Chief Executive Officer, Robin O'Neill,

has announced his resignation from Gymnastics Victoria

After three years in the lead role, Robin O'Neill will be leaving Gymnastics Victoria in late April 2023.

This has been an extremely difficult decision, but the lure of a new challenge was too compelling. 

It has been an honour to lead ‘GV’ over three years and I am immensely proud of Gymnastics Victoria across my time with the organisation.  

I truely believe Gymnastics’ heartbeat lives in the thousands of members around the state, and its pulse is the many wonderful people I’ve been privileged to meet and work alongside through a shared passion for the sport.  

The friendships and connections I’ve made through Gymnastics will stay with me forever, and I want to thank everyone who has challenged, supported, and inspired me during my time as CEO.

I want to acknowledge the GV Board, Gymnastics Australia Executive, and GV staff – past and present – who have committed every day to ensure gymnastics continues to thrive and that we keep striving for bigger and bolder outcomes for the sport in and out of the gym. 

There are many people that work hard every day towards positive change for Gymnastics Victoria and I would like to share my appreciation to those that have particularly contributed towards:

• A strategic plan that places a culture of care as the first priority of gymnastics.
• Care for investing in the development and leadership capability of the GV team
• A record, post-pandemic return of 64,099 registered gymnasts (and their families) and 1100 new coaches to rebuild a depleted workforce from 113 member clubs.
• State Gymnastics Centre tenure after change of land ownership and government support as a priority project for redevelopment
• Active listening for past and present athletes, contributing actively to the Human Rights Commission review and Gymnastics Victoria joining the National Redress Scheme
• Reform of governance and internal processes to improve reporting, alignment to strategy and a return to budget confidence
• Advocacy to secure new facilities and resources and towards the delivery of 2026 Commonwealth Games legacy for gymnastics
• Maintaining emerging talent training and support through the pandemic – emerging with record levels of Victorian athletes part of national teams (23 Victorians during 2022)
• Technical Committees and Members that share passion and love for gymnastics and willingly devote time towards positive gymnast experiences

Chair of the GV Board, Molina Asthana, thanked Mr O’Neill for his commitment and energy during a transformational time for Gymnastics. 
‘’This is the right decision for Mr O’Neill but a sad one for Gymnastics Victoria,” Ms Asthana said. 
‘’O’Neill has been an outstanding leader for our sport. His commercial acumen, personal integrity, and strong leadership capability, together with creative out-of-the-box thinking, have delivered ground-breaking outcomes. O’Neill has built a tremendous platform from which the sport can now re-imagine its future.”  
“We have been fortunate to have such a passionate, clever, caring, and professional leader over what has been a period of significant change,” finished Ms Asthana.
With O’Neill’s departure, Mr Simon Gadsden has been appointed as interim CEO for Gymnastics Victoria. Mr Gadsden has already been working with the current executive team and brings 20 years of executive experience in sport and business, most recently as General Manager for High Performance and State Gymnastics Centre Operations, to the role.