Edition number 14; dateline 29 October 2010
Who’s whom
Pitching their tents in new pastures:
Claire Pampe has been made customer services manager and Richard Clancy will become professional services manager at leisure software supplier Gladstone; despite Deloitte conducting a review of his idiosyncratic – sorry innovative – elite coaching programme, Clive Woodward is set to stay at the British Olympic Association, having been given the job of deputy chef de mission for London 2012; Keith Burnet has been appointed joint CEO of newly launched budget chain easyGym; following Sport England’s appointment of Right Directions and Leisure-net Solutions as scheme managers, there have been changes to the Quest team with Dave Monkhouse and David Constantine being made regional managers, Jenny Hawtin taking the role of Quest manager, Carrie Stroud becoming Quest co-ordinator and Alison Dack, who has been with Leisure-net for more than 10 years, moving to the role of NBS co-ordinator; also leaving Leisure-net is the old hand’s old hand David Albutt, who will in future channel his policy work for CLOA and others through Optimus Consult thus precluding “the possibility of a perception of a conflict of interest”; and the Australian Tourism Export Council has appointed Tourism Tasmania chief executive Felicia Mariana as its managing director.
And these organisations are shaking the trees hoping not too many nuts fall out:
The Department of Culture Media and Sport is advertising for an outstanding individual to chair the BBC Trust who can manage 3 or 4 days a week in return for £110,000 a year; England Squash & Racketball are seeking a strategic thinker to be their regional manager in the south; masters and doctors only need apply to the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) who are looking for an executive director to create, build, develop and promote Singapore and SSI as the premier sports performance solutions institute for athletes, coaches and technical directors in Southeast Asia among other things; at the other end of the scale people looking for an entry level role in sport development would do well to contact the Rugby Football League who are recruiting regional league for all officers; county sport partnership Active Surrey are in the market for a business development and communications manager who knows all about the “relevant national drivers affecting sport and physical activity provision”; up to £30,000 pa is on offer from Tennis Scotland for a disability tennis development manager, a job with a flexible base apparently; in Hartlepool, where they hanged the monkey, Hartlepool Borough Council are recruiting a general manager for their Carlton outdoor centre with a salary of between £31,000 and £33,000; the Brewhouse theatre and arts complex down Taunton has vacancies for an artistic asociate and an engagement and projects producer; and, in Havant, Horizon Leisure Centres want an inspirational leader to be their operations manager on £30,000 plus PRP and benefits.
the people page
comings, goings, jobs and a personal spotlight
Spotlight: Martin Sheppard
What is your current position?
I own and am the MD of Smart Connection Company, which is an Australian consultancy and training company that specialises in training for the leisure industry and providing consultancy around the aspects of physical activity, recreation planning, procurement and business improvement.
Biggest challenge over the next twelve months?
Similar to the UK, we have a minority government who have no idea of the importance of sport and active leisure to the health of the community. We really need as an industry to be able to come together as one voice and articulate the benefits of leisure in a health, community development, fiscal, environmental and leadership manner. Failure to do this could result in our industry becoming even more disparate and lagging behind others.
Apart from the one you currently have, which job within sport and leisure sector would you most like to do?
If I was to return to the UK I would like to be the sports minister’s adviser so that the industry could actually share the truth with them and not just the spin on political decisions. Other than that I would wait until someone like Steve Studd retired and try and continue his legacy and the good work he is doing for the industry.
Who or what has inspired you in your career?
I was extremely lucky to find myself at Swindon Council in the 1980s and 1990s when Graham Swatton was building Swindon to be the best leisure department in the country. Some great people came out of there, Tony Osmanski and Peter Mills to name but two. Graham really pushed the boundaries and was the instigator in so many industry-breaking initiatives and then let everyone else take the praise, such as the first centre to get ISO 9000, the Oasis Leisure Centre, Delta Tennis Centre, the Health Hydro, the Link Centre and much more. He is an inspiration that anyone who worked around that time in Swindon will always remember fondly.
What advice would you offer to a young person entering the industry?
Get your hands dirty, learn every job in the centre or, if working for the council, do every project and learn how to run classes and activities. As you go up the ladder this will help to appreciate the reality at the grassroots. Also find a good mentor to help you get to the next level.
Which single thing could improve the sector?
I thought long about this one: should it be more money, should it be the 2012 Games or a change of government? No, I think it’s simple: we need to be brave, we need to do things differently and have faith in the next generation. We should identify the top 100 leisure professionals in the country between the ages of 21 and 25 and get them into a mentor and training programme with the best of the industry engaged to prepare them for our industry’s future. The goal should be simple. We want over 50% of them taking over the senior jobs in five to seven years time. Let’s miss a generation and get the youngsters to make a difference. Who is brave enough to start this?
What could the sector do without?
Egos and people who want to ‘just do the same as last time’.
Where do you hope to be in ten years time?
Taking it easier than now, hopefully catching up once a year with other ‘old farts’ who meet yearly over a few bottles of red to solve the challenges of the industry... and then forget the next morning what the solution was. But seriously, in 2020 I hope to still be involved in the industry and mentoring a few younger managers – after watching England host and win the 2018 World Cup and only have two years to wait before Australia host the 2022 Cup. Oh that would be nice!
