a participant / athlete, coach, official, volunteer, supporter / spectator

and others). Accordingly, this plan is intended to be relevant to everyone within the West Australian

Athletics movement, be they registered members of Clubs, Centres and Associations, or simply casual

participants in and/or supporters of our great sport.

In recent times, Little Athletics Western Australia (LAWA), Athletics Western Australia (AWA) and other

key elements of the West Australian Athletics movement, have worked positively and openly together,

for the “benefit of the sport” in WA. The most recent achievement of this collaboration, is the

development of the first ever “whole of sport” strategic plan for Athletics in this state – ATHLETICS IN

WA UNLEASHED!

While LAWA and AWA are the two largest member-based Athletics associations in WA, it is recognised

that the WA Athletics Movement is more than these two bodies. Accordingly, ATHLETICS IN WA

UNLEASHED! acknowledges and respects organisations such as WA Masters Athletics, Parkrun, School

Sports WA, various recreational running groups and others.

We see 2017-2022 as the most exciting period of our sport’s long history in WA, and confident in the

role ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! will play in maximising the success of all elements of our sport

during this period. Together, we will provide meaningful and positive experiences for our members

and others who engage in our sport, as well as introducing more people to Athletics – showing a new

generation how to get involved. Each element of the plan is important. Each is connected. Combined,

they will fuel growth. As we deliver this plan, we will see Athletics unleashed.

Teresa Blackman (LAWA Chairman)

Mal Harford (AWA Chairman)

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What is ATHLETICS in WA UNLEASHED!?

All elements of the WA Athletics Movement (i.e. LAWA and its Centres and Clubs; AWA and its clubs; WA

primary and secondary schools; WA universities; Masters Athletics WA; recreational running

organisations / groups; and many others) have achieved great things on and off the track for many years.

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! provides the platform from which the entire WA Athletics movement will

work together as a united collective, to drive the increased growth, capacity, relevance and effectiveness

of our sport across WA between 2017 and 2022.

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! has been developed to:

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! outlines what the WA Athletics Movement plans to achieve collectively

and how it plans to do so over the 5-year period. Individual entities within the movement may have

individual strategic objectives, which are not included in this plan, however our “whole of sport” planning

approach will help embed formalised cross-organisational collaboration and alignment in areas of joint

strategic need.

Developed by Athletics for Athletics

Creating the right plan to move the sport of Athletics in WA forward has taken careful thought and

consideration. It has also taken time and contributions from stakeholders across all elements of the sport

in WA. A summary of the work done in the lead up to developing ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! is

presented below:

Provide vision and direction to the WA Athletics Movement;

Guide the future growth and capacity of the WA Athletics Movement;

Encourage coordination, cooperation and collaboration amongst the WA Athletics Movement;

Ensure the relevance of Athletics within the WA sporting sector and broader community is

maximised; and

Excite the WA Athletics Movement enough to work together to ensure the successful and

sustainable future of the sport in WA, in what is a rapidly changing sporting sector.

Comprehensive document and data review looking into all layers of the sport

443 x stakeholder e-Surveys completed

Detailed Preliminary Findings and Opportunities Paper

Strategic Planning Forum

(Attended by 20 delegates, broadly representative of the WA Athletics Movement)

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

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Time for Change

The nature of sport and how Australians engage with it have changed significantly in recent times. Due

to various Australian (and WA specific) sport and recreation megatrends (refer to: The Future of

Australian Sport), as well as recent social, political and financial influences impacting of West

Australians, the sustained success of Athletics in WA is far from assured. Based on this awareness, the

WA Athletics Movement has identified that some fundamental changes are needed to the way we work

together, to ensure we embrace broad collaboration and inclusion to achieve our future collective

potential.

The WA Athletics Movement is committed to working openly and collaboratively together to ensure we

maximise the current and future relevance and effectiveness of all aspects of our sport in WA in these

rapidly changing times.

How ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! Sits within the Sporting Landscape

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! is part of a broad WA and national sport planning framework. As such,

all elements of this framework (refer below) have been used as reference points in the design of the

plan, to ensure optimal alignment, efficiencies and effectiveness.

Club, Centre and Region Plans

LAWA and AWA Plans (+ other WA athletics organisation plans)

ATHLETICS in WA UNLEASHED!

WADSR - Strategic Directions 6

LAA and AA Plans

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Athletics in WA - Our Way!

Our Common Vision

“The WA Athletics movement working together to connect WA communities with our sport”

Our Common Purpose For the WA Athletics Movement to work together to enable West Australians to engage with Athletics

in meaningful and positive ways; and to remove barriers to this occurring. We will provide the right

Athletics opportunities for more people and show a new generation how to get involved and stay

involved with our amazing sport.

Our Guiding Principles

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! cannot and will not be delivered in isolation. A key success indicator

will be the improvement of existing relationships and identifying new partners for engagement up to

and beyond 2022. Our Guiding Principles shape the culture of the WA Athletics Movement, how

groups will work together and communicate. They draw on and promote our strengths and each

supports the other. These Guiding Principles – collaboration; innovation; opportunity; respect; user

experience (UX) and inclusiveness – define the character of the Movement and guide how we act and

treat each other and everyone we work with.

Collaboration - Elements of the WA Athletics Movement will plan, deliver, monitor and review our

core business in collaboration, for the benefit of the sport as a whole.

Innovation - We are open to new ideas and different ways of thinking. We will always work together,

to be better tomorrow than we are today.

Opportunity - We are committed to having an “opportunity” mindset. We will create and grasp

collective opportunities, for the betterment of Athletics in WA.

Respect - Respect involves sharing, collaboration, commitment and trust. This value is fundamental

to how we behave collectively as an industry and as individual elements within it.

User Experience (UX) - Everything we do stems from us being ‘End-User Focused’. We are

committed to accurately identifying the specific motivators of individual user groups and to developing

/ delivering systems, programs and products designed specifically to meet these motivators.

Inclusiveness - We welcome and embrace all members of the WA community into our sport. We are

a single sporting community, from all walks of life, inclusive of all backgrounds and ability levels.

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Our Strategic Priorities and Proof Points To achieve OUR COMMON VISION we will prioritise:

1. Working Together

- Great governance, collaborative planning and management at all layers of the sport.

- A recognised and respected brand (i.e. building and promoting a "whole of sport" brand which resonates with all West Australians and will maximise commercial revenue for the sport).

- Increased joint commercial revenue.

- Great communication with all elements of the WA Athletics community.

- Effective advocacy (e.g. to funding agencies, facility providers / developers, etc.)

- Optimal delivery framework (i.e. enhancing the capacity of the Athletics delivery framework in WA - clubs, centres, regions, schools, recreational running groups, etc.)

- A single Athletics in WA Administration Headquarters.

2. Connecting with West Australians

- Connecting more Little Athletics Clubs and Senior Athletics Clubs.

- More recreational / social participants.

- More school-based program participants.

- More competition / event participants.

- More skilled, supported and rewarded coaches, officials and volunteers.

- More relevant participation options, products and programs.

- More access to better facilities.

- More access to aligned competitions and events.

3.Staying Ahead of the Pack

- Targeted research (i.e. identifying what current and potential Athletics participants, competitors, coaches, officials, volunteers,

commercial partners, schools and other partners want from their engagement with our sport).

- Better use of new technologies within all elements of our sport.

- Better impact measurement of what we do.

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Our Projects Between 2017 and 2022, LAWA, AWA and other key partners, will develop, implement and review a

suite of strategic projects, designed to achieve our Proof Points over the lifecycle of ATHLETICS IN WA

UNLEASHED!

Between 2017 and 2022, we will prioritise the following 11 strategic projects:

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! Annual Activation Plans To ensure the effective implementation of all strategic projects within ATHLETICS IN WA

UNLEASHED! Annual Activation Plans will be developed throughout the 5-year lifecycle of the

plan. These will identify which strategic projects will be initiated each year; and what joint human,

physical and/or financial resources will be allocated to each project.

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Strategic Priority 1 – Working Together

Project – Shared Services and Co-

location.

Implement a shared services

model for the efficient

administration and delivery of

Athletics in WA.

• Design, implement and review a LAWA and AWA Shared

Services Model (i.e. staff, commercial activities, financial

management, digital/IT systems, policies, procedures,

etc.). This project will include (but may not be limited to):

Undertake a review of all relevant strategic and

operational plans (e.g. Community Athletics Council of

WA, LAWA, AWA, Little Athletics Australia and Athletics

Australia).

Make necessary alterations to the LAWA and AWA

strategic and operational plans, based on the nature of

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

Undertake an LAWA and AWA joint staff structure

review and identify current and future joint staff

positions.

Undertake an LAWA and AWA joint policies and

procedures audit and review; and develop a

comprehensive, contemporary and user-friendly

Athletics in WA Policies and Procedures resource to

guide the high quality and consistent delivery of all joint

governance and operational activities.

Develop an Athletics HQ Action Plan, designed to

identify and secure the optimal facility from which to

administer the WA Athletics Movement.

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Project – Athletics in WA Marketing

Communications Strategy.

A Strategy designed to guide our

activities, as they relate to

maximising the effectiveness and

reach of our communications with

both internal and external partners,

maximising the Athletics in WA

brand’s exposure, and optimally

marketing the WA Athletics

Movement.

• Review the Community Athletics Council of WA’s

Communications Plan.

• LAWA and AWA to undertake a joint organisation Digital

Health Check Audit, designed to accurately identify the

current nature of both organisation’s digital structures,

systems and activities.

• Development of an Athletics in WA Digital Strategy,

designed to specify how digital systems, tools and activities

can help us to more effectively and efficiently manage our

core business.

• Development and implementation of a contemporary

Athletics in WA Marketing and Communications Strategy.

Project – Athletics in WA Optimal

Governance and Administrative

Model.

Identify the governance /

administrative model which will best

support the sport of Athletics in WA

achieving its potential.

• An Athletics in WA Working Group to be formed to

identify the optimal governance and/or administrative

structure / model for Athletics in WA.

• The working group will oversee the development of a

report which includes:

A detailed evaluation of the pros and cons of the

current governance, planning and administrative

structures and systems currently in place across the

WA Athletics Movement (including the future role

of the Community Athletics Council of WA);

A detailed evaluation of the pros and cons of

organisational unification (i.e. governance and/or

operational);

Recommendation of the best governance and

administration structure for the WA Athletics

Movement;

Identification of issues which require resolution;

and

A detailed Action Plan for implementation of the

recommended model, detailing key milestones and

accountabilities.

• Work with all parties to successfully implement the

Athletics in WA Optimal Governance and Administrative

Model Action Plan.

Project – Athletics in WA Commercial

Strategy.

A Strategy designed to guide LAWA

and AWA (and potential others) in

maximising the commercial

sustainability of Athletics in WA.

• Review the outcomes of the 2017 LAWA Commercial

Consultancy Project, being undertaken with Shunt

Consultancy.

• Undertake a joint LAWA / AWA Commercial Consultancy

Project designed to target, prioritize and address joint

commercial capacity and capability outcomes, as identified.

• Develop and implement an Athletics in WA Commercial

Strategy.

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Project – Club / Centre Enhancement

Initiative.

An initiative designed to assist LAWA

and AWA Clubs and Centres to

identify how they are operating in

key areas; and then provide them

with a suite of user-friendly and

relevant resources to help them

progress towards implementing

best practice in areas of identified

need (e.g. governance, planning,

marketing, participation offerings,

etc.).

• Conduct research into high quality club / association

capacity enhancement initiatives.

• Develop / adopt a simple, user-friendly on-line Athletics in

WA Club / Centre “Health Check” tool.

• Development of a suite of simple and user-friendly capacity

enhancement resources, aligned with key areas within the

“Health Check” process.

• Develop a simple assessment tool designed to allow clubs /

centres to become recognised “5-star clubs / centres”, if

they choose to.

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Strategic Priority 2 – Connecting with West Australians

Project – Athletics in WA

Membership Model Review.

A strategy designed to establish a

whole of sport membership /

participant / partner / supporter

model in WA, which builds

capacity, grows revenues and

enables greater breadth and

reach of the sport of Athletics

across the state.

• Undertake a joint LAWA / AWA Membership Model Review.

• Implement the recommendations to come from the review

which are endorsed by the LAWA and AWA Boards.

Project – “Whole of Sport” Coach

and Official Development

Frameworks

Two stand-alone, yet

complimentary Frameworks

designed to attract, train,

support and retain an effective

Athletics Coach and Official

workforce in WA, aligned with

the Participant Pathway.

• Work with key national bodies to support the development of

a whole of sport Athletics Coach and Official Development

Framework.

• Implementation of the whole of sport Athletics Coach and

Official Development Frameworks in WA.

Project – Athletics in WA “Whole

of Sport” Participant Pathway

Resource, which achieves:

A unified whole of sport pathway that provides maximum opportunity to increase participation numbers, the level of interest in Athletics and the quality of our athletes in WA.

Participant, coach and official development programs and competition frameworks that are based on best practice evidence and not the outcome of accumulated tradition.

Cohesion within the WA Athletics Movement, through a transparent and credible participant pathway and the effective communication of it.

• Work with key national bodies to identify if a national “whole

of sport” Athletics participant pathway model (e.g. in-line

with the Australian Sports Commission’s FTEM model) is to be

developed in the near future.

• Where possible, work with AA and LAA to develop a

comprehensive, “whole of sport” Participant Pathway Model.

The key purpose for the Pathway will be to provide specific

guidance to anyone who influences an Athletics participant

(e.g. parents, coaches, officials, selectors, performance

services personnel and administrators) in order for them to

optimally support their successful involvement in Athletics at

any level in WA.

• Develop and implement programs designed to support WA

participants / athletes in each stage of development within

the pathway.

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Project – Athletics in WA

Participation Growth Strategy.

A Strategy designed to guide our

activities, as they relate to

growing all current and future

Athletics participation related

product and program offerings in

WA and their delivery

infrastructure needs.

• Develop and implement an Athletics in WA Facilities Strategy

to ensure, the WA Athletics Movement’s current and future

facilities footprint is suitable and sustainable.

• Develop and implement an Athletics in WA Participation

Growth Strategy.

Project – Athletics in WA

Aligned Competition

Strategy.

A Strategy designed to

identify which Athletics

events in WA should be

amalgamated and when this

should occur; and to design

bespoke event management

plans for each of these events.

• Development of an Athletics in WA Competition Strategy.

• Development of annual whole of sport Athletics in WA

competition calendars.

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Strategic Priority 3 – Staying Ahead of the Pack

Project – Athletics in WA Research

and Insights Strategy.

• Conduct an Athletics in Australia research audit, designed to

identify recent / current research activity.

• Identify key research needs and the gaps between these

needs and recent / current research projects.

• Develop and implement an Athletics in WA Research and

Insights Action Plan, designed to allow us to make evidence-

based decisions.

• Note: The development and implementation of an Athletics

in WA Digital Strategy (already listed in this plan) is also

aligned to this Strategic Priority Area.

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ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

Project Matrix

The matrix below maps each of our 2017-2022 strategic projects, to our Strategic Priorities and Proof Points. This process ensures our collective activity is

always aligned to our plan.

Strategic Priorities

and Proof Points

Strategic Projects

Shared Services

and Co-location

Governance &

Admin Model

Commercial

Strategy

Marketing &

Comms Strategy

Club / Centre

Enhancement

Initiative

Membership

Model Review

Participation

Pathway

Coach &

Official

frame-

works

Participation

Growth

Strategy

Aligned

Competition

Strategy

Research &

Insights

Strategy

1. WORKING TOGETHER Great governance and

management at all layers of

the sport.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

A recognised and respected

“whole of sport” brand. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Increased joint commercial

revenue ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Great communication – with

all elements of the WA

Athletics community.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Effective advocacy. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Optimal delivery framework. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ A single Athletics in WA

Administration

Headquarters.

✓ ✓

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ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

Strategic Priorities

and Proof Points

Strategic Projects

Shared Services

and Co-location

Governance &

Admin Model

Commercial

Strategy

Marketing &

Comms Strategy

Club / Centre

Enhancement

Initiative

Membership

Model Review

Participation

Pathway

Coach &

Official

frame-

works

Participation

Growth

Strategy

Aligned

Competition

Strategy

Research &

Insights

Strategy

2. CONNECTING WITH WEST AUSTRALIANS Connecting more Little

Athletics Clubs and Senior

Athletics Clubs.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More recreational / social

participants. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More school-based program

participants. ✓ ✓

More competition / event

participants. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More skilled, supported and

rewarded coaches, officials

and volunteers.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More relevant participation

options, products and

programs.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More access to better

facilities. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

More access to better /

more aligned competitions

and events.

✓ ✓

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ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED!

Strategic Priorities

and Proof Points

Strategic Projects

Shared Services

and Co-location

Governance &

Admin Model

Commercial

Strategy

Marketing &

Comms Strategy

Club / Centre

Enhancement

Initiative

Membership

Model Review

Participation

Pathway

Coach &

Official

frame-

works

Participation

Growth

Strategy

Aligned

Competition

Strategy

Research &

Insights

Strategy

3. STAYING AHEAD OF THE PACK Targeted research (i.e.

identifying what current and

potential Athletics

participants, competitors,

coaches, officials,

volunteers, commercial

partners, schools and other

partners want from their

engagement with our sport).

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Better use of new

technologies within all

elements of our sport.

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Better impact measurement

of what we do. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Via the successful implementation of our identified strategic projects, all of our Strategic Priorities will

be achieved and our Proof Points will be clear for all to see.

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Our Future Now

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! aims to build on the collaborative work done by many people and

organisations within the WA Athletics Movement in recent years. It will use this platform to make

exciting and challenging changes to what we do, when we do it, how we do it and who we do it with.

ATHLETICS IN WA UNLEASHED! signals the start of a new and extraordinary chapter in the life of

Athletics in WA and everyone who engages with it. Every stakeholder has a role to play in delivering

our plan. We will be working closely with all key stakeholder groups and individuals to ensure Athletics

in WA achieves its immense potential between 2017 and 2022 (and beyond).

Through renewed trust, cooperation, connection and commitment, we can and will achieve OUR

VISION:

“The WA Athletics Movement working together to connect WA communities

with our sport”.