About Us

Ambassadors

As part of the Committee's primary objective of building our active club membership, a number of high profile sporting and media personalities have been approached to be Ambassadors of the Pied Pipers. The Ambassadors have played an integral role and continue to contribute to the success of the RCH Pied Pipers.

Russell Mark
Olympic Gold Medallist, Russell is also a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist

Lina Caneva
Journalist - Ex H.S.V.7, Good Friday Appeal Presenter

Matthew Richardson
Former AFL player, 3AW Radio and Channel 7 Melbourne radio commentator

Russell Mark

As a child, Russell was a typical young boy who liked playing footy and cricket with the other kids in his area. He was raised on a country property in Ballarat Victoria, with his two older brothers. His father was a businessman and a firearm enthusiast and his mother a competitive golf player.

After graduating from High School, Russell and his family moved to Melbourne where he pursued an education in business. He graduated from RMIT in Business Studies, majoring in Land Valuations. With his education out of the way he was then able to focus on his sporting goals. He worked as a land valuer while dedicating himself to winning an Olympic Gold Medal.

Russell Mark was one of Australia's four Individual Gold Medallists at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, putting him in the company of Kieren Perkins, Susie O'Neill and fellow Clay Target Shooter, Michael Diamond. Competing in his third Olympic Games, Russell won the Gold Medal in the Double Trap Competition.

Russell's career has included well over 20 Australian Championships, his first coming as a 16 year old Junior. With his win in Atlanta he became the first Shotgun Shooter in the history of the sport to win all four of the World's Major Individual Title's, The World Cup, The World Cup Final, The World Championship and The Olympic Games. Uniquely after Sydney he now has a complete set of silver medals in all four majors as well.

Of recent times Russell has been able to show his diverse talents ranging from his media skills where he has hosted a weekly sports program on Melbourne's largest Radio Station, 3AW, he has worked as a commentator for Channel 9 at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and also wrote a regular witty column for the Olympic Club Magazine. Currently he is a regular with Red Symons and Virginia Trioli on Melbourne's 774 ABC Radio. His administrative duties include being the Master of Ceremonies and the Australian Ambassador for the Telstra Small Business Awards, a Board member for the Fosters Sports Foundation and at the Sydney Olympics he was elected for a second four year term on the Australian Olympic Committee's Athletes Commission. Currently Russell is on the Executive Board of the Victorian Olympic Committee. He is also competing in a bid to gain selection in the 2012 London Olympic Team (which would be Russell’s 6th Olympic Games).

Russell's wife Lauryn is a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist. Russell and Lauryn have two young daughters.

Major International Results:

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Lina Caneva

Journalist, Producer/Director, Researcher, Writer, Media Trainer Awarded the 1995 Australia Day Media Award for best television feature Winner 2003 Reuben Mamoulian Prize, (Directors Award) Sydney Film Festival Winner CRC Dendy Award 2003, Sydney Film festival

Lina has 30+ years of experience in the Australian Media, and 20 years experience in Media Training. Intent on a career in journalism since her school days, Lina studied Journalism at RMIT completing a Diploma In Arts (journalism) and majoring in politics.

At the same time she began a cadetship at the ABC, and went on to cover politics, and a variety of general news 'rounds'.

In 1985, Lina moved into commercial television as a senior reporter with the Seven Network in Melbourne. She became the chief political reporter and later took on the role of Medical reporter along with managerial roles as producer and chief of staff.

In 1997 Lina started her own media business to combine her media work with raising a family. Her specific aim was to use her journalistic skills to become an independent documentary filmmaker.

Her first independent documentary "The Mascot" won two prestigious awards at the 2003 Sydney Film Festival and the documentary was nominated in the category of Best Documentary in the 2003 IF Awards. Lina is about to launch her recently completed Documentary production titled “Mooramong – Private Hollywood” which tells the story of Claire Adams (Hollywood silent movie star) and her Australian husband Donald “Scobie” Mackinnon. Claire Adams created their home “Mooramong” (near Skipton, Victoria) in the art-deco style of a stunning Hollywood mansion.

Her media business also includes media training for the corporate world as well as the Not for Profit sector. For many years Lina has been the editor of the Pro Bono Australia e-news service - an online news service for the charity sector.

She has had many roles as a volunteer board member and ambassador for several local charities.

Lina and her partner, Ian, have two young teenage sons.

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Matthew Richardson

Matthew Richardson was born in March 1975. He started his football career in Devonport, Tas. He is a self-confessed “footy-head”. He made his debut for Richmond in 1993 and was an AFL Rising Star nominee in his first season. He went on to play 282 AFL games, gaining All Australian selection in 1996, 1999 and 2008, and is a member of the Richmond Football Club Team of the Century. Since his retirement from AFL football he has made a career as a Commentator with both 3AW Radio and Channel 7 Melbourne. During his “off season” he likes to travel and spend some time renovating houses. Matthew is also currently involved with “Windermere” in a voluntary capacity.

Matthew has observed and participated in the Good Friday Appeal at first-hand as a member of the Channel 7 team, and is now looking forward to helping the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Pied Pipers as our Ambassador.

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