1
00:00:00,538 --> 00:00:03,121
(bright music)

2
00:00:10,230 --> 00:00:12,970
- Olympians don't come out of nowhere.

3
00:00:12,970 --> 00:00:17,290
It takes 12 Years and
upwards of $36 million

4
00:00:17,290 --> 00:00:20,520
to produce one medal ready athlete.

5
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,420
We're always talking about the winners.

6
00:00:22,420 --> 00:00:24,730
What about the ones that don't make it?

7
00:00:24,730 --> 00:00:25,780
The could-have-beens.

8
00:00:26,700 --> 00:00:28,020
Athletes are dropping out

9
00:00:28,020 --> 00:00:30,490
of national sporting
development programmes

10
00:00:30,490 --> 00:00:31,963
and we don't know why.

11
00:00:32,830 --> 00:00:35,820
These athletes get up
before the crack of dawn,

12
00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:37,970
six to seven days a week.

13
00:00:37,970 --> 00:00:39,860
They travel for an hour or more

14
00:00:39,860 --> 00:00:42,510
to get to training and the gym.

15
00:00:42,510 --> 00:00:45,730
They sacrifice birthdays, family events,

16
00:00:45,730 --> 00:00:47,840
and Christmas holidays.

17
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,070
Along their sporting journey
they battle internal obstacles,

18
00:00:52,070 --> 00:00:55,300
such as health and performance pressures.

19
00:00:55,300 --> 00:00:58,270
You might think this is why
athletes are dropping out,

20
00:00:58,270 --> 00:01:01,680
but the issue is bigger
than the individual.

21
00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,380
An athlete's sporting future

22
00:01:03,380 --> 00:01:06,850
is hugely influenced by external factors,

23
00:01:06,850 --> 00:01:08,490
and it has become clear

24
00:01:08,490 --> 00:01:10,813
that they are where the focus needs to be.

25
00:01:12,070 --> 00:01:15,670
I spoke with high performance
managers, executives,

26
00:01:15,670 --> 00:01:17,890
policy makers, support staff,

27
00:01:17,890 --> 00:01:20,543
coaches, and of course the athletes.

28
00:01:21,530 --> 00:01:23,670
What do they think is the most important

29
00:01:23,670 --> 00:01:27,770
and feasible way to minimise drop out

30
00:01:27,770 --> 00:01:30,450
As a whole, health management was found

31
00:01:30,450 --> 00:01:34,220
as the most important and
feasible areas to address.

32
00:01:34,220 --> 00:01:38,080
However, when groups were
separated, values differed.

33
00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,760
For example, athletes
rated health management

34
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,320
well at the top of their priority list,

35
00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,830
whereas policy makers and executives

36
00:01:46,830 --> 00:01:48,130
saw it no more important

37
00:01:48,130 --> 00:01:51,840
than coaching and programme development.

38
00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,920
There is no consensus
in the sporting world.

39
00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:56,630
What is also interesting

40
00:01:56,630 --> 00:01:59,663
is that men and women
have different ideas.

41
00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:04,110
Women value health as a top priority,

42
00:02:04,110 --> 00:02:06,000
whereas men are more interested

43
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,083
in addressing coaching
and performance potential.

44
00:02:09,990 --> 00:02:11,790
So what does this mean?

45
00:02:11,790 --> 00:02:14,350
This means there's still
a lot we don't know

46
00:02:14,350 --> 00:02:18,810
about athlete drop out and
further inquiry is needed.

47
00:02:18,810 --> 00:02:21,770
Next I'll investigate whether

48
00:02:21,770 --> 00:02:23,130
supporting development programmes

49
00:02:23,130 --> 00:02:25,760
are even collecting drop out data.

50
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,200
And if so, what are they doing with it.

51
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,090
Before we can fix the leaks,

52
00:02:31,090 --> 00:02:34,430
we need to find the holes in the system.

53
00:02:34,430 --> 00:02:37,836
This information can help
sporting organisations

54
00:02:37,836 --> 00:02:42,836
improve processes, accountability,
and funding decisions.

55
00:02:42,977 --> 00:02:46,640
The aim is to create a tool
that sporting organisations

56
00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,250
can use to identify
athletes at risk of leaving,

57
00:02:50,250 --> 00:02:54,050
so we can intervene early, give
them the support they need,

58
00:02:54,050 --> 00:02:56,330
and help keep them in our programmes.

59
00:02:56,330 --> 00:03:00,876
We can turn those
could-have-beens into contenders.

60
00:03:00,876 --> 00:03:03,459
(bright music)