England Athletics Chair position extended

England Athletics is pleased to announce that the Board have asked Myra Nimmo to extend her office as chair of England Athletics for a further year.

Myra has led England Athletics since her appointment at the 2016 AGM following an open and thorough selection process led by the England Athletics Nominations Committee and the England Athletics Board. Her first four-year term of office is due to expire at the 2020 AGM, currently scheduled to take place in October.

As is consistent with good governance, England Athletics' Board consulted with Myra in advance of this year’s AGM to see if, in light of the current challenges of responding as a governing body to Covid19, she would be amenable to continuing in office for one further year. This will ensure continuity and provide much needed stability at a time when the landscape of our sport is changing rapidly.

The England Athletics Board considered its constitutional powers under the company’s articles of association and concluded that it would be in the best interests of the organisation to reappoint Myra for one year on the expiry of her initial term, which will be ratified at the 2020 AGM. Sport England have confirmed that this decision meets the requirements of the Code for Sports Governance.

We are grateful that Myra has agreed to continue in office at this time in order to oversee England Athletics' efforts to support the sport and our membership right now. She will continue to play a pivotal role in helping our sport to navigate the current challenges.

The Board has also agreed to extend Leshia Hawkins as a Non-Executive Director for a further year, effective from the October 2020 AGM. The Board has also agreed to extend Lorna Boothe’s tenure as a Board observer for a further 12 months.

Finally, England Athletics is also pleased to announce that it will be looking for candidates to fulfil the role of Elected Club Director that becomes vacant effective from the AGM in October 2020 with the current postholder Neil Costello having reached the end of his full term of office. The Board feels that it is important to give members the full opportunity to elect their own representatives and would encourage clubs to nominate their candidates to serve on the England Athletics Board as part of this open process. Full details of this election process and timescales will be publicly available in early July.