It’s a wrap with the IGNITE 2032 High Performance Sport Conference a Success!

IGNITE 2032, the inaugural High Performance Sport Conference kicked off yesterday with a bang! The day was filled with interesting and insightful discussions with some of the world's leading experts in sports. From renowned Olympic Swimming Coach, Michael Bohl, Australian Diamonds Netball Coach Stacey Marinkovich, and former AFL star Eddie Betts through to Mat Wann, Australian Dept of Defence, Alex Markwell Emergency Physician, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Dr Sharon Stay, QAS chief Medical Officer facilitating a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Pressure is a Privilege’.

Other key highlights and discussions from yesterday’s conference included Coaching Gen Alpha and the Next Generation of High Performance Coaches. Both sessions provided valuable insights into the future of coaching and understanding how to work with Gen 2032 athletes which will be our greatest competitive advantage as we prepare for The Brisbane 2032 Games.

The day then ended with a keynote address from QAS Chief Executive Officer, Chelsea Warr. She reminded the audience that Paris is less than 18 months away and, in some sports qualifications, has already started. She highlighted the importance of becoming “urgently patient”, finding new talent, and looking after existing ones, doing the basics better than anyone else in the world, keeping it simple, being hyperconnected, and storytelling more. These are essential components if we are to achieve success in Paris 2024, LA 2028 and beyond.

Warr finished by saying “We have a responsibility to ensure we are set up for success, now and into the future.” Her words served as a timely reminder of the important work ahead of us. With Paris less than 18 months away, our athletes, coaches, staff, and supporters need to act now in order to ensure we are ready for the challenge of Brisbane 2032.

On day two of the conference the message highlight from the day before was reiterated during his opening speech by the Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe MP - Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics & Paralympics Sport and Engagement saying “The QAS is moving with a sense of urgency, and with good reason – to achieve success in 2032, we need many of those athletes to be on Olympic and Paralympic teams by L.A. 2028 – which is only five years and eight months away – all of you in the room know better than anyone what it will take to get those athletes ready.

So, there is no time to waste when it comes to finding athletes with extraordinary talent and wrapping them up with the best support that we have so they can reach their full potential.”

The second day's line-up did not disappoint with a diverse group of expert performance speakers and panellists ranging from four-time Olympic swimmer, Olympic multi medallist and World record holder Cate Campbell OAM, Li Cunxin AO, Artistic Director, Queensland Ballet on The Pursuit of Excellence, and the greatest Australian Olympic Cyclist of all time Anna Meares OAM, it was another fantastic day of discussion, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

The program also included sessions on the modern athlete experience, the future of para sport, sports tech and innovation, performance planning, winning psychology, and high performance parenting.

All in all, the IGNITE 2032 provided an invaluable opportunity for professionals from all areas of performance sports to come together as one and learn from each other’s expertise. It is an experience that will no doubt have lasting effects for years to come.

A huge shout out to our supporting sponsors, QUT Sport, QScan Health and Wellbeing Queensland, Griffith University, VALD and The University of Queensland.