John Cheffers

Dr. John Cheffers born in Melbourne, Australia, was the second Director of the Australian Institute of Sport. He succeeded Don Talbot as AIS Director in 1984 and stayed in the role until 1987. In that year, the AIS became a part of the Australian Sports Commission and Ronald Harvey took over the directorship of the Institute. ["Australian Institute of Sport: Celebrating Excellence", a publicationof the Australian Sports Commission, Focus Publishing, 2006, p36-37] John is a retired Professor of Education, and Coordinator of the Human Movement Program, at Boston University and has contributed a number of [http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Cheffers+John%22 [journal articles] on sport and physical education.

Dr. Cheffers first came to note as an athletics coach. His most successful athlete was Jean Roberts who won several Commonwealth Games silver and bronze in the Discus and Shot Put during the 1960s and 1970s. He alsoplayed four first class games with Carlton in the Victorian Football League in 1955, as well as being a fitness advisor to Hawthorn in the mid 1960s. ["This Sporting Life" by Ron Carter, The Age 27 November 1981]

In 1968 John became the head athletic coach for Zimbabwe, then called
Rhodesia. His experiences coaching the multiracial team that was selected are detailed in his book: "A Wildernessof Spite: Rhodesia Denied". This team was denied entry to Mexico for the Olympics by the Mexican government, and was, de facto, banned from the Olympic Games at this point. John has a strong belief, as a result of this time, that politics should not interfere in sport. ["A Wilderness of Spite: Rhodesia Denied" by John Cheffers, Vantage Press, 1972]

In 1969 John was appointed head athletic coach for Papua New Guinea and led themto the third South Pacific Games in Port Moresby, New Guinea. ["Cannon Shots" by Jack Cannon, The Melbourne Herald January 1983]

Receiving his Masters of Education in 1970, and hisDoctorate of Education in 1973, both from Temple University in Philadelphia,John moved north to Boston where he worked for Boston University. In 1972, Dr. Cheffers, an SED Professor Emeritus, founded the BU School of Education’s Tuesday-Thursday Physical Education Program. The program is recognized internationally for its unconventional teaching and learning environment. It also is one of BU’s longest-running community service initiatives involving the city of Boston.

John Cheffers' work on violence in sports was featured in Sports Illustrated ["Violence: Out of Hand in the Stands" Sports Illustrated, January 31 1983 p62-74 by Bil Gilbert and Lisa Twyman]

Following his tenure at the Australian Institute of Sport, John returned to academia and was President of AIESEP (Association Internationale des EcolesSuperieures d'Education Physique) from 1984 to 1998. [Diez Anos de Conferencias Academicas "Jose Maria Cagigal", p 22, edited by Maurice Pieron and Miguel Angel Conzalez Valeiro]

----

Books by John Cheffers

A Wilderness of Spite: Rhodesia Denied, Vantage Press, 1972: The experiences of the author as coach of the ill-fated 1968 Rhodesian Olympic team.

The Story of USfooty by John Cheffers and Greg Narleski. The Lexington Press, 2003: The story of the nasceant Australian Rules football league in the United States ofAmerica

Unique Games and Sports around the World: A Reference Guide by Doris Corbett, John Cheffers,and Eileen Crowley Sullivan. Greenwood Press, 2001: A list of the many games around the world.

----References

External links

* [http://www.johncheffers.com John Cheffers' webpage]
* [http://www.aiesep.org The AIESEP website]
* [http://www.bu.edu/sed/tuesdaythursday.htm John Cheffers- Boston University School of Education]