NIGEL WALKER – CHAIR, MAJOR EVENTS PANEL
A
f
ormer Olympic high-hurdler and
rugby union player, Nigel Walker
was a development officer for the
Sports Council for Wales and assistant
team manager with the Welsh Rugby
Union, before becoming the head of
sport for BBC Wales in 2001. He joined
the UK Sport board in 2006, is a member of the Audit
Committee and was appointed as chair of the Major Events
Panel in the summer of 2009.
My role is that of panel facilitator. Although having
only held the role of chair for six months, so far I’ve
observed one meeting and chaired two others.
The panel members are all experienced in sport – many
of them have sporting backgrounds or are representatives
of prominent associations and have invaluable experience
in putting on major events around the country. Panel
members include Paul Bush, COO at Event Scotland; Rob
Holt, CEO 2010 Ryder Cup; David Carter, CEO at the ECB;
Wendy Walker, COO at Salford City Council and Phil
Carling chair of the Sports Council in Wales.
Should an NGB wish to submit a bid to host a World or
European championship in this country, the panel would
receive the application together with the relevant paper-
work. A meeting with the NGB would be arranged in order
We will be involved in the London 2012 test
Lottery funding ensures an event
programme, whereby all venues will host a
is world-class in its impact and the
way that it’s delivered world-class event in the preceding year
for the panel to critique the bid and discuss the issues that
surround its successful delivery. These issues include the
opportunity for sport officials to gain experience of working
on a major event, how the event could promote the sport to
the public and above all, how it could give elite athletes the
opportunity to compete in a major championship on home
soil. All these issues go into the mix and we either say yes or
no then agree on the level of funding.
If we’re able to tick all the relevant boxes, we’re assured
of a brilliant event. If the majority of boxes are ticked
then the event could still be worth staging with the panel
having to decide on the level of funding based on the level
of shortfall, and the benefit to that sport and those who
participate in that sport.
Obviously the ability and enthusiasm to host a success-
ful event is not uniform across the country. Some county
councils and regional authorities are more focused on sport
and prepared to put their own money into bringing sport to
those areas. However, this is not the only factor that needs
to be taken into consideration. The idea is to have a good
spread of events around the UK. The Welsh Assembly Govern-
ment, for example, is hoping to put together a budget to
attract more major international events in the future.
This department will be involved in the London 2012
Olympic test event programme, whereby all venues will host
a major world-class event in the preceding year. Our pro-
gramme of World or European events will offer ideal testing
opportunities for properly-trained technical staff and we are
also assisting with the upskilling of officials and volunteers.
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