The Forward Line

18 | TFL TALKS to Georgia Godwin

Hello everyone & Happy Thursday! Today on the show we are sitting down with Australian Artistic Gymnast, Georgia Godwin.

Georgia is a 6x All-Around National Champion, a Commonwealth Games Medalist and soon to be Olympian. We discussed her transition from a competitive junior to global star, pressure & motivation during the face of adversity and what it’s like preparing to make the biggest debut of your career, a year later than you had planned.

It was an absolute delight to get to know Georgia and a bit more about the intricacies of her sport of passion. She was candid, hilarious and humble, offering so many pearls of wisdom throughout this conversation.

If you would like to follow Georgia’s Olympic journey, you can find her Instagram page here. In the show we also asked Georgia about the hardest skill she’s ever nailed. She said it was “a front layout, double front” and as promised, you can watch her land it over here!

To keep up to date with all of our news, you can follow our various social media pages. We are on:

- Twitter

- Instagram

- And Facebook

Enjoy the show and we will be back in your ears in two week’s time!

17 | TFL TACKLES Soccer Pay in the USA, Corruption during COVID & The Fall of Castle

Helloooooo and Happy Thursday! We hope you are well & staying healthy during these uncertain times. From the TFL team, we would like to say A BIG THANK YOU for your patience as we set up our new WFH Recording Studio. We are thrilled to be back after our short hiatus and reporting live from a Stage 3 Melbourne lockdown. Although we look & sound a little different, the gist is still the same; How cool is technology right?

Today on the show we unpack a recent judgment from an LA Court. In the case, the Judge rejected an argument by the US Women’s Soccer Team who sued their governing body for gender discrimination. We then shift our focus to domestic news.

We examined the impact of COVID-19 on the Sports Gambling Industry and the subsequent effects this is having on match-fixers. Finally, we take a deep dive into how one of Australia’s most Senior Sports Administrators, Raelene Castle, was ousted from her role as CEO of Rugby Australia. We consider whether she was treated fairly in her dismissal and ask why it is seemingly SO difficult for Women in Sport to secure the top job.

Annie recommended you watch this short video of superstar Genevieve Gregson setting a new record around the Tan Track. Chloe sends her apologies for the unexpected cameo by her puppy Rocky around the 26 minute mark, but is also happy for you follow her on Instagram if you wish to see more dog content. Enjoy the show!

16 | TFL TACKLES COVID-19

Hello and Happy Sunday! Don't mind us popping into your feeds unexpectedly. We know it's not a normal release day but we decided to hold an emergency recording, while it was still logistically possibile to do so!

Today on the show we have an entire special dedicated to the Coronavirus. We talk about its effect on global sport at the elite level and take a deep dive into two case studies in our hometown of Melbourne, Namely, the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix and the decision by the Australian Football League to continue with Round 1 of its 2020 Men's competition.

We then consider the effect of "no sport" at the grass roots level and talk you through what WE are doing to keep active and healthy throughout this period of social distancing. Lastly, we've got a couple of good news, sports stories to put a smile on your face, amidst these challenging times.

We hope you enjoy the show and please take extra care of yourself and your loved ones over the coming weeks and months. We are all in this together!

15 | TFL TALKS to Mitch Hannan

Today on the show we are sitting down with Australian Rules Football player, Mitch Hannan. With the Men's Australian Rules Football 2020 Season due to commence next Thursday, we felt Mitch was the perfect person to introduce this competition. During the show, we chat all things footy, including Mitch's path to AFL, life as an AFL player, career highlights and Melbourne Football Club's 2020 pre-season.

Off the field, Mitch continues to kick goals as the co-founder of Mendl, a non-profit fashion label with a mission to encourage men to start conversations about their mental health. We chat about the inspiration behind Mendl and the recent positive changes in society surrounding conversations about men's mental health.

If you would like to join the Mendl Movement, you can find out more information and purchase pieces at https://mendl.com.au/ or follow the movement on Instagram: @_mendl_. To read more about Mendl (from those who know fashion better than we do) check out this feature article in GQ: https://www.gq.com.au/style/news/meet-mendl-the-aflbacked-nonprofit-talking-about-mental-health-through-fashion/image-gallery/e1583e25d386389e952cb9a1bddb3a85

To keep up to date with Mitch's latest news, you can follow him on Instagram: @mitchhan19

Thanks for listening!

14 | TFL TACKLES disruption in the Administration of Australian Sport, the ’Netflix Effect’ and Reflections from Geneva

Today we discuss the disruption in the Administration of Australian Sport, covering the "Sports Rorts Affair" and the money battle of the two Johns: John Wylie, Chair of the Australian Sports Commission and John Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee. We explore the effect of Netflix and other streaming services on how we consume sport and lastly our producer Emily, reflects on her time at the International Labour Organisation's inaugural Global Dialogue Forum on Decent Work in the World of Sport held in Geneva, Switzerland.

During the show we recommended you LISTEN to this episode of Tracey Holmes' The Ticket podcast: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newsradio/podcasts/the-ticket/the-ticket:-22-february-2020/11991524 and READ this article in the Atlantic by Amanda Mull which examines some of the more problematic behaviours evidenced in Netflix's Cheer documentary: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/01/athletes-cheer-deserve-better/605326/. Enjoy!

13 | TFL TALKS to Catriona Bisset

Today on the show we are sitting down with Catriona Bisset. In 2019, Triona sprung to prominence after a shock win in the 800m event at the Track & Field National Championships. Two months later she broke a 43 year old Record, making her Australia’s fastest EVER 800m female athlete and ensuring her eligibility for selection at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

In contrast to her competitors, Triona’s journey has been unconventional. After dominating the junior ranks, she spent a lengthy period of time away from the sport. This has allowed her to pursue other passions including a Masters of Architecture and Diploma of Chinese Language.

It’s this time spent outside athletics that has given Triona such a unique perspective on the sport she loves. Today you’ll hear from an incredible critical thinker as we chat about agents, athlete advocacy her relationship with social media and what its like to have your toughest rival, Caster Semenya, banned from your event.

To read more about Triona's journey head to her website here: https://catrionabisset.com/ or follow her on Instagram here: @catrionabisset. Thanks for listening!

12 | TFL TACKLES The Australian Open

Today on the show we discuss the air quality policy that had players up in arms (to read more on this see also: https://themediatimes.com/tennis-continues-at-australian-open-despite-fire-this-time/), the role of ballkids when it comes to banana peels and the interesting timing surrounding the media's coverage of Nick Kyrgios.

11 | TFL TACKLES RoadNats 2020

Hello friends and Happy Thursday! Today on the show we are doing things a little differently. Last week, we headed to the Australian National Road Cycling Championships in Buninyong. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Nick White and Sarah Gigante who both won the 2019 Road Race. In this episode we chatted about the course, their wins last year and how they were feeling about their 2020 seasons. Enjoy the show

10 | TFL TALKS to Professor Jack Anderson

Hello lovely listeners and Happy New Year! Today on the show we are doing things a little differently – our first guest interview with our very own Sports Law lecturer, Professor Jack Anderson. Jack has been instrumental in the creation of the podcast and hence it was only fitting that he was our first guest.

We sat down with Jack just before Christmas to talk all things Sports Law. Throughout the chat you will hear about Jack’s career as a university lecturer, his time working as an Arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and his expert opinion about the latest sporting disputes and news that are sure to dominate headlines in 2020. We had so much fun recording this episode and we hope you enjoy getting to know Jack.

Wanting more of the TFL? We will be back in your ears in two weeks’ time but as always, to stay up to date with our latest news simply tune into our social media accounts. Stay safe over the holiday period and we will see you soon!

9 | TFL TACKLES Instagram & Inside Information, Nike HQ and WADA v Russia

Today we discuss the proportionality of Cricket Australia’s ban handed down to Hobart Hurricanes star Emily Smith after an Instagram joke gone, why a new building at Nike HQ is causing mass controversy amongst its employees and the potential fate of the Russian athletes who had their hopes pinned on attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

For more on the Russian scandal, this week we also recommend you watch Bryan Fogul’s Icarus documentary, see here → (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXoRdSTrR-4).

We also discussed some recent Russian cases that went to CAS. To read about Russia's former Sports Minister Mr Mutko, check out this decision → CAS 2017/A/5498 Vitaly Mutko v. IOC. And for individual athlete cases see here → CAS 2017/A/5422 Zubkov v IOC whereby the IOC ban was upheld and here → CAS 2017/A/5379 Legkov v IOC for a case where the IOC lost.

The Forward Line would not be possible without the creative minds of Liam Halverson, our audio-editor and Molly Mathews, our graphic designer.