Scott Derwin is a leading Australian sport administrator. He was Chief Executive Officer of

Surf Life Saving Australia Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is an Australian not-for-profit community organisation that promotes water safety and provides surf rescue services. SLSA strives to create a safe environment on Australia's beaches and coastline through patrol ...

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

and

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

. In 2012, he became Chair of Basketball Australia.

Personal

Derwin grew up in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle ar ...

. Whilst at school he was a competitive swimmer and after school concentrated on surf swimming. He represented Merewether Surf Life Saving Club and in 1966-67 was Australian Senior Surf Race Champion and in 1967-68 was Australian Junior Belt Champion. He became a lawyer and established a legal practice in the Newcastle area in 1978.

Sport administration career

Derwin sold his legal practice in 1992 to become Chief Executive Officer of Surf Life Saving Australia, a position that he held until 1996. Derwin was Chief Executive Officer of 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 ...

for the period 1997 to 1999. During this period, the organisation changed its name to the Australian Paralympic Committee and prepared Australian athletes for the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. Between 1999 and 2008, he was Chief Executive Officer of

. Whilst undertaking this role, Derwin managed the unification of Basketball Australia with National Basketball League and

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Ba ...

. He then moved to the

Sunshine Coast, Queensland The Sunshine Coast is a peri-urban region in South East Queensland, Australia. It is the district defined in 1967 as "the area contained in the Shires of Landsborough, Maroochy and Noosa, but excluding Bribie Island". Located north of the ce ...

in 2009 and has become involved in sport administration in this region. In 2011, he became Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Sports Federation and Chairman of the Bid Committee 2016 Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships, Sunshine Coast. After a period as Chair of Basketball Queensland, he became Chair of

in 2012. He was President of the Confederation of Australian Sport between 1995 and 2002.

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derwin, Scott Australian sports executives and administrators Paralympics Australia officials Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Lifesaving in Australia Living people Year of birth missing (living people)