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S&PAProfessional
/
May/June 2013
SPORT WALES
elly Davies, a former Welsh
football international and
managing director of social
enterprise Vi-Ability, is on a
mission to broaden the appeal of
sport among the less active in Wales by
applying some innovative thinking.
New ideas and perspectives are
needed to help boost or strengthen
progress in this challenging area,
otherwise Wales will struggle to
full its potential of being a nation
that consistently produces sporting
champions, and where all children
are hooked on sport for life, she says.
Davies is one of 13 members
of a new sport advisory group
formed by Sport Wales, which
includes key gures from business,
health, communications, education
and leisure. ese members have
each been credited with bringing
innovation to their respective elds,
and share a passion for establishing
a more prominent place for sport
within every community. Supported
by Sport Wales, the group will report
on its ndings and recommendations
to the Sport Wales board and
government ocials.
I want to use my experience
to help contribute to the
transformation of the way we work
in sport to achieve greater success for
Wales in the future, says Davies.
Entrepreneurs have the habit of
innovation its not something we
are taught, forced to do or consciously
think about. It comes naturally to
have capabilities for the execution
of new ideas; the courage to explore
new paths and walk on these paths
eectively, she adds. We have
abilities to exploit change, and a clear
understanding of how to move an
organisation onto a productive track.
e group is in the process of
developing strategic thinking to help
broaden sports appeal among the
less active. It is an innovative concept
and one that will benet the whole
K
Its early days for Sport Wales sports
advisory group, but two members
explain how their business experience
could help to make sport more
appealing for hard-to-reach groups
sector, according to Sport Wales chair
Professor Laura McAllister.
is group has been born out of
our Vision for Sport in Wales, and
our commitment to better invest
in strategic planning. Focusing
specically on the long term, the
group will look to propose shifts and
areas to rethink within the sector, to
ensure that we remain a strong and
united sporting nation, she says.
A WINNING ATTITUDE
Helen Humphrey, former vice-
president, national operations at
McDonalds, will chair the group and
believes her business experience will
bring a fresh perspective.
Humphrey was captain of her
school netball team and believes
those skills pushed her into a career
in business.
Ive always enjoyed working in
and leading teams. e skills I gained
from sport really helped me develop
a positive winning attitude when it
came to my career. I hope that by
being involved with the group can
help create that same link in the
minds of many others.
Humphrey joined the restaurant
chain at the age of 16 and worked
her way up. During her time, she
was responsible for delivering and
improving all aspects of restaurant
operations and support across 1,200
A FRESH
PERSPECTIVE
ON SPORT
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May/June 2013
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McDonalds restaurants in the UK.
As a member of the UK executive
team she shared responsibility for
the development and delivery of
the UK strategy and business plan.
Im passionate about helping
social mobility, having grown up in
south Wales and not coming from an
auent background. I understand the
lack of aspiration and that sport can
give young people a vision.
e board has asked us to
look at how to broaden sports
appeal at harder-to-reach groups,
including women. is is an area I
am passionate about as I set up the
rst womens leadership board at
McDonalds, she adds.
Based in Newport, she also
supports and mentors across the
community on a
voluntary basis.
She believes that
the merging of
mind sets in the
advisory group is
a progressive way
to help shape the
future of sport.
When budgets
are tight and
there are limited
resources to
provide eective
governance, you have to identify the
opportunities and the road blocks.
Sport Wales is leading the way in
setting up a group like this, and its
so benecial to have a body that can
scan the horizon, outside the business
of sport, she says.
Humphrey admits there will be
challenges ahead, but she hopes to
help identify the gaps swiftly and
present the boards ndings to Sport
Wales by the end of 2013. e aim
is to help the Sport Wales board to
build their 2014-16 business plan.
ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERTISE
Davies CV shows the power of
innovative thinking. She was the
youngest woman to obtain an MBA
in Football Industries and, while
studying, she developed the idea
for a social business that could
tackle the issues of commercially
unsustainable football clubs and
youth disengagement in education.
She set up Vi-Ability in 2010
and has since partnered with a
number of organisations to run
innovative sport-based community
engagement projects. In 2011
Vi-Ability was voted best start-up
social enterprise
for Wales and
the UK, while
Davies won the
2011 Inspire
Wales Sport
Award and the
2012 Wales
Social Enterprise
Leader of the
Year award.
Davies agrees
that the task will
not be easy, but
points out that there is an existing
community-based structure for
such projects. ere is a lot of
good work being done out there
by voluntary sector organisations
with disadvantaged groups to
tackle issues such as child poverty,
education, employment, and so on,
she explains.
We dont know much about
it in the sports industry because,
%
Entrepreneurs have the
habit of innovation. It comes
naturally to have the courage
to explore new paths
t||| ||||:
typically, social enterprises are not
very good at telling people about it.
We can help with raising awareness
and the joining-up process so sport
is incorporated into their programmes
and vice versa. We may also be able to
leverage investment from alternative
sources, especially if sport can be
proven to help address poor health,
unemployment and so on.
Lots of sports clubs are
facing sustainability problems
due to funding cuts. A sense of
entrepreneurship can help clubs
to oer a better experience, which
in turn will grow the membership
base and help them become more
nancially self-sustaining, she says.
is will help Sport Wales with
future investment opportunities
rather than investing to help sustain,
they will be able to invest to grow. b
Advisory group
members Kelly
Davies (le) and
Helen Humphrey
MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY GROUP
_] Andy McCann, mental skills coach
_] Dan Tyte, PR and communications expert
_] Janie Frampton, director, Sports
Officials consultancy
_] Jamie Turley, Sport Wales Young
Ambassador
_] Kerry Ann Sheppard, leisure services
manager, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council
_] Paul Croke, former principal of Yale College
_] Peter Hybart, CEO of Cricket Wales
_] Robert Lawrence,
Sport Flintshire 5x60 officer
_] Steve Thomas, coach
_] Sue Maughan, Sport Wales senior officer
_] Richard Harry, Sport Wales senior
research officer