2021 Australian Olympic Committee Change-Maker Forum
By Harrison Lonsdale and Olivia Malouf, Radford Sports Captains
On Thursday, 2 September 2021, Radford College Sport Captains Harrison Lonsdale and Olivia Malouf joined the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) Change-Maker Virtual Forum, hosted by former Olympic swimmer Brooke Hanson. Now in its third year, the forum attracted 900+ school students from across Australia, all nominated by their school to attend.
The key pillars of the Change-Maker Forum are the three core Olympic values – Excellence, Respect and Friendship.
We listened to a Welcome to Country by Kyle Vander-Kuyp, Australia’s best 110m hurdler and a proud Indigenous man. He went to Tokyo this year in an athlete support role and had interesting insights to share about the event; one which few of us thought would be going ahead under the current public health situation. There were 16 Indigenous Olympians competing in Tokyo. This is a great representation of our proud Indigenous sportspeople, who also got a chance to share their culture with the world. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flag and Indigenous artwork were on display for the first time in the Olympic village and Australia’s Skateboarders decided to wear an Indigenous-inspired shirt.
Zac Stubblety Cook (swimmer and gold/bronze medallist) along with Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar (beach volleyball silver medallists) were also speakers. They provided insight into the importance of maintaining balance and relationships even while striving to achieve your goals.
Zac discussed the value of excellence and the importance of finding it in all areas of your life and aiming to do your best both on and off the field. Being an Olympian and representing Australia at the games was enough for him – it wasn’t all about winning a medal. His key message focused on the importance of ‘being a person before being an athlete’ and through his study, work and social life he enjoys keeping busy and getting the best out of his life before getting in the pool.
Zac also spoke about time management and prioritisation through the concept of a bucket. Fill your bucket with the big rocks first – those are the things which cannot be moved around and must stay there. This was all his training, studying and work. Then fill the rest of the bucket with pebbles. The little things which fill up those gaps, such as socialising. Then when you think your bucket is full, fill it with sand. These are the tiny little things in each day which really make you happy, whether it be grabbing a coffee with someone or playing with a pet. Then when you think your bucket is completely full, you can still add water on top which compresses it all down.
His final piece of advice was that ‘it is not the end of the world if you don’t win’. Always focus on and enjoy the journey, both the ups and the downs, because without the downs you won’t enjoy the ups.
It was lovely to then hear from Taliqua and Mariafe about their experience of friendship. They have known each other since the age of 14 but have only been partners since 2017. The pair discussed the special bond they had, and the immediate connection they felt when on the court. Their friendship and connection have been key to their success, finishing the 2020 Tokyo Games with silver medal. They discussed how nice it is to have someone there looking out for you and to be able to celebrate together. They discussed the importance of being a good person before being a good athlete. Their driving force for being the best they can be, is to always be better than you were yesterday – you are your only competition.
As Year 12s, our future is very central in our minds at the moment, and the question to ask ourselves is ‘where will we be in 2024 for the next Olympics which are set for Paris, France’?
What is our journey and how can we still stay connected with sport and the friendships we have all made during our involvement in Radford Sport?
We certainly appreciate all the opportunities we have personally had through Radford Sport: rowing, rugby, football, AFL, basketball, Oztag, cricket, House sports carnivals, RAID... this list is long.
Strive to be your best, sportsmanship comes through living the values mentioned, and continue to get involved in Radford sporting teams!