CEO blog: looking back and moving ahead

It’s been a busy couple of months, and I’d like to start by reflecting on some recent news about our Chair Gary Shaughnessy. His recent decision to retire as Chair of England Athletics has led to an open recruitment process being instigated as we look to find someone to take the reins by this year’s AGM, to provide continuity and leadership, and to build on Gary’s legacy. Gary has been Chair of England Athletics since 2021 and inherited the role as we were still feeling the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gary provided calmness, stability, and clarity of focus in his early tenure as Chair and has continued to build the resilience of the organisation alongside other Board members and the executive through his kind, empathetic, and people-first approach. Gary has not been afraid to make difficult decisions but has always done it in a respectful and purposeful way and we shall miss him a great deal. In the meantime, thank you Gary for all that you have done and continue to do in raising awareness of the important role that our sport and all sports have to play in creating a healthier and happier nation and world.

Social impact

I was particularly pleased to see details published recently of the European Championships social impact work being delivered in the Birmingham and West Midlands region through our charity Personal Best Foundation alongside partners Birchfield Harriers, Street Games, and Access Sport. It further illustrates the power of our sport to inspire and move young people in our communities. Our sport is a foundation sport that will help unearth the next generation of athletic talent but also help to instil healthy habits and skills at an early age to ultimately benefit people in later life.

Our sport continues to impact both physical and mental wellbeing and we need to continue to champion this at all levels, particularly as we look to positively impact society during these times. Our member clubs and running groups do this week in week out across England and this volunteer-led social, health, and community service should be at the heart of this government’s strategy.

Pilot track and field hubs

There is so much more that we need to tackle as a sport in the coming months and years as we look to strengthen the foundations of our great sport for generations to come. Amongst these priorities are supporting ongoing facility retention and growth, modernising and innovating competitions, particularly with a focus on local participation as we work to swell numbers in the sport at all levels. I wrote earlier in the year to position our thoughts and intent relating to the independent review into track and field participation led by Olympians Steve Cram and Steve Smith.

I spoke about our commitment to invest in one pilot track and field participation hub in each of the nine English regions within the next 12 months. I can now inform you that we have initiated that process and the first three pilot hub discussions and plans are being pulled together with partners in the North East, East, and South East of England thanks to the dedication and commitment of volunteers in those regions. We will provide progress updates on these pilots and then commission further pilots in other regions from the late autumn onwards. We would encourage our collection of clubs and interested parties not to slow down if there is intent as this does not need England Athletics approval or funding to get going!

We expect that the focus of these hubs will be to enhance collaboration and sharing between clubs, to look to try and test new approaches to competition - particularly for our youngest participants, and to look to enhance opportunities for coaches, officials, club leaders, and talented athletes to learn in our sport. Each pilot hub project will look slightly different according to local need but the foundation of success will be informed through the strength of collaboration between partners, particularly clubs, facility providers, universities, schools, and competition providers in that region.

We are trying to not be too prescriptive as we work through this pilot process and look forward to learning more from activity undertaken and models for hubs that emerge. Local is very much better in terms of providing competition for the majority of our participants.

I think this came through very clearly in the track and field review report, particularly around competition delivery. It highlights that a regional and county/local delivery model - reflective of modern approaches and a fresh perspective to formats of competition and event presentation - is a key part of the future direction. This would also support existing club leagues, as they look to evolve their delivery models including format, geographic boundaries and event presentation.

We do need to continue to collaborate as a sport to evolve our offer at a club level, placing our clubs at the heart of our communities and providing not just a place for talent to thrive but for all members of the community to benefit whatever their ability or background.

Finally - thanks to our volunteers

Thanks once again to everything that you do for our great sport in whatever guise. 2026 has already seen a number of fantastic individual and collective team performances - both on and off the track - across England and on the international stage.

The new age groups for competition were introduced across the UK on 1 April this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the forward-thinking volunteer leaders on league, association, club and championship organising committees in England. Their leadership in embracing these changes - and in proactively taking steps to put the athlete, the coach, the technical official, and the parent/carer at the heart of their decision making - has been invaluable.

Chris Jones
CEO England Athletics