Claire Nelson will be leaving her role as CEO of both Netball Scotland and Strathclyde Sirens Netball Super League Club at the end of May to take on the newly created position of Netball Super League Managing Director where she will lead the professionalisation of the sport in the UK.

Claire joined Netball Scotland in October 2015 after having previously held a position as a non-executive Director on the Board. She came in with a huge passion for the sport and a clear vision for what she wanted to achieve and has been on a mission to take netball in Scotland to new levels ever since. Now an award-winning and globally recognized National Governing Body, Netball Scotland has been ground-breaking in its approach to challenging the gender equity gap on and off the court through participation, performance and profile, and with Sirens they have created one of the most engaging, game-changing and innovative women’s sports brands today.

On leaving her post Claire said: “Making the decision to leave Netball Scotland and Sirens has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do because leading this sport and organisation has been so much more than just a job for me. It has wholly and unequivocally been a labour of love. I have poured my heart and soul into building a business that can stand tall not only in women’s sport, but in the industry as a whole, and I really believe we’ve done that. I am so proud of all we have achieved on and off the court, the impact that we have made, the barriers that we have broken down, the standards we have set, and the bar we have raised. We have led the way in what it means to be a women’s sports brand and business. We have grown and strengthened the domestic netball system and pathway to create more and better opportunities to enjoy, develop and thrive in our sport. And most importantly we have inspired, engaged, and meaningfully impacted tens of thousands of people along the way as we remained committed to our purpose of trying to change the game for a better, fairer future for the women and girls of Scotland and beyond.

“Whilst it will be extremely difficult to leave Scotland, my new role presents to me the same opportunity that I was faced with when I took on the NS CEO role nearly 8 years ago – the opportunity to lead, shape and influence what netball should and could like. But this time I will be doing it on a bigger scale, and I am ready for that challenge. Our sport, and the nations and Clubs within it, will thrive when we have the best professional domestic Leagues across the world, and I am committed to ensuring the UK builds the best.

“It has been an absolute honour to lead Netball Scotland and I am beyond grateful that I’ve been able to work with the most incredible people, from the NS staff and Board to our members, players, partners, and fans. Our Netball Family here in Scotland is the most supportive community of people, and I’d like to personally thank every single one of you who makes our sport what it is. I will miss you all terribly.

“I will be proud to pass the baton on to the next CEO who will lead the organisation into the next, and arguably most important, phase of our journey where we will strive to seize the immense opportunities ahead of us as a sport. Netball in Scotland is only just getting going and there is a very bright future ahead!”

Chair of Netball Scotland, Lucy Faulkner, added: “On behalf of the Netball Scotland Board I would like to express our deep gratitude and thanks to Claire for what she has done for netball over the last seven and half years. Claire’s leadership, fortitude, resilience, creativity, and innovation has raised the profile of our sport, influenced many people to support it, and helped them recognise the power of netball. Claire has been a gamechanger for our sport and this is evident in the vision, ambition and drive Claire has demonstrated to build relationships and secure commercial income to establish Strathclyde Sirens in the Netball Super League.

“Through her leadership, we have made a difference in the lives of many thousands of women and girls, and this has never been more evident than through the work of her team with young people, supporting and nurturing them through adolescence and beyond to choose a healthy lifestyle, be proud of their bodies, and to approach life with a positive mental attitude.

“Claire has a great skill of bringing the best people to Netball Scotland whilst building, supporting, and developing the incredible domestic talent we have in coaching, administration and officiating, and during her tenure the Scottish Thistles reached a peak ranking of 7th in the world, have remained in the top 10 and have consistently qualified for the Netball World Cup.

“The search for her successor has already begun and I am confident that we will attract a range of excellent candidates. Our new CEO will have the opportunity to build on Claire’s successes and support us to take netball in Scotland to the next level. We look forward to working with Claire in her new role as MD of the Netball Super League and wish her well in it.”

On Monday the 5^th of January 2021 the Scottish Government set out the latest Covid-19 Guidance, which will see mainland Scotland placed into an extended Level 4 Protection Level, with a clear message to stay at home and only go out for essential purposes in order to limit the spread of the virus.

Below you will find Netball Scotland’s recommendations and current guidance which align to the Scottish Governments information.

ACTIVITY (Mainland Scotland)

We have been closely monitoring the situation surrounding COVID-19 and following the latest guidance set out by the Scottish Government, the Netball Scotland Board and Senior Management Team have made the decision to suspend all netball activity for all age groups (Under 11, 12-17 and 18+) across mainland Scotland with immediate effect and until further notice.

We have throughout the pandemic made all the necessary changes to our sport from introducing the Modified Game to creating Permitted Activity Guidance to ensure our clubs and members were able to safely continue and enjoy our sport. However, with the increased transmissibility of the new variant of Covid-19 and the extension of Protection Level 4, new guidance has been put in place:

• Indoor facilities and gyms will remain closed in January.
• Group sport, organised netball training and fitness activity indoors/outdoors should not be undertaken. This applies to all age groups in an extended Level 4 area. (mainland Scotland)
• Non-contact exercise (walking, running or cycling) can continue for all age groups, those 12+ should be following household rules, a maximum of 2 households / 2 people aged 12+.
• Travel is restricted. (See more information below)
• Performance/professional sport retains its exemptions at Level 4 although this is subject to local operators opening facilities based on their risk assessments.

This extended protection level will remain in place until January 31^st and the date will be reviewed by the government later this month.

ACTIVITY (Islands)

Whilst the islands remain on Protection Level 3, it is the recommendation of Netball Scotland that the guidance given to mainland Scotland is adopted by the Scottish Islands. This decision has been made as a result of school and leisure estate closure on the islands.

TRAVEL

Travel restrictions remain in place and if you live in a level 3 or level 4 area you should not be travelling outside of your local area for netball activities.

There are exemptions to travel for sport, exercise and recreation. Participants can still travel up to 5 miles from the boundary of a LA to take part in informal exercise such as walking or running so as long they abide by household rules. (2 people 12+ from maximum of 2 households)

When travelling in a Level 4 area you should:

• Avoid any unnecessary travel out of your local area
• Keep journeys within the area to an absolute minimum
• If you have to travel for essential purposes, follow the Scottish Government guidance on travelling safely

Further travel guidance can be found from the Scottish Government.

SUMMARY

What can still go ahead:

• Exercise at home with our Level Up Challenge here!
• Informal exercise outdoors walking, running or cycling for 2 adults together from 2 households, why not #GetInvolved in Strathclyde Sirens 21 Miles Challenge here!
• Professional sport for identified performance athletes

What can no longer happen:

• Group sport, organised netball training and fitness activity indoors/outdoors for all age groups is suspended in extended Level 4 areas (mainland Scotland).
• Group sport, organised netball training and fitness activity for under 18s is permitted within Scottish Government guidance in Level 3 areas (islands). However, Netball Scotland recommends that the guidance given to mainland Scotland is adopted by the Scottish Islands, and therefore group sport, organised netball training and fitness activity should be suspended.

FINAL COMMENTS FROM #TEAMNS

This is not a decision that has been taken easily or lightly, and we know it will be disappointing for many of you, but it has been made in full consideration of all the Government advice and the guidelines provided to us as a National Governing Body. Protecting the wellbeing, health and safety of our members, volunteers and workforce is our number one priority and so we request that this decision is respected and followed.

Again, and as always, we want to thank the Netball Family for continuing to stand with us and we appreciate the work that has gone into keeping everyone engaged in netball during this unprecedented time.

We said in our last message that brighter times are ahead, and we still believe this is true, if we all stand together, we will emerge from this stronger! #TogetherWeAreNetball

Netball Scotland are pleased to announce the appointment of former Chair, Freda Hutchison MBE, as the inaugural President of the organisation.

This prestigious new role sees Freda take on an important ambassadorial position for the organisation where she will be a public figurehead for the sport and its people, both domestically and on the international stage. A champion for our members, and an inspirational representative of the values and ambitions of Netball in Scotland, Freda will support and advocate for the work of the Board and staff.

As a previous Chair of the Netball Scotland Board from 2011 to 2017, Freda has contributed to the outstanding progress of Netball in Scotland setting the pace for meaningful change.  Outside of Netball, Freda has had an impressive career in education spanning 36 years, holding multiple teaching roles including Head of PE, Principle Teacher and Equal Opportunities and Development Support Officer, before being appointed as the Head Teacher at Earnock High School and then finally at Calderside Academy before her retirement in 2010.

Since joining Netball Scotland’s Board of Directors in 2010 Freda has dedicated herself to boosting the sport’s growth and profile, an achievement which was recognised in December 2018 when she was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace for Services to Netball.

Speaking on her appointment, Freda says: “I feel very honoured and proud to be appointed as the first ever President of Netball Scotland. As a previous Chair of the Netball Scotland Board until 2017, I’m absolutely delighted to be involved again. I look forward to working with the new Chair, Ed Crozier, whilst supporting the fantastic and ongoing progress achieved by our CEO, Claire Nelson, the Board, the Netball Scotland staff and also all of our hard-working volunteers.

I am very excited to get started soon in my new role as President. I will wholeheartedly support Netball Scotland’s tremendous work ethic and extensive developmental initiatives to ensure we enhance our profile and status both at home and on the world stage. I want to play a very positive part in achieving this vision of our Netball future.”

As part of her role as President, Freda will continue the work she began on the Netball Scotland Board and will be a visible champion for driving participation, involvement, and opportunities within Netball.

Claire Nelson, CEO of Netball Scotland added: “I am beyond delighted to welcome the incredible Freda Hutchison MBE into this high profile new role with Netball Scotland. As we continue to grow as a sport we felt it was important to ensure that we had an organisational figurehead who would not only be an impassioned, respected and influential ambassador for Netball in Scotland, but that would also provide our members, fans and volunteers with a champion who would effectively engage, listen and represent their views to the staff and Board.

Freda appointed me as CEO back in 2015 and has supported my vision and drive for our sport ever since, and so it brings me absolute joy to announce her as our first ever President. I know that she will do all of us, and our sport, proud throughout her term of office.”

Freda will commence her role in the new year.

Netball Scotland are delighted to announce that Ed Crozier has been appointed as the new Chair of the Board. He will be replacing Pam Radage who has been interim Chair since Caroline Mansley stepped down from the role due to personal reasons last year.

No stranger to the world of sport, Ed was the 126th President of the Scottish Rugby Union and served on the Board of the SRU through a period of significant transition and growth into the successful professional sport it is today. Formerly a rugby referee, Ed is passionate about grassroots and community sport and has long been a champion for women in sport.

Professionally, Ed is an executive producer in film and theatre, and joins Netball Scotland after having completed two terms as Chair of Dancebase Scotland where he was instrumental in leading transformational change for the organisation and it’s members. Ed has also worked at Senior Partner level in the financial services industry and was also a founding Director of Glasgow Life CIC Board so brings with him an extensive portfolio of expertise across sport, business, politics, culture and finance.

Speaking about his new appointment Ed says: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Netball Scotland as Chair and am excited to start working with Claire Nelson and the wonderful staff and Board in the organisation to further realise the ongoing potential of Netball in Scotland, both on and off the court. Collectively we have huge ambitions for the sport, from growing opportunities for everyone to connect with the game at a community and grassroots level to increasing our impact and engagement with young people in schools. At an elite level, we want to see our National Team, the Scottish Thistles, progress up the world rankings with a real focus on achieving our best ever results at the Netball World Cup in South Africa 2023, and developing our Superleague Franchise, the Strathclyde Sirens, into a fully professional team that challenges for the UK League title.

There has been a huge movement happening in women’s sport, with netball at the forefront of increasing visibility, innovating through digital and developing new opportunities for women and girls to play, volunteer, watch, coach, officiate and support – I am thrilled and extremely motivated to be a part of the next important stage of this journey.”

CEO of Netball Scotland, Claire Nelson, added: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Ed as the new Chair of Netball Scotland. He is joining the organisation at probably one of the most critical times in our history as we navigate our way through this pandemic and focus on rebuilding into being a stronger, bigger and more successful sport, brand and business for the future. Ed understands and is passionate about our vision for netball and we believe that his proven track record, his expertise and his profile will help us to achieve our ambitions as a sport and organisation. I am really looking forward to working with Ed as we continue to keep #ChangingTheGame for netball and for women’s sport in Scotland.”

Interim Chair of Netball Scotland, Pam Radage, added: “I am so pleased that Ed is joining our Board at this crucial time. He adds a lot of strength and profile to the organisation and we believe that he is absolutely the person to lead us through the challenges we face as a result of COVID and onto realising our strategic vision and ambitions. Ed’s experience provides our sport and members with a great opportunity to learn, grow and develop, and I am confident that it will be an exciting time ahead for all of us.”

Ed officially commences his role on 1st December 2020.

FWB Park Brown Ltd led the search process for the Netball Scotland Chair.

From Today the way you pay for Licenses is evolving.

Previously our GoMembership portal has provided 3 options for members and clubs to make payments to Netball Scotland:

1. Invoice Payments
2. Stripe Payments
3. GoCardless Payments

However, in line with the operational excellence considerations of our new Strategic Plan, we are making the payment process more streamlined and more efficient for you, our members. For that reason, from the 19^th of July the new and improved system for payments will take effect for all members and clubs. (Schools payment systems will remain unchanged.)

To ensure operational excellence goals are met, all payments will be made using either GoCardless or Stripe payment methods. We would encourage Members and clubs who currently pay by invoice to utilise the GoCardless platform as it is the most efficient and easiest to manage. By using this method, you will also be helping Netball Scotland run more proficiently, economically and timely.

Here’s a little more information on what this means for you:

GoCardless (Pay by Bank)

GoCardless automatically collects funds through Direct Debit, notifying you in advance of a payment being taken, this gives you the chance to raise any issues about the payment in advance. This system is more accurate and less time consuming than the traditional invoicing procedure, and the Direct Debit Guarantee makes this the safest way to pay.

If you haven’t got an account with GoCardless already, you can set one up in minutes! Next time you login to buy your license, and choose to Pay by Bank, you will be asked to complete a direct debit mandate. To do this, enter your name and bank details in the fields provided which will create your GOCardless account. This then gives Netball Scotland permission to collect money directly from your club’s bank account and hopefully reduces the time you spend on club admin.

If you do have an existing account with GoCardless, simply choose to pay by your existing mandate, and payment will be taken directly from your account.  

The benefit of GoCardless is that every time you make a transaction through GoCardless you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying and when it will come out, which can help with budgeting. This means, every reaffiliation season, you simply add the licence to your cart, click purchase through GoCardless and the DirectDebit is already set up, which means no more waiting for invoices to come through, and avoids any disruption to your membership services.

Stripe (Pay By Card)

Stripe is a secure payment method, where payments are immediate Direct Debit or Credit Card transactions, through Visa, Mastercard and American express cards. The difference between Stripe and GoCardless is that Stripe Payments are taken from your account immediately, just think of payments for online shopping.

This method means an action is required from you to make payments on your purchase directly and immediately. We would recommend this method for Individual Member accounts who wish to reaffiliate.

Payment Guidance

To make the process easier we have also included a new licence payment guide below for you to get a better understanding of how this new payment structure will look before Affiliation season begins again in August.

You can find the payment guide here.

We hope you find this new payment method easy to understand and to use but if you have any questions simply email our Membership Coordinator on membership@netballscotland.com

Following our recent recruitment process, Netball Scotland is delighted to announce the appointment of three new non-exec Directors to its Board. Pam Radage, Janis Donachie and Claire McCracken will cover the portfolios of HR, Finance and Legal respectively, and join the existing membership of Gareth McKenna (Development), Catriona Semple (Performance), Janet Young (Club & Competitions) and Lucy Faulkner (Equality & Wellbeing).

Chair of the Netball Scotland Board, Caroline Mansley, said of the new appointments:

“I was overwhelmed at the volume and calibre of excellent candidates that applied for our Board vacancies, and I am delighted that we have been able to attract such breadth of talent at this period of significant growth and development.  Bringing Claire, Janis and Pam onto the Board has significantly uplifted our capabilities and enables us to increase the level of support to the Executive team as we head into the next strategic cycle.”

Netball Scotland CEO, Claire Nelson, added:

“The organisation is currently going through a period of operational transformation in order to strengthen the business to sustainably support our current and future growth ambitions. It was imperative that we added the necessary expertise onto the Board that could guide and steer us through this process, and I am delighted with the calibre of candidates that we have successfully appointed. Netball Scotland is in great hands under the leadership of this Board.”

Meet the new Directors –  

Pam Radage, HR Director:

Pam has spent her career in Human Resources (HR) and has worked across a number of sectors. She has held senior HR roles for global organisations and has many years’ experience in talent management, managing change, organisation design, culture and employee engagement, reward design, mergers and acquisitions as well as operational HR.  She now runs her own HR and change consultancy company. Pam also supports the third sector through her roles as Chair of Amma Birth Companions and is a Director of KATs – an adult and children’s charity in Glasgow.

Janis Donachie, Finance Director:

Janis is the Head of Management Accounting with SThree, a specialist global STEM recruitment organisation, with over 15 years’ experience at senior management level in the finance sector. She specialises in developing finance strategy and business process re-engineering across finance functions, and she has led teams globally, most recently as the Head of Finance in Budapest. This will be Janis’ first Board Director role, and she is excited to work with the team on delivering improved financial processes and reporting in order to optimise efficiencies and support business growth.

Claire McCracken, Legal Director:

Claire is a corporate partner with UK law firm Weightmans LLP, based in the Glasgow office. She specialises in corporate, commercial and sports law, acting for a wide range of clients from owner managed businesses to sports governing bodies and athletes. She has previously represented the SFA, SPL and Rangers FC. She is passionate about sport, having represented Scotland in athletics and previously holding the Scottish Record for the women’s 2000m and 3000m steeplechase.

A final thank you to Jacqueline McCluskey:

Caroline and the Netball Scotland Board and Staff would like to sincerely thank Jacqueline McCluskey for all the time, expertise and support that she dedicated to the organisation during her time on the Board. Jacqueline stepped down recently after completing her three-year tenure to pursue other projects. All of us here wish her well.