Case Study Analysis: Sports Governance in Australian Organizations

This case study analyzes sports governance through three distinct cases: the Australian Canoeing Board, Vicsport, and the Essendon Football Club. The Australian Canoeing case examines the implications of an independent director's resignation and the need to align with Australian Sports Commission principles, including board composition and legal considerations. The Vicsport case explores the impact of new directors, the role of external facilitators in strategic planning, and the importance of stakeholder management. The Essendon Football Club case delves into the 2012 doping scandal, assessing the responsibilities of key personnel, the board's oversight, and the club's culture. Each case study provides answers to specific questions, supported by references, and highlights key issues in sports governance, leadership, and strategic decision-making within the Australian context, including ethical considerations and financial accountability.

Running head: CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Case Study of Sports governance
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Table of Contents
Case Study 2: Australian Canoeing Board......................................................................................3
Answer 1).....................................................................................................................................3
Answer 2).....................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3).....................................................................................................................................4
Answer 4).....................................................................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................5
Case Study 3: Vicsport....................................................................................................................6
Answer 1).....................................................................................................................................6
Answer 2).....................................................................................................................................6
Answer 3).....................................................................................................................................6
Answer 4).....................................................................................................................................7
Answer 5).....................................................................................................................................7
References:......................................................................................................................................8
Case Study 4: Essendon Football Club............................................................................................9
Answer 1).....................................................................................................................................9
Answer 2)a).................................................................................................................................9
Answer 2)b).................................................................................................................................9
Answer 2)c)...............................................................................................................................10
Answer 2)d)...............................................................................................................................10

2CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Answer 3)...................................................................................................................................10
References:....................................................................................................................................11

3CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Case Study 2: Australian Canoeing Board
Answer 1)
The resignation of the independent director which will be put into effect immediately will
pose a problem as he has been offered an overseas position. The Australian Sports Commission
(ASC) has provided advice to the Australia Canoeing that AC must work along the mandatory
principles of the ASC. Australian Canoeing Board will receive the funding in exchange of which
they have to abide by the policies of the ASC. It will have to make suitable plans so that it can be
branded as a company that will be limited by guarantee. To achieve this, it is essential to hire a
person from the legal sphere.
In order to ensure that the Board works more efficiently they should work along the lines
of the Australian Sports Commission. All the decisions should be conveyed at the right time to
prevent any confusion for the company (Pelzer et al. 2014). They should frame policies keeping
in mind that it is a company limited by guarantee to prevent any legal complications later on.
Answer 2)
The purpose of a Nominations Committee is to evaluate the applicants and make suitable
suggestions to the board regarding their preferred candidates. It will make recommendations
instead of taking the decision on behalf of the board.
The members of the board could not remember the terms of reference could not be found
as the website of AC was not working. They could not remember whether the Nominations
Committee was allowed to recruit suitable candidates for different position.

4CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
I think the Rowing Australia Nominations Committee and the AC board should work
alongside each other and there should be mutual sharing of ideas so that their opinions do not
counteract each other. They should sit together to take all the vital decisions (Hajkowicz et al.
2013).
Answer 3)
According to me, the board appointing an independent director having legal skills will be
extremely helpful for the company (Blake 2016). He will be able to provide valuable advice to
the external lawyers who will make documentation for the company. The AC board was not
abiding by the gender equity principles of the ASC. According to mandate, at least 40% of the
members should be women (Tate and Yang 2015). The new director having legal skills will
prove to be of great use as he would know how to frame rules. A new director having sufficient
amount of legal skills would be able to save the company from a lot of trouble.
Answer 4)
A company limited by guarantee is a kind of non-profit organisation that will require a
personality from the legal sphere at the helm. Charitable companies will be responsible for
making returns and they will be responsible for submitting a small amount on yearly basis to the
Charity Commission as well as the House of Companies. Thus, a new director who will possess
legal skills will be able to work along such principles and bring about such changes in the
company for the overall growth of the company (Ingram and O’Boyle 2017).

5CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
References:
Blake, A., 2016. Dynamic directors: Aligning board structure for business success. Springer.
Hajkowicz, S.A., Cook, H., Wilhelmseder, L. and Boughen, N., 2013. The Future of Australian
Sport: Megatrends shaping the sports sector over coming decades. A Consultancy Report for the
Australian Sports Commission.
Ingram, K. and O’Boyle, I., 2017. Sport governance in Australia: questions of board structure
and performance. World Leisure Journal, pp.1-17
Pelzer, P., Geertman, S., van der Heijden, R. and Rouwette, E., 2014. The added value of
planning support systems: A practitioner’s perspective. Computers, Environment and Urban
Systems, 48, pp.16-27.
Tate, G. and Yang, L., 2015. Female leadership and gender equity: Evidence from plant
closure. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), pp.77-97.

6CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Case Study 3: Vicsport
Answer 1)
New elected directors indicated that Victorian sports community would be going through
a change that was much needed at this hour. The present way of funding had affected in a
negative way the relationship between two main funders. It will result in emphasising on the
delivery of project (Dijkstra et al.2014). External facilitators would be appointed for the strategic
planning process. A sub-committee of board members would be appointed.
Answer 2)
The positive side of employing an external facilitator would ensure that the current flow
of thinking of the organization will undergo change. It will be able to provide an objective
viewpoint and it will take care of the fact that everyone makes suitable contribution. He will
carry with him a package of effective tools and he will be able to include a different perspective
while dealing with the policies. The negative sides of bringing in an external facilitator would
make it a lot more expensive (Stewart 2014). A poor facilitator would ruin the reputation of the
business. The people employed in the company may find it difficult to adjust to the changes
taking place.
Answer 3)
A director and board should set the objectives clearly. They should define policy and then
work along those lines. The direction in which the strategies are made should be clearly stated at
the outset. The performance of the management should be kept at close check and
communication between members as well as other stakeholders should be managed properly for
the effective implementation of rules. All the potential risks should be identified.

7CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Answer 4)
The board, staff members and external stakeholders of the Viscport should work together
to bring about positive changes in the organization. The external stakeholders may include
runners, suppliers, sponsors, citizens, local and sports media, suppliers, local government, media,
health visitors, spectators, public health workforce and volunteers (Kash 2015). Sponsors,
runners, prevention entities and local government will occupy the top rung in terms of
importance. The directors will apply strategies that will depend on the kind of stakeholders.
Answer 5)
The strength of Vicsport before strategic review lies in having a CEO who is experienced
at the helm. It boasts of a balance sheet having great financial reserves. It also has some
programs of high quality that were sent to other organisations within the domain of Victorian
sport industry. (Shank and Lyberger 2014). The weakness of Vicsport is on account of the fact
that that the major part of the revenue above 80% was from Government bodies that was based
on short-term funding. Vicsport is a recreation sector and it is responsible for leading the health
agendas in the comimg years. Vicsport highlights the concerns of above 170 members and with
other private enterprises that is keen about active recreation. Vicsport is however facing threat on
account of the evolving of sport’s nature. The funding model in Vicsport has also undergone a
drastic change( Lough, Pharr and Owen 2014). It has shifted to funding based on project model
and it was losing a lot of funds in order to provide support to services related to state.

8CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
References:
Dijkstra, H.P., Pollock, N., Chakraverty, R. and Alonso, J.M., 2014. Managing the health of the
elite athlete: a new integrated performance health management and coaching model. Br J Sports
Med, 48(7), pp.523-53
Kash, B.A., 2015. and can be easily translated to the US primary care setting. The authors found
three factors to be driving forces toward interprofessional collaboration: the ability to create a
space for dialogue through an internal interprofessional facilitation team, access to an external
facilitator, and organizational investment in a change imple-mentation budget. Journal of
Healthcare Management, 60(4).
Lough, N.L., Pharr, J.R. and Owen, J.O., 2014. Runner identity and sponsorship: evaluating the
Rock'n'Roll Marathon. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 23(4), p.198.
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge
Stewart, B., 2014. Sport funding and finance. Routledge.

9CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Case Study 4: Essendon Football Club
Answer 1)
Allegations about the Essendon Club doping would result in the loss of credibility of the
club. The reputation and prestige of the Essendon Club will be at stake and in the future
footballers would think twice before joining the club. Essendon board has been vested with
powers that includes that of appointing the CEO along with senior coach. The assistant coaches
should have monitored all the activities of the footballers. Appropriate action taken by the
coaches and proper co-ordination between CEO, senior coach and other assistant coaches would
have saved the reputation of the Essendon Football Club.
Answer 2)a)
I agree with the statement of Le Grande that Hird was responsible to a large extent for the
doping incident of 2012. Hird was the one who was instrumental in bringing a culture that
revolved around high performance in the Club. The competition was huge as the coaches were
eager to shift the club to the level of the premiership contenders (Bedford and Weeks 2016).
Adequate enquiry should be made regarding the fact that who hired Robinson. Robinson was
given the charge of medical staff. A broad licence was provided to him but he should have acted
more responsibly. I think it is not only Hird but Robinson and Dank also who were responsible to
a great extent for the doping catastrophe.
Answer 2)b)
Essendon Board members who had the power to appoint the senior coach should have
checked the credentials of Robinson and Dank. The CEO and the senior coaches should have
been careful while appointing assistant coaches (Hermann 2014).

10CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
Answer 2)c)
The goal of winning premiership would certainly be the topmost priority for the football
club. Achieving goal is necessary but one should take into account certain rules (Cintia et al.
2015). There should be zero tolerance to such a heinous act like doping.
Answer 2)d)
The Board should have spread the rules of fair competition among the culture of the
Club. They should have instructed the key people taking care of the fitness regimen not to
overuse injunctions and taking recourse to exotic supplements should have been minimised.
(Petróczi, Norman and Brueckner 2017).The traditional medical staff having sound knowledge
of medical principles and resort to fair play should have been appointed to check doping.
Answer 3)
Yes, the CEO bears responsibility for this incident of doping.
The expenditure process should be more disciplined and the staff should be given the
right amount of authority that is necessary for carrying out the financial responsibilities (Carey et
al.2016). Accountability, reporting and adequate communication among the people in the
administrative board could have prevented doping. The person who is authorising expenditure
should take care of the fact that all the policies and rules are framed keeping in mind the
reputation of the Essendon Football Club.

11CASE STUDY OF SPORTS GOVERNANCE
References:
Bedford, N. and Weeks, G., 2016. Doping in Sport: What Role for Administrative Law?
Carey, D.L., Ong, K., Morris, M.E., Crow, J. and Crossley, K.M., 2016. Predicting ratings of
perceived exertion in Australian football players: methods for live estimation. International
Journal of Computer Science in Sport, 15(2), pp.64-77
Cintia, P., Giannotti, F., Pappalardo, L., Pedreschi, D. and Malvaldi, M., 2015, October. The
harsh rule of the goals: data-driven performance indicators for football teams. In Data Science
and Advanced Analytics (DSAA), 2015. 36678 2015. IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1-
10). IEEE.
Hermann, A., 2014. ‘Pool of responsibility’: A new approach to doping prevention. Acta
Juridica Hungarica, 55(4), pp.318-333
Petróczi, A., Norman, P. and Brueckner, S., 2017. Can we better integrate the role of anti-doping
in sports and society? A psychological approach to contemporary value-based prevention.
In Acute Topics in Anti-Doping (Vol. 62, pp. 160-176). Karger Publishers