Case Studies

Government Advocacy & Indoor Sport Strategy

Client: Southern Peninsula Basketball Association working with Mornington Peninsula Shire
Services: Advisory & Consulting – Sport Infrastructure Advocacy, Government Relations

Context

A fast-growing community was facing severe indoor court shortages. Weeknight and weekend bookings were at capacity, junior waiting lists were growing, and local clubs were being turned away. Council was developing an Indoor Sport Strategy, but early drafts did not prioritise school-based facilities or the association’s preferred expansion site.

Key challenges

• High demand but limited hard data on turn-away and unmet need

• A draft strategy that favoured a long-term standalone facility, with no clear funding pathway

• Multiple stakeholders – council officers, councillors, state MPs, schools and neighbouring associations – with different views

• An association that knew what it needed, but not how to frame it in “council language”

What we did

• Conducted a rapid facilities and demand snapshot: current court usage, turn-away demand, projected growth and travel patterns.

• Mapped the short, medium and long-term facility options, including school sites and a 3-court expansion at an existing stadium.

• Translated this into a clear advocacy narrative aligned with Council & Wellbeing Plan themes (health, inclusion, climate, transport, community resilience).

• Helped draft and refine submissions and briefing notes for councillors, officers and state MPs.

• Supported the association’s board and GM to plan an advocacy rhythm: meetings, community engagement and follow-up.

Impact

• Council adopted an Indoor Sport Strategy that:

  • explicitly supports the association’s 3-court expansion project, and

  • commits to considering financial contributions for school-based indoor courts.

• The association now has a clear facility roadmap and stronger relationships with council, MPs and schools.

• The evidence and language used in the strategy are now being reused in grant applications and further advocacy.

Tournament Growth & Stability – From 400 to 1,000+ Teams

Client: New Balance Southern Peninsula Representative Tournament
Services: Sport Operations – Tournament & Event Management, Advisory & Consulting

Context

A long-running representative tournament on the Mornington Peninsula had settled at around 400 teams. Demand was clearly there – more associations wanted in, existing associations wanted more teams – but the internal feeling was, “We can’t go any bigger without breaking people.”

The goal was to grow the tournament significantly while:

• keeping the quality of competition high

• protecting staff and volunteers from burnout, and

• strengthening the value proposition for sponsors and local government.

Key challenges

• Systems and knowledge sitting in one or two key people’s heads

• Limited documentation of timelines, roles and processes

• Venue operations varying between sites, creating inconsistent experience

• Scheduling and grading becoming more complex with each extra division and venue

• No clear framework for how many teams the event could realistically handle

• Sponsorship discussions happening, but without a consolidated story on reach and impact

What we did

1. Tournament Health Check
We started with a whole-of-event review:

• structures and formats

• grading and scheduling

• venue operations and duty teams

• communication, risk and financials.

This gave a clear picture of what was working well at 400 teams and what would break if we simply “turned the tap up”.

2. Designed a Tournament Operating System (OS)
We then built a simple but robust OS, including:

• a 12-month tournament timeline with key milestones

• clearly defined roles (tournament director, venue leads, duty teams, referee leads)

• standardised venue set-up and operating procedures

• incident, complaints and escalation pathways

• templates for key comms (info packs, FAQs, coach/parent updates).

The aim wasn’t complexity – it was to make the event repeatable and scalable.

3. Capacity and format planning
Working with the team, we:

• modelled realistic team capacity across all available courts and time slots

• refined competition formats and grading rules to maintain quality and fairness

• set entry caps by age group and division to avoid overloading particular venues

• created basic scenario plans for weather, last-minute withdrawals and late entries.

4. Sponsorship and stakeholder story
As the event grew, we helped sharpen the narrative for:

• council and tourism partners (economic impact, visitation, local spend)

• commercial sponsors (brand reach, participation numbers, community benefit).

This made growth not just operationally viable, but commercially more attractive.

Impact

• Over several tournament cycles, entries grew from around 400 teams to more than 1,000 teams annually.

• The event retained – and in many cases improved – its on-court experience and reputation.

• Staff and volunteers reported feeling more in control, with clearer roles and less reliance on “heroics”.

• The tournament was able to sustain its larger size year-on-year, not just spike once.

• Stronger data and structure underpinned conversations with council and sponsors, supporting six-figure sponsorship and support outcomes linked to the event and its economic impact.

First-Time Executive Coaching

Client: GM of a 3,500-member association
Services: Advisory & Consulting – First-Time Executive Coaching

Context

A highly capable operations manager stepped into their first GM role at a medium-large association. They inherited rapid post-COVID growth, court shortages, staffing gaps and a board wanting clearer strategy and reporting.

Key challenges

• Moving from “hands-on operator” to executive leader

• No established board reporting rhythm or strategic KPIs

• Staff structure and role clarity had evolved informally over time

• Limited safe space to talk through board politics, staff issues and big decisions

What we did

Over a 12-month coaching engagement, we:

• Set out a 90-day and 12-month plan for the new GM.

• Co-designed a simple board reporting pack and meeting rhythm, including financials, participation data and key risks.

• Helped the GM reshape the staff structure and role descriptions, clarifying responsibilities and delegations.

• Created practical tools:

  • weekly and seasonal planning rhythms

  • decision frameworks for “who owns what”

  • escalation pathways for complaints and incidents.

• Provided a confidential space to rehearse difficult conversations with staff, board members and external stakeholders.

Impact

• The board reported greater confidence and clarity in the organisation’s direction and reporting.

• Staff had clearer roles, reporting lines and expectations, reducing friction and grey areas.

• The GM built a sustainable rhythm, moving from constant firefighting to more proactive leadership.

• The association was better positioned to manage growth, facilities advocacy and tournament delivery.

Association Reset

Client: Regional Basketball Association
Services: Advisory & Consulting – Association Health Check, Governance & Strategy

Context

A regional association with strong participation numbers felt stuck. Day-to-day operations worked, but there was little clarity on governance, risk, facilities and future direction. The board wanted an independent view before committing to major changes.

Key challenges

• No recent strategic plan or formalised priorities

• Policies and by-laws had grown organically and were inconsistent

• Financial reporting to the board lacked clear commentary and forward view

• Competing facility ideas with no structured assessment or roadmap

• Volunteers and staff were doing their best but without a shared big picture

What we did

• Ran a whole-of-association Health Check across 15 domains (governance, strategy, finance, people, competitions, events, facilities, risk, culture and more).

• Reviewed key documents, financials, competition structures and feedback from clubs and stakeholders.

• Facilitated a board + leadership workshop to surface assumptions, risks and priorities.

• Produced a clear, practical Health Check report with:

  • traffic-light ratings by domain

  • key risks and opportunities

  • a 12-month reset plan with actions, owners and timeframes.

Impact

• The board had, for the first time, a whole-of-association view of strengths and vulnerabilities.

• The Health Check gave a shared, neutral reference point for decisions about staffing, facilities, policy work and competition changes.

• The 12-month reset plan became the backbone of board agendas and GM work plans.

• The association was able to sequence change sensibly, instead of trying to fix everything at once.