Golf Australia’s partnership with the Victorian Institute of Sport will come to an end as of March 1, 2021.
Golf Australia high performance general manager Brad James said the decision, following a review by the VIS of all its programs, was timely given GA’s impending move to the Australian Golf Centre at Sandringham, where all elite training will occur.
“The VIS has aligned its decisions around support for sports where there is evidence of potential medal winning performances at major benchmark events over the next two Olympic and Paralympic cycles,” James said.
“We appreciate having had a great relationship with all at the VIS, but our program is viewed as a developmental program with longer-term goals. We have an array of data that says our very best high-performance athletes will generally take about 3-5 years after turning professional to reach top 100 in the world rankings, so these realities simply don’t align.”
James said the move would not hinder the day-to-day training and competition requirements of Victoria’s rising stars.
“It actually will give us greater autonomy over the program and capacity to align to our One Golf strategy and use of the new national training facility at Sandringham,” he said.
“It’s our opportunity to manage an independent Victorian program that becomes more integrated with the national program.
“This provides an opportunity to provide a holistic athlete pathway aligned to GA’s HP strategy.”
Golf Australia predominantly uses its own staff and service team for Victorian athletes and will work with current VIS head coach Dean Kinney to continue in his role.
VIS performance director Dave Crosbee said he was comfortable with the mutual decision.
“We wish the athletes and program well and look forward to maintaining a strong and positive relationship with GA to allow both organisations to explore any future opportunities for partnerships that may arise,” he said.
