ACHPER congratulates Dr Sue Whatman, who has been elected ACHPER's new National President and Chair of the Board. With Associate Professor Shane Pill, completing his three-year term in the position, Sue was elected at the recent ACHPER Incorporated AGM.

Sue is currently a Senior Lecturer in Health, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at Griffith University on the Gold Coast (http://ow.ly/3s6p30oTr8n ). Sue is an undergraduate Program Director and Convenor for the HPE Double Major in the Bachelor of Education, responsible for the HPE teaching pathway of Primary Specialists. A former secondary HPE teacher in Queensland, Sue has served many roles in ACHPER QLD and ACHPER National since 2002 prior to becoming President. In a recent interview, Sue shared some thoughts on the role of HPE in building healthy lives, Indigenous people's participation, and women in sport:

HPE builds the mind and whole-body learning in, through and about movement. Students need to develop their love of and capacity for movement through creative, meaningful, age-appropriate and sequential experiences that develop fundamental movement patterns and functional fitness. But, they also need to learn about themselves and how they can help build communities.

 

Income, postcode, and parent/family socio-economic capital have been proven time and again to be the main barriers to participation in physical activity, recreation and sport. Lack of investment in and maintenance of public sport and recreation facilities affects participation in remote communities and racism is still a key factor in Indigenous sport participation. However, there are many examples of national sporting organisations and government initiatives which have responded to addressing racism in sport and investing in remote communities.

 

Historically low investment in women's sport, women's coaching, facilities and media coverage are some of the main reasons why girls and women do not have equal participation and competition, although that is rapidly changing. If you compare the successes of Australian women's teams versus men's teams not only within Australia, but on the international stage, women have been more successful in a shorter competitive timeframe, with less investment. So, it makes sense to put even more resourcing into women's sport.

 

As ACHPER National President, her aim is to ensure current and future generations of HPE sport and recreational professionals are supported from their earliest professional career days in professional learning, networking, career-capacity building, mentoring and leadership opportunities. The best way to start is to get involved with ACHPER as a member!

ACHPER congratulates Trevor Robertson for his recent election to the National Board.

Trevor is currently Head of Sport & Activities at Our Lady of Mercy College in Melbourne, Victoria. He has previously worked at School Sport Victoria and was the School Development Manager for AFL Victoria for 6 years. With a background as a PE teacher, Trevor has a wealth of experience from both the education and sport sectors.

He has been actively engaged with ACHPER through his work with the ACHPER Victorian Branch. This includes being a member of the Board and was Branch President from 2016 to 2018. Trevor has a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Business: Sport Management from Deakin University.

ACHPER National welcomes Trevor to the Board and looks forward to his contribution during his 3-year term.

ACHPER wishes to acknowledge and thank Associate Professor Shane Pill, who recently completed his 3-year term as National President, and Professor Dawn Penney and Natalie McMaster, who have completed their terms as Board members.

Newly elected National President, Dr Sue Whatman, acknowledged the outstanding contribution made by Shane Pill whilst President. 'He has led a transformation process within the organisation that will lead to a stronger ACHPER; his vision and leadership has been critical as ACHPER National builds its capacity to deliver relevant and tangible services to its members and stakeholders' she said.

Sue also thanked Dawn Penney who recently chaired the Academic Advisory Group and Natalie McMaster for leading the Health Education portfolio for their valuable contributions to the ACHPER National Board. 'Whilst their expertise, counsel and advice will be missed, we know that we shall be able to call on them in the future, to assist ACHPER in other ways' she said.