It took me over 20 years since graduating from Manchester Uni to work out what I wanted to be when I grew up! During that time I worked in the financial services industry and insuring the (then) British Athletes Commission was my passport into the sport and activity sector where I have been ever since.
The knowledge and the network I gained has however proved to be of use at a critical time for sport and activity. The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity https://www.cimspa.co.uk/ has been charged by Government, via the Sports Councils, to lead in improving both the governance of the sector and the ‘professionalisation’ of the workforce.
This is needed not only for the sustainable future of the sector and its contribution to society, but to restore public confidence in the sector following a series of critical investigations, reviews and reports into the culture of sports e.g. Sheldon regarding football and Whyte regarding gymnastics.
It also has major implications for the insurance industry – insurers and brokers – which has been a shrinking market in recent years because of these reviews and the spiralling costs on meeting claims.
Through DOCIAsport I am delighted to have been asked by CIMSPA to bring the sectors together so that the organisation can explain its work to date and get a greater understanding of the work on professionalisation and the creation of a publicly accessible national register for the workforce.
More details of this work can be found in the related article on the CIMSPA website (see below for the link). My work will continue into 2024 as the consultation with insurers, brokers and representatives of the sport and activity sector continues. This is such an important piece of work to not only protect the participants – high performance to community activity – but critically for the workforce to make recruitment and retention for volunteers and those in paid employment more attractive.
https://www.cimspa.co.uk/news-blog/news/2023/engaging-with-insurance/
IMB
Dec 23