From Athlete to the Boardroom: Why Athlete Perspective Matters in Sports Governance

Being an athlete gives you a valuable perspective around a sports board table.

But athlete experience alone isn’t enough.

That was one of my biggest takeaways from a recent Minerva Network discussion on women in sports governance and board leadership.

I attended wearing a few different hats: as an Olympian, someone who has worked across athlete wellbeing and pathways, and increasingly as a Pacific athlete wellbeing advocate interested in how decisions made at governance level ultimately affect the athletes on the ground.

The conversation also made me consider my own pathway.

What does it look like for an athlete to move from competing in sport and working directly with athletes into governance?

And how do we make sure athlete voices are represented around the table while also building the strategic, commercial and governance capabilities required to genuinely contribute once we’re there?

Athletes bring something different to governance

Athletes understand the lived experience of sport.

We know what high performance looks and feels like.

We understand pressure, preparation, team environments, athlete culture, pathways and transitions. We have experienced the impact of decisions made by coaches, administrators, governing bodies and sporting organisations.

We can also see gaps that may not always be obvious from a boardroom.

That perspective matters.

But representation alone isn’t enough.

A strong sports board needs a range of expertise across areas such as finance, strategy, risk, commercial sustainability, marketing, human resources, fundraising and governance.

The opportunity for former athletes isn’t to replace those skills with lived experience.

It’s to build those skills around our lived experience.

Sport is a passion, but it is also a business

Another point that stayed with me was the importance of treating sport as a business while never losing sight of the people the organisation exists to serve.

Sporting organisations need to be commercially sustainable.

Boards need to understand where revenue comes from, where it is being invested and what strategic opportunities exist for growth.

They also need to understand risk.

They need good governance structures.

Directors need to understand the constitution and their responsibilities.

And anyone considering joining a board should undertake their own due diligence before saying yes.

For athletes entering this space, that means learning a new language.

Financial statements. Governance frameworks. Strategy. Risk. Commercial models.

These may not have been part of our training as athletes, but they can become part of our development beyond sport.

Governance decisions eventually reach the athlete

What I found particularly interesting about the discussion was the reminder that governance isn’t something that exists only inside a boardroom.

Those decisions eventually become very real for athletes.

They influence facilities and changing rooms.

They influence travel policies and accommodation.

They influence staffing and athlete support.

They influence high-performance environments, pathways, investment and opportunities.

Sometimes something that looks like a policy, budget line or strategic decision at board level can significantly affect an athlete’s everyday experience.

That is one reason I believe athlete perspectives are valuable within governance.

Someone around the table should be asking:

What does this decision actually mean for the people on the ground?

The Pacific athlete perspective matters too

This is an area I am particularly interested in exploring.

My experience of sport wasn’t only shaped by being an elite athlete.

It was also shaped by being a Papua New Guinean athlete competing internationally and spending much of my high-performance career training and living in Australia.

Pacific athletes can navigate layers that aren’t always captured within traditional athlete wellbeing or high-performance models.

Culture.

Family.

Community expectations.

Identity.

Connection to home.

The responsibility that can come with representing your country and your people.

And, for some athletes, the experience of living and competing within systems that weren’t necessarily designed with their cultural context in mind.

Those perspectives matter when organisations are making decisions about athlete wellbeing, pathways, development and high performance.

As Pacific sport continues to grow and as Australia and the Pacific move towards Brisbane 2032 I believe there is an important opportunity to ensure Pacific voices aren’t simply included in conversations, but are part of shaping them.

So how does an athlete move into sports governance?

One of the most useful reminders from the discussion was that the pathway doesn’t necessarily begin with landing a major board position.

It can start much smaller.

Join a committee.

Get involved with a local sporting organisation.

Learn how governance actually works.

Understand financial statements.

Build strategic and commercial experience.

Learn how boards work alongside CEOs and management.

Understand constitutions, risk and director responsibilities.

And develop the ability to engage with everyone across an organisation, athletes, coaches, support staff, administrators and executives.

For athletes, perhaps the question isn’t simply:

How do I get onto a board?

A better question might be:

What capabilities do I need to build so that when I do get a seat at the table, I can genuinely add value?

Don’t lose the athlete perspective. Build on it.

That was probably my biggest takeaway.

I don’t want to move away from my experience as an Olympian or my Pacific perspective in order to fit into governance.

I want to build around it.

My lived experience is an asset.

My understanding of athlete wellbeing and pathways is an asset.

My Pacific perspective is an asset.

And now it’s about continuing to develop the governance, strategic and commercial capability that sits alongside those experiences.

So that if and when the opportunity comes to sit at the table, I’m not simply there because I was once an athlete.

I’m there because I can contribute.

And because sometimes the question that needs to be asked around the board table is:

What will this decision actually mean for the athlete?

Bring an Athlete and Pacific Perspective to Your Next Conversation

I speak about high performance, athlete wellbeing, identity, leadership and the experiences of Pacific athletes navigating elite sporting environments.

As a Papua New Guinean Olympian, international keynote speaker and Pacific athlete wellbeing advocate, I bring lived experience alongside years of working across athlete wellbeing, education and pathways.

I’m available for keynotes, conference panels, facilitated discussions and industry conversations, particularly across:

• Athlete wellbeing and whole-athlete development 

• Pacific athletes, culture and identity 

• Athlete transitions and life beyond sport 

• Women in sport and leadership 

• High performance and self-regulation 

• Athlete voice in governance and decision-making 

• Pacific sport and the road to Brisbane 2032

If you’re bringing together leaders to discuss the future of sport, athlete wellbeing, high performance or the Pacific sporting landscape, I’d love to be part of the conversation.

Enquire about booking Anna-Liza for your next keynote, panel or event.