Goalball UK extend the appointment of John Grosvenor as chair of the Board until June 2026.
Goalball UK have extended the appointment of John Grosvenor as chair of the Board until June 2026.
John has led the Goalball UK Board as Chair since 2018 and overseen the National Governing Body’s 10-year anniversary, growth of the team and sport in the UK and Internationally and helped develop a coherent strategy for 2019-2024.
Looking back over the first four years of his tenure John’s highlights include “Developing relationships with Sport England and UK Sport and of course receiving funding from Sport England to give a base for the continued development of goalball in the UK”
The biggest challenges John says the organisation has faced during this time have been in succession planning, using the diverse skill set available in the Board and resourcing our GB (Great Britain) teams. “Currently, our GB squads are competing against full time athletes from other countries.”
John sees a huge opportunity in building success at club level and highlights the work of the Fen Tigers as a strong exemplar. However, to achieve this a larger workforce including coaches are needed to build goalball opportunities across the UK.
By 2026, he hopes “to see coverage across the whole of the UK with many more active goalball clubs available especially in the home nations and London”.
John is very enthusiastic about the appointment of Gary Fraser, High Performance Lead and is looking forward to seeing the GB teams advance and progress during this vital run up to the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
In terms of what Goalball UK needs to meet its goals for the next four years, John explained that whilst resources are key it is the people that make goalball the welcoming, inclusive sport it is. “There is a challenge ahead in recruiting enthusiastic volunteers at club level but with increasing awareness we can meet this head on.”
John states Goalball UK has made great progress in setting a strategy with formal reporting, monitoring and governance in place. Looking forward he says, “there is room for improvement and the next step is to develop our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies further and to set aims and objectives for this area.”
The challenges John foresees over the next four years include “taking an established executive team to the next level and to be brave in our ambitions and actions going forward.”
John Grosvenor, Chair of the Board for Goalball UK said “I am delighted to extend my position in this fantastic organisation. We have achieved so much in the previous four years. I would like to thank Mark Winder, CEO, the Board, and the team for their hard work so far. In particular, credit should be given to Mark for delivering four years of success. With a larger team and ambitions, I am excited for the next four years.”
Mark Winder, CEO of Goalball UK said “John has worked incredibly hard for Goalball UK since taking up role. He has helped us to develop in many areas and alongside a committed board and executive team helped us to secure increased investment from UK Sport and Sport England. I would like to personally thank him for his continuous support and challenge. I look forward to continuing our journey with him as Chair.”
John is a chartered accountant and was with PricewaterhouseCoopers for 38 years until taking retirement in 2008 and has held a number of Non-Executive roles since that time.
John became aware of the sport of goalball at the London 2012 Paralympics but also has a special link to the sport. His nephew, Sam, who is partially sighted also discovered goalball and joined Winchester Goalball Club and even competed for Great Britain.
Goalball is a team sport for blind and partially sighted people. It is played all over the world and there is no non-disabled equivalent.
Goalball UK are the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport in the UK. The NGB provides and promotes sporting opportunities for anyone who is blind or partially signed and wants to play. Players compete nationally and internationally in Regional, Intermediate and Super League structure with national teams representing Great Britain.
For further information about the Goalball UK Board of Trustees please visit https://goalballuk.com/about-us/meet-the-board/
