I wanted to take the opportunity to provide an update as I come to the end of my first six weeks with Paddle Scotland.

I have worked in sport development for over 25 years, mainly in Scottish sport - with a spell in New Zealand - and I’m currently phasing out of the CEO role I have held with basketballscotland for the past 19 years, which means my time is split between two organisations. This will continue for another month.

Paddle Scotland is clearly going through a time of significant change internally with a large amount of experience leaving the organisation. Change can be challenging and I’ve been brought in to support the organisation to stabilise and reset. 

Stabilise – staffing, process and policy

The first six weeks have been focussed very much on stabilising. We have moved to fill essential functions in the short term. Keith Macleod has joined us one day per week to support in the critical area of safeguarding, Paul Stark from Sustainable Sport is providing support, initially in the governance area, and we’ve added Sandros Dias who has a Sport Science background to the Performance team to support the coaches and athletes over the coming months. 

While these appointments are focussed on short term support and stability, in order for me to get the opportunity to assess what is required long term, we have also moved quickly to recruit a Coaching & Development Manager who plays a key function in supporting providers and ensuring our course delivery is compliant with the British Canoeing Awarding Body. We hope to finalise recruitment in the next week.

We have also worked to ensure that our systems and processes continue to function effectively through this period of change and that we communicate as effectively as possible with the membership.   

It is important to note, however, that we remain significantly below our planned staffing capacity and while I see the staff team consistently going above and beyond there are things that may take longer to resolve in this period. We apologise if this impacts on you and we will move to resolve these challenges as quickly as possible. I’d just ask for some patience and understanding in this period.

The next phase is for me to start to build relationships with the community and I am hoping to be more visible over the coming weeks and months. 

Reset - Governance

We have initiated a Governance Review to bench-mark our governance against various standards. This is a forward looking process; it is intended to be completed relatively quickly and will provide a range of recommendations towards ensuring that the organisation is governed in an effective manner. 

We are also aware that there have been concerns expressed within the membership at recent senior staff turnover and the governance challenges faced by the Board.

To address this independently, Paddle Scotland has instructed the legal firm Harper Macleod to undertake a retrospective review of the organisation's governance and leadership over recent months and report their findings, recommendations and learnings. Recently appointed director, Alison Byers, is acting as the point of contact for Harper Macleod. Paddle Scotland is committed to learning from this process and adopting any recommendations and improvements. Harper Macleod has commenced this review and we will not make further comment while this is in process.

Reset - Strategy Development

Looking forward, there is the need to have a clear direction for paddlesport in Scotland as the previous strategy “Paddlesport for All” concludes. This provides us with an opportunity to engage with our membership to build on the successes of the previous strategy and learn from the challenges. 

Throughout the process of developing a strategy, we are committed to engaging with and listening to members and partners who are invested in the future of paddlesport in Scotland. The intention is that the planning process will start in the coming months with engagement through the summer. Further information will be forthcoming.

I hope you will engage positively and help us to develop a clear way forward.

Yours sincerely,   

Kevin

Kevin Pringle

Interim CEO, Paddle Scotland