CEO Blog: March 2025

As the winter draws to a close and the outdoor track and field season gets closer, England Athletics CEO Chris Jones gives his overview of the recent months in our sport:

Championships

The last few months have seen some fine performances indoor, on the road, and on the cross country circuit. Such performances wouldn’t be possible without those who give their time to the continued organisation and delivery of our sport at all levels, and I’d like to thank those people and congratulate all English athletes who’ve had success over the winter.

As we approach another outdoor track and field season, I also want to wish everyone the very best of success in whatever role they  fulfil across the domestic sport in England. We are approaching the one-year mark until this country hosts the 2026 European Track and Field Championships, and the Commonwealth Games returning to  UK soil. These are two events that I’m sure will give additional motivation to English athletes looking to raise their performances and profiles ahead of selection next year.

Our dedicated volunteers

Behind the headlines created by the elite end of athletics, I am fortunate that in my role I see first-hand the influence that our sport, and the selfless and dedicated volunteers working within it, provides to communities across the country. Sport should, and does, provide a safe space for all participants of all backgrounds, abilities, and ages to belong, to learn, to share, to connect with others and truly is a lifelong source of joy.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting one individual who typified the dedication and selflessness that I describe above.

Ernie Cripps is in his 100th year. He has volunteered his services in athletics for over 70 years, covering a myriad of roles, but excelling in technical officiating and timekeeping. He continues to volunteer in the Derby AC clubhouse weekly and also passes on his years of wisdom to those less experienced, knowing what our great sport can provide in terms of combating loneliness, and developing life skills, wellbeing, and inclusivity."

I was delighted and humbled to be asked to present him with a long service award. Ernie represents a wider national movement of volunteering in sport that ultimately creates opportunities for others and binds communities together, serving as a preventative medicine to so many of the struggles and challenges that our society faces in these uncertain times.

I was honoured to share that moment with Ernie, and it reminded me that we are blessed to work in sport and to support those who are providing a voluntary community service that, if delivered as a paid service, would be difficult to sustain.

How sport can help social and economic missions

I was also fortunate to be able to speak with the Sports Minister, Stephanie Peacock, in recent weeks about how sport can help the Government to deliver its social and economic missions. Meeting Ernie reinforced to me that sport must be enshrined into wider government policy at source – a magic pill that inspires and moves us and can help to prevent a number of ills in our society, and which binds people together whether that be through the delivery of major events, or the provision of community-led services.

We also need to protect and preserve the physical places where sport and recreation can be enjoyed in our communities and with that in mind, I was troubled to read that there is a potential that the statutory planning consultation role of Sport England is at threat. I find this concerning knowing what an important role they play in protecting, preserving and developing the places that enable hard working volunteers like Ernie to work their magic and where sport and recreation happens at both a participation and performance level.

Be assured that EA will continue to work proactively to influence this decision and to ensure that our track and field facility stock and open spaces used for cross country, parkruns, and other running activity are protected and preserved wherever possible."

In my view, sport and physical activity should be a statutory requirement, not an option, and the investment in prevention not cure should be prioritised. It reminded me of the old mantra, ‘if it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done’, and weaving sport and physical activity into wider government policy and making it important will help to ensure that wider resources are unlocked to create opportunities for many more participants to be inspired by people like Ernie.

Don Turner's legacy

I’d like to close by paying tribute to long serving volunteer Don Turner who sadly passed away recently. As people would have read on our website, Don was a fine athlete but also a technical official of the highest order, volunteering his time to support other less experienced individuals coming into our sport. He  who was also a key thought leader in working to create the London Marathon alongside Chris Brasher and John Disley many years ago.

He will be sadly missed but his legacy in our sport will endure through the many individuals who would have been positively impacted through his support.