FROM THE PRESIDENT AT THE AGM, A BIG THANK YOU

Kate Dzienis • April 29, 2020

By Rob Donkersloot, Outgoing AURA President

The AURA AGM was held on Tuesday 28 April, thank you to all that attended.

The committee members who have been in place since the last AGM did not renominate for positions. Nominations were received from the following members, and they were appointed unopposed:

President: Ewan Horsburgh
Vice President: Matthew Eckford
Secretary: Julia Mackay
Treasurer: Simone Hayes

The following people nominated and were appointed as state representatives:

Qld: Susannah Harvey-Jamieson
Qld: Dan Symonds
SA: Chris Glacken
ACT: Martin Fryer
NSW: Stephen Redfern
Vic: Karen Mickle
WA: Doug Bartlett

I would just like to say how pleased I am that we have four outstanding new committee members to manage the association moving forward. I have been having discussions with Ewan for almost six months regarding the president position, and more recently with Matt re the vice president’s role.

They have a great team together with Simone and Julia. I have been involved on the committee for four years, and when I took on the president’s job three years ago I said I would undertake to do the job for three years, and that time is now up.

It’s fantastic to have a new enthusiastic and inspired committee take over. There have been many highlights over the last four years and I would like to think the current committee leaves the association in a very solid position in terms of new processes and practices that were introduced, organisation-wide strategies that were developed, and in a healthy financial state.

Lastly I would like to thank Alexis Oosterhoff, Pam Muston and Ness Hartge for their very significant contribution, it was always a great pleasure to work with them on the committee, something I enjoyed very much.

Rob Donkersloot

< Older Post

Newer Post >

2026 AGM Notice (15 April 2026)

By Dave Martin • March 14, 2026

AUTRA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Wednesday 15 April 2026

AUTRA statement regarding Snowies Trail Run Festival

March 12, 2026

AUTRA has been in direct contact with the organisers of the Snowies Trail Run Festival, In2Adventure, regarding a recent situation involving an athlete and the event’s in‑person safety briefing requirements. In2Adventure has confirmed that the situation was discussed directly with the athlete at the time. From In2Adventure’s account, and for the purpose of clarifying the public record, AUTRA notes the following points: At no stage was the athlete prevented from breastfeeding at the event. The organiser states that the following options were offered to enable the athlete to participate while still meeting safety requirements: a quiet and private space where she could breastfeed while still being present at the briefing; the option to receive the required briefing at the 30 km start line after the start; and the option to change her registration to the 21 km event, where the briefing is conducted on the start line. At no stage prior to event registration on Saturday night did the athlete contact the organiser to advise of her situation or request alternative arrangements, which limited what could be put in place at the time. Face‑to‑face safety briefings have always been a requirement for In2Adventure events due to the remote and higher‑risk nature of the trails. AUTRA was aware that in‑person briefings were used and had not raised concerns about that general approach. The organiser has indicated that this requirement is driven by safety, duty‑of‑care and insurance obligations, and follows previous experience where remote or online briefings resulted in athletes starting events without critical safety information. The organiser maintains that the event was not conducted in a manner that was intended to be non‑inclusive, inflexible or discriminatory, and that decisions made on the day were based solely on safety requirements that apply equally to all participants. AUTRA’s aim in issuing this statement is solely to clarify the context and ensure that the public record reflects the information provided to us by the organiser.