
Conference Program
The inaugural True Sport Conference, Powered by SportWest and supported by The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries is taking place this June!
The True Sport Conference will bring together the WA sporting industry, delivering innovative learning opportunities, connected to the True Sport initiatives and values. This year’s True Sport Conference promises to be a dynamic platform for insightful discussions and inspiring presentations from high-profile and prolific speakers. Do not miss your opportunity to hear from leaders in our sporting industry.
Date: Tuesday 11 June 2024
Time: 9:00am – 3:30pm
Location: Optus Stadium, 333 Victoria Park Dr, Burswood
Registration: The Inaugural True Sport Conference is now SOLD OUT!
Meet our Experts!
Kieren Perkins OAM
Kieren Perkins OAM is a hero of the Australian sporting arena. From captain of swimming at Brisbane Boys' College in 1990, to dual Olympic gold medallist just six years later, Kieren has added an impressively long list of awards and achievements to his name.
Kieren has held 18 Australian swimming records, three World records, and three Commonwealth records and has represented Australia all over the world.
John Worsfold
John Worsfold had an AFL career spanning over 34 years, he played 209 games over 12 seasons for the West Coast Eagles and was club Champion in 1988, VFL Team of the Year twice in 1988 and 1990, and twice Best Clubman. John was Captain for 8 years including two Premierships. John then moved into coaching were he was awarded the AFLCA Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2011.
Emma O'Driscoll
Emma O’Driscoll is a key defender for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFLW and was drafted by Fremantle in the 2019 AFL Women’s draft. She went on to achieve great feats and was named in the 22under22 team during the 2021 AFLW season, 2022 season and again for her third consecutive season in 2023. Emma grew up in the country town of Northam, and values the importance of grassroots community football.
Tom Dixon
Tom Dixon is the National Manager of Play by the Rules, a unique collaboration between Sport Integrity Australia, Sport Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission, all state and territory departments of sport and recreation, all state and territory anti-discrimination and human rights agencies, the Office of the Children's Guardian (NSW) and the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW.
Det. Sup Hamish McKenzie
Hamish McKenzie is a highly accomplished law enforcement professional with over 35 years of experience in policing. He currently serves as the head of the Western Australia Police Force Sex Crime Division, where he oversees the response to child sexual abuse, including online child exploitation and the investigation of sexual assaults on adult victims.
Dr. Aurelie Pankowiak
Dr. Aurélie Pankowiak is a post-doctoral research fellow within the Institute for Health and Sport and is a recipient of a VicHealth Research Fellowship (May 2023 – May 2026).
As part of her fellowship, Aurélie leads a program of research on the prevention and response to interpersonal violence in sport, with a specific focus on child abuse in community sport. Her work draws from the disciplines of public health and sport management & policy.
Lisa Purves
A forward-thinking, passionate leader in her field, Lisa is responsible for the development of national safeguarding policies, resources and education to build the capacity of sporting organisations and individuals to provide safe sporting environments.
Tarik Bayrakli
Tarik Bayrakli is one of few men to work at the Victorian Women’s Trust, doing important work in the gender equality space under the banner of community sports. Tarik is also host of Smart Plays and works closely with the True Sport team to deliver the Club Respect resources to WA Sporting Communities.
Madison Heady
Madison has had many challenges in her life and has faced them head on with determination, strength and a huge appetite for the outdoors, while campaigning as an advocate for others.
Madison was born with Cerebral Palsy and spent many years learning to walk and talk. Madison has a highly competitive nature which has seen her compete in WA State Athletic competitions.
Abid Imam
Abid is the Community Football Manager for Football West. He led the Volunteer Management Team for the FIFA Women's World Cup. Abid is focused on making a significant contribution to the transformative power of sport as a positive vehicle for change, both locally and globally.
Jonelle Morley
Jonelle is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Basketball WA and has over 25 years experience working in the sport and recreation industry. She has a particular focus on people development, governance, community engagement, research and evaluation, policy development and working with disadvantaged groups.
Tom Bell
Tom Bell has been operating in the facilitation and content creation arena for over 15 years. He has spent time as a facilitator in the NFP sector, where he developed and delivered thousands of workshops with teenagers, athletes and business leaders throughout Australia.
Tom is now Principal Facilitator at Tomorrow Architects where he develops and delivers content that grows emotional muscle, trains EQ and creates environments of intimacy and authenticity through a relaxed and conversational facilitation style.
Dr. Mary Woessner
Dr. Mary Woessner leads innovative research exploring sport and exercise enjoyment at an individual (safety and wellbeing), institutional (policies, guidelines, practice) and societal level (normative behaviours). She values mixed methods and co-design approaches to research that focus on human-centred outcomes. Her work seeks to ensure that sport and exercise are safe, inclusive and enjoyable across the lifespan.