Australian Sports Community welcomes Saudi Arabian Delegates

The Director for Strategic Development of School Sport for the King Abdullah Project in Saudi Arabia, visited Australia last week as part of an international benchmarking exercise looking at best practices in sport globally. The international benchmarking exercise covers 18 countries in total, with only 8 countries targeted for an in-depth study- of which Australia was one, due to it's reputation for excellence in sport at all levels.

Rise Global (Australia) and itik Consulting (Spain) are working with the King Abdullah Project to develop the first ever School Sports Strategy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Australian component of the benchmarking analysis included meetings, workshops and visits to schools and facilities.

The weeklong exercise included meetings with School Sport Australia, ACHPER, University of Canberra, ACT Department of Education, Western Sydney Academy of Sport, NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, NSW Institute of Sport, NSW Department of Education and Training (School Sports Unit), Gilroy College, Westfields Sports High School, The Kings School, The Australian College of Physical Education as well as a visit to the Australian Institute of Sport.

Rise Global will collate the findings of the meetings and present a comprehensive analysis of the Australian sports framework, including appropriate recommendations to the King Abdullah Project and taking into account Saudi Arabia's unique context. The report will also include findings from remote interviews conducted with School Sport Victoria, Victorian Institute of Sport representatives, VicSport and VicHealth.

Rise Global also forms part of the Global Advisory Committee, which is a panel of experts’ in sport and education set-up to help develop the overall strategy. The Global Advisory Committee is due to next meet in Riyadh Saudi Arabia on 14/15 November 2011, with the draft National School Sport Strategy due for completion early in 2012.

Rise Global would also like to thank all individuals and organisations in Australia that contributed to a very successful week.