WSA host successful Wales Week London event in Westminster
The WSA was thrilled to bring together a wide range of members, partners and stakeholders to The Cinnamon Club on Thursday 26 February, as we hosted another Wales Week London event.
A relaxed event in the heart of Westminster, Setting Sport up for Success allowed the WSA to delve into strategic wins over the previous three years as well as look ahead to the future.
Following some welcome drinks, the room was teed up by the day’s host, Sydney Davies, before hearing from WSA CEO, Andrew Howard, about the political landscape that will affect the sport and physical activity sector for years to come.
Discussing the tight budget on sport in Wales in recent years and how the Senedd is projected to look very different after May, Andrew emphasised the importance of the WSA’s role as the sector’s mouthpiece and representative body.
The WSA’s Commercial Manager, Tom Sharp, then took to the stage to welcome several partners to address the room.
Sportscover Europe’s Martin Crannis and Howden’s Sam Manship talked about their respective passions for sport, giving back to the sector, and how their services have supported WSA members with their insurance needs for years.
Excitingly, the WSA and Sportscover were able to announce the renewal of our longstanding partnership for another four years, to continue supporting our membership base.
2buy2’s Rob Kissick followed, discussing his organisation’s expertise in energy and procurement. Exploring how 2buy2’s services have helped members and their non-profit clubs make vital savings, Tom and Rob talked about preferential rates on energy audits and this can offer crucial support for clubs applying for Sport Wales’ Energy Savings Grant.
Finally, Jonny Turner from Sport:80 and Ben Jones from ActiveXChange joined Tom to discuss their innovative collaboration which enables sporting bodies to harness their data to open up new revenue streams.
With an emphasis on data protection and optimisation, this initiative has already benefited multiple WSA members working on the pilot project.
Amid a wave of excitingly spiced canapes, guests then networked until the WSA’s Safeguarding Manager, Sian Jones, and Business Manager, Steff Howells, joined Sydney on stage for the third panel of the day.
Sian and Steff discussed the vital work carried out by the WSA in keeping sport safe, from the Safeguarding Plus service delivered by Sian that has provided invaluable support to several NGBs in the sector, to our thriving DBS service that is on course to reach a landmark 24,000 checks in this financial year.
Following this, Sydney welcomed Lynn Pamment to the stage to talk about the Welsh Sports Foundation.
The WSF Trustee talked passionately about the charity’s mission and work to date, offering a moving example of a family that received pivotal support to enable two children to participate in the sports they love.
Having run the Cardiff Half on behalf of the WSF last year, Lynn then emphasised that there are still spaces remaining to run the sold-out event for the charity this October.
Click here to learn more about running the Cardiff Half and helping to reinvest in Welsh sport.
The WSA would like to once again extend its gratitude to Wales Week London for our continued collaboration, as well as the Cinnamon Club for its excellent hospitality throughout the event.
We would also like to thank Sydney for hosting everyone, as well as all the attendees who joined us on the day.
Photo credit: St John Ambulance Cymru
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