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Home > Rowing Profiles > Draper, Matthew

Matthew Draper

Torrens Rowing Club (SA)

It is difficult to find someone else in our sport who has undertaken so many senior roles and also had the confidence to pursue a successful career in the uncertain world of international sport. And then to fit it in with his wife’s similar aspirations. This would be exceptional enough, but to also possess such personal qualities as empathy, patience, modesty, honesty and integrity, makes Matthew Draper the full package.

And with the great skills of his wife Conny, this double package has become sought after in international rowing circles. They are citizens of the world.

So as you can imagine, Matthew’s story is both interesting and long.

Coming from a rowing family, he was immersed in the sport from an early age. Along with his younger brother John, Matt raced whilst at school as a member of his club Torrens Rowing Club in South Australia.

However, it was his club coaching rather than his rowing that drew most attention. He was part of the Torrens Rowing Club coaching team that led to enormous success in 1986-87 season, possibly the Clubs best ever season winning all major Senior tiles that year.

In late 1978 Matt also began coaching at Unley High School (UHS) with Roland Dankbarr, a year after that school club was founded. So successful were these early years at UHS, that in 1982 Matt`s crew won the National Schoolgirls four title, with that crew good enough to represent the State at the Interstate LW race at the Nepean River National Championships.

1982 National Championships win for Unley High School coached by Matthew

One of his 1984 National Championship coaching wins

Coaching appointments followed at the State, Australian Institute of Sport, then national level at the World Championships. His eye for good rowing, ability to teach, attention to detail, combined with his work ethic and calm demeanour, made Matt a successful coach. He coached at the highest level with a crew taking home a silver medal at the World Championships, and also coached extensively in Switzerland at a Club and National level.

This high level coaching expertise paved the way to several national high performance management roles, initially in Australia, then in Canada. The first HPM role as the Australian High Performance Manager in 1996 which was a challenge. The 1995 Australian team suffered from performance, management and coaching issues. By 1996, Australia was the most successful nation at the Olympic Games. It was a dramatic turnaround in which Matthew played a key role.

Enjoying the fruits of his good work at the Closing Ceremony of 2000 Olympic Games with Noel Donaldson and Reinhold Batschi

Again his eye for detail and his experience at all levels of the sport led Matt to event management, and at the highest levels. His logistics and planning skills are renown. When the Olympic came to Sydney, Matt took on the technical operations manager role for rowing. The role involved being the manager and technical advisor to the Rowing Competition Manager, including the design and management of key event deliverables (event program, fields of play, rescue and emergency medical teams response, venue layout, design and management of sports volunteer training, etc.).

After a 5 year Coaching Director stint coaching in Switzerland at Grasshopper Club Zurich (Thomi Keller`s former Club), Matt returned to Australia and took up the program manager role for both swimming and rowing at the NSW Institute of Sport. Then a great opportunity arose as the Doha Asian Games rowing competition manager. This included the broad brief of designing and assisting with the development of a new event venue in Doha specific to needs of the Asian Games. Specifically, it included overall coordination and management of all event functional area managers in line with key deliverables, volunteer training program development, and liaison with stakeholders including IF, NF and Government authorities.

Australian roles followed including National Eilte Program Manager and National Director of Development and Events. Both were critical roles for Rowing Australia and performed with distinction over 6 years.

With the “power couple” of Matt and Conny called back overseas, Matt returned as  coaching director at  Switzerland’s Seeclub Zurich.

After another four years, Rowing Canada called with another High Performance Manager role. It involved planning and management of the national high-performance program, assisting the HPD in the design and management of the National Performance Plan, including management of the athlete and coach funding programs, sports science and sports medicine team, overseas touring program, and Paralympic development program. It was another broad and full role.

Then as with his career, Matt look on the Rowing Canada National Competitions Manager role. This included the oversight and delivery of multiple aspects of RCA's national events including the delivery of flat-water rowing, coastal rowing, Indoor rowing and masters' rowing - able bodied and athletes with disabilities.

Matt is currently Special Projects Manager at World Rowing taking on diverse roles such as management, development, coordination and oversight of key projects within World Rowing, including event attribution, Indoor rowing, development of learning materials for WR Event Manuals, Technical Delegates training syllabus, water safety, philanthropy, new event formats.

During much of his career, Matt has been an active member of the FISA Events Commission and a Development Program consultant. He has had ‘embedded’ roles as an advisor within the Organising Committees (OC) of the Sydney, Athens, Beijing and Rio Olympic Games and countless other Continental or Regional events – particularly throughout Asia and the Americas.

Matthew working at the 2004 Olympic Games

The following list is impressive.

Equally impressive is his development work, assisted FISA’s development Program in underpinning National Federations as they seek to restructure their own internal structures or develop regatta facilities and venues. Some brief highlights include:

Despite undertaking all these high level ‘traditional’ roles, Matt is always innovating and is a deep thinker of the sport. He understands and promotes the need for change, particularly in events. He is an advocate for innovation in event types, event venues, embracing technology in events with emphasis on making data available to spectators, making the sport more TV friendly, but most of all, making rowing the sport of choice for young people. Despite his unique mix of technical skills, and the detailed work he undertakes, he never loses sight of this big picture.

An extraordinary rowing career.

Some rowing activities and roles

1979 – National Championships, Youth Four, bow seat - First

1979 - Interstate Men’s Youth Eight Championship six seat - Fifth

1980 – Launch of the Matthew Draper Cup – intra UHS School race

1982 – National Schoolgirls Four Championship, coach - First

1982 - Interstate Women’s Lightweight Four Championship coach - Fifth

1984 – Interstate Women’s Four Championship co-coach - Second

1984 – Interstate Women’s Lightweight Four Championship co-coach – Third

1984 – National Championships, Women's Lightweight Pair, coach – First

1984 - National Championships, Women's U23 Pair, coach – First

1984 - National Championships, Women's Pair, co-coach – First

1984 - Trans Tasman Under 23 Series Australian Women’s sweep coach

1985 – National Championships, Women’s Lightweight Pair, coach - First

1985 – National Championships, Women’s Under 23 Lightweight Pair, coach - Second

1985 – Interstate Women’s Lightweight Four Championship coach – Fourth

1985 – AIS Rowing Program, appointed as first AIS Apprentice coach - under Reinhold Batschi, Peter Shakespear, Paul Rowe and Bob Marlow.

1986 – National Championships, Men’s Under 23 Pair, coach – unplaced

1986 – National Championships, Men’s Pair (2), coach – unplaced

1986 – National Championships, Men’s Four, coach – unplaced

1986 – Interstate Men’s Youth Eight Championship coach - Fifth

1987 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – Fifth

1987 – Torrens Rowing Club Learn to Row program commenced by Matt

1988 – National Championships, Under 23 Men’s Lightweight Four, coach - First

1988 – Interstate Men’s Lightweight Four Championship coach - Sixth

1988 – Trans Tasman Under 23 Series Australian Men’s lightweight sweep coach

1989 – National Championships, Men’s Under 23 Pair Championship, coach - First

1989 – Interstate Men’s Lightweight Four Championship coach – Race not conducted due to a cyclone.

1989 – Trans Tasman Under 23 Series Australian Men’s lightweight sweep coach

1990 – National Championships, Men’s Under 23 Scull, coach – First

1990 – National Championships, Men’s Lightweight Four, coach – Second

1990 - Interstate Men’s Lightweight Four Championship, coach - Third

1990 – World Championships – Men’s Lightweight Four coach – Fourth

1991 – National Championships, Men’s Lightweight Pair, coach – Third

1991 – National Championships, Men’s Lightweight Four, coach - First

1991 – Interstate Men’s Lightweight Four Championship coach - First

1991 – World Championships – Men’s Lightweight Four coach – Fourth

1993-95 - High Performance Coach, Australian Institute of Sport

1994 – National Championships, Women’s Lightweight Double Scull, coach – First

1994 - World Championships – Men’s Lightweight Four, coach – Silver

1995 – National Championships, Women’s Scull, coach, Third, Fourth and Fifth

1995 – National Championships, Women’s Double Scull, coach, Second, Third and Fourth

1995 – Interstate Women’s Sculling Championship coach - Third

1995 – World Championships – Women’s Quad Scull coach - Thirteenth

1996-98 - High Performance Manager, Australian Rowing

1996 - Olympic Games - High Performance Manager and Assistant Team Manager

1997 – World Championships – Team manager

1998-00 - Technical Operations Manager, SOCOG Sydney Olympic Games

2000-05 - Coaching Director, Grasshopper Club Zurich

2003-present - Event Management & Operations Consultant

2003 - World Junior Rowing Championships, Technical Delegate

2003 - World Rowing Championships, Olympic Test event OC employee

2004 – Olympic Games – event consultant

2005-06 - Program Manager, NSWIS (Swimming and Rowing)

2006-07 - Doha Asian Games, Competition Manager

2007-09 - Elite Program Manager, Rowing Australia

2007 - Pan American Games, Technical Delegate

2007 - World Junior Rowing Championships, Technical Delegate

2007 - World Rowing Championships, Olympic Test event OC employee

2008-16 - Olympic Qualification regatta series, Technical Delegate

2008 - Olympic Games – event consultant

  1. - Director, Development & Events (Rowing Australia, RA)
  1. - Pan American Games, Technical Delegate

2012 - FISU World University Championships, Technical Delegate

2013 - South East Asian Games, Myanmar, Technical Delegate

2013 – World Cup 1, event director

  1. - Coaching Director, Seeclub Zurich

2014 - Youth Olympic Games & Qualification process Events Commission

2014 - World Junior Rowing Championships, Technical Delegate

2015 - Pan American Games, Technical Delegate

2015 - World Rowing Championships, Olympic Test event OC employee

2016 - FISU World University Championships, Technical Delegate

2016 – Olympic Games, event consultant

2017 - World Junior Rowing Championships, Technical Delegate

2017-19 - High Performance Manager, (Rowing Canada)

2019 - Pan American Games, Technical Delegate

2019 – 23 - National Competitions Manager, (Rowing Canada)

2023-present - Strategic Projects Manager, World Rowing

Andrew Guerin
October 2025

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