Sport Knowledge Australia successfully delivers knowledge on design, financing, management and operations of a multi-sport facility via keynote address and its first relationship with a Chinese university. SKA also visits the International Sports Facilities Expo - China 2005 in Beijing.

Beijing’s Tsinghua University played host to the first Sport Knowledge Australia high-end educational seminar in Beijing on Tuesday 30 August.

The programme was opened by Feng Jianzhong, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Sports, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Simon Weatherill, CEO of Victoria’s State Sport Centre Trust, which comprises the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) and Melbourne School of Sport & Recreation Management (MSSRM) at Albert Park, as well as the State Netball and Hockey Centre (SNHC) at Royal Park, Melbourne, led the seminar.

Participants were given an overview of strategic planning relating to each phase of the successful establishment and operation of a major sporting infrastructure.

A case study was presented on the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), a major venue for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Swimming Championship. The facility caters for major games and is heavily utilised by the local community.

The relationship with Tsinghua University spearheads Sport Knowledge Australia's push into the Chinese education marketplace.

In early November, SKA Chief Executive Officer Leighton Wood delivered a keynote speech to the 2005 Guangdong Sporting Industry Forum.

Wood said that China’s rapid growth and hosting of the Olympics would be an exciting time for the people of China, but that it would also throw up new challenges to ensure long term commercial success, “China has an estimated 70,000 multi-sports centres and many more are being built as a result of interest generated by the 2008 Olympic Games.

"Sport Knowledge Australia is keen to share world-best practices in this new area of massive expansion to ensure China has access to the world’s finest management models so that it may benefit from the experience gained by other countries around the world."

"It is a thrilling time for China and the rest of the world is watching with anticipation and delight, confident that the country will deliver an exceptional Olympic experience."

"One of the areas that SKA is looking to assist with is the post-Olympic, and long term management of the infrastructure built for the hosting of the Games so that China can benefit for decades to come from its investments."

SKA staffers Joyce Chew and Teresa Liu attended the International Sports Facilities Expo - China 2005 in Beijing in November. The Expo, supported by China’s General Administration of Sport, gave the pair an opportunity to raise awareness about SKA’s customised courses. Chew also did several interviews with the media. Specifically, she spoke about SKA’s Generating Post-Event Revenues and Multi-Sport Facility Management courses, which are of particular interest to the Chinese marketplace.

Pictured:
(From L to R)
Mr Tian Xinde, Deputy Director or Sports Administration of Guangdong Province;
Leighton Wood, CEO of SKA;
Mr Yang Naijun, Director of Sports Administration of Guangdong Province;
Joyce Chew, Director, Business Development of SKA