Carmarthenshire County Council WSA Membership Testimonial

Carl Daniels, Senior Sport & Leisure Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council

“The sheer power of two-way communication between government and the sporting sector is largely thanks to WSA”.

Carmarthenshire County Council has only been a member for a matter of months but has already been impressed with WSA’s role in connecting the sector to the right people.

“As an organisation, we’d always been aware and appreciated the value of WSA’s work, but as a local authority were never sure if it was the right time, or right thing for us to join. Even in the few months we’ve been a member, we’ve been incredibly lucky to feed directly into policy-making decisions and receive updates in real-time surrounding the Covid-19 agenda.

“The WSA team really is the glue between the sector”.

“WSA’s knowledge of the business side of the sector is equally as impressive; from understanding the challenges of running leisure trusts to private gyms and everything in between, it really does go a long way in gaining the trust of members. Selected members were recently appointed to chair Covid-specific groups to liaise with designated stakeholder groups and this was brilliant because those chairs were experts within their own areas. It demonstrated to me how highly the WSA team values its members and utilises the right skills at the right times, rather than trying to do it all themselves.

“To be able to voice our opinions directly to key stakeholders and political members thanks to the webinars and video calls organised by WSA, we’ve felt empowered within the wider conversations affecting the sector. Being able to speak to some of those big-hitters just wouldn’t have been possible without our membership and I’ve felt proud to help fulfil WSA’s role.

“The level of communication from the team has also been positive with webinars held regularly, weekly e-newsletters, the option to advertise vacancies on the website as well as a whole host of other benefits too. Moving forwards, I’m excited about the opportunities to connect with others and collaborate where possible.