WSA launch Annual Report at AGM
The Welsh Sports Association (WSA) held its Annual General Meeting on 19 October, during which the 2022/23 Annual Report was launched.
The WSA was delighted and grateful to welcome Sport Wales Chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson to deliver an opening address at the AGM.
You can find a full recording of the AGM on our Governance Documentation page here.
Addressing the WSA membership base, she said:
“I really appreciate [being invited to the WSA AGM], because the connection and being able to listen in is really helpful.”
The Baroness continued to talk about the significant challenges facing our sector at the moment, with sport and leisure’s impact also never being more important than right now.
“As much as there are challenges, there are exciting times ahead,” she went on. “Collaboration between Sport Wales, National Governing Bodies, and the WSA is really crucial and, for me, that’s a big priority.”
Following the Baroness’s address, WSA CEO Andrew Howard presented the Annual Report to the AGM.
Running through the WSA’s three core strategic goals – to Collaborate, to Develop, and to Promote – Andrew showcased the memorable inaugural WSA Sports Industry Awards, where we celebrated and recognised the fantastic off-field work throughout the WSA membership base.
The Annual Report also highlights a strong 89% member satisfaction rate, based on an independent survey carried out by the Pollen Shop, as well as a membership retention rate of 95%.
Andrew detailed the financial performance of the WSA over the year prior, within which he highlighted the impact of the newly launched Membership Plus service, consisting of three bolt-on, tailored packages offering members cost-effective support to maximise organisational capacity.
Andrew concluded by thanking the WSA membership base and our newly enrolled members, as well as our growing network of partners.
Commercial Manager Tom Sharp then highlighted the WSA’s service offering to members, focussing on our array of partnerships before welcoming a selection of members to express their experiences of Membership Plus.
Owen Rodgers, CEO of Table Tennis Wales, described Finance Plus’ impact as “really positive” for his organisation.
“We’re in a far better place with regards to budgeting and forecasting. Ehtasham’s [WSA Finance Officer] support has been amazing and I can’t thank him enough for his super-efficiency!”
Welsh Boxing’s Rachel Sansom then likened Content & Comms Plus to simply “adding a member of staff to our team straight away, who hit the ground running, was able to provide that spread across social media, and share the stories we were able to feed.
“Nothing is too much trouble, [Max] [WSA Public Affairs and Communications Officer] has attended events, he’s supported everything that we’ve asked him to do, and I have to say, at a fraction of the cost of a communications team member!”
The AGM then heard words from Cricket Wales CEO Leshia Hawkins, the video of which you can find below.
Head of Policy and Communications Matt Williams followed, discussing the WSA’s public affairs strategy and what the organisation is working on with regard to its whole-sector advocacy over the next couple of years.
A closing statement from WSA Chair Lynn Pamment concluded the AGM, as she recognised the importance of all members, not just for the existence of the WSA, but the prosperity and health of the entire sport and leisure sector.
Lynn went on to also express the importance of collaboration. The WSA is always keen to communicate with members on what their needs are. Don’t hesitate in getting in contact with the team.
The WSA would like to say a final thank you to all members attending the AGM, as well as Sport Wales Chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson for her attendance.
