THE YEAR IN REVIEW WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The 2015 Report of The Inquiry into Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation (WISAR) made nine recommendations for workplaces to consider increasing leadership and participation by women and girls in sport. Vicsport was commissioned by the State Government of Victoria to give effect to; Recommendation 7: Build an enabling environment through education and training. To support the delivery of this recommendation, Vicsport conducted female professional development programs to improve and develop the leadership capabilities of female sport administrators through the LEAP program. LEAP – LEAD, ENGAGE, ACHIEVE, PROMOTE Vicsport and the State Government of Victoria partnered to focus on the development of women leaders in the sports industry (5 years or fewer in a management position) and provided them with a support framework to foster their personal development as a leader. Outcomes of the LEAP program were:  Improved personal and group leadership capabilities   Creation of an interactive network of leading women who are supportive of themselves, each other and those who follow them   Formation of an environment of collaboration and sharing of unique challenges women face in the sector, with a proactive, solutions-based approach   Development of the capability of participants to promote their abilities/skills   Nurturing of a relationship with an assigned mentor to assist in their development The program provided women from various sporting organisations opportunities to team up with a mentor from the industry to develop a new idea on how they can make a difference in their respective workplaces. During 2017/18, Vicsport delivered two ‘intensive’ LEAP programs, the first from May to August 2017 and the second from February to May 2018. A graduation event was held at the completion of each LEAP program featuring an address from The Hon John Eren, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Vicsport Chairman, Ron Gauci. Guest speakers at each graduation were Dr Bridie O’Donnell, Head Office for Women in Sport and Active Recreation and Susan Alberti AC, a pioneer in women’s Australian Rules football. Participants of the LEAP program were from the following organisations:   ACHPER (Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation)   Australian Sports Commission  Basketball Victoria  Cricket Victoria  Cycling Victoria   Essendon District Football Club   Football Federation Victoria  Gymnastics Victoria  Gippsport  Hockey Victoria  The Geelong College  Leisure Networks  La Trobe University  Orienteering Victoria  South West Sport  Tennis Victoria  YMCA Victoria 06