Welsh Sports Association AGM 2021
The WSA AGM 2021 took place virtually last week, with an excellent turnout from the membership and a packed agenda.
Lynn Pamment, Chair of the WSA welcomed the membership, and gave special thanks to Helen Humphrey who has served on the WSA Board, both as a Board member and as Chair of the Board since 2016 who has decided to step down from the board this year. Lynn also thanked Sarah Jones, who has been an active member of the Board since 2018. As Sarah will soon be leaving her post as CEO of Welsh Netball to join the Prince’s Trust, she is required to stand down from her position on the WSA Board.
WSA members and Partners then heard from Deputy Minister, Dawn Bowden MS who addressed the membership via a recorded message – WSA members can access the address here.
The main business of the meeting was led by Mark Tweed, Finance Director who presented the annual accounts and there was a vote to appoint Arthur Gait & Company as the auditors for 21/22 – the annual accounts are available to view in the “Governance” section of the website.
The AGM then progressed to WSA Board elections. The Chair confirmed that Fergus Feeney, CEO Swim Wales completed his first four-year term on the WSA Board and had decided to put himself forward for a second term. The elections were uncontested, so we are pleased to welcome Fergus back to the Board.
Commenting on his appointment, Fergus said “The last 18 months has tested us all, both on a personal and professional level. The WSA have played a big part in supporting all our organisations through this time and it has been a pleasure to play my part in that.
I am delighted to be elected to the board of directors of the Welsh Sports Association for a further four-year term at what is a challenging but exciting time for sport in Wales.”
The WSA were also delighted to confirm the appointment of Geraint John, Community Director at the WRU to the WSA Board. He will join an outstanding team of directors, and we’re looking forward to working with him.
Victoria Ward CEO of the WSA then presented the WSA 2021 annual report (located here) to members and set out the key achievements for 2020-2021 and priorities for the coming year. The WSA continues to be the independent collective voice for sport & physical activity in Wales, providing a platform for WSA members to contribute to public debate.
The WSA also look to build resilience across the sector by broadening the range of shared services through professional partnerships and to enhance service levels and efficiency savings.
The WSA is very proud that our strategy for 2018-2021 stood the test of the pandemic, building on this success Matthew Williams, Head of Policy & Communications introduced the work done with WSA members on the new strategy for 2022-2023, due to be published in January 2022.
Sitting alongside the development of a new strategy, the WSA also plans to expand its membership offer. Tom Sharp, our Business Development Manager presented a new membership offer, titled Membership Plus. Which will supplement the existing core member offer, which all WSA members currently enjoy.
The WSA members had an opportunity to review the new strategy and Membership Plus offer via online breakout rooms. There was excellent engagement on both topics and the WSA team have taken many comments and feedback away which will help to shape plans moving forward. We will report back in the new year.
The WSA continue to welcome feedback and are here to support WSA members, so please get in touch if you require any assistance.
