High Performance Strategy Refresh
Over the past couple of months Water Polo Australia (WPA) has embarked on a review and refresh of the High Performance (HP) Strategy towards Paris 2024 Olympics and beyond. This process was a mandatory requirement for future Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) HP funding and was facilitated by an independent consultant and overseen by a joint Project Steering Group.
The Board of WPA recently unanimously endorsed the final draft of the HP strategy and has now released for review and feedback from their State stakeholders. The information attached is a summary pack of the most critical information in the strategy. This high level strategy is where WPA are seeking your feedback.
The HP strategy is deliberately positioned and drafted as a high-level document to guide WPAs future operations and priorities. It aims to simplify and focus efforts. The detail is to come, however it is fair to say there will need to be some difficult decisions to make the required changes to the HP program if the sport is going to be successful in the future. Prioritisation, focus and disciplined action is a non-negotiable or the sport faces the very real risk of reduced HP investment and sub-optimal performance results on the international stage.
The evidence from the benchmarking done through the HP strategy process is compelling - both from Olympic medal winning team sports [e.g. men’s hockey, women’s rugby 7s and basketball] as well as other international water polo medal winning nations [e.g. Serbia men, USA women, etc.]. Australian teams must have stability for the best chance of success in Tokyo 2020 but also require a medium-term strategy now towards 2024. National senior and age group program structures including increased assembly periods and athlete support; domestic competition framework, including the AWL; reprioritisation on coaching; and, improved leadership and culture within and across the entire HP ecosystem
As an important stakeholder this is your opportunity to provide WPA with some written feedback, which will be considered with the other feedback that we have received. Please review the content of the strategy, in particular the critical success factors, and respond to sallyj@vicwaterpolo.com.au by midday, Monday 3 June 2019.
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