(AISTS) Marc Mundell and Eric Mackenzie, from the AISTS Master’s Work Experience programme, are to join the World Bowling Academy team in Lausanne. World Bowling, the international governing body for tenpin, ninepin and Parabowling, is launching the Academy in late 2020 as its new centre for Long Term Athlete Development, (LTAD), Education, Coaching and Officials under the management of Jinwoo Mo.
Mundell and Mackenzie will bring a passion for high-performance sport and extensive experience of international team delivery to the World Bowling Academy as World Bowling’s CEO, Andrew Oram, embarks on a programme to grow the sport in a post-Covid world.
Commenting on the appointments, Oram said, “This is a great opportunity for Bowling to benefit from the elite sports knowledge of two men from very different backgrounds. As an Olympian, Marc knows first hand the challenges faced by athletes at the highest level and the commitment required to overcome them. Eric has experienced the highs and lows of professional sport, and the impact injuries can have on the most promising careers. His drive for improving the development pathway of athletes is vital to how we will progress World Bowling’s support for our member federations and athletes.”Mackenzie spent 12 years as a professional athlete before moving to sports administration & Mundell competed for South Africa in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
South African Olympian, Mundell will retire from international competition after the Tokyo Games and saw the AISTS Master’s programme as the perfect opportunity to broaden his understanding of the business of international sport. Mundell attained a Master’s in Kinesiology, in his native South Africa, before serving as Team Liaison Officer for the USA Men’s Soccer team during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. From 2010 to 2015 he worked as the Senior Sports Administrator for University Sport South Africa (USSA), the International Federation affiliated to FISU.
Australian, Eric Mackenzie, was a professional Australian Rules Footballer. He played for 12 years at the elite level, and his integrity on and off the field earned him the coveted ‘Best and Fairest’ award. Mackenzie retired from the Australian Football League, in 2018 due to injury. He completed a Master’s in Strength and Conditioning alongside his playing career and spent 2019 developing youth talent with the West Coast Eagles Football Next Generation and Multicultural Academies.
Dr Claude Stricker, Executive Director of AISTS, said “We are delighted that Marc and Eric are joining World Bowling. It is a strong endorsement of the AISTS programme and testament to the caliber of our students. These appointments build on a continuing relationship between AISTS and World Bowling, that began with Megan Tidbury, who graduated in 2013 and now holds the position of Head of Event Delivery at World Bowling.
The partnership between the two organizations enables graduates to move on from academic study and make a tangible difference on the ground, gathering the skills needed to become sports industry leaders in their own right.”
The International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS), located in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a not-for-profit association founded by eight institutions, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Other prestigious and valued founders include a consortium of three leading Swiss Universities,the EPFL, University of Lausanne and the University of Geneva, as well as two private educational institutes, IMD and the EHL (Lausanne Hotel School) and the City of Lausanne and Canton of Vaud.
The AISTS responds to the needs of the sports industry by providing education in the form of short courses and a world-leading Sports Management Master’s program, alongside consulting and research to the international sports industry.
