The World Academy of Sport (WAoS) delivers learning programmes for sports and event participants - athletes, managers, administrators, officials and coaches - through a series of tailored educational programmes.

International Advisory Board

The International Advisory Board (IAB) was established in 2009 to advise and support the work of WAoS.

The IAB consists of influential persons coming from international sport and education. The work undertaken with WAoS makes a significant contribution in the form of expert advice, knowledge and direction.

The IAB is chaired by Mr François Carrard, former Director General of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is made up of various leaders from the international sport, education, government and industry sectors and is representative of the WAoS partners including athlete representation. Such support continues to underline the international importance of activities undertaken by WAoS and the importance with which our sporting and educational partners place on the needs for tailored industry education.

The key objectives of the Board are:

  • To provide strategic direction and leadership to the WAoS,
  • To build relationships between sports partners in order to develop industry standards for sports education for implementation by education partners,
  • To provide advice in relation to WAoS,
  • To provide independent industry advice,
  • To represent the interests and advocate the long term value of WAoS to industry stakeholders.
Name Title
 
François Carrard 		Senior Partner Carrard & Associés, Chair World Academy of Sport
 
Patrick Baumann 		Secretary General, International Basketball Federation (FIBA)
 
Sir Howard Bernstein 		Chief Executive, Manchester City Council (MCC)
Sir Philip Craven 		President, International Paralympic Committee
Sir Philip Craven is an international sports leader. He was re-elected President, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in November 2013, for his fourth term of office, following the IPC General Assembly in Athens. He is a member of both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Executive Board member, British Olympic Association (2003-present).

Sir Philip represented Great Britain in wheelchair basketball at five Paralympic Games, from 1972 to 1988. He also competed in track and field athletics and swimming at the 1972 Games.

In 1988, Sir Philip was elected Chairperson of the Wheelchair Basketball Section of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), the first athlete to lead the sport worldwide. Sir Phillip’s striving for self-determination and self-government paved the way for the establishment of wheelchair basketball as an independent federation, when it gave up its previous identification as a basketball section of the ISMGF to become the independent, self-governing International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) in 1993.

Honours and Awards: Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to Wheelchair Basketball in 1991; induction into the Stoke Mandeville Hall of Fame in 2003; Knight Bachelor by HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to Paralympic Sport in 2005.
 
Frank Fredericks 		Member, International Olympic Committee (IOC)
 
Gian Franco Kasper 		President, International Skiing Federation (FIS)
 
Adrian Kearney 		Director IB Africa/Europe/Middle East
 
Bernard Lapasset 		Chairman, World Rugby Council
 
Professor Paul Layzell 		Principal, Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL)
 
David Richardson 		Chief Executive Officer, International Cricket Council
Mike Miller 		Chief Executive Officer, World Olympians Association
Mike Miller has over two decades of experience in the media and sports business.

He has worked in newspapers, radio, television and the electronic media, becoming the Head of Sport at Channel 4 UK and then the Controller of Television Sport at the BBC.  At both organisations he was responsible for all sports editorial output and for all sports rights negotiations. He was also a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Sports Group Executive Bureau.

Mike's experience outside sport includes three years as Channel 4's Commissioning Editor for the Big Breakfast (their morning general entertainment and news programme) and three years as Channel 4's Commissioning Editor for the Internet.

Mike is the former Secretary General of the IRB
 
Helene Raynsford 		Paralympic Gold Medallist and Public Health Specialist, IPC
 
Molly Rhone 		President, International Netball Federation (INF)
Chris Solly 		Director, World Academy of Sport
Chris is Director of the World Academy of Sport, as well as Managing Director of IF Education. IF Education is an education service provider, in partnership with a number of International Sporting Federations, establishing educational courses for athletes and sporting administrators.

In 1999 Chris was instrumental in the conception and creation of Olympic Games Knowledge Services (OGKS), a joint venture with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Chris was a member of this company board until late 2004 when the IOC acquired the joint venture company shareholding which he represented.

Prior to this Chris was the inaugural Chief Executive of the Australian Ski Institute as the forerunner to the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, an internationally recognised high performance centre of athletic excellence. In addition, he has represented Australia at five Winter Universiades, on four occasions holding the position of Chief de Mission. He has also held prominent roles in the University sporting world on the board of directors of Australian University Sport for a number of years during his academic career.

Based in Switzerland, Chris holds a BSc (Hons) and is regularly working with many of the International Sporting Federations on their athlete and executive education programmes. He was an executive committee member of the 2004 and 2008 Australian Prime Minister's Olympic Dinner Committee.
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