Sport England is putting in place a delivery system for sport which has two primary outcomes:
1. To increase participation in community sport and active recreation especially amongst the hard to reach
2. To sustain participation by building clear pathways for people with sporting talent to enable them to reach their potential.
County Sports Partnerships (CSP) are at the heart of this delivery system and provide one point of access for national governing bodies and the policies of other national agencies to be delivered across a collection of local organisations and individuals such as schools, clubs, volunteers, local authorities and others.
Sport England believes that it is vital for each CSP to have effective and broadly independent goverence arrangements in order to undertake their role to best effect.
To reflect this Active Gloucestershire is hosted currently by the University of Gloucestershire but is moving towards becoming an independent company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A) have been prepared and an initial Board of Directors recruited in line with the requirements of the M&A.
Members of The Board:
Karen Toole (Board Chair)
Head of Community and Regeneration, Stroud District Council
Karen is an honours English graduate and also has a Diploma in Management Studies and the Diploma of the institute of Leisure and Amenity Management. She has held several management and development roles in local government and has also worked for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents as Development Officer with responsibility for water and leisure. A former member of the Great Britain long distance swimming team Karen has held the record for the fastest swim of Lake Windermere and achieved a solo swim of the English Channel in the fastest time for the year.
Mike Cogger
Dean of the Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care, University of Gloucestershire
Mike has several external roles and interests related to his work at the university including being a director of Fullwood Park Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Gloucestershire, a board member of the Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Strategic Health Authority's Workforce Development Confederation, a board member of the Gloucestershire Health and Social Care Academy, an executive member of the Gloucester Strategic Partnership, an independent Chair of the Gloucester Primary Schools Review and a governor of Oxstalls Community School and Bishops' College. Mike is also a coach at Gloucester Rowing Club and has coached for the Great Britain Women’s Junior Team.
David Richards
Chief Executive, Severn Vale Housing Society Ltd
The majority of David’s working life has been spent in the housing field having formerly been Housing Officer with Tewkesbury Borough Council. David is committed to providing quality services to the customers of Severn Vale Housing and believes passionately in creating mixed communities that provide equal opportunities for all. He believes in the value that sport can play in creating an inclusive society by providing avenues for young people to build their self confidence and sense of worth. At the other end of the spectrum he wants to encourage the more elderly in society to keep active so as to prolong their quality of life. With experience in managing a “not for profit” organisation and being committed to quality services David hopes to apply his knowledge to aid the trust to develop into a viable organisation that will be “fit for purpose” and deliver the vision of “making Gloucestershire a physically active and successful sporting county”.
Angela James
Sport and Physical Activity Consultant, Gloucestershire County Council
Angela is a qualified secondary school teacher who holds a Masters in Sports Development. Angela has 20 years of hands-on experience of physical activity provision in secondary schools and has contributed to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in sports psychology and physical activity and health at the University of Gloucestershire. She also has management, financial and commercial experience from working for nine years with Cheltenham and Gloucester PLC. Angela takes immense pleasure from her job, and feels extremely privileged to work with so many committed and dedicated people who generate such wonderful opportunities for young people in sport and physical activity.
Cheryl Stennett
Partnership Development Manager, Gloucester City School Sports Partnership
Cheryl is a highly experienced teacher of physical education and sport having taught and worked with students from pre-school through all key stages in a number of school and community settings. Cheryl also represented England and Wasps at Rugby Football and served on the International School Sports Association.
Neil Cameron
Retired Chief Executive
Neil spent 25 years working with IBM in Scotland with his final role being country skills manager. He left IBM to become CEO of the International Badminton Federation from 1998 – 2003 which included planning for World Championships and Olympic Games in Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing. Since retiring he has provided some consultancy work to London 2012. As a former member of the Scottish Sports Council and currently Chairman of the British Orienteering Federation Neil has a wealth of varied sports governing body experience at national and local level.
Julie Tegg
Secretary, Gloucestershire Playing Fields Association
Julie has a lifelong interest in and passion for
Gloucestershire County Netball Association. From 1983 – 2002 she worked in a number of senior roles with the National Westminster bank including working in the Nat West / Bank of Scotland Strategy Department on the takeover and the subsequent strategic development of the two businesses. Julie has also served on the National Executive of the Scout Council; the National Steering Committee for the National Playing Fields Association and is currently Clerk to the Governors of Harewood Infants School.
Jonathan Vickers
Non-executive director on the board of a variety of organisations in the public and voluntary sectors covering education, health, planning, agriculture and sport
Having spent 25 years in the international oil and chemicals business Jonathan switched to the public sector 5 years ago to use his commercial and governece experience to build a portfolio of board positions. Jonathan is a firm believer in the value of sport and physical activity as a means of inclusion and building self-esteem, particularly amongst young people. He is keen to use his experience to help Active Gloucestershire broaden participation across the county.
Simon Ridd (Sport England Observer)
Head of Performance and Improvement, Sport England, South West
Simon has worked for Sport England for 17 years and previously worked in local government. During his time at Sport England he has also undertaken two secondments, one with Government Office South West and another with Hampshire County Council. His contribution to the Board will provide a positive link to regional and national perspectives, together with ideas and inspiration for local delivery in Gloucestershire. His aspiration for Active Gloucestershire is to have an impact on activity levels throughout Gloucestershire and make a positive contribution to strategic developments in the sub-region. He is a keen runner, competing in road races and cross-country and also alternates this daily activity with swimming.
