Goalball UK, the governing body for the only Paralympic sport specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired, have appointed a new Chair.
John Grosvenor, a former Senior Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, joins the board this month ahead of the end of season tournament in Sheffield on 7th July.
The NGB has made the appointment as part of their ambition to be self-sufficient in order to support the grassroots and elite development of the sport.
John said: “I have a strong personal connection with goalball. My nephew plays for Winchester goalball club and has been in the GB development squad.
“He is a keen sports fan and when he found goalball he said it literally changed his life. Playing sport has many advantages in terms of learning to be a team player, gaining leadership skills and the fantastic sense of community and camaraderie that it offers.
“When you have a disability it can be hard to gain these benefits but goalball has been a very positive influence on my nephew’s life.
“I’m looking forward to working with the board, staff and volunteers to develop new strategies to allow goalball to reach as many VI people as possible and get the GB squads on the Paralympic podium.”
John Grosvenor comes to Goalball UK with a great deal of experience in non-executive director roles. Former treasurer at the Alzheimer’s Society, he is currently on the Board of Alzheimer’s Disease International and the MS Society.
Mark Winder, CEO of Goalball UK, said: “John’s decades’ of experience at the highest level of business is going to be invaluable in founding new relationships and securing the partnerships that can allow us to grow the sport.
“We have fantastic support from the likes of Sport England, but it is crucial that we are able to consistently deliver for players at all levels of the game – as well as giving our GB and talent pathway athletes an assurance that the only limit is their ambition.
“I’m really looking forward to working with John in the coming years to transform even more lives.”
The NGB has recently made a series of appointments to the board in order to secure the long-term growth of the sport.
Peter Elliott, former Olympic middle-distance runner, joined to focus on developing talent and elite performance as well as issues around athlete welfare.
Steve Ferres, formally of the Bradford Bulls, recently started as business development manager to identify partnerships and opportunities for income generation as well as developing existing revenue sources.
Steve Cox, an experienced coach and sports educator, was appointed to develop a new volunteering strategy to support and enhance the experience of the existing volunteer workforce as well as increasing the number of opportunities to be involved in the sport.
