Board of Directors

President - Erick Acker

president@internationaltouch.org

The Board President provides strategic leadership for the Federation, ensuring the organisation meets its statutory obligations, governance responsibilities and financial and organisational objectives.

The President is responsible, in conjunction with other members of the Board, in setting FIT's strategic direction and for the development of short, medium and long term goals.

Erick Acker has been involved in sports for many years (athletics, rugby) , playing or coaching. And he first became involved in Touch in 1991 when he moved from France to NZ. On his return to France he helped in the development of Touch and was instrumental in setting up the Federation of Touch in France. In 2007 he became President of Touch France. Together with his European counterparts the European Federation of Touch was created in 2010 - the first Regional Federation recognized by FIT.

Erick is a Level 3 Touch Referee and Level 2 Touch Coach and also holds the French National Rugby Coaching Level 3 Certificate. He has been coaching the French Men's Open team since 2010. In 2009 he was honored by the French Ministry of Sport for his valuable contribution to the growth of sport in France, especially through sport associations like Touch.

Erick has an Engineering degree in Electronics and Data Processing and has published several books in this field. Today he is Sales Director of a High Tech company. 

Secretary General - William Ker

secretary-general@internationaltouch.org

The Secretary General provides a key interface between FIT and Member Associations (National Touch Associations (NTAs)) on a diverse and wide range of FIT related activities, providing strategic and operational advice and direction in areas of Touch policy development, implementation and interpretation; dispute resolution; membership recruitment; and volunteers.

The role is responsible for ensuring the provision of expert advice and the management of activities are aligned with FIT's short, medium and long term goals. The role is also responsible for management and administrative activities which provide for effective Board operations, including the coordination of Board Meetings, and preparation of Meeting Agendas, Board Papers and distribution of Board minutes. The duties and powers of the Secretary General are specifically detailed in the FIT Constitution (2011), Sections 16, 35, 38 and 41.

The Secretary General is responsible for three Commissions which fall within the Secretary General’s Portfolio:

• Policies Coordination Commission
• Membership Recruitment Commission
• Volunteers Commission

Bill became involved in touch around 1976 during the foundation year of the now very successful Gold Coast Touch Association. Bill has played and been a committee member of Mount Isa, Cairns, North Queensland Touch. Bill has been Vice President and Executive Officer of the Queensland Touch Association, Vice President of the Australian Touch Association and the CEO of Australian Touch for 11 years. He also was the Secretary General of FIT from 1991 through to 2007 and was responsible for the staging of the 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups. Bill obtained a level 5 referee grading, a level one coach and is life member of the Gold Coast, Queensland Touch Associations as well as recipient of an Australian Sports Medal. Bill also has obtained an associate diploma of Business during part time studies at Canberra University and has a background in hotel management as well as sport administration.

Finance Director - Aaron Jones

aaron.jones@internationaltouch.org

The Finance Director is a member of the Board and provides professional leadership in financial management, delivering quality financial solutions which enable FIT to achieve its strategic and business objectives.

The Finance Director is responsible for two Commissions which fall within the Finance Portfolio:

• Audit and Risk Management Commission
• Forecast, Budgets & Reports Commission

Aaron Jones has had a long term involvement in Touch Football as a player, coach and administrator. Aaron commenced playing the sport as a 12 year old in 1992 in the small country town of Ballina. Since that time the sport of touch has seen him grow into an Australian Senior Representative Player, a Level 2 Accredited Coach and represent both club and region boards as the Director of Finance.

Aaron's has joined the board with a goal of allowing him to provide his skills and experience in the sport to both established and developing nations. In professional life,

Aaron operates his own accountancy firm on the Gold Coast. He is a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and is a Registered Self Managed Superannuation Fund Auditor with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Sports Development Director - Peter Topp

peter.topp@internationaltouch.org

The Sport Development Director is a member of the Board and plays a lead role in the development of Touch globally, with a commitment to continuous development and innovation in the programs and approaches that are facilitated and delivered by FIT.

The role provides strategic leadership designing and delivering programs and resources that align with FIT’s short, medium and long term goals.

The Sport Development Director is responsible for six Commissions which fall within the Sport Development Portfolio:

• Referee Commission
• Coaching Commission
• Playing Rules Commission
• Women’s Development Commission
• Children & Youth Development Commission
• Player’s Commission

Peter Topp has an extensive background in the Sporting Industry through involvement at all levels of Government and Sporting Organisations. As the National Technical Manager at Touch Football Australia (TFA) and a Sports Consultant at the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) he has gained a high level of knowledge of the operations of Australia’s Sporting Industry.

As TFA’s National Technical Manager he facilitated the development and delivery of coaching, refereeing and junior programs in all states, with a primary focus of improving the competence of coaches and referees. He was instrumental in expanding TFA’s national teams program through the introduction of sports science, national camps and coach mentoring programs, all of which resulted in success at the international level.

As a Manager in the Sports Coach and Official Section of the ASC his primary role was assisting National Sporting Organisations in the development of coaches and officials through quality control in the areas of curriculum development and improved delivery. This specifically focused on Presenter, Assessor and Mentor training skills.

He also managed the National Officiating Scholarships, a program that provides professional development opportunities for emerging high performance officials in a range of sports. Following extensive research and reviewed the program transformed from its grants base to the current professional development model targeting specialised assistance for each scholarship official.

He has coached for 20 years at the National Touch League, Australian Youth Championship and local competitions. His involvement has seen him attend two Touch World Cups, one Youth World Cup and a number of Trans Tasman Test series over a 10 year period.

In 2014 he was invited to take up the role of Sports Development Director on the Federation of International Touch.

Events Director - Gary Reynolds

gary.reynolds@internationaltouch.org

Governance Director - Margaret Hoekstra

margaret.hoekstra@internationaltouch.org

Communications Director - Anthony O’Brien

anthony.obrien@internationaltouch.org

The Communications Director is a member of the Board and provides professional leadership in corporate communications and marketing, public relations, content, and digital marketing, issues and crisis management.

With a background in strategic corporate communications, content creation and journalism, Anthony is a founding director of Corpwrite Australia, an innovative marketing communications business.

He is the small business writer for Money magazine and has contributed regularly to a range of other publications including Rugby League Week. Anthony also worked as a sports reporter with NBN, an Australian regional television network.

Since launching Corpwrite in 2008, Anthony has consulted to many major global brands including US Chamber of Commerce, Pfizer and Terex Corporation. Before launching into self-employment, Anthony worked in a diverse range of corporate communication roles for IBM, Bankers Trust, several Australian politicians, and public relations firms.

Anthony has played touch since 1985 and is a former director of the Central Coast Bears and was involved in the club’s bid to return to the National Rugby League.