The Ziggy Report

[Ricochet]

Introduction
The review of the Essendon Football Club (EFC) governance processes covers the period from August 2011 until the present time. It seems likely that the approach to player conditioning, specifically the fitness strategy and use of supplements, varied sharply from prior practices from the start of this period.

At the request of the chairman of the Board, my work began around March 5th, 2013 and has involved interviews with EFC staff, board members and three current players (selected from the Players Leadership Group) and has extended to include parties outside the Club as well.

The work is inevitably constrained, in this case primarily by two factors.

Firstly, there is a parallel review underway led by the AFL and ASADA into the nature of supplements administered by the EFC during this period, and their compliance or otherwise with various anti doping codes. This was a no-go area for this report. Questions about the pharmacology of certain supplements, their possible performance affecting properties, compliance or otherwise with anti doping codes etc are issues for the AFL and ASADA investigations, which still have some way to go. This review and report needed to be conducted in a manner careful not to inadvertently compromise their work.

Secondly, a number of individuals key to a full analysis of this period, have been unavailable for interview.

As well, performance enhancing and image enhancing drugs, their delivery processes, and legitimacy for elite sportspeople, fall well outside my expertise. The Club has invited Dr. Andrew Garnham to advise on this issue.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The period of interest begins with the recruitment of new personnel and leaders for the High Performance team at the end of the 2011 season. This new group of experts in player strength and conditioning was given considerable space within which to operate and found little early resistance to their sometimes unconventional ideas.

The arrival of confident, opinionated staff was not accompanied by a simultaneous strengthening of the processes within Football Operations, or by extra vigilance by senior management.

Their mission was to increase strength of players primarily through a revised weights program. This quickly morphed into a larger effort involving allegedly leading practices in sports medicine. This fitness strategy was appropriately bounded by instructions that all practices be compliant with the relevant codes.

However, the supplement plan, if one existed, evolved and probably never reached a coherent, consistent shape. Innovative supplement practices and compounds soon appeared - somewhat predictably given the mandate of the High Performance team. The leaders of the program insist their methods were always legal and compliant, and that conviction prevailed and still prevails within the football department.

But a number of management processes normally associated with good governance failed during this period, and as a result, suspicions and concerns have arisen about the EFC.

In particular the rapid diversification into exotic supplements, sharp increase in frequency of injections, the shift to treatment offsite in alternative medicine clinics, emergence of unfamiliar suppliers, marginalization of traditional medical staff etc combine to create a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the Club in the period under review.

Compliance rules existed but normal controls during an abnormal period were insufficient to check the behaviours of some people who may have contravened accepted procedures, and the CEO and the board were not informed.

This Review looked at the relevant management processes and tried to reconcile certain decisions with the scenarios which unfolded into 2012, and has suggested remedies. Twelve recommendations are made to strengthen management and board processes in the aftermath of these events.

The EFC has been damaged, but not broken. The improvements in governance are straightforward, the Club has moved quickly, and some changes have already been implemented.

Key Findings:
1. Football clubs are changing and growing
Football clubs have grown in sophistication and size over the past two decades.

Where an AFL football department may have had 5 personnel 20 years ago (coach, trainer, physio..) and perhaps 10 around 2000, today's AFL club may employ 30-40 people on the football side of the organization. This requires formal structures and delegated powers, processes and controls and, depending upon the head coach's approach, may limit his close oversight of all matters to do with football.

The organization of most clubs is often divided into a commercial arm and a football operations arm with each head generally reporting to the chief executive officer, who in turn reports to the board. The head coach may report directly to the CEO, or to the Head of Football Operations depending on the club.

The EFC employs 75 people full time across all its functions and another 35 in part time roles. Annual revenues, and costs, surpass $50 million, and some clubs are considerably bigger.

Sports scientists have gained influence at most clubs which continue to seek those small advantages that might win games. Where it works well, these professionals partner with the medical staff to develop bespoke programs for each player, and rarely consider use of unconventional supplements or treatments.

There is a place for injections in the management of a number of conditions that might affect today's player, but a sharp escalation in their frequency across a playing group is noteworthy in every case.

This emerges as a consideration in the EFC of 2012.

2. Significant staff changes in a period of transition and growth led to risk
There has been high staff turnover over the last 4 years.

In its organisational rebuilding post the Sheedy era, of the top 20 executives at EFC only one had been there continuously for longer than 4 years by March 1st, 2012. High staff turnover often accompanies changes in coaches, CEOs and strategy but brings with it some risk.

Following the 2011 season, considerable changes occurred in the football department, especially in the High Performance Fitness team.

The High Performance Fitness team grew to 7 staff in early 2012. A sports scientist joined this team as a contractor, and his role initially focused on nutrition, oversight of GPS results and input to players fitness strategies. Both the head of the Performance Unit and the sports scientist appeared to have credible qualifications in the sports science field and long periods of relevant experience in elite sport.

Under this new team, a dramatic change in practices occurred.

3. Failures in Structure and Accountability

As a general observation, the commercial arm of the EFC is run professionally, with well-developed processes and good discipline. Budget management, project control, HR processes, record keeping, membership and community relations etc are consistent with good business practices except in that they seem not to extend to the football department. Who was accountable for what is difficult to ascertain.

In the period under review, a number of management processes broke down, failed or were short- circuited.
Problems occurred in:

[Ricochet]

Sorry boys it won't let me post the whole lot for some reason so here's the link

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2013-05-06/dr-ziggy-switskowski-report

[GCSkiwi]

Fantastic, nice to have a well-informed and reasoned view on the issue.

Highlighted the lack of record keeping which I still find difficult to swallow, though at least paints the picture of how it occurred. Honestly I would have thought that was a no-brainer to keep extremely stringent records on a supplements program within a club.

Recommendations in particular I agree with, no blanket bans on IV as they have legitimate uses, but also none of the cowboy testing environment that seems to have overtaken the bombers.