photo: Duncan Scott, with his coach Steven Tigg, after becoming the most successful British Olympian at a single Olympic Games – winning a record four medals (credits: University of Stirling)

Following on from the success of Team GB at the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, this webinar brings together representatives from the UK sports sector who are involved in the development of elite athletes, to ask how sporting infrastructure can support high performance, as well as targeting the inactive parts of the population.

  • How can public funding be directed to optimise performance at all levels?
  • How can success at Olympic level translate into increased participation?
  • How can universities and public sports facilities respond to the needs of elite and recreational activity?

Date: 23 September 2021
Time: 3.30-5 pm UTC
online webinar

Registration via email at congress@iaks.sport (until 22 September 2021, 5 pm BST latest)

Speakers (in order of appearance)

Paul Buxton

Paul Buxton

Performance Policy Consultant, UK Sport
Paul Buxton
Performance Policy Consultant, UK Sport
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Shaun Dawson

CEO, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Shaun Dawson
CEO, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Shaun Dawson leads the award winning Lee Valley Regional Park Authority which is responsible for the 4,000 ha Lee Valley Regional Park. It consists of a range sport and leisure venues along with country parks and nature reserves and attracts 7 million visitors a year.

Shaun has been involved in the London 2012 Olympic project from bid stage in 2003 to now leading the organisation which has guaranteed the future of three world class London 2012 legacy venues: Lee Valley White Water Centre; Lee Valley VeloPark; Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre.

Shaun has extensive experience of strategic planning, business modelling, development and management of sports venues. A particular focus has been delivering viable and sustainable venues that are community focused and commercially driven.

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Cathy Gallagher

Executive Director of Sport, University of Stirling; Chair, BUCS Senior Managers Network
Cathy Gallagher
Executive Director of Sport, University of Stirling; Chair, BUCS Senior Managers Network

Cathy Gallagher has over 20 years experience in the university sport sector working at Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin, before taking up a senior officer role as Executive Director of Sport at the University of Stirling. Cathy has responsibility for the strategic development of sport at Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence comprising a unique combination of student club sport, recreational opportunities and a world-class training environment for performance sport athletes. Cathy led on the vision and delivery of the recently opened GBP 21 million indoor sports facility and has a proven record of strategic sport development planning.

Amongst Cathy’s non-executive appointments, she is currently Chair of the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Senior Managers Executive and a member of the BUCS Board. She has fulfilled the role of Chef de Mission for Team Ireland to three World University Games from 2013 to 2017 and has represented on numerous national committees.

Simpson, Jo

Jo Simpson

Commercial and Sports Facilities Director, Loughborough University
Jo Simpson
Commercial and Sports Facilities Director, Loughborough University

Moderators

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Tom Jones

Senior Principal, Populous
Tom Jones
Senior Principal, Populous

Tom is a Senior Principal in the London office of Populous and has a keen interest in how sports and entertainment buildings and events can enhance cities and communities. He has a great passion for sport and has been able to use this in the design and delivery of a number of high-profile projects around the world, including the Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has also worked on other major sports events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup and NFL Super Bowl.

In addition to running major projects, Tom has co-authored the technical guide to Sports Facilities in the Metric Handbook and contributed to a series of international publications. He is IAKS Vice President and sits on the Sports Economy Sector Advisory Group for DIT (Department of Industry and Trade).

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Mike Hall

Partner, FaulknerBrowns
Mike Hall
Partner, FaulknerBrowns

Mike Hall specialises in the design of sports facilities. He is an advocate of developing expertise as a springboard for innovative solutions in this specialist field, where the social spaces are as valuable as the fields of play. Notable examples include the multi award-winning Derby Arena, Lee Valley White Water Centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games and the University of Surrey Sports Complex.

Mike has travelled widely, researching and benchmarking facilities around the world and brings a national and international perspective to this field. He is an active member of the International Union of Architects (UIA) sports and leisure working group.

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