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| Conference Speakers: Who’s who? |
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| | | | Kate Allenby, Olympic Pentathlete
In her 16-year career, Kate Allenby has been one of the leading and most charismatic pentathletes in the world. She has won over 50 national and international medals, across different sports, achieving over half at major championships. She has long been at the forefront of modern pentathlon, winning two junior World Championship medals, the 1997 European title and the 1998 World Cup. At the Commonwealth Games in 2000 she won the individual bronze and team bronze in fencing. However her finest moment came at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 when despite a muscle tear in her shoulder she battled through to take the bronze medal in the modern pentathlon event. Since then Kate has gone on to win the silver medal in fencing at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.
Kate retired from modern pentathlon in 2004 after winning the World Cup for a second time and after competing in the Olympic Games in Athens. She now specialises in fencing and in 2005 she became the national fencing champion. Kate combines training with her work as a teacher and a modern pentathlon coach and her aim is to compete in London 2012.
In 1997 she was elected a member of the British Olympic Association Athletes Commission and in 2003 she was elected Chair. | | | | | | | | | Lesley Burn, English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS)
Lesley has a passion for making a difference in peoples lives, through and with sport. She has a first-class track record and a wealth of knowledge of business, sponsorship and the political arena. Her skills acquired from working in the private, voluntary, charity and public sectors equip her with the essential experience to support the EFDS as a Board Director.
Lesley is currently the Chief Executive (CEO) of a charity and works freelance as a consultant in the sports industry. She was the CEO of the Ladies' Golf Union, where she was highly successful at income generation, securing new money from global brands through corporate social responsibility opportunities, sponsorship, building brand equity and creating new relationships. Previously Lesley worked as a Director for Sport England. Her other positions have included being National Project Manager of the Barclaycard charity programme 'Free Kicks' and responsibility for a portfolio of national projects for the English Sports Council. | | | | | | | | | Mark Frost - Manager of the Sports Council Wales three ‘Regions’, responsible for increasing participation in sport in Wales
Mark began his professional cricket career at the age of 25, firstly with Surrey and later with Glamorgan County Cricket Club. After retiring he joined the Sports Council Wales (SCW) as a liaison officer with Governing Bodies of Sport and later became Manager of the Governing Body Service Section. He then returned to cricket as Director of Cricket for the Cricket Board of Wales, a position he held for nearly six years. He moved back to SCW as Head of Coaching and Sports Science, spearheading the new impetus on coaching in sports after the development of a new coaching plan for Wales. Mark was seconded part time to Welsh Athletics as acting CEO assisting the body through a difficult period of its history, before returning to SCW in a new role as Manager of the Sports Council Wales three 'Regions'. He is responsible for increasing participation in sport at the grass roots level where the major partners are the 22 local government authorities in Wales. | | | | | | | | | Sophie Hancock, Paralympic athlete
Sophie was born with a genetic defect, acondroplasia, commonly known as dwarfism. Although this is recognised as a 'disability' it has not stopped her from living a full and active life.
At school, Sophie was prohibited from participating in most sports, however, the formation of the Dwarf Athletic Association UK (DAAUK) in 1992 was a significant factor in creating a platform for dwarves to try out a wide range of sporting activities.
Sophie immediately excelled at field events in athletics and through a combination of hard work, determination and talent succeeded in reaching her goal of selection for the GB team in the Beijing Paralympics 2008 to compete in the shotput and discus events.
She is now training hard and hopes to be part of the GB team in 2012. | | | | | | | | | Mrs Faezeh Hashemi, President of the Islamic Federation of Women Sport
Mrs. Faezeh Hashemi is the founder and president of the Islamic Countries' Solidarity Sport Council, vice president of Iran's National Olympic Committee, and a member of the Islamic Republic's High Council for Women's Sport. She received the second highest number of votes in Tehran's 1996 legislative elections for the Fifth Majles (parliament), and is well known for her successful campaign to allow women to bike publicly in Iran.
Mrs. Hashemi was instrumental in setting up the Islamic Countries. Women's Sports Solidarity Games, which were first held in 1993, and are now held every four years. Mrs. Hashemi's opening speech at the 1993 games stressed the compatibility of their athletic activities with the values of Islam and noted the benefits that sport could have for health, strength, and wellbeing. | | | | | | | | | Huw Jones, Chief Executive, Sports Council Wales
Huw Jones worked for the GB Sports Council in London as a Research Officer and Senior Research Officer during the period 1985 - 1988 prior to returning to Wales in 1988 as Director of Policy Planning for the Sports Council Wales (SCW). He was Economics Consultant to the Council of Europe during the late 1980s where he undertook a European-wide study of the economic impact of sport.
Huw was appointed Chief Executive of the Sports Council Wales with effect from 1st January 1998. He has led SCW through two major strategy reviews and has been at the forefront of establishing evidence-based research to inform the Council's strategic planning. Huw is a member of the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management and is a Companion of the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management. | | | | | | | | | Nebez Kurban, Athlete and Coach
Nebez manages "Fysikfabriken", which aims to help athletes maximize their training efficiency mainly in the areas of speed and power. Continuous tests of strength, jumping capacity and speed assure high quality and monitor athletes' progress. Nebez has always been active in sport and began training in football and athletics at the age of ten. Specialising in track and field events, he displayed a particular talent in the long jump. With a personal record of 7.75 m he has been a member of the junior and senior national team. Nebez's training career began 10 years ago. Having always been interested in physiology, he now specialises in team sports, specifically in soccer, American football, and ice hockey. His philosophy focuses on developing athletes' unique capabilities in order to contribute to the overall strength of the team. | | | | | | | | | Peter Lee – Chairman, Welsh Football Trust
Peter has been a Trustee Director of the Welsh Football Trust since 1996 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2005, following his retirement as Chief Executive from the Football Foundation and the Football Stadia Improvement Fund. The Foundation is a partnership between the UK Government, the Football Association and the Premier League and is the largest sports charity in the United Kingdom with an annual budget of sixty million pounds. It provides grants for grass roots facilities in parks and schools, community and education projects and safety and improvement work.
Peter was also Chief Executive of the Football Trust and the Sports Grounds Initiative from 1990 until the Football Foundation was set up in July 2000. Before that he spent 25 years in the Civil Service, mostly in the Department of the Environment. He served in Ministers. offices and the Sports Directorate. His departmental brief on football included chairing the Council of Europe's Standing Committee on Spectator Violence. | | | | | | | | | Rebin Mardan, Premier Football coach, Sweden
Rebin was born in Jönköping in Sweden and started playing soccer when he was six years old. He started coaching soccer at the age of eighteen and trained as a coach for three years at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Stockholm. Having coached for Väsby United and IK Tord, he has now been at Hammarby IF for three years, and has worked with companies such as Coerver Coaching. He has studied at both FC Barcelona Youth Academy and BC Atalanta Youth Academy in Bergamo. | | | | | | | | | Azad Pahlavan, Sports Specialist at the Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Sports and Youth and International Badminton Referee
Azad Pahlavan is a Sports Specialist at the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Sports and Youth. He is an International Badminton Referee certified with the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC), and has refereed many international badminton tournaments throughout Asia for the BAC and for the Badminton World Federation. He has also refereed squash tournaments in Iran and previously held senior positions in the Iranian Squash Federation, including Director of the League and Championships and Chairman of International Affairs. Azad runs training courses for badminton and squash referees and advises the Kurdistan Badminton Federation. He has translated badminton and squash regulations into Persian and Arabic, and has written papers on sport and society, including the traditional games of Kurdistan. | | | | | | | | | Goran Petterson, Chairman of Sports Federation, Värmland
Mr. Pettersson has been the Chairman of the Sports Federation in the district of Värmland for 15 years (a federation that works very closely with the Swedish National Sports Federation).
He has over 40 years of experience within the field of sports; coach for youth soccer, soccer judge for 21 years - on district and national level. | | | | | | | | | Sarah Powell - Head of Performance and Excellence, Sports Council Wales
Sarah taught at a secondary school for two years, before deciding to further her passion for sport by pursuing a career at the Sports Council Wales as a senior officer in the National Governing Body Department. After five years she was seconded to develop and lead a modernisation programme for national governing bodies with the Welsh Sports Association. She returned in 2003 to manage and subsequently head the performance and excellence department.
During this period Sarah played international hockey for Wales, captaining her country at every age group and winning over 100 caps. She competed in numerous international tournaments, with the pinnacle being the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Following her retirement from international hockey she took up the voluntary role of coaching the Welsh Under 18s side. She still manages to find time to play and coach hockey in the lower leagues in South Wales. | | | | | | | | | Bayan Rahman - Kurdistan Regional Government High Representative to the UK
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman was appointed as High Representative to the UK of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq in January 2005. Key to her role as High Representative is strengthening ties between the Kurdistan Region and the UK and encouraging inward investment, which is key to the revival and stability of Kurdistan and Iraq as a whole.
Prior to her appointment, Ms Rahman worked as a journalist for 17 years. A history graduate from University of London, she worked at a number of British newspapers, including The Observer and the Financial Times.
Ms Rahman is the trustee of the Salah Rahman Sports Foundation, a family-run UK-registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of people in Kurdistan through sport, by providing them with facilities and coaching and by promoting 'sport for all' in the Kurdistan Region. | | | | | | | | | Dr Khaled Salih, Adviser to the KRG Prime Minister
Prior to being appointed Adviser to Prime Minister Barzani, Dr Khaled Salih was formally the official Spokesman of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), playing a key role in communicating the Government's policies to the people of the Kurdistan Region, the national and foreign media and international audiences.
Trained as a political scientist, Dr Salih has served as a constitutional adviser to the Kurdistan National Assembly and to the KRG, particularly during the drafting of the Iraqi constitution that was democratically approved in 2005. He also advises the KRG Ministry for Natural Resources on constitutional matters.
Before joining the KRG, Dr Salih was a senior lecturer in politics specialising in the Middle East at the University of Southern Denmark. He was also a consultant to the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council and is co-editor of the book 'The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq'. Born in Suleimaniah in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, he found political asylum from Saddam Hussein's regime in 1981. | | | | | | | | | Trevor Smith, National Development Manager, Youth Sport Trust
Trevor has worked in the field of youth sport in England for over 20 years, firstly within the voluntary youth sector, then within local authorities and education, before moving to the Youth Sport Trust (YST) in 2003.
His roles have included the development and management of national and local youth sport development programmes that have aimed to embed physical education and sport as essential tools to promote young people's development and encourage community cohesion. He is currently National Development Manager at YST with a specific focus on physical education and sport for young people aged 5 - 11. Trevor is also Chair of Governors at his childrens' primary school. | | | | | | | | | Paul Tebay, Youth Sport Trust
Paul Tebay is Assistant Head Teacher at the King Edward VII School in King's Lynn, Norfolk. He has been a teacher and advocate of physical education and school sport for nearly 40 years. As well as being a National Staff Coach for the England and Wales Cricket Board, Paul has been instrumental in introducing many new developments at the King Edward School that utilise the power of physical education and School Sport to support the education and development of young people. Paul led the school to 'Specialist Sports College' status in 2000 as well as the 'International Award from the Department for Children, Schools and Families' in 2007 and the 'British Council Award for using Sport to improve Inter-Cultural Dialogue' and the 'Quality in Study Support Award' (highlighting Leadership across the Curriculum) from Canterbury Christchurch University. Most recently, the King Edward VII School has become one of a growing number of Leadership Academies in England.
Paul is also an experienced international trainer and facilitator, and has worked with the Youth Sport Trust and British Council most recently at events in China, and India as part of the Youth Sport Trust 'Dreams and Teams' and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust 'Towards the Olympics' programmes. | | | | | | | | | Neil Ward – Chief Executive, Welsh Football Trust
A former physical education teacher and development professional for the past fifteen years, Neil joined the Welsh Football Trust in 2000 following Development Officer roles with the Welsh Rugby Union and Sports Council Wales. Neil led the Welsh Football Trust through a period of advancement and significant change as National Development Manager, and then General Manager, before being appointed Chief Executive in 2008.
Neil is also Chief Executive of Welsh Grounds Improvements, a joint venture between the Welsh Football Trust and Football Association of Wales, set up in 2008, to distribute governing body monies as grant aid to clubs for football stadia development. The new company has allocated more than one million pounds to clubs since being established. | | | | |
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