Baroness Sue Campbell and Malcolm Arnold OBE have been made honorary members of UK Sport’s prestigious Coaching Fellowship, which aims to champion the coaching profession and support the development of world class coaches in the UK.
Campbell, Chair of the Youth Sports Trust, and Arnold, UK Lead Hurdles Coach for British Athletics, were announced as Fellows at UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference presented by Sportscover, and have been chosen for their proven track record of delivering sustained success, their commitment to coach development and their willingness to share and impart knowledge.
The pair join sporting greats Sir David Brailsford and Jürgen Grobler in the Fellowship, who became the inaugural members in 2013.
Former Chair of UK Sport, Baroness Campbell said: “Coaches are the backbone of this country’s sporting health and success from the playground to the podium, and I feel privileged to be asked by UK Sport to play a part in developing our future leaders of this important profession as an Honorary Fellow of the Elite Programme.”
Alex Danson, Olympic hockey bronze medallist, said: “Baroness Sue Campbell has had a huge impact on my career both on and off the field. She has taught me that people are at the centre of everything, that even when things are tough, you never give up, her beliefs have inspired me and taught me to hold on to mine.
“After being defeated at the semi-finals of the London Olympic Games, it was her calmness, empathy and wise words that made the difference and will stay with me forever. I will never be able to thank her enough.”
Arnold, whose career spans 12 Olympic Games and has coached athletes such as Colin Jackson, Dai Greene and Eilidh Child said: “I am honoured that UK Sport is giving me the opportunity to contribute to the development of coaches of elite performers. Coach Education and Development has always been close to my heart and through my efforts I hope to positively influence performance excellence in the United Kingdom.”
Colin Jackson CBE, Olympic silver medallist and World Champion, who was coached by Arnold, said: “Malcolm Arnold is a very special man and character who has incredible patience to work with young people and to motivate and inspire them to do the best they can do, in his creative and unique way. I am so grateful that I met him as his skill and influence helped to mould my life in a very positive way. Without him I simply wouldn’t have had the athletics career I had.”
Liz Nicholl, UK Sport CEO said: “I am immensely proud to welcome Baroness Campbell and Malcolm Arnold to the Coaching Fellowship. They are hugely experienced individuals who have enjoyed great success in their careers and are renowned for their world class coaching skills. They both share our vision for success and will help to inspire the next generation of coaching talent.”
UK Sport has worked with over 200 coaches on their professional development over the past ten years, and, of these, more than 50 worked with athletes who competed at London 2012. These coaches worked directly with athletes who secured at least 32 of the medals won across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including 12 golds.
The Coaching Fellowship complements UK Sport’s coach development initiatives - the Athlete to Coach, Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme, Para Coach to Rio and the Elite Programme – and the foundation programmes delivered by sports coach UK, to ensure a clear career development pathway for high performance coaches in British sport.
Find out more about UK Sport's Coaching work >