Former Hockeyroos gold medallist Danni Roche says a need for change in Australian sport is why she is challenging long-time stalwart John Coates for the Presidency of the Australian Olympic Commission.
Coates has held the top role at the AOC since 1990, and the Atlanta 1996 gold medal winner feels the time is right for her generation of athletes to bring freshness and new ideas to the Olympic movement.
“It is time for a change,” Roche told SEN Breakfast.
“John has been a terrific servant of Australian sport for the last 30 or 40 years and has contributed an enormous amount.
“But it’s time for our generation of athletes to come through and stamp our thoughts and freshness, and ideas into the Olympic movement, which many Olympians of my era are excited about.
“So far, especially today, but for the last few weeks there’s been a strong indication of support for that.”
The Herald Sun has reported Coates has a salary of more than $700,000 per year, but Roche is willing to do the role for free and feels the role suits an honorary chair.
“I think in this environment when funding’s been cut throughout sport, it’s critical that every dollar we can find out of administration to put through to athletes and sports is imperative,” she said.
“I would rest the position to where it was, an unpaid role, as an honorary chair, as opposed to an executive chair.”
She denied making the position honorary would undersell the role, but in her structure she outlines a financial sum that could be used on her potential successor.
“It should be a job that is done properly, but I’m not sure that how it is structured at the moment is the essential way to get it done properly,” Roche said.
“I’m not aware of one President of any national federation that is paid at all…several Olympic committees around the world have a structure of an honorary role."
Roche sees her main priority is to work together with government funding bodies to collaborate in improve results that have trended downwards in recent times.
“The first four years I can certainly save $3million on that salary, I would go line by line through all the expenses and see what cost savings we can get there to put straight through to the athletes,” she said.
“But one of my absolute priorities would be to work with the government funding bodies and get Australian sport collaborating again, so we can thrive.”