Tom Hoad

Chair

Tom has been President of the Western Australian Sports Federation which recommended the building of the Superdrome (the present HBF Stadium). Tom was on the inaugural supervising committee with Wally Foreman and Professor John Bloomfield which lobbied the government to have it HBF Stadium built.

Tom was President of the Western Australian Olympians association for 4 years as well as being an inaugural member of the Western Australia Institute of Sport for many years and likewise of the Western Australian Sports Centre Trust.

Tom has also served as Vice President of the Board of Australian Water Polo and had to resign due to health issues.

Tom lobbied the State Government and led the bid committee to Fina for Perth to host the 1991 World Swimming Championships in Perth. Together with the then Minister for Sport in Western Australia, the Hon Graham Edwards, Tom went to Canberra and succeeded in convincing the Federal Minister for Sport,  Mr Graham Richardson, to provide funding for the 2×50 metre outdoor pools necessary to hold the 1991 World Swimming Championships.

Tom subsequently became the Executive Chairman of both the 1991 and the 1998 World Swimming Championships in Perth. Tom also lobbied Fina to have 4 separate Fina World Junior Water Polo Championships, Fina Masters World Swimming Championships at HBF Stadium and chaired the Organising Committee of all these events.

Tom is a graduate of the University of Western Australia and Patron of the University of WA Sports Committee. Until his appointment to Chairman of WPWAI, he has never been on a club or state water polo committee. Tom has a vast knowledge of International Water Polo and is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

John Hedges

Deputy Chair

John Hedges joined the Board in July 2017 and was again elected for a two year term at the 2017 AGM.

John practices law from the Francis Burt chambers and specializes in Family law. He is an accredited mediator and has previously been a Councillor with the City of Fremantle.

John has a son and daughter involved in the sport playing at a National level.

Sean Rose

Director

Sean is currently the Finance Manager at CSR Gyprock & Fibre Cement and a director of a plasterboard contracting company. Sean has been playing water polo since his early 20’s and started in Geraldton with the RATS water polo club.

Sean moved to Perth and joined the Phantoms WPC and has been on the committee of Phantoms for 6 years. Sean is married to a girl he met in primary school who also plays water polo, they have two young girls both who are also now playing water polo.

Brieanna Mercer

Director

Brieanna is currently the Legal and Disputes Officer at Football West. Previous to this Brieanna was a Solicitor in Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Perth law firm Bennett + Co.

Brieanna holds a Bachelor of Laws from Murdoch University and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 4 October 2013.  She has been a director of Water Polo WA since 2013 and has completed the Australian Instituted of Company Directors Governance Foundations and Advanced Governance courses through the Department of Sport and Recreation.

Pippa McIntosh

Director

Pippa McIntosh is a corporate communications, government affairs and public relations professional. Her commercial and public affairs experience has been gained in the healthcare, racing and gaming and government sectors, helping organisations build, grow and protect their external and internal reputations.  Pippa currently leads Government Relations and Corporate Communication at Roy Hill.

Pippa’s love of water polo started at a young age and continued throughout university where she played for Melville and the University of Western Australia. She’s also played for clubs in both NSW and Victoria.

Pippa has undergraduate and post graduate qualifications from UWA and she’s completed a MBA at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne.

Rod Brown

Director

Rob has been involved in water polo in the State in various capacities since 1976 when he started as a junior player for Melville Water Polo Club. Further background related to his involvement in water polo is provided as follows:

• Playing career included state representation at junior level, as well as senior club participation through all grades at one stage or another.
• Served on the Melville Water Polo Club committee for approximately 10 years, including as Club President before stepping down approximately 3 years ago.
• Involved in the committees running the club National League teams and organisation of the Tom Hoad Cup over many years.
• Coached junior teams within the club, including taking teams to National Championships
• Managed the Club Flippa Ball competition for a number of years.
• My three children have all played for the club at various levels.

Rob holds a degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA and currently work as a Project Manager for BHP in their Major Projects group. His career has exposed him to a broad range of professional challenges, with a focus on management of projects and organisations for the last 15 years. Rob has always seen the value in fostering the sport as a game that can be played well into adulthood and catering to different skill levels. He brings a broad experience base to the Board, both from a long association with grassroots water polo as a player, coach and senior administration role within one of the largest clubs in Australia, as well as from the lessons learnt during a 30-year career in the industry.

Stuart Dart

Director

Stuart was elected as a Director in September 2018.  He has been involved in water polo for over 35 years as a player, manager, coach and committee member. Stuart played representative water polo for the ACT at Under 20 Level and for the combined Australian Defence Force side at Australian Country Championships.

After completing his service in the Navy, Stuart’s professional career has largely been in the sport and event industry both in community and professional sporting environments.  This includes roles at Rugby WA, the West Australian Football Commission, Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust and the WA Department of Sport & Recreation.  Stuart’s experience includes the successful bid for the Western Force and the Perth Stadium project.

Currently, he is the State Infrastructure Manager in Western Australia for Cricket Australia and the WACA.

Stuart holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales and a Graduate Diploma of Business (Sports Management) from Edith Cowan University.

Caitlin Read

Director

Caitlin is an experienced human resources professional in people, capability and strategy, currently Human Resources Business Partner at Rio Tinto. With a background in the mining industry, Caitlin is passionate about helping organisations and people reach their full potential. Caitlin started playing water polo at Melville at 9 years of age and has represented at state level in both WA and Queensland in statewide and country teams at a variety of age groups, and a prior member of the Fremantle Marlins. Most recently Caitlin represented WA Country at the national Country Championships and was selected in the 2018 Australian Country squad.

Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resources and Industrial Relations) and a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from Curtin University and is currently undertaking her MBA part-time. This is her first Director position and is eager to apply her professional and playing experiences to improve water polo in WA and give back to the sport as a member of the Board.

Michael Sturgeon

Director

Michael began playing water polo at 12 years of age, playing in the river at Crawley, Nedlands and Claremont Baths. He has seen the evolution of water polo from the river times to Betty Park, and now the significant development of purpose-built swimming-pools.

The involvement of Michael’s late father, Frank Sturgeon, who was a committeeman of the Water Polo Association, State Manager and the recipient of the Beaurepair Trophy further enhanced his association with Water Polo WA.

Michael began his dental practice in Rockingham which he has grown to now include four separate locations, with the staff of approximately fifty people. During his time in private practice, Michael has also been a councillor on the Committee of the WA Branch of the WA Dental Association and a clinical tutor at the school of the UWA.

Michael spent 18 years with the Royal Australian Navy (Reserves) as an Officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

As a father of five daughters, Michael has been involved in junior water polo coaching and refereeing and recently he has been involved in refereeing in the Senior competition. Furthermore, he has also briefly been on the board of the referee committee.