Written by Tess Lloyd OLY
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Tess Lloyd reflects on John Bertrand AO OLY’s visit to the Victorian Institute of Sport. Tess is an Olympic sailor who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and now works at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) as Community Program & Engagement Manager, where she dedicates her unique experiences to inspiring the next generation of athletes and community leaders.
It’s not every day that John Bertrand AO OLY walks into your workplace, let alone another sailor’s. Sailing is a small world, but John’s story is anything but small.
John is the Australian sailing legend who skippered Australia II to victory in the 1983 America’s Cup, ending 132 years of American dominance and the only time Australia has won an America’s Cup. He also represented Australia at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, winning bronze in the Finn class.
As an Olympic sailor myself, having competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the 49erFX class, you can imagine how excited I was when I received the calendar invite that John Bertrand was coming to the VIS to talk to all staff. I pressed ‘attending’ within seconds, as I think any other sailor would.
There were a few things that made the visit particularly exciting and special to me. Firstly, the opportunity to listen, learn and hear about the mindset behind John’s success, both on Australia II and off the water, gaining some key take aways to use at work.
Secondly, I felt a real sense of pride in having another sailor in the building. It’s not often you get the chance to connect with someone who has made such an incredible contribution to Australian history and learn a little more about the sport we both love. It felt truly special to see my work friends learning from a sailor. Moments like that fill me with pride in being a sailor myself.
And lastly, it brought back a lot of memories of my own sailing journey. The sport has been such a huge part of my life, and while I have stepped away from Olympic campaigning, I certainly haven’t lost my love for it. I still find myself looking out the office window when the afternoon sea breeze starts to kick in, sometimes wishing I was out on the water rather than replying to emails!
Having the opportunity to listen to John, hear his stories and talk about sailing brought back some incredible memories and reminded me how lucky I have been to experience the sport and represent Australia. What stood out to me while John spoke to us all, was how quickly John challenged the room to think differently. Having been part of a team that made some incredibly bold decisions to win the America’s Cup, it was only fitting that he opened his talk with a bold question, “where do you see the VIS in five years’ time?”.
It was such a great question and one that really made you stop and think. John spoke about how quickly the world is changing, particularly with the emergence of AI, and the importance of being courageous, adaptable and willing to think years ahead rather than simply responding to what’s happening around us.
It was a great reminder that progress often comes from being prepared to challenge the way things have always been done, take calculated risks and have the confidence to try something different. A mindset our CEO, Nicole Livingstone AO always encourages.
I also loved how John spoke about the importance of diversity of thought. In any team, you need people wearing different hats, just as his teammates on Australia II. He used the different coloured hats to represent different ways of thinking, and the roles people play within a team in a work sense. For example, the green hat represents the creative thinker, the person who comes up with all the crazy ideas. The black hat is the person who thinks critically, keeps an eye on the finances and provides checks and balances. And then there’s the yellow hat, perhaps the person thinking, ‘no more meetings, please!’. You need them all and many more.
It got me thinking about my own experience on the 49erFX. While there were only two of us, myself and my amazing teammate Jaime Ryan, we still brought very different ways of thinking to the boat. That diversity was important to make it onto the Australian Olympic Team. We needed to challenge each other, bring new ideas to the table, understand the different roles we each played and, importantly, recognise and stick to our individual strengths.
So, coming back to John’s original question, “where do you see the VIS in five years?”, I started thinking about my own role and the impact I hope to have. As the Community Programs & Engagement Manager, my role is to inspire as many Victorians as possible to get involved in sport, help them understand the benefits it brings, and create opportunities for athletes to share their own stories, knowledge and experiences to inspire others. I hope to see the VIS community programs and overall engagement continuing to grow, creating more opportunities for athletes to get out into the community, share their experiences and be recognised for the impact they make beyond their sporting careers.
On a personal level, I also hope to continue finding enjoyment and purpose in my role. It’s such a special job to have, and one that I feel incredibly fortunate to do alongside my team. We get to share the stories of some truly amazing athletes, celebrate what they have achieved and highlight the important role sport plays in our community and what it can bring to people’s lives.
Look at me. I began as an athlete, fought hard to be at the top of my sport and represent the nation and now I get to help other athletes inspire the next generation. That’s something pretty special.
