This conference for anyone wanting to better understand movement, performance, coaching, and athlete development.
The Australian Athletics National Coaching Conference (AANCC) and Women in Coaching and Leadership Day (WCLD) brings together coaches, athletes, teachers, strength and conditioning professionals, officials, allied health practitioners, and anyone passionate about learning more and helping people run, jump, throw, and move better.
Hosted at the University of Queensland in Brisbane from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October 2026, this three-day conference will explore practical coaching insights and real-world strategies for coaches at every level, from community through to high performance. The conference is designed to create a space where coaches and practitioners at every level can connect, share ideas, and learn from each other.
While grounded in athletics, the conference is designed for far more than track and field coaches alone. Running, jumping, throwing, movement, speed, and athletic development underpin almost every sport, making the event highly relevant for coaches across all sporting codes, PE teachers, strength and conditioning professionals, athletes, officials, and anyone passionate about helping people move and perform better. Whether you work in community sport, schools, recreational running, or high performance environments, the conference will provide practical ideas, conversations, and connections you can immediately apply in your own setting.
The Australian Athletics National Coaching Conference is the leading event for coaches, educators, and practitioners wanting to better understand running, jumping, throwing, movement, and athletic performance.
📅 Dates: 9–11 October 2026
📍 Location: University of Queensland, Brisbane
*This event will only be in person to have a focus on connection and network; it will not be available online.
**The Women in Coaching & Leadership Day is open to everyone and welcomes all coaches to attend, but it will be centered around the needs of our women in coaching.
Early Bird: (closes 7 June 2026):
Standard Registration:
Get ready to learn from Australian and International experts.
Hayes is an Olympic gold medallist (Athens 2004, 100m hurdles) who has successfully transitioned into coaching, developing multiple Olympians and World Championship medallists including Rai Benjamin, Jasmine Jones, and Sydney McLaughlin. Named USA Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2024 and currently Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at UCLA, Hayes brings rare insight as someone who has excelled at the highest level both as an athlete and coach, building high-performance cultures with an athlete-centred approach.
Matti was appointed Director of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) - the first female to hold the role. An expert in wellbeing and people management, Matti has over 20 years of experience working with Australia’s elite and professional sports at a strategic and operational level. Matti has been the key driver in uniting 50+ sports and organisations to co-design Australia’s first shared strategy for high performance sport. Australia’s High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy has the vision “we win well to inspire Australians” and seeks to capitalise on the generational opportunity provided by the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Matti continues to play a leadership role in this space and is currently serving as Chair of the HP2032+ Strategy Leadership Group, comprising all key leaders of the Australian high performance sport system.
*This day is open to everyone and welcomes all coaches to attend, but it will be centered around the needs of our women in coaching
| 8:00am Registration opens |
| 8:30am Conference Opens |
| 8:45am Keynote Speaker Presentation with Joanna Hayes |
| 9:45am Beyond Athletics: What Other Sports Are Teaching Us About Coaching |
| 10:30am Morning Tea |
| 11:00am Practical Session (announced soon) Strength and conditioning |
| 1:00pm Lunch |
| 1:45pm Workshop 1- Developing communities of practice (more coming soon) |
| 2:45pm Workshop 2- Programming event groups (more coming soon) |
| 3:30pm Afternoon tea |
| 4:00pm Winning Well: The Role of Coach Wellbeing in Performance and Sustainability with Matti Clements |
| 5:15pm Networking Event |
| 8:00am Registration opens |
| 8:45am Keynote Speech Presentation with Joanna Hayes |
| 9:45am Intra and Interpersonal Skills Split Coaching From the Inside Out: Advancing Intrapersonal Expertise in Sport Coaches- Lauren Robinson Dealing with difficult people- Coming soon |
| 10:30am Morning Tea |
| 11:00am Event Group Practical: Horizonal Jumps- Andrew Murphy Circular Throws- Coming soon Sprints (Para and Able Body)- Andrew Iselin & Jess Williams Distance- Coming soon Hurdles- Joanna Hayes Wheelchair- Coming soon Event Group Games for Kids- Coming soon |
| 12:00pm Event Group Practical: High Jump- Matthew Horsnell Pole Vault- Coming soon Javelin- Coming soon Relays- David Reid Starts (Para and Able Body)- Andrew Iselin & Jess Williams Ultra/Trail- Coming soon Walks- Coming soon Para Throws- Coming soon |
| 1:00pm Lunch |
| 1:30pm Influence of Coaches on Athlete Development Panel with Nicola Olyslagers (more coming soon) |
| 2:45pm Exhibitor Practical Presentations |
| 3:30pm Afternoon tea |
| 4:00pm Jury Duty: Integrity Case Studies in Athletics with Briar Sefo and Mariah Ririnui |
| 5:30pm Coaching Impact Awards and Conference Dinner Function |
| 8:00am Registration opens |
| 9:00am Elective Split Psychology- Cliff Mallett |
| 9:45am Elective Split Power physiology and strength and conditioning- Angus Ross Coaching Athletes with a Neurological impairment- Andrew Dawes |
| 10:30am Morning Tea |
| 11:00am Elective Split Collaborative rehab planning- Mike Barber & David Watts Bone injury prevention- Kevin Craigie |
| 11:45am Elective Split Bryce Anderson and Jess Rothwell- Nutrition Victoria Kahn- Female athletes are not small men |
| 12:30pm Lunch |
| 1:15pm Practical Approaches to Preparation, Recovery & Resilience Elective Split On field warm up and injury prevention- Steph Mundy Plyometrics- David Reid Sand based training- Matthew Horsnell Medicine ball training- James Fitzpatrick Games based training- TBC |
| 2:45pm The Future of Coaching with Bill Davoren |
| 3:45pm Closing Remarks |
| 4:00pm Official Close of Conference |
| 4:00pm Close of Day and Optional Networking |
More speakers to be announced soon
Lauren Robinson is a PhD candidate investigating intrapersonal expertise understanding and development in sport coaches. She is a basketball coach of 13 years across a variety of head coaching, assistant coaching and skills coaching roles. Her experiences range from head coaching grassroots able-bodied basketball to the international stage as an assistant for the Australian women’s wheelchair basketball.
James is the Head Coach of Pole Vault at the Western Australian Institute of Sport and an accredited Australian Athletics Level 4 High Performance Coach with experience in coaching developing level and high-performance pole vaulters. James currently coaches Olympic Champion Nina Kennedy and has worked with athletes winning Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Olympic Games medals. An advocate for holistic and long-term athlete development and coach development leading through mentorship of emerging coaches.
Dr Cliff Mallett OAM is Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology and Coaching at The University of Queensland, with a distinguished career across elite sport and academia. An experienced psychologist, high-performance coach, educator, researcher, and mentor, his work focuses on helping people perform, learn, and grow. Cliff has supervised over 40 PhD students and played a key role in establishing postgraduate coaching programs at UQ, continuing to bridge research and practice in developing coaches, leaders, and performance environments.
Steph is a Physical Preparation Coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport. She completed her Masters of Strength and Conditioning at Federation University Ballarat and is an ASCA PCAS Professional Level Coach.
Bryce is the Performance Specialist (Sports Dietitian & Physiologist) for Australian Athletics Pathway Transition Program (PTP) and the Australian World U20 Team. Alongside his work in private practice, he has experience across elite sport, including roles with in the AFL/AFLW, NBL, A League, and the Victorian Institute of Sport. Bryce specialises in supporting athletes at all levels to optimise performance through evidence-based nutrition strategies.
Angus is the Strength and Conditioning and Power Physiology Lead with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), working with elite track & field athletes and multiple Olympic sports across lead coaching, s&c, and sport science. He is also a three-time Winter Olympian in bobsleigh and athletics coach. His PhD focused on sprint performance and tapering.
Nicola Olyslagers is the reigning high jump World Champion, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, and the first Australian woman to clear two metres. She is the Oceanian record holder, 2025 Diamond League Champion, and back-to-back World Indoor Champion (2024 & 2025). In 2025, she was awarded World Athletics Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. Nicola has been coached by Matt Horsnell for nearly 20 years, with their long-term partnership becoming one of the most successful coach-athlete collaborations in Australian athletics history.
Bill has been a leading figure in high-performance sport in Australia since 1991, building an extensive career across leadership, management, and coaching roles in both Olympic and professional sporting environments. Since 2021, Bill has served as Director of the Australian Institute of Sport’s High Performance Coach Development Program, leading the design and delivery of a national framework to support the development of high-performance coaches across Olympic sports. Bill is widely regarded as a dynamic, relationship-driven leader, known for his ability to navigate the complexities of high-performance environments and build strong, effective teams.
Briar Sefo is the General Manager of Integrity at Australian Athletics and an experienced sports administrator and qualified lawyer in both Australia and New Zealand. With a strong background in governance, compliance, and cultural change, she has worked across multiple national sporting organisations, sports tech, the ASC and AIS. Briar combines leadership, legal expertise and entrenched sporting experience to foster safe environments for a thriving athletics community. Her commitment to athletics extends beyond her professional role, having served as a club president and community-level administrator. Briar brings a deep commitment to supporting the tide to lift all boats.
David Reid is the current Lead Relays Coach for Australian Athletics, overseeing the nation’s successful relay program. He has coached Australian athletes to the past two Olympic Games, as well as athletes at the World Indoor Championships, European Championships, and multiple Commonwealth Games. His primary area of research and interest is sprint starts and early acceleration mechanics. Prior to moving to Australia, David worked with Athletics Northern Ireland and the Sports Institute Northern Ireland, and British Athletics. His long-term ambition is to guide six competitive Australian relay teams to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
David Watts is the High Performance Manager for the Athletics program at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), where he leads the integration of performance services to optimise athlete outcomes. With over 15 years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach in high performance sport. He has extensive experience in rehabilitation, including three years as a dedicated rehab coach with the Geelong Cats in the AFL. David is particularly passionate about building cohesive, collaborative performance teams and is driven by a strong belief that aligned, multidisciplinary approaches are key to achieving the best possible results for athletes.
Matt has been coaching for more than 35 years, working across all levels of the sport from Little Athletics through to developing athletes who have gone on to achieve success at State, National, World University Games, Olympic Games, and World Championships level. He is perhaps best known as the coach of Nicola Olyslagers, whom he has coached since she was 11 years old. Matt is also a two-time recipient of the Australian Athletics Coach of the Year award.
Mike Barber is one of Australia’s leading technical athletics coaches. He has coached athletes to World Championship, Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games medals. Mike is an expert in leading high performing teams that support World Class athletes to win in high pressure moments. Mike is renowned for finding simplicity in complexity and peaking athletes for success when it matters most.
Located at the city’s most coveted luxury address, InterContinental Brisbane pairs iconic design and understated elegance with a deep connection to Brisbane’s heritage and vibrant spirit. The hotel offers unrivalled access to luxury retail, signature dining and cultural experiences enriched by moments that honour history, spark discovery and create lasting memories.
Book Now using our discount link: InterContinental Brisbane | National Coaching Conference
Located in Brisbane’s vibrant CBD, Roamer Brisbane is positioned directly opposite the Roma Street Transit Centre, providing easy access to transport and the conference venue. Combining comfort, convenience and a social atmosphere, it is a great lower-budget accommodation option for coaches attending the conference.
We recommend booking in groups of four where possible so you can stay with coaches you already know and make the most of the shared accommodation experience. Please note, the conference accommodation offer is available until the end of July.
Book Now using our discount code: 'COACHING26' at https://roamerhostels.com/brisbane/
This activity received grant funding from the Australian Government.
