Standing (L-R): Richard Walton, Suzanna Maas, Onyinye Nkemdirim, David Cobbald, Cleo Lyn, David Lionetti, Suddankumar Subbaroyan, Nick Scarfield and David Callaghan Kneeling: Matthew Hill. Absent: Van Nguyen.
Out for Sport, which aims to encourage more LGBTQ+ people to get involved with sport, has appointed 11 new trustees, bringing a wealth of experience to the charity’s board from within grassroots sports, finance, communications, design, training and development.
Out for Sport was registered with the charities commission in 2022, having first been established in 1998 with the aim of encouraging more LGBTQ+ people to get involved with sport. The charity also delivers practical support and advice to grassroots clubs through a range of activities ranging from training courses and mentoring events, to hosting an annual Sports Fair and Awards scheme.
Last year also saw Out for Sport undertake a recruitment drive for new trustees with the aim of harnessing expertise and enthusiasm to further its key goals; namely enabling London sports clubs to provide safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces for everyone.
Matt Hill, co-chair of Out for Sport, said: “We know that tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ Londoners have found confidence, fitness and friends through grass roots sport. As Out for Sport enters its 25th year, we are delighted to welcome such a multitalented board of trustees, whose combined skills will help us do even more to support London’s grassroots clubs.”
The new trustees are:
David Callaghan: former Chairperson and Trustee of London Cornish Pilot Gig Club. He brings a wealth of experience in organisation governance and administration, including technical, safety and commercial procedures.
David Cobbald: a committee member of LDNRiders since 2021. He brings commercial experience in member management and event management to the board.
Matthew Hill: co-chair of Out for Sport since 2016. He was also on the committee of the London Royals (Hockey) for eight years and brings experience in diversity, equity and inclusion, comms and campaigns.
David Lionetti: Head of Marketing for GLL, the largest public leisure operator in the UK and was a board member of Team Melbourne in 2015/16, leading the marketing and PR for their LGBTQ+ sports festival.
Cleo Lyn who ran the London Royals (Hockey) from 2016-2022. She is a company director and sits on the board of Business in the Community and previously worked with BUCS and England Hockey.
Suzanna Maas: a member of Ishigaki Jujitsu since Sept 2021, and is co-leading their Nike-funded project on diversity and inclusion.
Van Nguyen who was on the committee of the Cruisers Basketball for four years. On top of accountancy skills, she brings experience in organising informal networking and mentoring.
Onyinye Nkemdirim who brings experience in the sport and events sectors, having worked with Greenwich Uni, London Sport, and the GLA. She is currently the London Regional Manager at Sported.
Nick Scarfield who will bring professional experience in managing marketing campaigns in the fundraising through partnerships and multi-channel campaigns.
Suddankumar Subbaroyan who plays for the South London Smashers (Tennis) and works for PWC with start-ups looking to set up in the UK. In addition to his accountancy and business planning experience, Suddan has worked as a volunteer at North of England Refugee Service.
Richard Walton who is also a trustee of Metro (an LGBTQ+ charity) and has volunteered with the Army Cadets. On top of his governance experience, he has developed volunteer sports officials and organised national /international LGBTQ+ sporting competitions.
New trustee David Lionetti said: “Inclusivity within sport is an issue I feel passionately about and I have been aware of the fantastic work that Out for Sport does amongst grassroots clubs within London.
“I hope that my wide-ranging marketing experience and knowledge of the sector will enable me to help tell the Out for Sport story, raise awareness amongst the LGBTQ+ community of the support that is on offer and support fundraising initiatives, best practice and strategic partnerships. It is an exciting chapter in the charity’s history and I feel privileged to be a part of it.”
For more info on Out for Sport, CLICK HERE
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