For the Regional Academies of Sport, it is a privilege to celebrate the recognition of our Chair, Darryl Clout AM – a man whose contribution to sport administration has shaped the landscape of sport in Australia and around the world.
It began, as many great sporting stories do, with a parent simply showing up. More than 40 years ago, Darryl Clout accompanied his eight-year-old daughter Alison to a softball game. What followed was a career in sports administration that few Australians have matched.
Mr Clout has since served as president of both Softball Australia and Bowls Australia, and as vice president and president of two international bodies, the International Softball Federation and World Bowls. He has been a Commonwealth Games Australia board director, a parliamentary adviser to numerous government ministers across three decades, and a senior government executive who led the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation.
This year, that remarkable body of work was formally recognised when Mr Clout was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his extraordinary service to sports administration and to the community.
For the Regional Academies of Sport (RAS) network, this recognition holds special meaning. Mr Clout serves as Chair of RAS, bringing to the role the same commitment to leadership, governance and grassroots sport that has defined his career. His understanding of how sport functions at every level, from community clubs to international federations, is a rare and invaluable asset to the academy network and the athletes we support across regional New South Wales.
Today, Mr Clout remains as engaged as ever. As an active board director of World Bowls and a member of Marks Point Bowling Club, he is leading a campaign for bowls to be recognised as an Olympic sport, with a push for inclusion in both the main and para programs at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
On behalf of the entire RAS network we congratulate Darryl on this well-deserved honour. His leadership continues to inspire all of us who work in and around sport in regional Australia.
Source: Newcastle Herald
