Athletes and officials from a wide range of Olympic sports have formed a Study Group to examine the Crawford Report.

The group to be chaired by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) President John Coates includes senior representatives of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA), the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC), National Elite Sports Council (NESC) and athletes and officials of Olympic summer and winter sports.

“This is a vital issue for sport in this country and it requires a careful examination by the senior people from the peak groups, institutes of sport and a cross section of Olympians” Coates said.

The group includes representatives from team sports as well as lower profile sports. They will consider and respond to the recommendations contained in the Crawford Report and present their findings to the Federal Government.

The Study Group will meet on December 2nd to formalise that response which will be presented to Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd and Federal Sports Minister, Kate Ellis.

 “Minister Ellis has put the Crawford Report out there for comment and debate. The Federal Government has not accepted it at this point, and the group will take the opportunity to express their views and engage in healthy debate before any decisions are taken on Mr Crawford’s recommendations” Coates said.

Not all Olympic sports are represented on the Study Group but they are invited to provide comments on Mr Crawford’s recommendations in time for the December 2nd meeting.

They all had input into the AOC’s and APC’s High Performance Plan which was developed at a special meeting held in Sydney earlier this year and recommended an increase of $90 million per annum in funding for the sports likely to qualify for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for elite athletes all the way down to participants at the grassroots level.

“Of course the national federations and umbrella groups are at liberty to make their own responses, independent of the Study Group, to the Federal Government as they see fit” Coates said.

The study group consists of:

John Coates (President, AOC) (Study Group Chairman)
Catherine Arlove (Olympian, Judo & Australian Representative, Wrestling)
Paul Brettell (Former Deputy Director, AIS & Chief Executive Officer, Badminton Australia)
Ian Chesterman (AOC Executive & Chef de Mission 2010 Olympic Winter Team)
Perry Crosswhite (Chief Executive Officer, Australian Commonwealth Games Association & Olympian, Basketball)
Robert de Castella (Former Director, AIS & Olympian, Athletics)
Chris Fydler (Director, Swimming Australia & Olympian, Swimming)
Evelyn Halls (Olympian, Fencing)
Greg Hartung (President, Australian Paralympic Committee)
Robert Kabbas (President, Australian Weightlifting Federation & Olympian, Weightlifting)
Steve Lawrence  (Chairman, National Elite Sports Council (NESC) & Director Western Australian Institute of Sport)
Peggy Liddick (Olympic Head Coach, Gymnastics Australia)
Peter Montgomery (Vice President, AOC & Olympian, Water Polo)
Maria Pekli (Olympian, Judo)
Craig Phillips (Secretary General, AOC) (Study Group Convenor & Secretary)
Andrew Plympton (AOC Executive & President, Yachting Australia)
Charles Turner (Deputy Chairman, NESC; Chief Executive Officer, NSW Institute of Sport & Olympian, Water Polo)
Danielle Woodward (President, Australian Canoeing & Olympian, Canoeing).

AOC