2026 National Coaching Conference

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.

Registration Fees

Early Bird: (closes 7 June 2026):

• 2-Day Pass: $300 AANCC
• 1-Day Pass AANCC: $250
• 3-Day Pass (AANCC + Women in Coaching & Leadership Day): $300
• Women in Coaching & Leadership Day Only: $100

Standard Registration:

• 2-Day Pass: $350
• 1-Day Pass: $250
• 3-Day Pass (AANCC + Women in Coaching & Leadership Day): $400
• Women in Coaching & Leadership Day Only: $100

JOANNA HAYES

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 CLEMENTS

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.

LAUREN ROBINSON

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 Fitzpatrick

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.

CLIFF MALLETT

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 Mundy

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.

Angus Ross

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

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 DAVOREN

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

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

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

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 Horsnell

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

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.

Katrina Powell

Katrina Powell OAM is a high-performance coach, leader and dual Olympic gold medallist. In 2021, she became the first woman in more than 40 years to be appointed Head Coach of the Hockeyroos, leading the team through two Olympic campaigns and a period of significant transformation. With experience as both an elite athlete and national coach, Katrina brings valuable insights into leadership, team culture, resilience and performance.

Andrew Iselin

Andrew is the Head Coach of AAA Squad and a coach in the Para Gen 32 program through Australian Athletics and the Queensland Academy of Sport. An accredited Australian Athletics Level 4 High Performance Coach, he specialises in sprints and hurdles and has extensive experience guiding athletes from development through to high-performance competition. Andrew currently coaches Lachlan Kennedy, Calab Law and previously coached Torrie Lewis. A passionate advocate for long-term athlete development, Andrew is committed to helping athletes achieve in life as much as in athletics.

Mariah Ririnui

Mariah is an Integrity Officer working within athletics in Australia, where she supports the implementation of the National Integrity Framework and helps foster safe, fair and inclusive sporting environments. She holds a Master of Management Studies in Public Relations and is currently studying Law. Mariah has several years of experience in sport administration, governance and participant development, including roles in community development, coach development and safeguarding across both regional and national sporting organisations. As an athlete, Mariah is a five-time New Zealand Long Jump Champion and has represented New Zealand on multiple occasions, giving her a unique perspective across the athlete, coach, volunteer and administrator experience.

Victoria Kahn

Victoria Kahn is the Performance Support Manager at Australian Athletics.  She has been involved in High Performance sport in both clinical roles as a Sport and Exercise Physiotherapist and in Sports Leadership positions over the past 15 years.  Her clinical area of interest is management of hip/groin and pelvis conditions and she is passionate about the female health space. As Performance Support Manager, Vic leads the implementation of medical, physio, allied health and sports science across the Olympic and Paralympic track and field programs.

Kevin Craigie

Kevin is the Physiotherapy Lead of Australian Athletics and is also based out of Melbourne at the Victorian Institute of sport. He has been involved with Australian Athletics as a physiotherapist since 2012 working predominantly with the junior/pathways programs to currently the Olympic and Paralympic programs. Within this role he has been an advocate for coach and athlete education on health literacy through state and national programs, as well as developing health knowledge and implementation across an interdisciplinary team.

Michal Burian

Michal Burian is a Melbourne-based javelin coach and active thrower specializing in youth-to-senior development. He combines practical in-hand throwing drills with comprehensive physical and mental preparation strategies to develop skill, athleticism, and resilience in his athletes. A decorated international competitor, Michal won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (setting a world record), silver at the Paris 2023 World Championships, and bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Drawing on this high-level competitive experience and national camp background, he delivers coaching that emphasizes holistic athlete development and long-term performance.

Andrew Dawes

Andrew Dawes has been involved in coaching Para Athletes for over 3 decades. Coaching notable Australian Paralympic Gold Medalists Louise Sauvage and Kurt Fearnley.  He now sits in the role of Para Performance Coach Manager with Australian Athletics and is committed to educating future coaches of Para Athletes in High-Performance practices.  

InterContinental Brisbane 

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

Roamer Hostels Brisbane 

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.

• 4-Bed Dorm – $80 per person
• Standard Private Double – $230
• Premium Private Double – $260 (TV, fridge, city view)

Book Now using our discount code: 'COACHING26' at https://roamerhostels.com/brisbane/

This activity received grant funding from the Australian Government.