At the 1956 Winter Olympics, Hickey, a "rink rat" who was overlooked for ice hockey when he was young because of his small frame, came seventh in the 500 and 1000 metres speed skating at his second Olympics. He later won a bronze medal at the world championships. Australia's nine other competitors were less successful; two male figure skaters—Allan Ganter and Charles Keeble—placed in the top 15 but in the bottom 25% in the individual event, while the pairs combination of Mervyn Bower and Jacqueline Mason failed to take to the ice after Bower was injured. The five downhill skiers were Australia's least successful entrants; the highest finish was 33rd and the median was 60th, and all were near the bottom of their events. Australia sent its first coach and female staffer for the 1956 campaign; C. Mason oversaw the skaters and Lillian Chisholm acted as the chaperone. The ice hockey team offered to pay their own way to compete; the only thing that they needed from the AOF was formal permission. However, the AOF never responded to their request; they were unable to attend, and criticised the AOF for their lack of interest. One of the affected athletes was Geoff Henke, later credited for ending the neglect of winter sports when he became an administrator.