Sydnee Cooke to captain Australian deaf rugby team in Tokyo

Sydnee Cooke, a senior associate with public sector consultancy Scyne Advisory, has been selected to captain the Australian women’s deaf rugby team at the upcoming sevens world championships in Tokyo.

Cooke joined Scyne Advisory’s risk and cyber security operations team in Brisbane earlier this year, having previously spent seven years in a variety of cyber analysis, governance, and customer support roles at Services Australia in Canberra.

Now 25, Cooke has been a member of the national women’s deaf rugby team since 2019, and has competed in various events across the county. Now she will lead the team out on the international stage as captain of the world cup squad.

Taking place in Tokyo in late October, the world deaf rugby sevens event is now into its third edition, with the Australian women’s team having claimed bronze at the previous event at Cordoba in Argentina in 2023 (while the men’s team took silver). Champions Wales will be back to defend their crown, alongside teams from England, New Zealand, Fiji, and Zimbabwe.

Australian deaf rugby was established two and a half decades ago, with the inaugural world event hosted in Sydney in 2018. The team is made up of players who have hearing loss of at least 50 decibels in one or both ears, who communicate on field through sign-language and other visual cues. Meanwhile, referees use a red flag to signal penalties instead of making vocal calls.

Described as a proud senior player who always gives her best when wearing the green and gold and will do whatever it takes for her teammates, Cooke recently spoke of what the opportunity to be part of the national team means to her; “This has been such and important and special part of my life, being able to connect with my community through the sport that I love.”

Meanwhile, Scyne Advisory said it was proud to support Cooke through its sporting leave policy, which provides up to five days of paid annual leave for employees participating in national or international events, with CEO John Ball stating; “Sydnee’s commitment is an inspiration and it’s been rewarded with her being made captain. We will be cheering her and the team on every step of the way.”

Cooke won’t be the first Scyne professional to represent the country in the international sporting arena, with former employees Jenna Strauch (now FTI Consulting), Brodie Summers (BDO), and Monique Murphy (Sports Integrity Australia), all having competed at either the summer or winter Olympic and Paralympic Games prior to or during their time at the firm.

“Scyne Advisory has enabled me to continue my second Olympics pursuit,” Strauch, now Roche, said ahead of the 2024 Paris games, where she won silver in the women’s 4 x 100 medley. “I always felt that my sporting career would restrict a professional life, but for someone like myself, the flexibility and adaptability of my employment has fostered a drive to succeed both in the pool and at work.”