Grace takes charge of Athletics Australia
MACCABI stalwart and renowned lawyer David Grace QC has been appointed the new president and chairman of Athletics Australia (AA), becoming the first Jewish person to hold the post since the organisation was founded in 1897.
MACCABI stalwart and renowned lawyer David Grace QC has been appointed the new president and chairman of Athletics Australia (AA), becoming the first Jewish person to hold the post since the organisation was founded in 1897.
The 60-year-old will replace Rob Fildes OAM after spending eight years on the board – three of those as vice-president – and said it is a privilege to take on the new role.
“I’ve got confidence and support from the board and the sport in general and we’ve got a great team to build athletics in Australia,” Grace told The AJN.
“I’ve had a really enjoyable and rewarding athletics career, so now I’ll put back into the admin side of things.
“What we are focusing on is increasing participation numbers in the sport. We want to improve the numbers transitioning from Little Athletics to Athletics Australia and we’re having some serious discussions now to merge the two organisations.”
Grace was a star athlete for the Maccabi Athletics Club, before taking on several roles with the club and then becoming president of Maccabi Australia on two separate occasions.
He embarked on his journey with AA in 2001 as the chairman of the tribunal, before joining the board in 2006.
He has also been on the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 2000 and holds the position of general counsel for AFL team West Coast Eagles.
He said he’ll take his decades of experience in sports administration into the role to overcome any hurdles he faces in order to continue to grow track and field sports in Australia.
“I look forward to tackling the many challenges we face as a sport alongside a very capable team of directors,” Grace said.
“Athletics is something that has been in my blood for half a century, and I will bring an extensive understanding of our sport’s landscape to the role.
“I look forward to sharing the journey to Glasgow 2014 [Commonwealth Games], Rio 2016 [Olympic Games] and beyond.”
ASHLEY SHENKER
Photo: Athletics Australia
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