After almost 3 years as General Manager of the Australian Croquet Academy, Greg Bury has announced his intention to resign from the role. Greg will also be stepping down from his volunteer role as National Coaching Co-ordinator.
Croquet Australia established the Australian Croquet Academy in 2020 to develop programs, functions and resources to support club development and all aspects of game development for players, coaches, referees and officials to build the capacity and capability across all levels of the sport. Greg wrote and produced the Academy Development Plan and was recruited as the first ever General Manager of the Academy due to his experience, skills and knowledge in all levels of croquet both on and off the court. Greg demonstrated a vision and passion for the sport that was infectious and he was instrumental in initiating several national programs that targeted players, coaches, officials and volunteers from grassroots through to international level.
During his time with the ACA, Greg helped navigate the organisation through COVID-19, improving the relationships between the State Coaching Co-ordinators to develop and deliver a National Coaching program as well as working closely with the Board, Committees, States and Appointed Officers to develop and oversee key projects. Greg developed several National programs across the areas of communication and technology, marketing, sponsorship, pathways and development, recruitment and retention and one of his passions, the Youth Training Program. One of Greg’s legacies will be the completion of the Youth Training Program and associated resources which will support the launch of Croquet Australia’s Sporting Schools Program later this year, something that Greg has been instrumental in driving and delivering to target the next generation of croquet players.
Greg has always gone above and beyond in his role to oversee the digital and social media content and online communications for the ACA including developing and delivering the quarterly ACA online magazine and bi-monthly Bulletin. Greg wrote all the current ACA coaching manuals and led the creation of the ACA Learning Management System (LMS), including the development and production of skills, drills and promotional videos. He also launched the ASC’s Game Plan platform in every state and has created a repository of information and resources on the LMS to support club and volunteer development at all levels of the sport.
His ability to engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders was a key strength and Greg has been instrumental in creating relationships with the University of Queensland, the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Sports Foundation, the National Disaster Relief Program as well as partnership arrangements with Don Close and Peter Coles to invest in youth and high-performance programs. Greg’s contribution as a volunteer has also been significant and he has contributed countless hours as the National Coaching Co-ordinator as well as various ACA committee roles and this year initiated the ACA’s volunteer recognition program.
As an active player, Advanced level Coach, Mentor and Volunteer, Greg has spent many hours on lawns across Australia developing and building the capacity of others within croquet. His passion, commitment and dedication to croquet, not to mention his wealth of knowledge and experience across all areas will be missed and we hope he remains involved in some capacity to continue to add value to the sport he loves.
On behalf of the Board, Staff and Members of Croquet Australia, I would like to thank and acknowledge Greg for his contribution to the ACA and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Melanie Woosnam
Chief executive Officer
Australian Croquet Association