Swimming Australia is on the lookout for a new President, as it’s revealed that incumbent Michelle Gallen will be vacating her current role to pursue a new position outside of the organization.
Effective September 18th, Gallen will be taking over as CEO at the National Sports Tribunal (NST), the outfit that provides independent sports dispute resolution involving anti-doping rule violations, eligibility disputes, bullying, and discrimination, among others.
On her appointment, Gallen says, “It has been an honour to be President of Swimming Australia and serve the broader swimming community, from the grassroots through to the elite level.”
“Watching our swimmers dominate at the recent World Aquatics Championships and Para Swimming World Championships made Australia extremely proud and will help inspire the next generation of swimmers.”
“It was a difficult decision but I’m excited to be pursuing my other passion of sports law at the National Sports Tribunal. I will be watching with great investment and interest as our swimmers continue their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics.”
With Gallen’s departure, Swimming Australia will be looking for its fifth President in just the last three years. Additionally, the organization has had three CEOs in that same time span, with Leigh Russell, Alex Baumann and Eugenie Buckley all having vacated the position.
The news of Gallen’s departure comes at a tumultuous time for Swimming Australia, with World Aquatics threatening the removal of its membership due to multiple compliance issues.
As we reported last month, Swimming Australia is in violation of multiple points within the World Aquatics Constitution, including a lack of athlete voting power on the Board, and the implementation of a Stabilization Committee, and even the expulsion of Swimming Australia’s membership within World Aquatics, would be the consequences if changes aren’t made in a timely manner.
There is a general meeting scheduled for October 20th whereby Swimming Australia will be voting on a revised constitution.
The level of instability at Swimming australia is truly incredible.