Swimming Australia and Paralympics Australia have announced the appointment of new chief executive officers in Eugenie Buckley and Catherine Clark, key appointments in the build up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
After serving in an interim capacity, Swimming Australia has appointed experienced sports administrator Eugenie Buckley as chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Buckley has a long career in sport having worked on some of the world’s biggest events including the IRB Rugby World Cup in 2003 and the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2009, as well as organisations such as the FFA (now Football Australia), the ICC, Queensland Reds rugby union team and Brisbane Roar A-League football team.
Building on the successes of the Australian Dolphins swim teams at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Buckley will lead the organisation into the bumper year for Australia’s elite swimmers which include the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the FINA 2022 World Aquatics Championships.
Australian swimmers dominated the pool at the Gold Coast 2018 Games, winning 73 medals, including 28 gold medals, outpacing the second-place England squad that finished with 24 medals, nine gold.
The upcoming Games held on English soil for the first time in two decades, providing a new challenge for the Dolphins squad and for Buckley to guide the organisation through.
Swimming Australia President and six-time Commonwealth Games medallist Kieren Perkins OAM was full of praise for Buckley after her first few months in charge in her interim role.
“It was clear very early on that Eugenie was someone with incredible ability to build and execute a strategy for Australian Swimming.
“Her passion for the sport, and not just the administration and athletes but the wider community of Member Organisations, stakeholders and fans was infectious.
“She is a modern leader with a people first attitude and the business acumen to ensure swimming is on the right trajectory.
“Her experience speaks for itself and we have seen that with her calm and measured approach to the challenges swimming is facing.”
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The board of Paralympics Australia has announced Catherine Clark as its new chief executive officer.
Clark begins the role at a critical juncture for Paralympics Australia, as it moves to convert the success of its Tokyo 2020 campaign into stronger commercial opportunities and record levels of Para-sport participation across the nation.
Commonwealth Games Australia had 28 alumni team members represented in Australia’s team at the Tokyo Paralympics, and welcome Paralympics Australia’s support in managing the Para-Powerlifting sport at the Commonwealth Games.
Clark comes to the role following her time as CEO at Netball Queensland where she led one of Queensland’s largest participation sports from the grassroots to the elite level, including the Suncorp Super Netball franchise the Queensland Firebirds, as well as Australia’s premier indoor sporting facility, Nissan Arena, which was built under her tenure.
With an extensive background in sports leadership as both a CEO and board director, Clark currently serves on the board of Shooting Australia and previously held CEO positions with Gymnastics Australia and Gym Sports New Zealand.
With the Winter Paralympic Games next March, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the build-up to Paris 2024 and Brisbane 2032 on the horizon, consolidating Australia’s position among the world’s leading Paralympic nations will also be a core focus for Clark, according to Paralympics Australia President Jock O’Callaghan.
“From this extraordinary platform that has been set by our Paralympic Teams and our organisation in years past, we are ready to catapult into a multi-faceted push to create lasting change for Australian Para-sport and for the disability community,” O’Callaghan said.
“The Paralympics Australia Board is thrilled that Catherine has embraced our vision and is ready to help lead our organisation through what we believe is the most important period in our history.
“It is not hyperbole to suggest that the next five years can determine the success of the Australian Paralympic movement for the following 20 years.”
Clark will move into the role vacated by Lynne Anderson, who concludes her successful six-year tenure on December 31st.
Commonwealth Games Australia is planning to send its largest team to compete in an away campaign with an expected team size of 425 athletes across 21 sports in Birmingham.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place from 28 July to 8 August 2022.
