Some of you will be aware that it had been my intention to stand down as Chief Executive after the 2016 Rio Games. I had made that decision because I felt that it was time for the organisation to have someone with fresh blood and new ideas to take GBWR to the next stage of its future. My decision changed when we were given the news that we would no longer have UK Sport funding for our GB team. I felt that it was important to stay and to play my part in finding a way to fund the team for the Tokyo Games and not allow the setback to distract from our most important role which is to enable everyone to get the chance to get together and play in our clubs and through our programmes.
I am really delighted that funding for the GB team has now been restored and we can again have a properly resourced performance programme. The news that we will have the same Sport England funding for the next year also allows us to get ready to return to play as soon as it becomes safe to do so and we get the green light from government. I feel that we are now in a good position for me to prepare to stand down and for the Board to start the process of finding my successor. This will begin on Tuesday 9 February when the position will be advertised nationally, which is why I am writing to you now as I wanted you to hear this news from me. As things stand I will not be leaving until after the Tokyo Games but I wanted to give notice of my intention now to allow plenty of time for the Board to find the right successor to lead this special organisation into the next phase of its future.
Those of you who know me well will also know that this is a huge decision for me because leading the sport has never really been a job for me. It’s been a huge part of my life and I have felt enormously privileged to see the sport and those who play it thrive over the years. I am not going to say more here because I still have a big job to do and there will be time later for me to acknowledge all of those who have supported me and been on the journey with me. That said I have only been able to do this job because of the support of many, many others who I will always be enormously grateful to.
There are three big priorities I want to ensure we focus on over my remaining months in the role:
- Ready to Play As soon as we get the green light we want to be ready to support everyone to get back playing and to get competitions up and running.
- Ready to Win With Tokyo just under 200 days away we want our GB squad to be the best prepared and ready to win a medal. We know we have the capability to achieve this and everyone is completely focused on doing everything possible to enable us to triumph.
- Ready for the Future We have a new Chair and a refreshed Board, we are finalising a new strategy with the help of what you are telling us through our surveys and focus groups and we are looking at the new Sport England strategy so we can play a part in delivering on some of the big issues of the day. First and foremost we recognise that there are many more things we can and want to do in order to strengthen our clubs and support you in providing enjoyable opportunities for those who want to join your clubs as players, officials and volunteers. To do this we now need to review how we are organised which will inevitably mean some changes over the coming months.
I think that’s it for now. If you or someone you know are interested in being the next Chief Executive then look out for the recruitment details which will be out on Tuesday and uploaded to the website. Thank you.
David Pond, Chief Executive
