News & Updates

Annette Purvis was elected on to the World Athletics Council in Budapest last month. We chat to the former Board Chair at Athletics NZ about her journey to the prestigious position and how she hopes to make a difference.

When confirmation finally arrived that Annette Purvis had become the first ever elected Kiwi female member of the World Athletics Council – she admits to feeling a momentary panic.

On a large screen at the 54^th World Athletics Congress in Budapest last month all 23 candidates for 13 elected positions – complete with total number of votes – were beamed down, although Annette initially struggled to identify her name.

“I went down to the middle of the list and then towards the bottom and I couldn’t see my name,” she says. “I had Cam Mitchell (Athletics NZ CE) and Cameron Taylor (Athletics NZ Board Chair) shaking my hand saying, ‘well done, you’ve done it.’ I’m saying ‘what do you mean, I can’t see my name?’ They said you need to look towards the top rather than the bottom.”

When Annette glanced upwards, she finally has confirmation of the news she desired. She had collected an impressive total of 156 votes to sit a proud third out of the 23 nominees. It was the ultimate validation of her strength as a candidate and it meant so much to the diminutive Cantabrian, who first started out in the sport as a schoolgirl middle-distance runner out of the Technical Club in Christchurch more than 40 years ago.

“When I realised I’d been elected, I felt quite emotional,” she says. “In 2019 I tried for election with the Council but missed out by one vote, so it is something I’ve long desired. I’m excited to be shaping the future of a sport I’ve been involved in since I was a kid. I believe I have a lot to offer and I’m keen to be a part of it. For me it is a natural progression in my sports governance career. To have achieved gender equity on the Council four years ahead of our target is something no other international federation has achieved to date. And knowing we had achieved that milestone moment, and to be able to share it with other women I’ve worked with on the (Gender Leadership) Taskforce was cool.”

It was no less than Annette deserved. One of New Zealand’s most dedicated and able sports governance leaders who has been steeped in the sport for five decades.

Serving on the World Athletics Council – the most important decision-making body in the sport – will be huge for not only Annette, 59, but also significant for athletics in New Zealand and Oceania as a region.

Comprising 26 people the 13 newly elected members will be joined by six Area Presidents and two members of the Athletes’ Commission, one woman and one man, including the chair.

Setting the strategic plan and overseeing the delivery of that plan, the World Athletics Council also plays a key role in determining the future of competition and competition structure – and Annette is confident she is well positioned to make a positive contribution.

A Board Chair at Athletics New Zealand from 2006 through to 2018 and current Board member of High Performance Sport NZ and the New Zealand Olympic Committee she brings with her a wealth of experience. Yet it is her work with World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) which stretches back 12 years as first a member of the IAAF Women’s Committee and later a member of the Gender Leadership Taskforce as well as the Development Commission for a four-year period, which is perhaps of greatest significance in her rise to the World Athletics Council.

“Through my work with the Development Commission I focused on member federations and what they needed in order to thrive” she explains. “No one federation looks the same while the regions face different challenges. I was there as part of the plan to grow the sport through more participants, fans and coaches. My desire to get onto the World Council was to take those learnings and experiences I had through World Athletics and also through leading a federation (as former Board Chair of Athletics NZ). I recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and the challenge is, how do we best ensure each federation has the opportunity to use the services and funding we offer in the best possible way.”

Annette is proud of her work around the gender leadership reforms which were put in place in 2015 – the fact that World Athletics exceeded its gender quota for Council by four years is testament to the work that she and others did on the Women’s Committee and Gender Leadership Taskforce.

“We have been able to demonstrate that there are women with huge capability and capacity to help drive World Athletics,” she explains. “The taskforce started with quite a narrow leadership focus, but we have been able to broaden so now we are trying to gain more gender equity in coaching and in officiating. These are examples of gender leadership, which have proved critical successes, and that I’m fortunate to have been a part of.”

On the Development Commission, Annette has had oversight of the re-development of Kids Athletics and focused on the grant development system for federations to better aid growth.

After missing out by just one vote on the World Athletics Council, Annette was determined that 2023 would be different. With her profile established she has continued to build a reputation through her diligent work on the World Athletics Commissions and Taskforce.

While at Congress, Annette was a very visible presence with the 190+ member federations who cast their votes on the election.

“I would take the opportunity to meet people, understand their thoughts and be approachable,” she says. “One of the biggest elements to lobbying was listening to people and hopefully I was able to convey that.”

Meeting five to six times a year as part of the World Athletics Council the Executive Manager with insurance firm IAG says she is looking forward to getting stuck into the role, where she may not be the only Kiwi to feature on the Council. As Dame Valerie Adams was recently re-elected on the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission both the Chair and Deputy will also serve on the Council – a decision around which will be made later this month.

“Should we have two Kiwis on the Council that is an exciting reflection of who we are and what we do as people,” she says. “We also have David Howman as Chair of the Athletics Integrity Unit and Don Mackinnon who is Chair of the Integrity Vetting Panel at World Athletics, so a lot of Kiwis are playing strong roles within not only World Athletics but globally across a range of sports.”

Annette acknowledges the sport faces its challenges to remain relevant in the modern world. Yet she believes offering a “growth mindset” is critical in order to make the necessary changes to the competition format and structure, which will allow the primary Olympic sport to continue to thrive.

“I’m always motivated for everyone to succeed, so for World Athletics to be successful we need our federations to help others to succeed,” she explains. “I’ve been involved in sport for many years, and I love it, but the sport has to be around for another 100 years and we might need to do a few things differently.

“I believe there is nothing quite like the drama of watching a major athletics event. There are so many disciplines and such a breadth of skillsets, which you just don’t get with the team sports.”