Ronald James Finneran

OAM OAM may refer to: *Oamaru Aerodrome, New Zealand * Object access method *Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, an observatory in Spain *U.S. Office of Alternative Medicine, whose duties have been taken over by the National Center for Complementary ...

(born 1944) is an Australian

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

athlete and sports administrator, from Merimbula, New South Wales.

Skiing career

Finneran was born in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra. He lost the full use of both his legs and his right arm after contracting

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

aged about 20 months. He took up skiing in 1972 after a visit to the Thredbo Ski Resort and trained in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. He was Australia's only participant at the

1976 Winter Paralympics The 1976 Winter Paralympic Games ( sv, Paralympiska vinterspelen 1976) were the first Winter Paralympics. They were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, from 21 to 28 February 1976. The disabilities included in this Paralympics were blindness and am ...

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...

, Sweden, where he marched in the opening ceremony. However, he did not compete, as there were no events for his disability. He remained in Sweden after the Games until 1978 to study and train. At the 1984 World Championships in Switzerland he came 4th in the downhill.

Sports administration

In 1978, with Canadian ski instructor Bruce Abel and Australian ski instructor Nick Dean, he formed the Australian Disabled Skiers Federation, now Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA). He retired as Executive Director of DWA in January 2010 after 31 years in the role. Whilst in the role of Executive Director, he was able transform disabled skiing in Australia particularly in terms of facilities, training programs, talent development and government support. In 1992, Australian Disabled Skiing Federation opened its own ski lodge called Finsko's Lodge, the name of the lodge recognized Finneran's considerable work to its development. He also played a major role in the establishment of the Jindabyne Winter Academy, a program designed to assist elite and talented able bodied and disabled alpine skiers. The result of Finneran's worked culminated in 2001 with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

establishing a Paralympic Alpine Skiing Program in conjunction with the Australian Paralympic Committee. In 1989, he was a member of a working group that helped to establish the

Australian Paralympic Federation Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

in January 1990. He was a Board Member of the Federation from 1990 to 1995. He was also president of the Australian Paralympic Federation in 1993. In 1993, he was Chairman of the Bid Committee for the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. Besides his participation at the

, he was Chef de Mission/Team Manager of the Australian teams at the 1980,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, 1988,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

and

1994 Winter Paralympics The 1994 Winter Paralympics ( no, Paralympiske vinterleker 1994; nn, Paralympiske vinterleikane 1994), the sixth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 10 to 19 March 1994. These Games marked the second time the Para ...

. Other sports administration roles included: Member of the Advisory Committee to the Australian Bicentennial Authority's National Disabled Sports Program (1984 to 1988) and Chairman of the New South Wales Advisory Committee for Athletes with a Disability (1987 to 1992). After receiving his OAM in 2005, he stated "To have had just a small part in profiling the abilities of people with disabilities, be it in recreational activities to the very elite in Paralympic sport, has been an enormously rewarding experience."

Recognition

* 2000 –

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

* 2002 – Australian Paralympic Medal, highest non-athlete award by the Australian Paralympic Committee * 2004 –

for service to sport for people with disabilities as an administrator and competitor. * 2005 – inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

as an Associate Member. * 2016 – inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame. * 2021 - Snow Australia Medal * Life Member of Northcott Society

References

External links

Interview for Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies oral history project

Short Interview Ron Finneran Youtube

Ron Finneran – Sport Australia Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finneran, Ron 1944 births Australian male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Paralympics Paralympic alpine skiers of Australia Paralympic coaches of Australia Paralympics Australia officials Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People from the South Coast (New South Wales) Sportsmen from New South Wales Living people