Neil McKerracher appointed chairman of WA Institute of Sport

10/10/96

Perth barrister Neil McKerracher has been appointed chairman of the Western Australian Institute of Sport's board, Sport and Recreation Minister Norman Moore announced today.

Mr Moore said Mr McKerracher had already served a three-year term as a WAIS board member and had proved to be an invaluable contributor.

"He is widely respected by the sporting community and is a worthy replacement for former chairman Chilla Porter," Mr Moore said.

Mr Porter resigned as WAIS chairman, a position he had held since January last year, after accepting the position of chief executive of Athletics West recently. Mr McKerracher's term will start this week.

Also reappointed to the board was businessman Richard Aggiss, who was Australian National Hockey Coach from 1981 to 1988 and named Federation of International Hockey World Coach in 1984.

Mr Moore said one of the exciting new appointments to the board was former Australian gymnastics representative Michelle Telfer.

"Currently studying a medical degree, Ms Telfer represented Australia in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games and the 1989 and 1991 World Championships," Mr Moore said.

"Accountant James Lutz will bring a wealth of accounting expertise to the board during his two year appointment.

"An old friend is also back on the WAIS board. Ministry of Sport and Recreation's Director of Sport, John Furhmann, who was a founding member of WAIS and served on the board between 1983 and 1989, has also been appointed."

Mr Moore said the board had a formidable mix of skills and experience which placed it well to steer WAIS into the next century.

He said these latest appointments, together with the reappointment of Wally Foreman as WAIS director, would give the institute stability as it prepared athletes for the 2000 Games.

Mr Foreman took up duties as the inaugural director of WAIS in June 1984 and is the longest-serving institute director in the country.

Media contact: Anabel Gomez 321 1444 or 222 9595